Why is it so hard to blog consistently?
I recently asked dozens of bloggers what their biggest struggles were with blogging. Hands down the most common response was: “I struggle to blog consistently.”
And it’s no wonder! We entrepreneurs are so busy nowadays serving our clients and networking that we have little time left for blogging.
The problem with inconsistency is that it kills your momentum.
When you blog consistently, you build a loyal audience. They expect you to have a fresh article at a certain time and they keep an eye out for your content.
Consistency is how you nurture your audience.
But when you start becoming inconsistent (or you go AWOL for a time), it confuses your audience and you lose the momentum you had. The point of nurturing is that it’s consistent. You lose that, and your audience quickly loses interest.
#1 Enemy of Consistency: The Mental Block
In my experience, what prevents people from being able to blog consistently has more to do with mental blocks than it does an actual time commitment.
Sometimes when we think about blogging, we get overwhelmed with all the steps and time involved in writing, optimizing and posting.
We subconsciously freak out at the mountain of tasks involved in creating a blog:
- Thinking of a topic
- Researching the topic
- Creating an outline
- Fleshing out the content
- Editing and revising
- Optimizing for SEO
- Finding a quality featured photo
- Designing social sharing photos
- Posting the blog
- Sharing the link on your social media
Phew! That does seem like a lot, doesn’t it?
Here’s the thing, though. It doesn’t have to be as intimidating as it seems!
Let’s walk through 3 practical steps you can take to overcome this mental block.
- Create a system and use templates.
- Batch your content when possible.
- Destroy time-wasters.
I’ll take you through these steps one by one.
1. Blog Consistently With a System
Systems are truly amazing things. When you create a system for a complicated task, you break it down into bite-sized pieces.
Systematizing a process also allows you to accomplish it faster, more consistently, and at a better quality.
An easy way to turn your blogging into a system is by using checklists and templates.
Checklists provide you a step-by-step process for your blog. This way, you know exactly what to do right now and what to do next. It removes the guessing for you so you can walk through the process on autopilot and reserve your critical thinking for the actual content.
Write down everything you have to do to create a quality blog post and turn that into your checklist.
Templates save you time and energy as you create images for your blogs.
When I first started my blog, I purchased social media image templates from Bluchic, and I love them! I slightly tweak the images in Canva, update the headline and—presto!—I have a new image for my blog.
Here are some templates you’ll find helpful for your business:
Please note: The following links are affiliate links, meaning that if you click through and purchase, I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. As always, I only promote products I use and love!
2. Batch Your Content When You Can
If you’ve spent any time in the digital entrepreneurial world, you’ve heard more than one person praise the benefits of batching.
But just in case you haven’t… Batching is the process of setting aside a block of time to perform one task. Just one.
And there’s a reason so many entrepreneurs swear by it. It’s one of the most effective tools to help you blog consistently!
The reason is that when you batch, you give your mind time to get into a rhythm regarding that one task you’re working on. Once you hit that repetitive groove, you accomplish more than you would have with the same amount of time split up into several different occasions.
Try to use batching in one of two ways:
- You can set aside a chunk of time each month to hammer out your whole month’s worth of blogs, start to finish.
- You can set aside several chunks of time throughout the month to accomplish specific blogging tasks.
So for instance, you could set aside an hour to flesh out all your ideas for your next four to six blogs. Then you use another chunk of time to create outlines. Take another chunk to flesh the blogs out and optimize for SEO. Then another chunk to create all the images, and another to post all the blogs.
Both these methods can work! But to make your batching effective, I recommend that you dedicate at least 1 or 2 consecutive hours at a time.
3. Destroy Time-Wasters So You Can Blog Consistently
How many hours in your week do you waste on nonessential activities? That’s time that could be going toward your blog! (And as I’ve said before, blogging is one of the best ways to grow your brand in 2020.)
Have you ever wasted hours on one of these time-wasters? (I know I have!)
- Social media scrolling
- YouTube rabbit holes
- Perfectionism
- Daydreaming
- Arguments
- Tech confusion (perhaps inevitable, but still a time-waster)
- Chatting/texting with friends
- Watching TV
These are just a few of the things that can steal our time from our most valuable investments. Can you identify a few more throughout your day?
Of course I’m not saying that you shouldn’t talk to your friends or that you can’t relax and watch some TV. But when you let those things take up too much of your time, you lose opportunities to blog and grow your brand.
Your turn! What are some suggestions you have for blogging consistently? Leave a comment below with your thoughts!
Jenny Rose is a freelance copywriter and content marketer specializing in B2B marketing, real estate, and accounting. She's written for clients like AAA, Edward Jones, Flyhomes, Guild Education, and more. Her writing has also appeared in publications like Business Insider and GOBankingRates.
