How Not to Get Overwhelmed Blogging

 

Help Key by Petr Kratochvil

In the time I’ve been seriously blogging, which isn’t that long, I have picked up a few tips and tricks that make blogging a little less intimidating.

Give Days a Theme

On Cookin’ Mimi, Mondays are when my menus are published, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are recipe days, and Friday is Recipe Round-Up. I don’t post on Saturday and Sunday unless something unusual has happened.

On this blog, Tuesdays are the top ten list,Wednesdays are my Simple Pleasures post, Fridays are for my 3 in 30 check in and Saturdays my weekly linkage is posted. Sunday and Monday are my free days here.

You don’t have to get quite as structured as I am but having at least a general idea is helpful.

Editorial Calendars Are Crucial

I used to be a write what pops into my head blogger. That doesn’t work so well for me with two blogs. By having an editorial calendar set up I can fill in ideas I have for posts.  Each blog has its own color and I can easily see what post needs to be written and when it needs to be finished.

If you are on Wordpress (self-hosted) there is an editorial calendar plug-in and if you aren’t it is really easy to set one up on Google Calendars.

Schedule Time Off

You have days off with any other job and blogging should be no different. I take Sundays completely off from blogging and do minimal blogging and social media on Saturdays and Mondays. An occasional media fast helps as well.

Keep a Running List of Post Ideas

I have done a better job of this with my food blog. I use the notepad on my smart phone with recipes I want to make. The post ideas don’t have to be very detailed, just something to get the ball rolling.

Find Two or Three Resources to Read

There are a multitude of how to be a better blogger forums and blogs out there.  My suggestion to you is to find a couple of resources that have good content for any size and stage blog.

My recommendations are:

• Blogging with Amy
• SavvyBlogging.net
• The #savvyblogging Twitter stream

Photo Week

 

Or more accurately photo couple of days. In order to change things up a bit and fight the burnout I am going to have a couple of days of photo only posts. They will be pictures I have taken and one post might be a day in the life. 

I’m hoping to utilize some of the tips given in the SITS Spring into Action Photo Challenge to improve my photography for both blog and offline life.

I will have a Top Ten Tuesday list, my 3 in 30 check-in and Saturday Linkage if those are more your thing.

Top Twenty Tuesday.

One of my blogging goals was to start a new weekly feature and starting tomorrow, January 19th, I will be posting a different top twenty list every Tuesday. I've already got ideas for the next three months so be on the look out. They will range from my top twenty favorite youtube videos to the top twenty blog posts I've read that week and all points in between.

When I get my computer back I will have a handy little graphic and will open it up as a linky feature.

See y'all again soon!




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Help for Haiti

My heart is broken for the people in Haiti. I cannot begin to imagine what the country is going through.
The Bible tells us, as Christians, we are to bear each other's burdens and this burden weighs heavily on my heart. I may not know the names and stories of the people affected by this tragedy but Christ tells us that whatever we do to "the least of these" we do to Him.
I may not be able to go and work but I can still help. I can give.
I can give the people of Haiti my prayers. This is an absolutely free way to give. All it takes is a little time and faith
I can give money. My family has made a ten dollar donation to the Red Cross. While ten dollars by itself may not be much money but if one thousand people give ten dollars that is ten thousand dollars.
For any Alabama readers I also received an e-mail from my church saying that the Alabama State Board of Missions of the Southern Baptist Convention is taking donations for Haiti. You could probably call your local Baptist association office to find out more.
If ten dollars is too much for your budget even one dollar would help tremendously. The same God that made the young boy's small lunch of loaves and fish multiply to feed thousands of people can make that single dollar multiply in ways we can't imagine.
Many bloggers are pledging their help. Crystal from Money Saving Mom
has a list of those who are pledging donations for comments and blog links

2010 Blogging Goals

Hullo out there in bloggy land! I hope each and everyone of you had a wonderful holiday season. We here at the Aint Mimi household did and are now settling back in to a routine.

I am itching to get back into blogging full-time. So, I decided to make my very first post of the new decade my blogging goals for the year. Some may seem lofty but they are all attainable.

1. Quintuple my subscribers. Yep you read that correctly. I want a 500% increase in my readership. :)
2. Create a Facebook Fan Page for Aint Mimi. I already have one for my food blog.
3. Write at least one series. I just have to decide what I know well enough to write about.
4. Have a weekly linky feature. Yes, I know there are a bajillion of them out there but they are one of my favorite ways to discover new blogs to read.

Those are my first four bloggings goals for 2010. As I reach those I will probably add more but these are my first priority.

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Some changes.

I'm making a few improvements around here. First of all I changed the comment platform to Intense Debate which is what Home Ec 101 uses and I like the functionality of it. I can reply to individual comments and it will be threaded instead of having to search for replies. I'm also going to be working on side bar button over the weekend. Well, that is if things go the way I hope they do.

a quick note

The reason I haven't updated is I've had computer or internet problems. I should be getting my computer back in a couple of weeks and I am working on a few post ideas for when it is fixed.