Scheduling your blog posts

How to use Google Calendar to organise your blog posts

You know I have downloaded that many E-books and spreadsheets on the topic of how to organise yourself to post on your blog. I think I would spend more time implementing them than actually doing the post themselves. That is, until I took a closer look at how to use Google calendar. What a breath of fresh air ! no money involved, no complicated spreadsheets, no connecting to various work colleagues or fancy wizzardary linking to various social media sites.

Lets face it, its not going to do the work for me but its a step in the right direction. I am a mother of three children and it occurred to me if I organised my work the way I organise my children I wouldn’t have a problem. Don’t get me wrong we are not the Von Trapp family. But I can corral the children from school into the house check the lunch boxes, set the homework on the table, organise the snacks, supervise the homework and get them changed out of their uniforms all between 2.40 and 4.15 just so I can relax back in to work, yes that’s “relax” well we all know how hard children’s homework can be.

So here I have put together 6 easy steps to help you schedule your posts

Step 1. Create a gmail account

This is free and simple to do, and can be done in 5 minutes, you probably have one already as google+, google maps, youtube and the like all run off it.

Step 2: Create a calendar

Create a separate calendar for each editorial you want to post to. I like to keep mine separate from my day to day schedule.

1. Once you have signed in to your google account you will see these icons on the far right. Click on the calendar icon. image 1 below
2. Then on the far left click on the downward arrow to create a new calendar. Image 2 below
3. Give your new calendar a name and save it. image  3 below
4. You can view your list of calendars here and you can have as many as you like within reason. image 4 below

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Step 3. Decide on your content

The frequency on your content is really up to you and what you are comfortable with. If you research it you will be advised  to have three posts a day mixing it up between blog posts and facebook, twitter, pintrest, etc.. There is great research and data out there to support that. But  I am lucky if I get to post one a week let alone three a day.  And I am comfortable with that, its all about quality. Sending to many messages can have an unintended consequences. Exact Tarketing 2012 social breakup study found that consumers where more likely to unlike a company on facebook because they felt bombarded by messages.

I could go on extensively about content. I signed up to many a course on that one too, believe me!.. I was shocked at what people where calling content management. Basically get somebody who doesn’t know your business but qualified as journalist or the like to write copy, I can tell you now it just doesn’t work.You need to do it yourself and connect with your customer on a personal level.

Here’s some helpful urls and suggestions on where to find content

• Set up  Google Alerts for your niche, you can skim through the alerts to find ideas.
• ContentGems keeps you at the forefront on the latest trends, advice, and news in your areas of professional interest.
• Select 5 – 10 blog categories, and make a list of 5-10 ideas for blog posts under each category. I think I got this from all those spreadsheets I downloaded.
• Make a list of questions that your clients or customers ask. There is an amazing amount of content here alone and its bang on target to meet your audience
• I think you need to use your spreadsheet here or a word document and list them all out
• keep notebook you will see why later

I like to schedule one month in advance but some can schedule up to a year.  Wow! keeping it all relevant and connected for a year good luck with that.

Step 5  Utilise your calendar

This is were google calendar comes into its own , populate the newly created calendar by telling it to alert you to write a blog post at a specific time and day of the week every week for the next month.

1. So to start with you create an event, Name it for this instant I called it “Blog Post” this can be changed later.
2. Hit the repeat button. 
3. Up pops a little box and this is where you can select if you want it to recur across your calendar  on a weekly, daily, or monthly basis.
4. Select also what day and when you want it to start.
5. Click on done and then save the whole thing.

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Step 6: Schedule out the different posts

1. Fill out your months schedule by changing the name from Blog post to the name of the post  Image 1 below
2. View your calander again and click edit see Image 2 below
3. Use the desciption box to input your notes, source of infomation, websites, etc. Image 3 below
4. Link to sources using attachments link see Image 3 below

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Make it your routine

The most important part make it your routine just like I do with my children, because if I don’t, I have a mad jamboree of dirty uniforms and screaming kids with no homework done.

We all love routine its the way we get through the day, breakfast, lunch, tea all scheduled at a certain time everyday now it’s time to make your blog post a weekly schedule. You could always make it a daily one but I like to work on all aspects of my business.

Now it’s 11.45 and its smoothie time today I think I will go with my Friday smoothie to roll me into the weekend with fresh blueberries, banana, pineapple, vanilla ice cream and a touch of honey.

So give it a go and leave a reply letting me know how you get on, or just tell me what’s your favourite mid morning drink.