It’s almost time to blog like crazy! Every November I challenge the women of See Jane Write to publish a new blog post every day for 30 days. I’ll give you encouragement along the way by sharing blogging tips and post ideas using the hashtag #bloglikecrazy. And if you use the #bloglikecrazy hashtag when you share your posts on social media I’ll help promote your posts, too.

Now you may be thinking, “Why on earth should I blog every day for 30 days?”

Good question. I believe blogging every day for 30 days will boost your creativity, your community, and your consistency. I break down each of these here.

Or maybe you’re thinking, “How on earth am I supposed to blog every day for 30 days?” Well, I’m hoping this blog post will help you with that. 

When it comes to #bloglikecrazy you must plan ahead or plan to fail. If you’ve never developed an editorial calendar in the past, this is the perfect time to do so.

Creating an Editorial Calendar for #bloglikecrazy

This weekend I spent two hours at a local coffee shop planning blog content with Keoshia Kyneard, the regional director of Birmingham chapter of Black Bloggers United and the blogger/vlogger behind the brand Busy Doing Me. It was so much fun that I plan to start hosting post planning parties (both virtual and in-person) for See Jane Write members.

I left the coffee shop with enough blog post ideas for each day in November and a few extra ideas, too.

Here’s how you can create your #bloglikecrazy editorial calendar:

Brainstorm your blog post ideas. Consider your blogging categories, features, and themes. My main categories for See Jane Write are blogging, bylines, business, Birmingham, and lifestyle. Features I’ve had on the blog in the past include “15 Confessions” (which I do monthly) and “Things That Made Me a Happy Feminist This Week” and “Things to Do in Birmingham This Weekend,” which I did weekly. Or maybe you want to have themed days for your blog like Motivation Monday, Hair Talk Tuesday, Wellness Wednesday, Thrifty Thursdays, or Fashion Friday. Choose the method that works best for you. Then brainstorm ideas for each category or themed day, being sure to include your features, too. If you’re planning for #bloglikecrazy,  you need a total of 30 ideas.

If you’re having trouble coming up with ideas, here are a few tips:

  1. Good writers read good writing. Take some time to catch up on some of your favorite blogs, websites, and magazines. The articles and posts you read will inevitably spark ideas of your own.
  2. Let red-letter days inspire you. Brainstorm posts related to upcoming holidays and special occasions and events. Because Thanksgiving is in November, I will, of course, do a couple posts on gratitude. Because many people will begin their holiday shopping, I’ll do a couple gift guides, too. I’m doing a 10K race in November, so I also plan to do a post on the parallels between writing and running. 
  3. Become an idea machine. In the foreword for the book Become an Idea Machine, James Altucher says that one of the best ways to boost your creativity is to write down 10 ideas a day. Start this practice right now and soon you’ll never find yourself faced with blogger’s block.

Related Post: 365 Blog Post Ideas & Writing Prompts

Organize your blog post ideas. Finally, use a calendar to plan when you will publish each post. You can create your calendar in an Excel or Google spreadsheet, through a program like CoSchedule, or even on paper. Because I’m utterly obsessed with planners, I use a cute planner by ban.do to plot out my posts. (Next year I plan to invest in The Content Planner.)

I decided to schedule my lifestyle posts for Sundays, my business-related posts for Mondays, my blogging related posts for Tuesdays, my writing-related posts for Wednesdays, and my Birmingham-related posts for Thursdays. My “5 Things That Made Me a Happy Feminist This Week” feature will be posted on Fridays and on each Saturday I’ll share a roundup of links to inspirational and informational online articles.

If you plan to participate in this year’s #bloglikecrazy, leave a comment on this post with a link to your blog. 

Happy blogging!