Confessions of a Six Figure Professional Blogger

How To Never Run Out of Content For Your Blog Again

January 16, 2009 | Blogging, Feature

We all know that the most successful blogs get updated quite a bit. I usually recommend to people to post once per day. At the bare minimum, a few times per week. But, how do you maintain such a constant stream of fresh content without driving yourself crazy?

I am lucky to have help now with PCMech. When I first began that site, I was the only writer. Today, I have Rich writing every day for me, plus a few others. This is great because I can now concentrate more on other projects rather than always worrying about having something to say.

David Risley dot com is different. I do all the writing here (except for perhaps the occasional guest post). Yet, I still shoot for the once-daily post. In fact, I do TWO posts daily here – one written post and one video tip. Sometimes, I even write a second written post for the day.

Yet somehow I still manage to do other things besides write for this blog. :)

Here are a few tips I’ve learned to help stay consistent and get a blog going:

1. Create An Initial Batch of Great Posts For a New Blog

When starting a brand new blog, you should create what I’ve heard Yaro Starak refer to as “pillar content”. In other words, it is some of your best material, tightly relevant to your blog. You publish it to your site before you ever tell anybody about your new blog. It is this pillar content which will define you and tell your new visitors what your blog is about.

I recommend having at least 5 good pillar posts. 10 if you can.

2. Maintain a Repository of Draft Posts

I recommend that you have some posts already written which remain in draft on your blog. If something comes up and you are short on content, you can always publish one of your draft posts you had sitting there.

Many bloggers write a post and then publish it immediately. Keep in mind, though, that nobody is forcing you to do that. It is better to maintain a consistent flow to your content than to just make everything public in a huge burst.

If you get a killer idea for a post, write it. But, publish it based on your publishing schedule, not necessarily the moment you complete it.

I would recommend having at least 5 good posts in draft so that you can pull them out when time is tight.

3. Keep an Idea File

If you’re anything like me, you probably think up good ideas for blog posts all the time – even when you’re not in “writing mode”. The answer is to keep a list of ideas for future posts.

On a related note, carry some way of recording ideas when you are away from the computer. Perhaps a voice recorder. Or you could type a note into your phone. In the past, I’ve even called myself and left a voice mail with a topic idea.

An idea file is a good exercise to go through before even starting a blog. If you cannot think up at least 20 different post ideas for your potential blog niche, then that is probably a good sign that you’re in the wrong market. If you are blogging about the right subject for you, then post ideas shouldn’t be hard to come by.

4. Write in Batches

I’ve discussed this before, but I tend to write posts several at a time. It works for me and I find that I can get into a frame of mind for writing and just bust out stuff quickly that way.

If you find yourself brimming with ideas and you have the time to write them up, then write away! Write several posts at once. Just keep in mind (as I said above) that you don’t need to publish them all at once!

What About You?

I’m interested to hear about your experience with this. How do you maintain a constant stream of material for your blog? Or do you have a problem with this?

If you enjoyed this article, you might also like...

  1. The Art of Recycling Blog Content
  2. A Step-By-Step Blog Launch Plan and Roadmap
  3. The Secret To Huge Volumes of Content For Any Blogger
  4. Mind Mapping: Turning Ideas Into Content
  5. Put Time Into Your Blog Posts

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  • Great post, man. I#2 strikes me particularly. I've got great ideas scattered all over my laptop's hard drive...and occasionally I'll even stumble upon one again and turn it into a post. But I need to start putting those things in my unpublished queue -- even if it's only a saved headline. That way I'll see it regularly and if nothing else it'll annoy me until I finally turn it into the post I originally imagined it when the idea first struck me.

    Thanks!

    ...jp
  • I really liked this post. I just recently adopted the "write a bunch of drafts and let them hang out" strategy and find that my content has improved a lot. Not only do I consistently publish content, but I can revisit a post before it's published and improve or add to it. Batch-writing is the way to go!
    Thanks for sharing your ideas!
  • anointedtoday
    Very useful ideas. Never thought of having the draft blogs, that is a good idea. Thanks for sharing.
  • nice tips there,particularly the pillar content and having repository of draft posts.
  • Having half finished drafts on my blog dashboard helps.
  • Great post David.

    I bought a journal for $1 in the clearance section at Target. Anytime I have an idea for a blog post, I write it down in my journal along with some notes. The notes are helpful just in case I can't recall the exact reason or angle I originally thought of. I take my journal with me everywhere and keep it in my laptop case so that I don't lose it. In addition to my journal, I take my digital camera everywhere as I never know when I might stumble upon something interesting to share.

    If I still have trouble coming up with something that I want to write about at the moment, I ask all of my friends to send me their thoughts, ideas or news bits. Also, it helps greatly to follow people on Twitter that are good sources of information for your blog niche.

    Hope that helps.

    -Philip Nowak
  • Fantastic. I'm keeping a link to this article to share around. Glad I saw this now rather than tmrw.. Thanks mate!
  • The purpose of my blog is to promote my business, so I'm still finding my way in the blogging world. I often feature other artists, and I sometimes write about my own insights as an artist (have one of those simmering, in fact.) I'm still trying to figure out the right balance of content for my blog, and I'm still learning what I have to offer in terms of knowledge. ;)

    I carry a journal with me almost everywhere. A paper journal. If I use electronic devices, information goes into them and gets forgotten. I need paper to keep me on track. Also, for my writing, I have a file folder "Seeds" full of partially-written poems, stories, article ideas, etc.

    Jennifer Moore
    JenniferLynn Productions
  • David, I often use Google alerts to monitor keywords or people who are active in my area. For example, there's a reporter at the Tampa Trib who typically covers real estate and foreclosure stories. I've got a daily alert set for her name. If she published a story that interests me, I can blog about it.

    The possibilities for that technique alone are endless - the trick is learning what to filter OUT if you set up a lot of alerts.
  • I agree with most of you guys and gals. I tend to find my best ideas for writing blogs when I'm away from the computer. Usually when I get outside and take a walk with the dogs... that's where and when I find the best ideas.

    Great article Dave. I'm a newbie blogger, looking for different ideas and I'm finding your postings really helpful. Keep it up! Much appreciated. Newbie Doug :-)
  • I'd like to ask a question related to NICHE blogs...

    How should you go about structuring your NICHE CONTENT in relation to the so called PILLAR content that Yaro says you should aim to write.

    I run a politics and satirical news blog at www.plenty2say.com, but sometimes feel the content is MASHED UP. Is there any way of making it look orderly?

    Like the blog here, will be following you from now on ...some great content...
  • I've been guilty of getting all excited on my little blog and publishing 5 articles in one day when I could have easily spread them out over a few days or a week ... I like your ideas about keeping ideas on file and having draft posts 'on the bench' for when content is slim.
  • I also write in batches. My goal is to write one but I end up writing three to four.
  • My postings have not been consistent... I guess because, i have so many things to do lately offline. Well, the number of post on my blog varies, sometimes it is more, sometimes it is less.

    What i do is to write just anything and develop it later. Sometimes i write down the topic, sometimes it is just a line in the article that pushes me to write. I also keep my blog updated with people's post that i find interesting
  • A related tip is to use scheduled posts. In my view, this goes one step beyond draft posts because you can pre-plan when items will appear. Ever since Blogger supported post scheduling, I've been using it often.

    To find out more about my views about scheduled posts, check my blog...on January 25 at 7:00 am Pacific time.

    I also have views on idea files...which I'll share on January 26 at 7:00.

    Needless to say, I also see the benefits of batch writing. More on that on January 27 at 7:00.

    One thing that I didn't mention in my forthcoming blog posts is that at one point, I was scheduling posts at 6:00 am every morning for my local-interest blog. That was a little too ambitious, though, and I eventually ran out of content for that series of posts. So it is possible to overdo things...
  • Jon
    Oddly enough, I do none of what you suggest and I still have way more that I want to write about without any writers block (so far). I think the secret is a diversified lifestyle to get your mind into other things throughout the day.

    Jon
    http://WoodMarvels.com - Create Unique Memories
  • I have a Wordpress plugin that works as a notepad right on your Dashboard. It's simple but it works wonderfully for jotting down notes about post ideas or anything else you want to remember.

    I'll be mentioning it an upcoming blog post, so visit AG:3k and subscribe to the feed so you don't miss it!
  • I agree with you that content is indeed king. If you don't provide quality, fresh and worth reading contents for your blogs or sites, visitors will not do repeat-visits. Traffic will dwindle and your site/blog's PR will drop.

    If you want targeted traffic, write keyword-rich quality articles.

    Thanks for the insights you have here provided, they prove true and easy to follow.
  • Yet again, great tips David.

    I keep an 'ideas-file' also. I carry my laptop everywhere with me and keep a small notepad inside my carrycase so that it is always on hand. I also have a series of drafts saved that just need to be modified slightly before they can be published.

    My goal is to post once every day, but I've never been clear as to whether to include weekends as part of my posting schedule. Any advice?
  • Hi David,

    Thanks for the tips! I've started a couple of blogs and am looking for ways to get more people to them so your advice will help.

    Have a great weekend!

    Robert
  • Good tips. I'm already maintaining a few draft posts on my blogs and update them from time to time and then post them when i think the time is right.
    I also like the idea file, it's something i haven't done yet. It has happened to me a few times already that i came up with an idea in my car, but then forgot what it was when i came home. Think i'll start recording ideas on my cell phone, which i always carry with me anyway.
  • Great advice. Anyone who's serious about starting a blog and making it work should take note. The idea of having "backup content", etc. Might save us all from the dreaded "I've been too busy to post" post.

    It also gives those who feel a need to keep the content coming to resist craptacular reprints, scrape, etc.
  • Great blog, David.

    I like all of your tips. And I'd like to add a couple more:

    1) sometime when i get a idea for a blog post, I just write an email and send to myself. I'm so used to write email that it helps me overcome the "writer's block" and maintain a flow when I write.

    2) I started writing my blog a few months ago. One thing I found helpful is to establish a routine -- e.g. I'd write a few posts every Monday afternoon, which ensures that I'll have enough posts for the week. It'll take the pressure off for the rest of the week -- I can focus on marketing the blog and/or write more "spontaneous" posts.

    GeekMBA360
  • Robyn Durst
    I find that if you force yourself to sit down and come up with ideas, they don't really float to the surface right away. I get many of my best ideas when taking a walk or cooking dinner; basically when I'm NOT thinking about it. I like the suggestion of keeping a notepad to jot down ideas when they come to you.
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