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Guest Post: My Blogging Schedule As a Full Time Blogger

Today, we have the lovely Sarah Marie Blog as a guest poster. I’m super excited to have her share her blogging routine with you all. She’s someone who really knows her stuff! Be sure to check out her blog! Also, be sure to check out yesterday’s blogtober post here if you haven’t already.

As a full-time blogger, I have a very busy schedule! I run a blog, a YouTube channel, and I am also a Pinterest manager for a few clients a month as well.

So with a lot of work to get done, and deadlines to hit, I need to be very organized! Over the past year of jumping into full-time blogging, I have added a bunch of tasks to my plate. So, in this blog post, I want to give you a good overview of what I do each and every week.

Many people think that blogging is easy and that it’s not a real job. This post may help shed some light on how much work it actually is, and give you some insight into what it’s like to be a full-time blogger!

So, if you’re looking to get into full-time blogging, I hope this post will not scare you away but will prepare you for how much work you may need to take on!

My Schedule

I pretty much work at least a few hours each day. Both because I love my job and can’t stay away from it for too long, and also because I just have so much to do!

It’s a bit difficult to say what my “schedule” is each day because it changes so often!

so, to give you a better feel for what it’s like to be a full-time blogger and YouTuber, I’m going to break down all of the tasks that I do. And there’s a lot!

Blogging tasks I do

Writing blog posts

So the first task is obviously writing blog posts! But there is more that goes into it than just picking a topic you love and putting words on a page. There’s keyword research, writing, photo-creation, promotion, and more!

  1. Keyword research and idea phase

So the first thing I do is obviously come up with an idea. I come up with a general title and then it’s time to research it! Because you don’t want to spend a bunch of time researching, writing, and promoting a post that no one wants to read!

On top of that, I also want to do keyword research so that my blog post has a chance to get picked up in Google search! This will help bring organic traffic to my blog. So I research a few keyword ideas and come up with some that I want to rank for.

I also run my ideas through Pinterest as well. I want to see not only if I can rank in Google, but also how many people are actually interested in the topic I’ve chosen, along with any words or titles I see that may work well for the blog post.

  1. Write the post

So now comes the part where I outline and write the blog post. First comes the outline, where I write down key points that I think will be helpful to the reader and any questions I want to answer.

These become the main headings of my blog post. After that, I add in any information and actually begin writing the post. Next, I’ll go through and proofread it at least one to two times.

I want to add in any information I may have forgotten, fix any spelling or grammar mistakes and make the post flow better.

Once I’m done with that, I will copy and paste the post into my WordPress site.

  1. Adding the finishing touches

The last step to getting the post written is adding in any links, creating any images for the post, and doing all of the sidebar stuff. Like adding tags, meta descriptions, checking the SEO score from my RankMath plugin, and so on.

Once I finish, I double-check the post to make sure it flows the way I want and then schedule it out!

Related: The Truth About Being a Full-Time Blogger

Youtube work

Next, we have all of the work that I put into my YouTube channel. There is just as much work, if not more, that goes into creating a YouTube video so let’s break that down now.

  1. Idea creation and researching

The first step here is much of the same as writing blog posts. I come up with ideas and have to keyword research them to make sure I can have a chance to rank on YouTube, and also to see if my idea is popular.

The routine is much of the same, but the tools are a bit different. I use a tool called VidIQ that I pay for each month to keyword research all my ideas. It’s a really helpful tool that I find to be worth the money.

  1. Writing the video script

Next, I again do much of the same process as for writing a blog post. I come up with the main points, write out the information I want to give and then proofread once I’m done.

I end up writing the video scripts in a little bit of a different tone than I would a blog post because I speak slightly differently than I write. 

  1. Recording the video

This is where the process gets to be a bit different. I have to record the video, and this includes time to get ready to be on camera, getting a shot list of the different angels and b-roll (extra footage) that I want to grab, and getting my camera gear ready.

I need to position my lights and camera properly, make sure my battery and mic are charged fully, and grabbing an extra change in clothes if I plan to record more than one video at once.

It can take anywhere from 30 minutes to a few hours to record a video. Depending on how in-depth it is, and how many different shots and scenes are required. You also have to make sure that your background is clean and looks nice so that you can have a pretty background to record in front of.

The last step is to take a variety of photos for a thumbnail!

  1. Editing the video

Next, it’s time for editing. This part takes me at least a day or two because I find editing a bit boring and repetitive, so I like to break it up over a few days.

It can also depend on how many shots I got and how in-depth the editing needs to be. I will also go through the footage and re-shoot anything that I didn’t like, didn’t record correctly, or if the sound isn’t great.

Once I’m done, I export the video out of my software which takes some waiting time as well, around 10-20 minutes.

  1. Uploading the video to youtube

Once all of that is done, we still have some steps left to do! I now need to upload the video to youtube, and depending on how long the video is, this could take anywhere from 10 minutes to 2 ½ hours of waiting. Yes, seriously. 

While that is going on, I will create the thumbnail, write out the description and do all of the back-end things. This includes writing tags, adding in video elements, adding videos to a playlist, and more.

Related: When to Know You’re Overworked in the Blogging Industry!

Promotion

You would think after all of that work, you’d be done with the video or blog post right? Yeah, I wish. Now it’s time to get that blog post out into the world!

I spend pretty much an entire day promoting my blog posts, youtube videos, and other links on Pinterest. I create about 70 pins a week.

So this process includes checking my stats to determine what links to promote, creating pins, writing descriptions, and scheduling.

I also promote my posts on Twitter as well. I usually take about two days to write out around 300 tweets (that’s 10 a day) and schedule them for the month.

Pinterest manager

On top of all of that, I am also a Pinterest manager. I run around 1-3 accounts each month for clients. And then pin around 2-5 pins a day for them. So add those pins to what I create each week for myself!

This job also includes checking their stats to make sure their account is growing, deciding what blog posts to promote each week, doing research for their accounts, updating their Pinterest accounts with keywords, creating pins, and scheduling them out each week.

Conclusion

Honesty, even after all of that, there are still some other jobs we could talk about. Like writing guest posts, managing my Etsy store, being an email marketer, going through my own emails. And the thing I haven’t even dove into myself yet, like working with brands.

So, as you can see, being a full-time blogger is so much work! But even so, it is the best job in the world and I wouldn’t trade it for a thing! I hope you enjoyed reading about the many different crazy tasks I do each and every week, and I hope this gave you an insight into what it’s like to be a full time blogger!

Author bio:

Hey! My name is Sarah, I’m a blogger and YouTuber over at sarahmarie.blog. I blog about productivity, mindset, manifestation, and blogging tips! On my YouTube channel, I mainly cover social media and Pinterest marketing! You can find me at my socials down below!

Blog: https://www.sarahmarie.blog/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/BusinessWomenThrive

Twitter: https://twitter.com/B_WomenThrive

blogtober, blogtober

31 Posts in a Month?! Let’s Do This! Happy Blogtober…

Happy Blogtober everyone! I’m so glad to be back posting original content. I’d like to thank the few bloggers who sent in guest posts for the month of September. Be sure to check out those posts here & go follow those lovely bloggers!

7 Simple Living Habits To Live A More Meaningful Life Voureen

Essential Oils To Use While Decluttering Your SpaceAlex Jean

Seasons ChangeNatalie

Those guest posts truly helped me out during my month long hiatus & I’m so glad my readers enjoyed them! I’m excited to get back to a regular blogging routine & share all the content with you this month.

It’s insane to think I ditched the idea of posting 25 blog posts in December for Blogmas & replaced it with a more complicated challenge of 31 blog posts back to back in October; but here I am doing just that! If you’ve been following my blog for a while, you know I absolutely LOVE Halloween season.

As a child, my parents would throw the most epic Halloween parties for my brother, friends & I. And for some reason we began this tradition of just loving every aspect of the holiday. To this day my family & I try to have either a lunch/ dinner on the holiday in our most festive shirts or visit the local haunted town I’ll be talking about tomorrow. I guess in a sense, it’s one of the holidays that doesn’t incorporate much stress or expectations from anyone else. It’s just good ol’ spooky fun!

What To Expect….

So, obviously you’ll be getting a new blog post EVERY SINGLE DAY through Halloween. Can you believe I started preparation for this challenge back in July?! Yes, while most people were basking in the sun at the beach [ me included], I also had spooky season heavily on my mind.

I understand posting everyday for a month will be a lot. And I really hope you don’t get sick of seeing my content on your feeds & social media. But I’m looking forward to immersing myself in the blogging community & all the content that is to come.

I also plan to stay intentional during this challenge & balance my time of social media & enjoying the fall season outside blogging. I plan to have at least one day where I catch up on reading other bloggers posts / return comments. This is a reminder to all bloggers who are participating in Blogtober to don’t forget self care & have balance. If you miss a day or feel overwhelmed, it’s ok to take breaks. This is all for fun!

Are you participating in Blogtober?

I’d love to know if any of you are going to participate in Blogtober this year. I’m looking forward to soaking up all the fall / Halloween content & supporting other bloggers in the community like always.

You Might Also Like: 31 Blog Post Ideas for Blogtober

See you all tomorrow for local ghost stories!

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-B

blogging

How To Get Out of a Creative Rut As a Blogger

Inspiration can come from many things. You just have to look up & experience them. Most of what I write are from personal experiences – past, present & future thoughts. But even so, a creative rut can happen to anyone. It’s human nature. When this happens, it’s important to just take a breather & step back for a moment.

The blogging community can be a rather saturated place. One of the reasons I questioned blogging was because there are so many people out there doing the exact same thing. How am I supposed to stand out from the crowd? How can I be original? When I go through my feed, it’s hard not to see similarities in topics. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen the title “What Every New Blogger Needs to Know” or “10 Ways to A Happier Life.” But after almost 7 months of blogging, I’ve learned the best way to remain original is to always focus on your own perspective. Sure, the title could be the same. The general premise could be similar as well. But a person’s perspective on the matter will always be unique.

There’s a fine line between finding inspiration through other writers vs. down right copying them. I understand the struggle of seeing another bloggers success & thinking to yourself, “I can do that too.” Especially, when you are in a slump, it’s easy to think this way. But the thing is, what’s the fun in following someone else’s journey. Why not focus on yourself & improve your own craft? While you wasted time trying to be that other person, you could have used that same energy to gain a skill & brainstorm on your own. Give yourself more credit.

The biggest reason certain bloggers “succeed” is because their followers fell in love with their personality & perspective as well as their craft. This is why I think creating this online persona is key in creative marketing. You want your readers to like you for you. And if this happens, chances are they will stick around regardless of what you write. Humans are extremely visual now a days. So, connecting with those readers is important (without giving away too much private information). Connection through your words is what draws people in. Others simply want peers to relate to. So, keep that in mind when you are writing your next piece.

Ruts happen when you yourself aren’t completely balanced. A lot of times, when I’m in serious writers block, it’s because I’m neglecting self care. I think a lot of creative people become frustrated when their talent becomes blocked. “Why can’t I be this magical creature who spits out ideas with a snap of my finger?” Unfortunately, it doesn’t work like that. Or in my case, ideas end up flying at 3 am on a Tuesday. Go figure.

The important thing to remember is not to give yourself such a hard time when you run out of ideas for the moment. It’s actually good you let your thoughts marinate. Step away from the laptop, open a book or listen to a podcast & let your thoughts run wild. Ask questions. Debate productively. Let yourself learn new concepts. You’d be amazed at how quickly those ideas start flowing on paper.

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