DISQUS

Chris Brogan: A Sample Blogging Workflow

  • Patrick Budowski · 1 year ago
    As the new guy on the block I am loving all of your posts. Since each day that I read them I learn something new. Since I have been blogging for myself before as I write more, I am starting to think about more ways to write for others,Thanks to your blogs.
  • Meg Guiseppi · 1 year ago
    Chris,

    Thanks for a post loaded with wisdom and know-how.

    As a tech-challenged, novice blogger, reading this today couldn’t have been more timely. At this point, finding my voice, I’m taking in a lot of information and advice and trying to bring it all together. There’s so much to learn and put into play!

    You’ve helped me intelligently sort through at least some of the how-to’s and why-to’s.

    Everyday posting while managing my practice seems overwhelming. Your tip to schedule posts is something I need to get into doing. It might alleviate the anxiety some. Stopping by your blog frequently is something else I need to be doing.

    Regards,

    Meg
  • Dru Bloomfield · 1 year ago
    You've said it "in a nut shell". Coming up on the end of my first year of blogging, I've discovered and learned much. And yet, the more I blog, the more I explore and cultivate, the more I see opportunities to refine and expand. Your editorial calendar recommendation is a winner for me.
  • Derrick Kwa · 1 year ago
    Great post, as usual Chris.

    Just thought I'd suggest another tool that's worked quite well for me: Zemanta (http://www.zemanta.com/). It basically suggests links, pictures, tags, etc based on the content of your post.
  • @Stephen Productivity in Cont · 1 year ago
    This is so thought-provoking it almost hurts. And to think I was just going to relax and read this morning. This post inspires me to do some work!
  • david usher · 1 year ago
    Great post Chris!
    One more idea. (I dont think you covered this).
    Have a few posts held in reserve. Write whenever something excites you but keep some things back to use in a dry spell or when you are on holiday or just too damn busy with life. This allows you to maintain your frequency (and your readers:)
  • david usher · 1 year ago
    nope, just reread the end, you did cover it:)
  • Phil · 1 year ago
    HUGE help here.

    Establishing a disciplined rhythm seems to be the biggest Dip right now for me, (but I've got faith).

    One tool I found to be useful to me is: unplugging from everything for a small amount of time & just chilling. Meditate or walk or workout or go out with a friend, or start a conversation with a barista at Starbucks (remarkable people often). Turn your gaze upon Mother Nature: she's very inspiring and mind-clearing.

    Structuring the day is another good tool. I love Google Reader, but it can be a real Hoover. So allocating chunks of time and turning off notifications (50 minute increments works for me).

    Stream-of-consciousness (or speed-writing without self-editing) is also a good way to get things out. (You can always edit later, but you create *now*.)

    Skitch is great, but I'll have to check out Picnik.

    Great post here, Chris. Makes me realize how much better I could be by practicing good *blogging hygiene*.
  • Matt Ellsworth · 1 year ago
    great tips Chris. I've definitely got to put some of these into effect.
  • Sheila Scarborough · 1 year ago
    Nice post, Chris.

    I'm glad you mentioned an editorial calendar. It is standard procedure at magazines and newspapers, and most all-print writers are quite familiar with organizing their workflow this way, but too many bloggers haven't heard of the concept (they just know that there's GOT to be some way to organize their idea/post flow.)

    I also recommend the concept of "zero-ing in" on a topic. For example, I tell travel bloggers that a broad overview of, say, Paris, is a nice post, but you can also get tons of posts and blogging mileage if you zoom in to those little details and nuggets that make a place special. Post about a single great baguette bakery, a single Paris Metro line that has interesting stops, a single piece of music that you heard in a Paris bistro that added to your enjoyment, etc.

    Here's an example from one of my travel blogs: a post about a small brewery near my former home in the Netherlands - nothing earth-shattering, but was fun to write and literally gave a flavor of the region: Dutch daily life: swing by the brouwerij (brewery.)

    Viewing something through a restrictive "soda straw," rather than looking at the the big picture all the time, is the "staff of life" for a writer/blogger.
  • Margaret · 1 year ago
    One thing I preached in my old-media executive role and now preach (to myself) in my new-media one: Tell them who you are by letting them hear your voice.
    Even if I am relaying the same information as another blogger, you will never mistake me for that other blogger.
    Cultivate a distinctive voice and imprint it on every post, every headline, every Twit or… (insert your chosen form of digital utterance here). But you already knew that. I re-read every post to check the voice as much as to check its spelling before hitting “publish.”
  • chrisbrogan · 1 year ago
    Some really great advice back from you guys, so thanks.

    I like Sheila's point about zeroing in on topics. Hmm. Maybe there's a part 2 to this about WHAT to put into the blog post.

    Phil - stream of consciousness writing is definitely a way to get unstuck and rolling along. I love it. Definitely something I should put into my mindset for the follow-up post.

    Thanks again, everyone.
  • Theresa · 1 year ago
    Thanks for a great post. I use a number of your suggestions already but have learned a few more from you today. I love Google Calendar for keeping me on schedule and have blogged about it here: http://www.ruraldoctoring.com/2008/07/why-and-h...
  • Jared Goralnick · 1 year ago
    You always have such thorough guides, Chris! If only it were so easy to blog once per day... I don't know how you do it.

    One addition: if you're a Windows person and you want to compose offline, I'd highly recommend Windows Live Writer--I'm a geek who likes the source view at times, but with Live Writer you can actually see how it'll appear online while you're still offline. Basic image editing and embedding of things is much easier than with a separate batch of tools. More on the new release is here .
  • Shiro · 1 year ago
    Short but sweet. I've been a copy writer for a while now but only started to appreciate blogging recently. Your tips are easy to read and will give me more motivation. Thanks!
  • Beth Bates · 1 year ago
    Wonderful post - well thought out and incredibly helpful. Thanks, Chris!
  • Phil Stanoch · 1 year ago
    Thank you for the great post Chris! As a new blogger, tips like this are extremely helpful. Many of them I plan to put into practice immediately.
  • Torley Lives · 1 year ago
    Thanks for writing this up and sharing it with the world, Chris! I like getting insights into other people's workflows, both to improve mine and improve theirs. :)

    I have to nominate Windows Live Writer as a seriously usefun (useful + fun) timesaver too — being able to use HTML snippets is a big advantage, as are the multiple other benefits. The best blogging software I've used yet.

    If you're on Firefox, I highly recommend at least giving vertical tabs a chance for much quicker browsing. I write more about this here:

    » http://www.lifehack.org/articles/technology/4-f...
  • james sale · 1 year ago
    hi Chris,

    thanks for an insightful and useful article. i am about to start a blog and this is just the kind of information i need.

    James
  • Ulla · 1 year ago
    Thanks for your post, Chris.
    I especially liked what you wrote about using a google calendar for editorial scheduling. I will try this out.
    Ulla
  • Rebecca Levinson · 1 year ago
    Chris,

    Lots of great information in here. I have lost posts because of loss of internet connection at times, so I try to write mine in google docs, or at the very least, save them in there when I can before I hit the "submit" button on the blogging platform I am in.
  • Rachel · 1 year ago
    Really great information here. Lots to absorb, best tip for me was to write two at a time. Although, time is at a premium right now.
  • Leslie · 1 year ago
    Great inspiration and concise instruction all in one place! I see several new things I would like to incorporate into my blog - thanks!
  • Vin Bhat · 1 year ago
    Great post Chris! This is motivating and a valuable reference.
    Similar to skitch another free tool that has helped me a lot for screen grabs is: MWSnap: http://www.mirekw.com/winfreeware/mwsnap.html
  • Carmen · 1 year ago
    Chris,

    Great information. In addition to your savvy advise on scheduling your posts, I'd like to suggest that traffic show most people read blogs on Mondays which should encourage bloggers to apply your tips over the weekend primarily.

    I look forward to reading your next article.

    Carmen.
  • Amrita · 1 year ago
    Wow! Lots of fantastic tips here. I had not been subscribing to Copyblogger so that was a new tip for me. I find I was doing a lot of what you suggested, but keeping it all in my head -- I like your suggestion of working with an editorial calendar. Thanks again for sharing such valuable information in a really easy-to-digest format.
  • Linda Smith · 1 year ago
    This was some of the best information and how-tos for blog writing I've come across. I'm a new blogger and this, and many of the previous comments, has been extremely helpful. I discovered your blog on Twitter of all places...I'm new there too. I will have to check back into the archives and find more great information.
  • Anonymous Coward · 1 year ago
    Thanks for all of the helpful tips Chris!

    In case some don't know, Skitch is Mac only. For Windows users like myself, Jing is fantastic (and free).
  • Holly Powell · 1 year ago
    Awesome post here. Very informative. Really makes me want to go out and concentrate on my blogging efforts; which up til now are lacking to say the least.
  • Rajandran · 1 year ago
    A valuable points from a bloggers mind.

    Keep it up.
  • Miguel de Luis · 1 year ago
    Thanks Chris, one of my projects is to develop a "post quality checklist" for my blogs. I'm using yours as a resource, and a great one.
  • Kevin Bondelli · 1 year ago
    A lot of great stuff here Chris. I think the points about commenting on 5 blogs a day and having an editorial calendar are especially useful.
  • gaiusparx · 1 year ago
    I am new to blogging, just stumble upon this great site. And thanks for the advice and tips that have been useful for my learning.
  • Michael Bailey · 1 year ago
    Nice post Chris, I am sure that many people will find it useful.

    For me, as someone who currently blogs sporadically, I can remember the days when I was focused on "brand-building" and concerned with growing an audience - it quickly became more of a chore and was far removed from "why" I started blogging in the first place.

    I write for myself, and if other people happen to come along and agree or disagree with me, then that's fine too.

    Gone are my days of trying to make the front-page of any site, as that's only a day or two of internet "fame" - and my realization that the other 98% of society doesn't even care about it anyhow has kept me in check for the last year.

    I still enjoy reading your thoughts and you do seem to put an extra amount of effort into what you publish.
  • Steve Ellwood · 1 year ago
    Thanks for this, Chris. Following your last set of advice, I do tend to look for images on Flickr more - and I'm sure it was you who suggested compfight.

    Derrik's comment has now *made* me go and look at zemanta...
  • Internal Link Building for On- · 1 year ago
    What a comprehensive and informative post. I think another must-have is a MyBlogLog profile and setting up a community, great for traffic and networking.
  • Muvar · 1 year ago
    Awesome tips for blogging. Very informative!
    Rgds
    Muvar
  • Barlow Keener · 1 year ago
    Chris, Great post. I also highly recommend using Windows Live Writer rather than notepad. It is simple, effective, and easy to use. Live Writer is much simpler than cut and pasting from Notepad to your web browser. Eliminated lost editing done in your web browser. And you can write on the train or at the beach.

    Don Dodge has a good post on the Live Writer features: http://dondodge.typepad.com/the_next_big_thing/...
  • Kim Woodbridge · 1 year ago
    I agree with your recommendation about writing posts in a text editor or while offline when you have the time. Another thing that I do is create a quick draft whenever I come across something that I want to write about. I create a quick title, jot down a couple of keywords, and add the link to what I was reading. By doing this I always have something to write about - I currently have almost 40 "drafts". I also do the same thing with a notebook if I am offline.

    I am also trying to comment more other other people's blogs. I would have a hard time, however, writing 5 comments a day. My current goal is one per day.

    Thanks for the article - it's a great resource.
  • Adi Arifin · 1 year ago
    Sounds simple but I personally reluctant to follow a routine. I would sit eagerly to start something, then got bored after a few cycles. It includes blogging of course. I set up a blog with enthusiasm, but then weakened after a few posts. Out of a sudden I realized that I missed to post for a few weeks already.
  • sean808080 · 1 year ago
    great stuff as usual Chris. Do you ever sleep? my lord..you're a productive one!
  • Rose · 1 year ago
    It's great to be part of a community of bloggers.
    Your Blog Post Goals are timely reinforcement about the purpose of blogs and what I aspire to as well.
    Keep blogging on blogs!
  • Chris Bonney · 1 year ago
    Chris-
    Great post. What might be an interesting follow up would be to literally break down the components of a blog post from font size to headers to headlines to intros to closing remarks. Are bolded headlines throughout a post more pleasing to the eye? Is a particular font better? Sans Serif, okay? Should you ask people to comment at the end of every one of your blog posts? You get the idea. Keep up the nice work.
  • Krispijn Beek · 1 year ago
    Thanks for the great post, reminds me that I have to bring more structure in to my blogging. As I'm getting active on other sites, besites my personal one. Your serie is helping, I like the notepad idea, as I sometimes keep looking for links to articles a read and get lost in cyberspace again during the search ;-)
  • frogbusygree · 1 year ago
    australia wood university me speed england house ibm german
  • photos · 1 year ago
    I saw one photography search engine with free photos from Flickr.
    Please check this link http://rotavacx.com

    It can help you more than most sites because it has some cool visual search tools. You’ll find what you need in seconds.
  • MaThurrell · 1 year ago
    Laura aka @Pistachio and I were discussing who should and shouldn't blog the other day and she said that if your CEO isn't already blogging, then s/he probably shouldn't start--that some people just aren't cut out to be bloggers. I feel like I'm in that boat. My blog is flailing because I cannot seem to sit down and write it. And when I do, my content feels empty.
    I work in/with social media, its my life. But blogging doesn't come naturally to me. I know all its wonderful benefits but I'm stuck. Should I keep trying or give up?
  • Fred McCoy · 1 year ago
    Definitely a great post, I already abide by most of what you said but it always help to hear, or in this case read, someone saying it again. And @MaThurrel, you shouldn't give up at blogging. Even when you have nothing to write about, write. If you've got nothing to say, stumble through the internet till you find something to say even if it is off topic. Make sure that the post title says "Off topic" and write just to get back into the swing of things. Take lots of pictures if you have to. Perhaps you're a visual person and having pictures and visuals for your blog will help you more with your writing. Home some of what I said helps!
  • Linas Simonis, PositioningStra · 1 year ago
    Chris, it is a very useful list but I can't agree on the post frequency advise.

    Business blogs (this is how I call blogs from a CEO or other high-ranking companies' authority) do not necessarily have to be updated frequently. It can be as rare as once per month (in my opinion posting once per month is the minimum frequency for a business blog) - if posts are very frequent, a CEO can come out of post ideas, have no time and other negatives that keep you out of the blogosphere.

    In fact, this is a complicated issue. I even wrote an entire e-book on this topic - "The New Rules of Business Blogs". You are welcome to check it out in my blog at www.positioningstrategy.com. Please feel free to post it on your blog or pass the e-book to whomever you believe might benefit from reading it.
  • Yorick.well · 1 year ago
    Excellent information, Chris Brogan. I've had particular difficult in keeping up the posting cycle, but I've certainly discovered the picture with the post adds to the eye-catching experience.

    Thanks again for your blog.
  • Amy Stewart · 1 year ago
    Chris,
    Excellent information! I just discovered your blog this morning and am slowly making my way through it. A couple of additions I'd like to make to your tools section, which I have implemented with my clients with great success:
    - Evernote - free note-taking tool with great screen capture tool built in, and a perfect way to organize blog post ideas, snippets from the web, photos, passwords, how-to lists (including my instructions for how to do a blog post, add images, etc.). I raved about it here.
    - Windows Live Writer - slick, free, easy way to create blog posts and pages, and even see the theme as you're typing them. You can save drafts offline or online, and manage multiple blogs. It even has a couple of nice effects for images (photo paper, polaroid, drop shadow) and will automatically put the images in the directory you specify in the setup. See my post about it here.
  • Taryn Merrick · 1 year ago
    Very helpful addition to Blogging Best Practices. These tips can be useful for full time bloggers as well as other virtual professionals, virtual assistants (like me), etc,who have a blog in addition to their other services. Thank You!
  • Bev Barnett · 1 year ago
    Thanks for pointing me over here, Chris - I'm struck by the similiarites between blogging and songwriting. Brevity, frequency, connection with the reader/listener, scheduled writing sessions. Your 'Bonus Round' suggestions are similiar to what you'll hear in songwriting workshops, including going to the grocery store and perusing summize!
  • Jeff Lowe · 1 year ago
    Thanks for the guidance! I'm now using your advice...
  • ламинат · 1 year ago
    3rI'll thingk about it.4q I compleatly disagree with last post . stq
    ламинированный паркет 8f
  • ламинат · 1 year ago
    5oGood idea.8i I compleatly disagree with last post . jan
    паркет 7j
  • cardeo · 1 year ago
    Awesome post Chris - My company is launching a blog in the near future and I've been struggling a bit on how to educate the people new to blogging on how we can really take advantage of it. This article will be a great help. I'm also going to link it off my own design blog.
  • Craig Cameron · 1 year ago
    I was pleasently surprised to find out that I was not the only other blogger on the planet that wrote things in notepad (Microsofts most stable application to date).
  • ACE_AS · 1 year ago
    I am thinking of starting a blog and found some very useful tips and hints here. Thanks.
  • Jon Strother · 11 months ago
    Chris, I found this via your 50 Most Linked post. This is one of the most useful, if not the most useful, post I've read so far. Excellent advice here. Found plenty of new fodder to begin digesting. Thanks.
    ~jon
  • Lisa · 9 months ago
    Thanks so much for your tips. I'm new at blogging and I appreciated your input to my dad's blog. The frequency to blog was helpful and pointing out about posting on other blogs is something I need to do better.
  • anthony68 · 9 months ago
    great post learned alot
  • Mark Smith · 4 months ago
    You sure have put lots of effort into this site. Thank you for taking the time to share this valuable research with everyone. Great hobby you have going here.

    Thanks,
    Mark Smith
    http://www.healthinsuranceinfo.org/
  • Andrew Jacob · 4 months ago
    I am very impressed with the knowledge you are posting here. Thanks for sharing and let us know more about new releases. Thank you for taking the time to share this valuable research with everyone.

    Thanks,
    Andrew Jacob
    http://www.stream-max.com/
  • Peter Parker · 4 months ago
    Hello,

    I admire the valuable information you offer in your blog. A very good article. It can help more bloggers or site owners to get free traffic from social networking & book marking sites. Very interesting information.I look and learn and learn and look. I am grateful for your sharing.

    Thanks,
    Peter Parker
    http://www.streamline-alliance.com/
  • Jack Lee · 4 months ago
    Nice & cool blog.I started blogging in 2007, after a job lay off. My goal was to immerse myself with social media both for personal and professional interests. I work at home and it certainly gives me another platform to network.

    thanks,
    Jack Lee
    http://www.streamline-markets.com/
  • Helen Kim · 3 months ago
    Thanks for sharing so much helpful information, Chris! It is helpful to understand what the standards are as I ramp up my blogging.
  • kpb · 1 month ago
    Good stuff! I like your ideas.
    I'm going to check out some of the tools you mentioned later on this eve.
  • Viji Iyer · 5 days ago
    As a novice blogger who is starting out to write a blog for myself, I found your post extremely informative and useful! Thank you for listing out all those diff. avenues/ useful softwares that aid in blogging. Found this post extremely handy!