Vandelay Website Design Blog

Organizational Tips for Bloggers

  1. Keep an idea journal. When you need to sit down and write a new post you’ll have plenty of ideas.
  2. Have a few backup posts ready for when you have interruptions. Eventually you’ll run into times where it’s impossible to find time for a new post.
  3. Set aside time each week for brainstorming and idea generation. Creating unique content is essential for blogging success.
  4. Limit email to specific times of the day. Email can be a big time waster if you’re constantly checking it. Save some time by reading and replying to all of your email once or twice a day.
  5. Use an RSS reader. Save time and still follow your favorite blogs.
  6. Unsubscribe from feeds that you do not read. If you never read it, why waste time clicking past it each day?
  7. Use a service like FeedHub. FeedHub learns about your preferences and scans your RSS feeds to present you with only the content that you will like.
  8. Visit and comment on other blogs at a specific time each day. Take a certain amount of time each day to surf and comment. I use the “star” feature in Google Reader to mark items that I want to return to at a later time to comment.
  9. Limit the time you spend on social media sites. Social media marketing is important, but it’s easy to waste a lot of time here.
  10. Focus on a few specific social networks, and don’t waste time on others. It’s not possible to effectively use every social media site. Focus on a few that work well for your audience.
  11. Use the Better Comments Manager Plugin, which lets you respond to comments from your admin panel rather than going to each post and replying.
  12. Consider using a blog editing program. Programs like Blog Desk will let you type posts offline and publish them directly to your blog. No more cutting and pasting from word processors and notepad needed.
  13. Use Outlook (or another email program) to keep track of your contacts. Keep an address book so you can easily find contact information when you need it.
  14. Use del.icio.us to keep track of your bookmarks. Save your favorite pages and save time by not needing to search for them later.
  15. Use Google Calendars (or something similar) to schedule your important blogging activities. Keep track of posting schedule or whatever else you don’t want to forget about.
  16. Use Google Alerts to monitor buzz about you and to help detect copyright infringements. Google Alerts will email you pages that match your search queries as they are added to Google’s index.
  17. Create a FAQ page to help visitors and to cut down on the amount of email you receive. With a FAQ you can answer some of your readers’ questions without taking the time to email.
  18. Use spam protection for blog comments. Moderating your comments for spam can take hours if you don’t have a tool to prevent spam.
  19. Know when to say “no”. You won’t have time to devote to every worthwhile cause.
  20. Know what promotional efforts work for you, and focus your efforts on them. Maximize the limited time that you have for promotion by dedicating your time to the most productive efforts.
  21. Know your priorities. What’s important to use as a blogger?
  22. Balance your time. Once you know your priorities, allocate your time accordingly.
  23. Limit the time that you spend looking at you stats. Statistical analysis is necessary, but it’s easy to lose track of how much time you spend on your stats.
  24. Set specific, time-sensitive, measurable goals. Challenge yourself and stay motivated by with goals.
  25. Track your goals to see how you do. Goal setting won’t help very much if you don’t follow up to see how you’re doing.

Originally Published October 10th, 2007

35 comments from readers

  • 1 Karen Zara Oct 10, 2007 at 7:53 pm

    This list gave me lots of good ideas. For instance, I didn’t know about FeedHub. And though I had heard about the Better Comments Manager plugin, I had forgotten about it.

    I’ve tried to use Google Calendar to help me organise my online activities, but I’ve failed miserably. I’ll write a post about it someday. Anyway, it is a great tool, if you use it properly.

    A blog editing program wouldn’t be of much use to me these days because I’m almost permanently connected. No need to get a program that lets me write off-line when I’m ever online. ;-) But in the past (when I wasn’t allowed to log on whenever I wanted) I used one of those, and at that time it was a good tool for me indeed.

    There is so much more to be said about this excellent list of yours, but that would require a whole new post. Anyway, congratulations on another great article!

  • 2 Vandelay Design Oct 10, 2007 at 8:28 pm

    Hi Karen,
    Thanks for your response. I don’t personally use FeedHub because I like to see all of the feeds I subscribe to, but I’ve read good things about it.

    The blog editing tools I would say are not necessary, but they are a huge help to some people, and I think it’s worth trying a few to see what they can do.

    Thanks, as always, for reading and commenting.

  • 3 WarriorBlog Oct 10, 2007 at 9:22 pm

    Nice ideas Steven. I think the major one for me is keeping a journal and writing every ideas down. I read today that Thomas Edison journal has over 5,000,000 pages!!! It sound crazy but I bet it is true.

    Goal setting is also another one that I think is very important.

    Take care,
    Sean

  • 4 Vandelay Design Oct 10, 2007 at 9:32 pm

    Sean,
    Thanks for your feedback. Yeah, I think the idea journal is the most important for me. I’d be lost without it.

  • 5 Jason Falls Oct 10, 2007 at 9:42 pm

    Excellent list. I’ve got to unsubscribe from a handful of feeds … oh, and add yours!

  • 6 Vandelay Design Oct 10, 2007 at 9:47 pm

    Jason,
    Thanks for stopping by. So commenting on other blogs apparently does lead to visitors sometimes… I was hesitant to put the one about unsubscribing in my list in fear of people unsubscribing from my blog. I figured it belonged on the list and if people were actually reading it they weren’t too likely to get rid of me. If my feed count has a big drop tomorrow I’ll have second thoughts.

  • 7 pelf Oct 10, 2007 at 10:27 pm

    In other words, manage your time wisely =)

  • 8 TyCat Oct 11, 2007 at 12:13 am

    I dont really have time to write in a journal. When i have an idea about a blog topic i find a note card and jot down my ideas.

  • 9 Sandra Oct 11, 2007 at 2:20 am

    Great tips. I especially like the one where you use the star feature for articles you want to come back to to comment on. I’ve never thought about using the star feature before, but I’m certainly going to implement the idea from now on.

  • 10 25 Organisations Tipps für Blogger - Stefan Graf Oct 11, 2007 at 4:54 am

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  • 11 Dennis.S Oct 11, 2007 at 5:20 am

    When one of my blogs got hit by a large wave of social sites traffic i was spending up to an hour a day looking at my stats rising. I could have used that time to write a new entry but watching stats is so fun :)

  • 12 Felix Ker Oct 11, 2007 at 11:20 am

    It’s good to have targets, but you must have time to set good targets.

    I recently started working (attachment) and I’ve got totally no time for blogging!

  • 13 david Oct 11, 2007 at 11:26 am

    Nice list there, regarding delicious.. is it better to limit your tags or to have a lot of them? What would be the ideal number of tags for each post?

  • 14 Madhur Kapoor Oct 11, 2007 at 11:38 am

    One thing which i would definately love to do is to have some post written in advance . And i am going to try out Better Comments Manager plugin .

  • 15 Vandelay Design Oct 11, 2007 at 7:27 pm

    TyCat,
    I think you do about the same thing with note cards that I do with a journal. I just write down ideas, nothing too complicated or time-consuming.

    Sandra,
    I haven’t been using the star feature for that long myself, but I use it everyday now and I love it. The only thing I’ll warn you about is be sure to un-star things when you’re done with them or you’ll have so many in there that you won’t be able to find what you’re looking for.

    Dennis,
    I struggle with the stats too. It’s hard to overcome!

    David,
    When you ask about tags, are you referring to the tags you use in delicious when you save a page, or the tags you use when you create a blog post? For me, when I’m creating a post I usually only use 3 or 4 tags. I’ve read that you should use the same tags repeatedly (not on every post of course) for the best results. As far as when I’m saving someone else’s page into my delicious account I use whatever I think will help me to find it, regardless of how many that may be.

    Madur,
    Yes, that’s always a challenge. The best thing (and most realistic for me) is to try to get ahead over the weekend in preparation for the next week. Plus, I like to have some extra posts outlined to make it easier for upcoming days.

  • 16 » 25 consigli utili per organizzare al meglio il proprio lavoro di blogger Geekissimo Oct 12, 2007 at 3:03 am

    […] 5. Usare un RSS reader - Per risparmiare un mucchio di tempo nella lettura quotidiana dei nostri siti internet preferiti. 6. Cancellare i feed RSS che non si leggono mai - Alzi la mano chi non ha nel proprio aggregatore di news almeno un sito che non legge da mesi… bene, cancellatelo subito in quanto inutile! 7. Usare servizi come FeedHub - Che controlla per noi i feed RSS mostrandoci solo il tipo di contenuti che vogliamo. 8. Visitare e commentare su altri siti/blog solo in determinati orari - Lo stesso ragionamento fatto per le e-mail vale anche per i siti/blog da visitare. 9. Limitare il tempo passato nei social network - A volte sono delle vere e proprie droghe. Cercate di darvi una regolata! 10. Usare i social network del proprio campo - Se si scrive su un blog che parla di informatica, inutile andare a segnalare le news su un social network dedicato al mondo degli animali! 11. Usare buoni plugin per commenti - Ci sono utili plugin che permettono di ridurre i tempi per commentare nel proprio blog, sarebbe un bene usarli. 12. Usare software desktop per blog - Talvolta i tempi di caricamento delle pagine in cui scrivere i post del proprio blog sono davvero snervanti. Meglio usare software off-line (tipo “BlogDesk” o “Windows Live Writer”) per risparmiare parecchio tempo. 13. Usare Outlook (o simili) per i contatti - Mantenere tutti gli indirizzi e-mail utili in un unico software, facile da usare e consultare. 14. Usare del.icio.us (o simili) per salvare i segnalibri - Decisamente la soluzione migliore per evitare spiacevoli incidenti che causerebbero la perdita di preziosi indirizzi utili alla scrittura di articoli sul blog . 15. Usare Google Calendars (o simili) - Per appuntare impegni e scadenze in modo facile e veloce. 16. Usare Google Alerts - Per evitare di infrangere il copyright. 17. Creare una sezione FAQ sul blog - Davvero utile per evitare il ricevimento di montagne di e-mail con richieste inutili. 18. Usare protezioni anti-spam per i commenti del blog - Tra plug-in ed accorgimenti vari non è impossibile mantenere un blog “pulito” e senza spam nei commenti. 19. Saper dire “NO!” - Se vi vengono proposti lavori che sapete non essere compatibili con il vostro tempo, inutile sforzarsi o mentire e dire un semplice “no, grazie”. 20. Battere il ferro finché è caldo - Se avete trovato un argomento o tipo di articoli che piace particolarmente ai vostri lettori, continuate sulla stessa scia. 21. Conoscere al meglio le proprie priorità - E fare tutto in base a quelle. 22. Bilanciare il tempo a disposizione - Una volta accertate le priorità, cercate di bilanciare al meglio il tempo dedicato ad ogni attività. 23. Limitare il tempo dedicato alle statistiche - I contatori e le statistiche sono importanti, ma non sono tutto. Cercate di non andarli a guardare ogni 5 minuti spendendo tempo prezioso. 24. Porsi degli obiettivi - Senza obiettivi gli uomini non farebbero niente. Trovatene sempre di nuovi ed avrete un blog sempre migliore! 25. Fare un bilancio degli obiettivi raggiunti - Obiettivo numero uno raggiunto? Passiamo al prossimo pianificando tutto al meglio. Fonte: Vandelay Design Tags:Applicazioni Online, blog, Guide, problematiche, Social Bookmarking, Social Network, social news, Software, software gratuito, Tips/Trick, Web 2.0 Articoli simili che potrebbero interessarti: 100 modi per promuovere il proprio blog gratis20 consigli by Geekissimo per tenere il pc sempre ai massimi livelliFree Templates Providers: selezione di siti di templates gratuitiLista e mappa per tavoli, per riunioni, eventi e feste con SimpleseatingCrea il tuo sito online con pochi passi!Windows Vista Review: Utility in Vista #2[Video] Pizzicone a Las Vegas: come sopravvivere in difficoltà estremeAnt Movie Catalog: cataloghiamo i nostri film al meglio!Poker online: gestisci giocatori, eventi, campionati e molto altro con RubyChip7 consigli per la durata della batteria […]

  • 17 Tay Oct 12, 2007 at 5:22 am

    Great tips, Steven. I need to work harder on number 2, and number 17 sounds like a lot of fun, so I might plan to implement it in the future. Keep up the great work. :D

  • 18 Tibi Puiu Oct 12, 2007 at 8:48 am

    Excellent tips, writing down ideas and bookmarking are critical for a productive blogger.

  • 19 Michael Martine Oct 12, 2007 at 10:31 am

    Feed Hub looks promising, so thanks for that! And the last item about tracking goal accomplishment is something I hadn’t thought of. Great idea! I’m already doing most of the rest of the tips, so I already know they’re great advice! ;) Great post!

  • 20 Stumble into the Weekend 10/12 Oct 12, 2007 at 4:07 pm

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  • 22 Mike C Oct 13, 2007 at 8:04 pm

    There is one thing you listed here that I have never done before. I never keep backup posts. I will have to try that as I do run into times where I cannot post.

  • 23 Jack Page Oct 14, 2007 at 4:07 pm

    I can’t begin to overstate the importance of backup posts personally. The past few months I’ve been getting pulled away randomly for 3-4 days at a time due to offline matters. If it weren’t for the fact that I have backup posts ready I’d go days at a time without an update since I never know when I’m actually going to be pulled away until it happens.

    So when you’re in the mood for writing and you’re making multiple posts, don’t always feel like you need to publish it unless it’s a current event matter. Save some posts, you never know when you might need them later.

  • 24 Fab Oct 14, 2007 at 4:15 pm

    I am a new user of Google RSS Reader and had not noticed the star feature, that’s a good way to keep track of articles.
    Also I will probably add the plugin “Better Comments Manager Plugin”, even if my blog is not over flooded with comments ;) That’s a great list.

    Here some of my tips for busy people : http://www.fabnetrevenue.com/2007/10/03/adapting-my-lifestyle-for-blogging/

  • 25 unTECHy Oct 14, 2007 at 7:47 pm

    Thanks for the info. I’ve mentioned this list on my blog.

  • 26 unTECHy Oct 14, 2007 at 8:38 pm

    I used the wrong address in the previous post.

    “Thanks for the info. I’ve mentioned this list in my blog.”

  • 27 Vandelay Design Oct 14, 2007 at 8:56 pm

    unTECHY,
    Thanks for the link.

    Fab,
    I use the star feature every day and it really does help.

    Jack,
    I agree with you. In fact, tonight I took care of 4 posts for the week.

  • 28 Xfep Podcast: Episode 4 — eXtra For Every Publisher Oct 14, 2007 at 11:03 pm

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  • 29 TigerTom Oct 15, 2007 at 12:28 pm

    26. Get out of the house occasionally, or you’ll get _stale_!

  • 30 tonilah Oct 20, 2007 at 11:34 pm

    thanx for the tips…

    i like the journal idea too…but i’ve got so many ideas and projects, i’m afraid that i won’t be able to organize these ideas….how do you sort through random thoughts and ideas

  • 31 Vandelay Design Oct 21, 2007 at 2:47 pm

    Tonilah,
    In my journal I have a few pages that I use to quickly write down ideas before I forget them. These pages aren’t very organized, but they help me get basic ideas for posts written down before I forget. Then when I am ready to write I’ll pick a topic from the list and outline it on another page in the journal. Once I have an idea of what I’m going to write and how it will be organized I’ll type it.

  • 32 Organizational Tips for Bloggers | Armchair Entrepreneur Oct 22, 2007 at 4:32 pm

    […] Organizational Tips for Bloggers Keep an idea journal. When you need to sit down and write a new post you ll have plenty of ideas. Have a few backup posts ready for when you have interruptions. Eventually you ll run into times where it s impossible to find time for a new post. Set aside time each week for brainstorming and idea generation. Creating unique content is essential for blogging success. Limit email to specific times of the day. Email can be a big time waster if you re constantly checking it. Save some time by reading and replying to all of your email once or twice a day. […]

  • 33 bLuefRogX Nov 11, 2007 at 3:00 am

    I should really give the better comments plugin a shot. I just started out my blog not too long ago but I’ve gotten a few comments lately and it DOES seem quite a hassle to move back and forth.

    Currently using windows live writer, I normally save my posts as drafts before finalizing them in wordpress’ editor (adding tags, keywords, etc)

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