Does your business have a blog? Have you been able to keep it going or is it out of date? If you want to revive it—or if you’re behind on finishing up last month’s posts—how, exactly, do you catch up on blog content?
I have some ideas. Three, to be exact. But first, here’s a little about my own blogging background.

A blogging story.

(You’ve probably heard this one before.)

Years ago, a friend and I started a food blog. And though we were excited at first, it got harder and harder as the months and years ticked by to think of original ideas and create time to make it happen.

We went from posting twice a week to once a week.

Then from once a week to once a month.

Then even less often.

Somewhere in there my partner dropped off and it was just me—not-a-chef me—my camera, and my computer. Every time I opened the computer, I felt pressured to post...something. Anything. Just so I wouldn’t look like a flake.

Around this time, I read something that labeled blogs “hungry little beasts.”

Totally, I thought.

Why was it so hard to keep it going?

I didn’t have a bigger vision. More on that in a sec.

What’s blogging like now?

Blogs have changed a lot. They used to be an organic way to build an audience online. Now they’re a way to infuse your website with new content in order to boost visitor views.

But blogs still help you do something that you need if you own a small business: Demonstrate your expertise within your industry.

And in order to utilize them fully, you need to take your blog from a free-flowing-ideas approach (posting when you feel “inspired”) to a strategic one.

Now, I’m not a strategist. But on the writing side of things, I have three suggestions for getting yourself out of a rut and into a creation mindset so you can produce content on demand with a lighter mental load:

Let go of today

It’s hard to feel perpetually behind. It’s also unproductive.

I’ve been there. My clients have been there. I think the best thing to do is to let go of the backlog: all those posts that were supposed to go out last month (or the month before, or the year before) and start fresh.

If you can, give yourself a full month off from posting so you can plan and develop content for the following month.

Think ahead

Looking ahead and deciding what you want to achieve with the content on your blog is important. Without a long-term vision (see my defunct food blog), it’s extra hard to write new blog posts, month after month. Settle on a long-term goal.

Do you want to be the authority in your local area for the type of service you provide?
Do you want to reach more potential remote clients?
Do you want to develop a robust archive of blog posts that you can promote ad infinitum on LinkedIn?
Do you want your blog to be a backup channel for promoting new products?

The more specific you can be, the better.

A big, overarching goal will help motivate you. But more than that, it gives you direction. When you have a topic brainstorming session, it won’t feel like throwing the windows open on a wild, windy day. You’ll have productive topic-generating sessions that are more likely to result in fresh ideas that fit into your plan for your blog.

Plan + schedule

Now, get your content planned so you can schedule it.

Look at the next six months. What big events, promotions, holidays, or launches are coming up? Which ones merit a full blog post (or two, or more)? Put those on your editorial calendar, on the desired publication date.

Now, brainstorm a short list of big, umbrella-like ideas you’d like to cover, based on your long-term goal for your blog. Under each big idea, list possible topics.

Now, start filling in those ideas on your editorial calendar.

Once you have ideas in the queue for the next quarter or the next six months, you’re ready to write. Near the beginning of each month, sit down and look at your blog topics for the following month. Then draft, edit, and schedule!

How To Catch Up On Blog Content