Whenever you research a blog post, you often find way more content than can ever be used in a simple 500-word post. Sometimes it feels like you’ve become an expert in a particular field or niche, only for most of that hard work to go away during the writing process.
Sometimes you can even get burnt out on blogging, and it happens to even the most dedicated of mommybloggers. The words just don’t flow, and you are stuck. If you find yourself in one of these positions, there’s a simple thing you can do to create some epic new content from your old stuff.
Recycling blog posts is something everyone does. They might repost some of their older stuff for a few weeks or hire guest posters to fill the void, but there’s more to using your old stuff than that.
Take a look at these ideas and see how to upscale content recycling for a new audience.
Host a Podcast
You’ve got a lot of excess research that is sitting by the wayside once you hit publish on that 500-word blog post. Instead of letting the research, and the time you spent gathering it, go to waste, use it instead.
A Podcast can be an excellent companion to your blog, allowing you to take a deeper dive into particular topics or themes. The audio format also does this without presenting a massive wall of text to your reader. While most mothers won’t sit through and read a 3000-word article, they will find the time to listen to a half-hour podcast.
A podcast also gives another avenue to reach your listeners, allowing you to promote the blog on the podcast and the podcast on the blog. You don’t even need a fancy setup, as recording with your phone and computer, then editing with a free software can get you out to the races in minutes.
Write an Ebook
If you’ve been blogging for many years, chances are you’ve got tons of blogs on tons of topics. If you have too many blogs, then it can be very hard for your readers to find what they are looking for.
For example, if you have ten posts on diapers, with three from 2002, five from 2008, and two from 2020, how long will the average person look for all ten posts?
But what if you made a compilation? Turning blog posts into an ebook is another great way to recycle your content, and you can write a few posts about the process of making the book. Create ebooks around specific themes and then post them for download on your website, or have them be part of your email marketing.
The best part is, just like with podcasting, there are loads of free programs that will turn your blog posts into a correctly formatted ebook!
Host a Webinar
If you’ve got several list articles on your blog (‘The top ten tips for a working new mom’), then you can easily host a webinar with those tips. You just need to create some PowerPoint slides and then talk about each tip.
To make the webinar worthwhile, though, you’ll want to go deeper into each tip and share some information that isn’t in the blog. This is where all that extra research can come in real handy, giving you plenty of accessible content that you don’t have to work for.
You can even expand the webinar into a fully-fledged marketing event, where you offer to give away a free gift at the end to anyone who stays. Market the value of that gift, and people will flock to you.
Recycle in Style
Needing to recycle old content isn’t a bad thing at all; in fact, many bloggers do it. But to get your readers interested in the recycled content, you need to put some sort of spin on it. Telling the old content in new formats works, as does going deeper into the topic.
You’ll find out what works best for you and your audience with time. Don’t be afraid to try new things, and look back at your old blog posts for inspiration. Maybe there’s a theme you can build a webinar around, or maybe commenters keep asking the same questions that would be best explored in a podcast.
Think big and think new, and your audience won’t even care that the information is the same. Like kids, they just want the information to be presented to them in a new and exciting way.
Running a blog as a parent can be challenging. You often need to find a time where there is none if you want to upload regularly. That is why we made this guide! We want to help you manage your time for creating your mom blog content.
Every business takes time to start. If you can treat your blog like a professional business, results will be sure to follow. The following is what you need to do if you want to improve your time management.
Set Goals and Make a Schedule
Start by setting goals. That way, you can stay focused on completing tasks for your blog. Doing so also makes it easier to avoid working on projects that do not matter as much.
You will also want to make a schedule for yourself. We have plenty of other blog posts covering how you can do this in more detail, so we will not be going over it again here. However, you might want to get a planner or use a spreadsheet to keep yourself on task.
Figure Out When You are Productive
The next step would be to determine the time of day when you are the most productive. If you are tired at the end of the day, you might feel like you are forcing yourself to write when your kids are sleeping.
The better strategy would be to sleep and try to wake up earlier to do your blogging. In short, know when it is most comfortable for you to write and capitalize on that time.
Work On Similar Steps at Once
We mean that it is easier to work on outlines for multiple posts at one time or that you will work more efficiently if you edit pictures for different posts at the same time.
Working on similar tasks together helps you stay focused for more extended periods. Plus, you will probably feel like you are getting more work done than you usually would.
This also goes for writing. Do your best to write similar posts simultaneously, even if you do not publish them on the same day. The information you need will be easier to access in your head if you are already thinking and writing about it- allowing you to move forward with your planned projects faster.
In other words, switching between topics too fast can slow down your writing output.
Always Have a Notebook Available
Every type of writer, mom blogs included, should always have a little notebook of some kind on hand. That way, if you have a sudden idea, you can quickly jot it down before you forget. Doing so helps much with time management since you can be thinking about your blog while working on other things in your life.
That way, you are not left staring at a blank word document on your computer. You can start transferring your notes and ideas in right away!
Schedule Your Posts
Uploading to your blog consistently is important. If you have many posts planned, you can have them set to be published on certain days.
It also helps if you schedule the topics you want to work on at the start of the month. That way, you are not wasting time trying to choose what to write about when you should be writing. Scheduling comes a long way in helping you to manage your time better.
Don’t Edit and Write
You will only want to edit your post after you have it written out. Instead, you should only be focusing on typing and getting your thoughts down on the page. There is always time to edit when you are done with the post.
When you have your draft finished, then you can edit it and add in your links. You can also take time to go over sections of your piece in more detail during this phase.
Overall, stopping to edit your post will interrupt your flow, meaning that it takes more time to write. You might even want to consider having separate times for writing and editing, so you can go back and review your drafts with a fresh eye.
Mute Your Phone
And finally, you will want to mute your cell phone. We can be easily distracted by our phones, meaning you probably spend more time writing than you need to if you stop to check your notifications every five minutes.
We all are guilty of checking our phones too often, but if you want to learn to be more productive with your blogging time, you will need to silence that cell phone.
If you’ve got blog followers, then chances are they are looking for some content from you. While they might be used to seeing different types of your blog content, such as blogs, list articles, and FAQ posts, what if you spice it up?
It can get a little boring to keep writing the same posts over and over, and sometimes it can get a little tiring for your readers too. Plus, certain events come up for you and the other moms in your circle as a mom. Maybe your kid had their first playdate, or perhaps a special birthday is coming up.
For those events, don’t you want to spice up your blog posts with something special? There are several things that you can do to bring your readers back and rekindle your enjoyment of writing again, and they might even be recurring events that everyone looks forward to. See which of these ideas works for your blog.
Have a Guest Post
Guest posts can be great for several reasons. If the poster is a fellow mommyblogger, then you can both cross-promote one another and share audiences. If it’s a writer who happens to be a fan of your blog, then you can show off their skills. However you find your guest poster, at least you won’t have to write your blog content for a week!
A guest post is most effective when done by someone who’s an expert in their field. For example, let’s say you want to write a post on the best baby gear for new mothers, but your children are older? Well, there might be a fellow blogger who is a new mother. They are going to be very interested in the topic.
Or that fellow blogger could specialize in baby focused content, and you can reach out and ask if they would like to help you. Then you just need to write an intro to introduce the guest writer, and they’ll take care of the rest!
Host a Webinar/Live Chat
If you’ve got fans of your blog who have done a lot for you, thank them by stepping out from behind the screen and talking to them face to face. Write a blog post that announces an upcoming webinar. You could take questions from commenters, talk about the story behind your blog, or just have a good time teaching something in a video format.
These live chats are often the best for big follower milestones, such as 500, 1000, or 3000 followers, to name a few. But keep in mind they do take a bit of work to pull off successfully. You’ll need to learn the technology that will let you do the chat and also focus on what questions you will answer or what topic you will teach. However, the work can be highly rewarding, and it can be heartwarming to see all your followers show up with questions in hand.
Give Something Away
Giveaways are a great way to bring people to your blog. Chances are you probably have a service or maybe a product to go with your blog content. If you do, then give it away in your next blog post.
Make a contest about something mother related, ‘The best new stuffed animal for my child’ or ‘Tell me in the comments what type of foods you like to eat as a mother.’ The best answers get picked as the winners, or you can place them in a raffle.
A giveaway, especially if your product has value, is one of the best ways to get people excited about your blog. Plus, you’ll also get an audience for your product or service as well.
Have Fun With It
The best part about unique events is that they are unique, and you can test them out. If a giveaway failed to stir interest, then you don’t have to try it again. If everyone loved your guest posts, then bring the writer back every few months.
The important thing is to mix, max, and test out brand new posting strategies on a regular basis. Not only is that what blogging is about, but it will also help you grow your platform.
Soon you’ll find something that sticks with your readers, and then you can keep it as a recurring event that will always have them coming back. You can even make a big deal of the lead up to it, just to provide even more suspense.
When you first start blogging, coming up with ideas and blog posts comes naturally. But what happens when you’ve been writing for a while, and you feel like all your creative juices have stopped flowing? How do you get back to writing what you love?
One of the best ways to combat writer’s block is to create a content creation schedule. This schedule will help you to plan your blog posts in advance, preventing you from writer’s block and helping you stay organized and on top of things.
In this article, we will look at what a content creation schedule is, why you need one, and how to create a schedule for your Mommy Blog. Let’s get started.
Content Creation Schedule: What Is It?
A content creation schedule is a list of when, where, and what you will publish in the upcoming weeks or months. Most schedules include upcoming pieces, social media posts, promotional activities, etc. The purpose of the content creation schedule is to have a plan for all your online content.
Obviously, having a plan is helpful, but creating a content creations schedule is helpful for several other reasons as well:
Keeps you organized
Shows what you’ll be writing about in advance
Allows you to publish consistently
Can enhance your marketing plan
Allows you to plan around other obligations in your life
Helps prevent you from duplicating content
How To Create A Useable Content Creation Schedule For Your Mommy Blog
No matter what your blogging niche is, all content creation schedules will have a similar setup. This setup will allow all your ideas and posts to be in one location, making it easy to plan, adjust, or find any content that you need. Here’s how to create a useable content creation schedule:
Choose Your Content Creation Schedule Medium
The first step to creating a content creation schedule is choosing the medium you want to work with. We recommend using spreadsheet software such as Microsoft Excel. Excel will make it easy to organize, plan, and edit your schedule now and in the future.
If you are not comfortable using Excel, you can use Microsoft Word or a physical sheet of paper. In Word, you either insert a table or update your schedule in the form of an outline. Similarly, you can draw out your schedule in a physical notebook. These tools will be useful, but they will not be as organized as a spreadsheet.
Create The Sections
Once you have chosen your schedule medium, it is time to create your schedule sections. These sections will provide you with the specifics of each post and content. The following sections should be included in your content creation schedule:
Blog topic
Category
Suggested headline
Subheadings and topics to be discussed within the post
Keywords
Internal links with anchor phrases
Image source
Call to action
Tools to use
Revision ideas and edits
Promotional posts (social media posts)
Publication date
Fill In Your Content Creation Schedule
Once your schedule is created, it is time to fill in the schedule with your ideas and thoughts. We recommend staying at least a few weeks ahead, but most bloggers like to have their content creation schedule ready a month in advance.
Having your schedule completed a month in advance will give you time to brainstorm, schedule, write, and edit all your posts with minimal stress and anxiety. Additionally, it will allow you to market or broadcast your upcoming posts on social media or to your friends.
Keep Up With Your Schedule
Finally, you need to keep up with your schedule. This step is the most difficult to accomplish because it requires you to be accountable to yourself. Always try to follow your content creation schedule as closely as possible.
If you need to change an idea or publication date, that’s okay. Simply adjust your schedule to account for these changes. Then, follow through with the updated schedule. You will probably need to do this frequently because ideas and plans change over time.
Final Thoughts
Creating a content creation schedule is a lot of work at first, but it is worth the effort. Once the schedule is created, your blog will be more consistent, time-efficient, and relevant to your follower’s needs and wants. Better yet, once you create the first content creation schedule, most of the hard work is already done, making it easier to write, come up with new ideas, and enjoy your life as a Mommy or Daddy.
As a mommy blogger, it shouldn’t take you too long to realize the importance of getting people to interact with you on your website. Readers who interact with you are engaged. They are more likely to share your page with others. And they are more likely to click on your affiliate marketing links or buy your products.
If you are concerned that your blog seems dormant, it’s time to do something about it. It’s time to come up with strategies that encourage your readers to ACT.
But that’s hard to do. People have online fatigue. They can’t be bothered to share your content or comment on a post unless you give them something for their time.
Today, we would like to help you come up with ideas on how to promote your website. Although we called this article “Mother’s Day” promotions ideas, it can also be used on the 4th of July, Flag Day, or your birthday.
Here are 6 Mother’s Day promotion ideas to include on your website.
1. Give away a recipe book for sharing your page.
Let’s say your blog specializes in picky eaters, and each week you provide your followers two or three recipe stories. While your followers may enjoy your background information and step-by-step photographs, some may be irritated when scrolling through irrelevant content to find the actual recipe.
Give away an online cookbook, which features a recipe with one photo. Give a free cookbook to anyone who shares your latest blog post on their social media page. You can hold this same promotion periodically since you will always be adding new recipes to your page.
2. Work Together With a Company You Promote
If you have earned some success by promoting a specific product or service, contact that company to see if you can work out a mutually beneficial deal. Ask for free products to offer as a giveaway to your readers. Require your reader to share content, post photos to your page, or provide you with an email address.
This type of promotion won’t cost you anything. The company would benefit by getting buzz about their product or service. You would benefit by getting shares, comments, and email addresses. Your reader would benefit from having a chance to win free stuff.
3. Work With a Local Company
Some of you have created a following in your local communities. In fact, you may be the go-to mommy blogger in your suburb. To give yourself even more street cred, connect with the best spa in your area to see if you can work out a cross-promotion. Have your readers write a paragraph on why they need a day of pampering, and have your other readers vote on whose story is the most deserving. Encourage participants to share your page to get their friends to vote.
4. Ask Your Readers to Help You Make a Decision
You may not even have to give anything away to encourage people to interact with your blog. Why not create a simple poll? Ask your readers to help you make a choice. Have them vote between two paint colors for your nursery. Have them decide what toenail color will go best with your new dress. Ask your readers whether or not you should get bangs. Have them help choose the name for your new cat.
While this isn’t a contest, it is a way to get people to interact with your website. People love to give their opinions. It makes people feel as if they are helping you, and you are getting the comments on your blog that you need.
5. Give away a favorite product.
While it’s best to get a free prize to give away, you may decide that purchasing a product to give away may be worth the amount you spend. Purchase some sort of prize to celebrate the anniversary of your blog, your child’s birthday, or Mother’s Day. Make it easy on yourself and have the award be something that you can deliver electronically, like an Amazon gift card.
6. Give away products that promote your blog.
Purchase tank tops, bibs, fidget spinners, or wine glasses with the name of your blog. Ask your readers to share, retweet, repin, comment, or click to enter. Even if you have to pay to ship the items to the winners, you could receive new followers when they wear and use your promotional products.
Contests and prizes aren’t just for local furniture stores or the bakery down the street. Promote your mommy blog by creating excitement and buzz that only comes from giving away free stuff.
Is the traffic to your website dwindling? Are you struggling to rank in even the least competitive keywords? Here are three reminders of ways to inch your way back up in the rankings, one click at a time.
Here are tips to Grow your traffic
If you have ever suffered from a weight problem, you know how important it is to weigh yourself every day. If you let a month pass before you step on the scales, you get a harsh reminder of all the times you skipped your morning workout or ate that extra plate at your favorite Indian buffet.
Instead of getting down in the dumps about your ranking, let your lousy traffic remind you that it is time to get back to the basics. We aren’t going to share any brand-new strategies, but these are tried and true techniques that will enable you to inch back up the rankings. Just as you will eventually inch back into your favorite jeans.
1. Be the best content for moms 2020 and beyond.
Be the ultimate guide in your niche. You want your website to be the ONE that a friend recommends to another friend for a specific child-related issue.
Do you specialize in picky eaters? Then you need to have the best recipes that teach other moms how to hide kale in macaroni and cheese or carrots in chicken nuggets. You need to have valid research from certified nutrition experts to back up your techniques. Your website needs to have depth and substance. It can’t be full of 200-word blogs about how your little Jonah finally tried watermelon.
Perhaps you have found your niche in sensory-friendly clothing for children. You need to be the one-stop-shop for all those frustrated mothers who are trying to find socks with no seams or shirts without tags. You need to find research-based methods to help your child expand their clothing options, and you need to teach those tired moms strategies for getting to school on time.
If you are serious about increasing the ranking of your website, you need to be serious about your website. The information should be helpful, realistic, and content for moms 2020 and beyond.
2. Evaluate your images.
Words are great, but when you are trying to get the attention of busy moms, you only have seconds before they become distracted and leave your website. Sure, you need to have research-based, in-depth articles, but you also need to accompany them with eye-catching graphics full of the valuable information you are trying to share.
You can’t be good at everything. Instead of spending frustrating hours trying to develop a sharable graphic for your website, consider hiring a freelancer to do it for you. Find a graphic designer on Fiverr or Upwork to create a visual that shows an appropriate amount of sleep for each aged group or a step by step guide on how to add bling to a child’s dance costume.
People share images. They put them on their Pinterest boards to refer to later, and they share them on Facebook to help out their friends.
Believe us, if you get a few attractive graphics that are full of top-quality information, your rankings will inch higher and higher each week.
3. Use SEO checkers.
If you are like most mommy bloggers, your priority is to provide a safe place for people to discuss parenting topics. You probably have a niche that you are passionate about, and you want to give other parents resources that have helped you in your parenting journey.
You probably didn’t start your website because you LOVE to learn about search engine optimization strategies.
Unfortunately, to help others find your website, SEO is part of the game. You probably have read guides found on our site, but you also should be aware that there are applications available to help you as well.
Take a look at Content Analysis by SEO Review Tools and Content SEO Checker. Both look like typical word processing programs, but after you write your content, helpful SEO strategies and reminders appear at the bottom of the page. You will receive a reminder to write a meta description and to include your keywords in one of your headings. Seriously, these tools could change your life.
More than anything, remember not to get discouraged. As cliche as it sounds, Rome wasn’t built in a day, and it will take time for your website to become an authority in your subject matter.
