How to Organize Your Blog

There are probably a plethora of blog post ideas swimming in your head. Maybe they live on a napkin at a restaurant, when you came up with a creative post idea. Maybe they are in a written journal. Or, if you are like me, these ideas live in an organized list in Evernote. However you develop your blog post ideas, it is necessary to stay organized + on top of your blog, if you want a consistent readership and a professional voice.

Sometimes, though, you have a “blogger’s block,” and no ideas are coming to mind. Or, maybe you have a few great ideas, but the timing isn’t quite right yet. Not to fear! I have found a great solution to help both organize your blog + generate fresh blog post ideas.

Categories

I recommend that bloggers should develop a short list of categories, providing structure for your blog posts. Like file folders, categories allow you to file each blog post into a category in case readers want to reference similar posts throughout your blog. As you develop new posts, you can file them into a category. For instance, on my blog I have the categories

Blogging , branding, business, design, reflections and resources. These categories allow a great structure for my site, help maintain consistency, and define my voice as a blogger.

How Categories Improve Your Blog:

Generates Content

Through establishing a structure to your blog, not only are you providing a consistent message to your readers, but you also have a go-to list of blog post ideas. If you are struggling to create posts for your blog, just reference one of your categories for inspiration. Personally, I have a note in my Evernote app titled “Blog Post Ideas,” Where I have each category listed, and below that several bullet points of post ideas that fit within that category. I just add to this list whenever I have a new post idea, or a follow up post based on a comment from a reader.

SEO

Blog categories are also great for SEO, as you have the ability to label + tag each post with keywords for your blog. These categories establish yourself as a sort of expert on the subject matter, and Google is more likely to pull your posts up higher in searches.

Consistency

Through posting about a few broad subject matters, as opposed to inconsistent topics, you provide consistency to your blog. This presents your blog as professional + intentional, rather than a catch-all for your wandering thoughts. Consistency is what helps establish you as an expert in a certain subject matter, as well as gives your readers something to return for.

Visitors stay longer on your site

If you post consistently within the same blog series, or category, it is more likely that a reader will linger a bit longer on your blog. By displaying your categories in a sidebar on your blog, visitors have the ability to reference previous posts that are related to a specific subject matter on your blog.

Clear Brand Vision

Once you post consistently about a few broad categories, you begin to strengthen the message + vision behind your brand. In an earlier post, I mentioned how branding is not just the visual aspect of your business, but also encompasses the tone of voice + message. Through selecting a few topics to discuss in depth on your blog, you build yourself as an expert in those fields. This helps define you as someone who understands “branding”, “blogging”, “design”, “insert your blog category here”, etc.

If you are looking to either make the jump into blogging, or becoming more serious about your blog, I would suggest you start this process by defining what categories you want to discuss. Try to develop categories that both excite you, and provide something for the readers.