5 Things: Blogging On The Go.

I thought this would be a good time to round up some of my tips for blogging on the go, since I guess a lot of people will be on the move this month with all the Christmas festivities. It can be difficult to find the time to blog, especially if you hold down a full time job – I consider my blog a sort-of hobby still, although I have the luxury of working from home so it’s easier for me to do. Nonetheless, I understand how things can be difficult!

A lot of people ask me how I manage to blog daily, in fact I probably get asked that the most out of all blog-related questions. It definitely involves a lot of dedication, I think perhaps a lot of non-bloggers (ie friends and family) think it’s simply sitting down to write but we all know it’s quite demanding. Whenever I say I can’t come out on a weeknight because I have work in the morning, my friends are like ‘but Kate, you work for yourself. And there’s wine here.’ (Wine usually wins, but I’m working on that…)
One thing I think is worth mentioning is that you have to treat it like a hobby or you’ll just lose the fun – I’ve actually felt this lately for the first time in ages. I think it’s a mix of having SO much on (planning a very exciting new thing!!) and with Christmas and all the rest, it becomes a bit blah. Also, blogging in winter is HARD – you really can’t be a last minute person when it gets light for ten minutes a day. Anyway! My tips, here we go…

Plan Ahead
Of course, this is my number one tip! I’m all for the planning. Exhibit A above is a trusty notebook, which I keep on me at all times (maybe not like, while I’m having a wee or nipping to Tesco but almost). The thing about blogging is that it’s often quite spontaneous, with ideas and things. I will be in Tesco and think “OMG! Amazing idea for a recipe” (okay so maybe I should start taking my notebook to Tesco after all) or in Topshop and I’ll see some of their necklaces and think ‘that would make such a pretty post’. That sort of thing.
I also recommend taking 30 minutes out of your day and sitting down with some notes, a calendar, lots of cute stationery (essential) and a cup of tea and just planning your month ahead. I do it a little like this:
– Look at the calendar and see what’s coming this month. December is obviously Christmas, New Year etc. so we have the chance to include lots of lovely gift guides, party makeup looks, evening outlooks, glitzy accessories and even Christmas recipes. Note these down in your notepad.
– Make up a blog schedule for the month ahead, I like to do it a few months in advance because I’m a weirdo. You can create one in your notebook or print out a blank calendar – whatever works.
– Add in your typical monthly posts – for example if you always post a roundup on Sundays, add these in. If you do a monthly favourites at the end of the month, add this in.
– Next, add in your ideas from the first step – see when these would best work depending on the date and time.
– Add in a few more ideas that are lurking in your notebook and go from there.
That’s really all there is, then you have a proper plan of what’s to come! You don’t have to fill in every day, of course, but just enough so you have a plan – whatever works for you. It’s a good idea to have a few backup posts in mind so you can take photos and blog if you have some spare time.

Photography
As any blogger will know, photography is often more important than words. Sometimes when I post a blog post with really nice pictures, I look at the comments and I’m like you did not read that. I don’t mind, of course – sometimes I just look at blogs for the pictures and I feel quite ‘inspired’ so I think good photography can make a blog.
Once you’ve made your cracking blog schedule above, get your photos prepped. This is actually really hard in winter, in Scotland I swear it never gets light some days which can make photography impossible. I recommend finding a windowsill or putting down a white sheet or something near a source of (natural) light and going from there. If you have a random sunny day DO NOT WASTE IT. Get that camera out and start snapping. Do not even think about going outside. (Kidding, kind of).
I recommend taking a backlog of photos so you can write up the words later, when you have a moment or two – it will save you!

On The Move
As I tend to take all my photos in a day, I edit them in one go and create draft posts. This allows me to sit down and write up the posts wherever I am, you can do this on your phone, on your work computer during your lunch or just whenever you have a spare 20 minutes. I have an Acer Iconia Tab (£169.99) which I actually find better for working on than my iPhone, mainly because it’s linked up to Google (Android and all that) so it’s easy to do YouTube things and reply to emails. It’s also really easy to whack out a blog post here and there, and I believe you can import photos too – I haven’t done this because I like to use Photoshop to edit my picz but it may come in handy for some.
It’s super light, so I don’t mind carrying that and my phone and I can take it on day trips and do some work on the train. My laptop is five years old and feels like I’m carrying actual bricks when I travel with it so for that reason it never leaves my house – so a tablet just makes my life a whole lot easier. It’s also way cheaper than Apple products so I don’t feel so worried when I take it out with me, meaning I’m more likely to actually pack it.
For a long time I did just use my phone so it is possible – the WordPress app is surprisingly good so it’s still something worth getting in to. I sometimes do a bit of work on my tablet while we watch a film in the evening, it’s not hard to spare some time you just have to find a way to fit it in to your schedule.

Schedule Posts
Scheduling everything is what allows me to have a life, because of course I have Nouvelle too. Once you’ve written up your posts above, proof-read them and then schedule them according to your blog schedule. You can also schedule a few tweets for the day (more on that here) to remind your fabulous readers that you’ve blogged. That way you have a chance at living life to the full as you don’t need to manually publish posts!

Keep It Up
Another thing I think is important is to be consistent; it’s okay blogging once or twice a week as long as you regularly do so. If you suddenly have a rush of motivation to blog, schedule your posts so you have a months worth rather than a weeks worth. It’s little things like this that will keep you feeling productive and on the right track, and your readers will stick by you. I didn’t blog the other day for the first time in years, and although no one noticed, I got back in to the next day and I didn’t even really notice a dip in traffic. Be reliable and people will stick with you!

I hope this helps some of you, and if you have any of your own advice feel free to add it below…