How To Create A Blog Content Plan As An "Anti Planner"

It’s time that I admit one of my faults…

It’s nothing crazy or anything, but throughout a lot of my content, I’ve made the assumption that everyone is obsessed with planning as much as I am.

And even if you don’t identify as the Type A friend that loves a spreadsheet and detailed itinerary, I’ve taken it upon myself to make you that way.

But lately I’ve realized that’s really not my job at all.

If the world was filled with only Type A, planning obsessed people, that would leave no room for the spontaneous, go with the flow people, that a scheduled (and maybeeeee sometimes rigid) person like me really needs. 

So, let this be my public confession that I’ve been trying too hard to make sure that everyone adopts the same blog content planning strategies as me.

But don’t hear what I’m not saying… 

What I’m NOT saying is that planning isn’t necessary. It 100% is especially when it comes to your blog content or planning a destination wedding to Arizona or a 48 hour trip to New York City with your sister.

Without the plan, it probably won’t happen or at the very least, it won’t happen very well.

I will unapologetically keep sharing the importance of planning your blog content 3 months in advance because I really do believe it makes a huge difference in all parts of your business, not just the blog part of your business. 

But because I know that there’s not just one right way to do something, I think it’s time I offer some additional ways – really more like mental shifts – to plan your blog content as an “anti planner” instead of just pointing you to my 4 step planning process. 

And let me reiterate – I don’t regret sharing that content with you and it won’t be the last time you hear about it. It really is the tried and true method that I personally follow for myself and for my clients.

But ultimately what I’ve grown to know is that if you’re a “fly by the seat of your pantser” instead of a natural planner, creating a plan and trying to stick to it might actually stress you out. 

And that’s the exact opposite of what I want – especially when your blog content is involved.

I want your blog content to be the thing that you look forward to creating the MOST, which is why I want to share a few shifts in case the whole plan thing isn’t working for you.

4 Mental Shifts To Make When A Strategy Doesn’t Align With You  

1. Take the meat, leave the bones

Have you heard this saying before? I first heard someone use this when thinking about personal and professional development.

There is SO MUCH information and education out there. From books to podcasts to courses to blogs, it can be overwhelming if you let it.

The best thing to remember is that you don’t have to agree or align with every single thing that you read, listen to, or learn.

That also doesn’t mean you have to write off the author, podcaster, or business owner as someone you don’t want to learn from. 

It simply means that in the midst of taking in information, take in what makes sense for you or what you align with and leave the rest.

For example, if you love the majority of my blog content planning process, but can’t seem to get behind planning for a whole quarter in advance, that’s cool – DON’T DO IT!

Take what you like, apply it to your business, and leave the rest.

2. Adapt the strategy to work FOR YOU

That leads me into my next point – adapt a strategy to work FOR YOU. As mentioned above, there is SO MUCH information out there and as business owners, we’re constantly being thrown new ideas, strategies, tactics, and ways of doing things. 

When you learn about something new, instead of immediately trying to fit it into your business as is, first ask yourself: do I even need to implement this right now? Am I already doing something similar?

Sometimes we try to do more, when really we should probably be doing less. There’s a time and a place to implement new things in your business, but I don’t believe it needs to be every week or even every month. 

Do what you’re doing right now really well and THEN explore ways to enhance those things down the road. 

And when you do come across a new idea that you’d like to implement, consider: how will this best fit into my life or business, so that it’s ACTUALLY effective?

For example, I love the idea of incorporating a “To-Done List” in my business. I first heard about the concept from Kleist Creative and I even tried to start implementing the amazing Notion template that she created. 

But even as a Notion stan, I could not for the life of me get this process to work. I always forgot about it and never really did anything with it even though I had good intentions.

At the end of 2023, I wished so badly that I would have found a way to implement this concept because I really wanted an easy way to look back and see what I truly accomplished throughout the year.

So this year, I took the concept but created a different system that works FOR ME, which is just a simple Slack channel where I can write what I accomplish at the end of each day. 

Same concept, different system.

Do the same for yourself!

3. Make it a habit 

One idea that’s really been swirling in my brain is that creating content of any kind, but especially blog content, is really more of a habit than it is a skill.

The more that you do it, the more that you’ll get better at it, but you can’t get better at it until you start doing it. 

A lot of times people tell me that they haven’t started blogging in their business consistently because they “don’t know what to write about” or they “aren’t a good writer.”

But I’m here to say that’s really not it at all. It’s more of a mental game than anything.

Every action we take on a daily basis stems from some sort of habit we’ve created – whether we realize it or not. 

When you want to change your behavior and make something a habit, James Clear says that you need to follow 4 rules:

• Make it obvious

• Make it attractive

• Make it easy

• Make it satisfying

And I believe this 100% can be applied to your blog content too!

If writing a blog every week or every month is proving to be challenging for you, first make it obvious. What are some things you can do to make writing your blogs more obvious?

Maybe it’s putting a sticky note on your computer that says “new blog post” that can’t be removed until you’ve completed the task. 

Or maybe it’s adding something to your computer wallpaper that reminds you of it. 

Next, make it attractive. If writing is usually something you avoid, what are some ways that you can make it attractive?

Maybe it’s allowing yourself to go to your favorite coffee shop and order your favorite drink (I’m a plain coffee gal with cream and vanilla unless it’s the holiday season, and then I can’t get enough peppermint mochas) and designate this time to ONLY work on your blog writing. 

Or maybe it’s cozying up on your couch with your favorite blanket to knock out a blog post that you’ve been avoiding.

I call this defining your writing environment – you have to make it something you ENJOY! More on that concept coming soon.

Then, it’s time to make it easy. Personally, I believe this is where your blog content plan really has a chance to shine. When you plan for your content in advance, you’re able to have a general idea for what you need to write. 

Instead of sitting down and having to start writing from scratch, you have a starting point that you can run with. 

Lastly, make it satisfying. For some people, simply being able to check “write blog post” off their to-do list is satisfying enough. But others might need a little extra umph to make it feel really worth doing. 

If you’re one of those people, after writing and publishing a blog post, create a celebration for yourself. 🎉

Maybe it’s getting your favorite little treat, talking about it on Instagram stories, or sending it to a friend! 

For my Writer’s Room members, they get the satisfaction of being able to submit their writing for feedback once a week and then getting to post about it in our Slack channel after they publish.

It’s like getting a gold star in elementary school – it just makes you feel good. ⭐️

4. Focus on the consistency, not the plan 

Behind preaching the power of planning probably 80% of the time in my content, I probably preach the power of consistency the other 20%.

And again, I won’t apologize for that! In fact, choosing a consistency for your blog content is actually the first step of my blog content planning process. 

I know that the word ‘consistency’ is often overused and it can feel like a buzzword that causes an eye roll, but it really is more important than you think. 

But like anything the KEY is committing to a consistency that works FOR YOU. 

Just because I post a blog each week doesn’t mean that you have to do the same. That’s not what consistency is. 

Consistency is simply choosing the frequency that you’re most comfortable with in your business. 

So if the thought of creating a blog content plan and deciding your topics ahead of time is stressing you the heck out… don’t do it. Commit to a consistency that’s specific to you and focus on that instead!

The moral of the story is this: not every strategy, tactic, or method is going to work for every single person. 

But that doesn't mean you can’t get SOMETHING from it. 

Explore what others are doing, take what makes sense for you, and leave the rest… or don’t. 

There’s more than one right way to doing something – INCLUDING the way that you go about your blog content. 

If you’re a fly by the seat of your pantster, unlike me, I still welcome you here and I fully believe that your blog content and strategy can still be 100% effective. 🤎

P.S. Looking for more support in your blog content journey? CLICK HERE to join The Writer’s Room Waitlist for the chance to join the ultimate done-with-you blog and email writing membership community full of people who are implementing blog and email content in their business in a way that works FOR THEM!