083: [Soulpreneur 411] Using an edit calendar to manage your blogging schedule like a pro

Kate Kordsmeier 0:04

Welcome, welcome, welcome. We are back with the Success with Soul podcast. I'm your host, Kate Kordsmeier. And we are officially in season two of the show now. And I'm excited because we're doing something a little different. We've just released a brand new series called Soulpreneur 411, where entrepreneurs just like you can send in questions if you want some personalized laser coaching. And I will answer each week. So if you want to leave me a message and be featured on the show and get some free coaching for yourself, which is usually only available inside the incubator, head on over to Kate kordsmeier.com/ask, and you can be featured and get coached as well. So with that, let's dive into today's question.

Amanda 0:52

Hey, Kate, its Amanda from your Six FBA blogging course. I love that course so much, I just want to say thank you for all of the generosity and amazing information that you've given us. And my blog is brand new, it's only a few months old. And the course has helped me so much. I'm starting to get into the rhythm of my blogging schedule, but I feel like I could still improve. So my question for you is, what did your blogging schedule look like when it was just you without a team, because I'm currently just a one man band. And I just want to see if maybe I can learn something from you and how your blogging schedule was when you were first starting to take your blog more seriously. Thank you in advance for all of your amazing help.

Kate Kordsmeier 1:41

Hi, Amanda, thanks for submitting a great question. And I'm so glad that you've gotten so much value out of my programs. It's an honor to be on this journey with you. So to answer your question, just so you know, for a long time, I also was just a one woman show. And so you do not need to have a team when you're first getting started in order to create great content. But I do have some tips for how to batch your work and actually create a schedule that works for you. So a little background is when I first started my blog, I would write each post and upon completion, it would get published. So that is to say, I was never working or planning in advance. Even if I had maybe planned out what I was going to write in advance the idea of getting it done before the quote unquote live date was filed under that not possible category. So as you can probably guess, and maybe you have first hand experience, this is a very stressful way to work, I constantly felt behind and rushed and overwhelmed. And so one day I took a step back and created an edit calendar and a plan to get two weeks ahead on my content. So I didn't want to be hustling to write anything the day before or even let's be honest, the day of it would go live on my site. So I wanted to work from a place of rest with plenty of space to take my time to write the best possible piece and even have a chance to you know, walk away and come back with fresh eyes to proofread for mistakes, and just edit one last time. So once I started doing this, I realized how incredibly liberating it was to work in advance. And so two weeks ahead became one month ahead and eventually two months ahead. And in fact, before I went on maternity leave in the fall of 2018, I had every last piece of content written and scheduled from September through December by August. I mean, it was amazing having the space and energy to work on other aspects of my business without missing deadlines, or even just feeling that pressure of a looming deadline over everything I did was seriously life changing. So an edit calendar was really helpful for me in doing this. And I think it is just the key for getting ahead. So I recommend planning out your year by quarters, q1 is January through March, q2 is April through June, and so on. And so in December, you start planning out your content for q1. And then in January, you might write all of the content through March. And then in March, you can start planning your content for q2, and April, right all of the content through June and so on. That's really ambitious. So that's one way to do it. You could also just starting in January, you know, write the content for that month in advance. So you're at least getting a couple of weeks ahead, maybe a month. So I use a Google spreadsheet to track this. And in fact, we give you a edit calendar, a customizable copy of the Edit calendar that I use inside of the incubator. And so using one of these is super helpful for getting a clear plan of what your content calendar looks like and making sure you just have a clear strategy for what you're publishing. When and why. What purpose is it serving? What are your keywords? What are your lead magnets? Are there any affiliate opportunities and just ensuring you don't have too many posts of the same thing in a row or with sponsors or giveaways in a short period of time if that's relevant to your business model. And if you do have a team it's great to be able to share this living document and make updates in real time. Because you can leave notes you can put story ideas and That way you just remember everything you need to include in your post. So if you're interested in learning more about the Edit calendar, I highly recommend applying for the incubator, you can do that at Kate kordsmeier.com/apply. And in the meantime, I've got a couple other quick tips for how to stay consistent and batch your work and make sure you get it all done in time. So in a perfect world, you're always publishing new content on the same days of the week, you can pick days based on what's best for your personal schedule, what days are most popular on your blog according to Google Analytics, or really just whatever works for you. But try to be consistent because not only will it help with your workflow, most importantly, it will establish a routine for your return readers. So likewise, one way I've found to help me stay consistent is to batch my work. And I find that when I'm able to batch like tasks together, and so much more productive and efficient, so my headspace is right, I can get into the groove and really stay focused rather than multitasking. So I set certain days as blog post writing days. And sometimes this looks like every Tuesday and Thursday, I spend my entire day creating blog content. Sometimes this means that I take one week, per month or one weekend and do nothing but create content. And then I can just sit back and relax and get other important things done in my business and my personal life. So figuring out a system that works for you is important. But I do recommend batching your work and not multitasking. So close your email tab, turn off notifications, put your phone away, get off social media, all the things and just really have that deep focused work time. Even if you can just carve out a couple of hours a week where you can batch your content. It's super helpful. All right, Amanda, I hope that helps. And thanks for submitting a great question.

All right, thanks for tuning in y'all. If you liked this episode, and want to get coached by me and my amazing team, then come join us inside the Success with Soul incubator where we have live q&a coaching calls every single week. Plus, you can even submit your work for feedback every week to That's right, you literally can submit everything you're working on and get personalized laser coaching feedback on your actual work every single week. I don't know many programs offering this and it is one of my favorite features. And I think our students would agree. In addition to our self paced curriculum, we have frequent live trainings with leading industry experts on topics like leadership and Enneagram and metrics and finance and SEO and funnels. And because your business won't thrive if you aren't thriving. We also do monthly soul sessions with spiritual healers and wellness pros to ensure you get that self care in. So if you're ready to transform your business in life and holistic, sustainable and soulful way, head on over to Kate kordsmeier.com/apply To see if we're a good fit to work together. We're accepting businesses of all size, including those that are just dreams in your head and those who are making all the money but feeling totally empty and depleted by the process.

Nicole Vasco 8:04

I look forward to Kate's podcast every single week. Everything she says hits home for me as a blogger hits home for me as a mom hits home for me as an entrepreneur. And she has given me so much insight on what it is to be a mom entrepreneur as well as what it is to run a successful blog. And her tips are actionable tips and her guests that she has on the show is just amazing. And I'm so grateful for the soul she puts in her episodes every single week. I'm a fan. I'm a super fan. I will follow Kate and her podcast to the moon and back. Thank you so much for the value you give and share with the audience is greatly appreciated. This is Nicole Vasco and I just love everything that you put out into the world. Thank you, Kate.

Kate Kordsmeier 8:53

So if you want results and transformation, come join us inside this intimate mastermind style program at Kate kordsmeier.com/apply. And remember if you want to be featured on the podcast to get coached in the Soulpreneur 411 series. You can leave your voicemail over at Kate kordsmeier.com/ask and be featured on the show. We'll see you next week.

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