How I organize my blogging

22 November 2013

The first section in my planner is actually for Em for Marvelous. It’s pretty simple, as there’s really only one thing in it: my monthly blog planning sheets. Though they look like one of Emily Ley’s offerings (she has a fabulous free printable library!), I actually created them myself, because the one she offers didn’t mesh with my workflow.

free-blog-planning-printable

My goal was to create a place to both brainstorm post ideas for each month as well as to schedule those ideas throughout the month. The top section has blank lines, and ideas get crossed off once their posts have been completed.

how-to-plan-blog-posts-in-advance

The bottom portion is a blank calendar, Monday through Friday. I generally schedule posts in pencil as my posting schedule changes often (just look at my plan below!).

blog-planning

I try to keep sheets for the next six months or so printed out so I can jot down season-specific ideas as they come to me. It’s funny — when I first started blogging, in college, more than five years ago (wow!), I tried to blog five days a week. I usually succeeded; my biggest problem was finding enough topics to blog about. Now, my problem is the opposite — I have more than enough things I want to write about, but not nearly as much time as I’d like to do so! At least having a place to store ideas until they can see the light of day makes me feel a bit better about my erratic posting schedule.

This system has worked great for more than a year now — I hope y’all find it helpful, too!

Click here to download the EFM Blog Planning PDF.

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Kelly
November 15, 2013 2:40 pm

Thank you for posting this, Em. I started a blog in the spring, and it just trailed off to nothing one day. I think being more organized would conquer that overwhelming feeling of “where to start”, which is what I’m struggling with now!

November 22, 2013 9:03 am

Emily! I love this! EL’s didn’t jive with my workflow either, but this is much more in tune with my thinking style!

kristen ostow
November 22, 2013 11:49 am

Em, this is so great and so sweet of you to share! Thank you I will be adding this to my Emily Ley Simplified Life Binder, along with Lara Casey’s Power Sheets…. I’m so excited to get organized for 2014! Thank you again, xo Kristen O.

November 22, 2013 12:55 pm

Thank you so much for posting! It’s simple and easy.

November 22, 2013 5:40 pm

Definitely going to use these as I pull out all my old blog “scribble sheets” and organize them for 2014! I want to be organized ahead of time…so I don’t have these awful blank gaps! Thank you!!

November 24, 2013 8:05 am

Thank you for sharing! I am obsessed over planners right now. This time of the year!!

Kat
December 5, 2013 11:07 am

So I’m a few days behind in catching up with your blog (oops!), but I LOVE THIS! I tried using EL’s too but it worked better for jotting down ideas, not actual dates. This is great! Thanks girl:)

[…] have less to share on IG. I will use my gifts as a writer to blog more here (ooooh, I’ll use Emily Thomas’ free blog printable) and share stories rather than just quick images. I’ll also clear my […]

December 6, 2013 9:38 am

[…] 1. Start using this awesome blogging calendar! […]

December 29, 2013 10:36 pm

Yes! This is exactly what I’ve been hunting for as well – space to brainstorm as well as schedule! Thanks for sharing your process :)

January 3, 2014 8:57 pm

Hi Emily,

Thanks so much for creating and sharing this blog calendar – I love it!

[…] as my days to post. Late last year I started using Emily’s free blogging calendar (you can download it here) and started planning and brainstorming my posts a month in advance. Game changer. Limiting my […]

January 11, 2014 5:05 pm

THANK.YOU. I have been looking everywhere for something clean and simple and was about to create my own, but oh, I like yours so much better than what I was going to do :) thanks!!!

[…] I am planning ahead! I’ve got a brand-spankin’ new weekly planner plus some awesome planning sheets that I am already loving for brainstorming […]

Joy
January 23, 2014 9:49 am

This is wondeful. I think this way too, and other blog planners just have never worked out for me in that regard. I *love* this! Thank you for sharing!

[…] you like your own Em for Marvelous Blog Planning download? Read this post on her blog and scroll to the bottom for your very own […]

April 16, 2014 11:30 am

That is soo neat. I totally understand the having to many ideas and not enough time.

June 6, 2014 10:40 am

Just printed these out. THANK YOU!!!

Hana
June 10, 2014 5:37 pm

Thank you so much for this! I’ve been blogging for a few weeks and have been struggling to find a planning system which incorporates both the brainstorming and planning :)

June 12, 2014 2:22 pm

I have been blogging for a year now and planning was something that I am struggling with. I like to be really organised and sort my thoughts out. I don’t really like planning on my phone’s calender/notes so I like writing it all down. I do pen all my thoughts down but it wasn’t very organised. This will really help me. thank you so much Em. Take care.

http://debasreeb.blogspot.in/

June 21, 2014 1:43 pm

What a wonderfully helpful post.

June 28, 2014 7:17 pm

I have been looking for something exactly like this – I love the way you organized this template. Thanks so much for sharing!

July 9, 2014 7:39 pm

This is fantastic thanks just what I need!
xxx

July 17, 2014 11:24 pm

Thank you for these! I had been looking for something simple and usable. So happy to find these.

July 23, 2014 3:27 pm

Thank you so much for this, I’m printing them now as I leave this comment!

[…] down as I think of them and then a place for me to actually schedule my posts. I originally read Em’s post on staying organized with blogging and it inspired me to create one for myself (with fonts I use in […]

[…] HOW I ORGANIZE MY BLOGGING […]

[…] Thomas // this series, this post, this behind the scenes look, and this […]

January 3, 2015 7:40 pm

It’s actually one of the most simple and clean, exactly what I was looking for (after an hour of browsing through blog planners). Thank you ! x

January 10, 2015 8:51 pm

Just printed this out! Thank you so much for this amazing printable blog planner, can’t wait to start 2015 off right :)

-Krystin xo

http://www.girlinbetsey.com

March 20, 2015 6:32 pm

This rocks! One of my stumbling blocks/challenges I will overcome in 2015!

April 3, 2015 12:45 pm

Thanks for sharing this with us all! Can’t wait to use it :)

Meghan

Michelle
May 8, 2015 10:43 am

Hi Em!
I love your blogging sheet- thank you for sharing it! Can you please tell me what brand of dividers and binder are shown in this picture? I’ve been searching for dividers like this for quite some time but can’t find them.
Thanks!

October 7, 2015 11:59 am

Oh my goodness, you are a lifesaver! I’ve been struggling to find the best way to organize posts for my new blog, and this is perfect for that. Thank you so much for sharing it!

October 12, 2015 12:01 am

[…] de bloggers onder ons deze drie handige blogplanners! Deze vind je hier , hier en […]

October 15, 2015 6:50 am

[…] de bloggers onder ons deze drie handige blogplanners! Deze vind je hier , hier en […]

October 17, 2015 7:21 pm

Just found this via Erin of http://www.byerincreativeco.com and I love it! I’m modifying it slightly to add Saturday and Sunday to the calendar, but I love having one page where I can jot ideas and schedule them.

[…] 3. This blog planner via Em for Marvelous was one of my first & favorite finds back when I started Little Cup of J. Although most of my blog planning has gone digital, I still love to use it to roughly sketch out a schedule the old-fashioned way from time to time >> see all the deets. […]

November 20, 2015 5:41 pm

This is really neat. I think I will have to print it out and try it.

November 24, 2015 4:02 pm

Thanks very much for the printable. I’ll be using it from now on!

[…]  I’m going to give an editorial calendar a try (love this post by Em for Marvelous HERE with free editorial calendar templates)  — and hopefully start posting on the riggity reg. […]

[…] whilst browsing through blogging resources. This one is by Em for Marvelous and can be found here. I love how simple it is, and you can just fill in the blanks, decide when you would like to post, […]

July 31, 2016 3:37 pm

[…] Thomas // this series, this post, this behind the scenes look, and this […]

November 10, 2016 4:11 pm

Thank you for your simple but very very helpful planning page design. I have used it for the last year or so and it’s helped SO much. I panicked today when telling my blogging friends about them and realized I couldn’t remember where I’d downloaded them from. It took a little work, but yay! Found you again. :D If you ever update the file, please put your URL in small print somewhere on it because I don’t want anyone to lose it.

It’s perfect. Thank you.