I've been blogging for close to 3 months now, and have discovered how important it is to plan and promote your posts to get visitors to your blog. There are a lot of wonderful link up parties out there that can show off projects that you are posting. I have also discovered how important it is to be organized when it comes to posting and promoting your posts. When I first started posting, I'd randomly link up to parties, post on sites like Hometalk, and pin a few of my images. But I found that the more I promoted, the more visitors came to my site. The problem was that I then couldn't remember what posts I had promoted where. So, I've created this blog planner to help me stay organized. My planner is a little different than most out there because it is very detailed for each individual post and focuses on link up parties and sites where I can promote my blog. At the top, I have a section for the details of my actual post (Title, Publishing Date, Category, and Keywords). Then I have a section to keep track of where I am in terms of publishing the post (Draft, written, completed, scheduled, and published). The next section is websites where I can link my project up, like Craft Gawker, or places I can promote my post, like Twitter. Next is a list of all the link parties I've visited in the past....this section looks a little overwhelming and I don't promote each post on every single one of these parties. But it is helpful to be able to see at a quick glance where I've linked up in the past. Each party name is followed by the day of the week the party takes place. The final section of my planner is for follow up....ideas that are an extension of this post that I can use in the future. If I'm having blogger's block and can't think of anything to post, I can go back through these follow up ideas and be inspired of something new to post. I purchased a new, colorful binder so that I have a place to keep all of my planner pages and any other documents I have relating to my blog. I got my binder at Target and it is from their Green Room line. (Which, by the way, did you know that these binders are cheaper in the Back to School section of supplies than the regular supplies section of the store? I bought two!) Now I have a place to store a blog calendar, my post ideas, plans for where I want to take my blog, and design ideas. I have been jotting all this down on random scraps of paper, which makes it really hard to find my ideas later on! If you're interested in printing this planner, please click on the pictures below. The first link is for the planner that I am currently using. The second link is for a blank planner where you can write in you're own parties and websites. Blog Post Planner Blank Blog Post Planner By the way, the great background on my planner has been downloaded from Mel Stampz. She has great free patterns to download in a variety of colors. It was just what I was looking for! Hope this printable helps you, or at least gives you an idea of how you can organize your plans. I'm in the process of creating some more printables for organizing your blog, including one to help your organize your Etsy listings. Are there any printables that you'd be interested in seeing?
