If you want to make money with your blog, you need to focus growing more than page views. Use this weekly productivity planner worksheet to grow your blog and your business.
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Find Your System, Find Your Freedom
If you join us in my Periscope broadcasts, you know I often say, “When you find your system, you find your freedom.” I have learned to become more efficient with blogging tasks over the past decade so I could:
- focus on growing my online businesses and manage a successful corporate career,
- help my husband raise our daughter
- nurture and deepen my relationship with my husband, and
- get me time. Psst: I go a lil’ bit crazy without me time.
One of the elements to my system is a simple weekly productivity planner worksheet. I fit in my blog duties, work on growing my businesses, and nurture the networking aspect of my online presence.
I spend less than 10 minutes on this worksheet each week, and it’s some of the most valuable time I take for my businesses, my family, and myself.
If you’d like the productivity planner worksheet to help you focus on growing your business (and you totally do), sign up and get immediate access to the members-only Resource Library. If you’re already a subscriber, your password is in the newsletter – click here to access it.
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Elements of a Weekly Productivity Planner for Blogging
Taking the time to set priorities for your week in 3 areas will give you a strong foundation to keep moving your blogging business forward. Here are the areas I focus on each week.
Create
If you use an editorial calendar, you will know exactly what needs to be placed in this section however, creation shouldn’t end with blog content. Other options in this category that go far beyond creating a single post:
- Posts, guest posts, freelance pieces.
- Social Focus. Micro-blogging or a focus on a social platform you’re trying to grow or increase engagement on.
- Free resource (or opt-in) for newsletter growth or to supplement another goal
- Monetized content focus (could be creating sponsored projects or even creating pitch letters)
[Tweet “Content is only one part of creating for your #blogging business”]
Build
Building yourself and your business often gets lost in the hectic pace of blogging. Making sure you have time dedicated to growth is critical for long-term success. Filling your social media feeds with positive productivity messages also helps! Some areas in this category:
- Free or paid for online courses. I love learning and totally geek out for courses! I make sure that I dedicate no less than 2 hours each week to improving myself, my business acumen, or a particular area of blogging or business.
- Brainstorming sessions. I can’t stress the importance of brainstorming / mind mapping sessions to help you grow your business. If you would like to investigate this, be sure to join the newsletter and get access to the Resource Library where I share a ‘get started’ worksheet and video.
- Monetize. Are you considering implementing a new monetization strategy? For some, growing their affiliate marketing base is something they want to do, but never allocate time towards. Take this opportunity: hop on Share-A-Sale right now and look for programs that will resonate with your audience! Prioritize writing an article on that affiliate and/or creating your banners and text links. You’ll never make money if you don’t prioritize these tasks.
[Tweet “Dedicating time to GROW is more than just creating content #blogging”]
Connect
True growth, valuable content, and an authentic voice are all dependent upon a blogger knowing their audience. Additionally, blogging is all about the connections we make among our fellow bloggers and partners. If you don’t have a ‘tribe,’ a single focus in this area will make a significant impact to traffic, shares, and your online friend pool. Here are some other ideas:
- Ask. If you survey readers (Instant.ly, Survey Monkey, or Google forms), you’ll gain insights into them, but also fill your content calendar with valuable, sharable goodies that will help you grow.
- Set up a fun quiz for your readers.
- Engage. Join a Facebook group for blogging or a sharing group to bolster your tribe.
- Connect. Seek out a collaboration with another blogger, look for a podcast or radio show to appear on as a guest.
[Tweet “#Blogging is about connections: foster them and grow”]
Takeaway
If you want to make money blogging, remember that blogging isn’t your business, it’s a part of your business. Take a few minutes to fill in the weekly productivity planner and grow your blog and your business.
Be a resource to your fellow blog tribe: please pin this to your blog tips board on Pinterest. I sincerely appreciate the share and your time today.
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