There are two questions I get asked the most: “What goes into writing a blog post?” and “How do you manage both your full time job and the blog?”
There’s a lot of ways to answer both of these questions, so I’m going to break it down into two posts.
First up: What goes into creating and writing a blog post?
I’m sure everyone is well-aware that a lot more goes into writing a blog post than just photos and links. Or at least I hope everyone is aware.
PREP, PREP, AND MORE PREP!
Yes, a TON of prep goes into the making and writing of a blog post. It usually starts with setting up a time with a photographer (typically Allie). From there, I think about what I want to shoot for the upcoming week or so. I either have looks already planned, or go out and buy newer items to make sure they’re in stock and available for you to shop! Allie and I typically shoot every Saturday at 10AM, and I always aim to shoot four looks. After our schedule for the shoot is sorted out, I take pictures of everything I want to shoot this way I can remember small details. Like accessories and lip color.
ON SHOOT DAY
I get up a little early to make sure my outfits are ironed and I have all of the elements for my looks. I usually touch up my hair and add some make up. When Allie and I are shooting, it takes anywhere from 15-30 minutes to shoot each look. We also leave some room to look for bathrooms for me to change in. I love shooting near parks because they have bathrooms (which are so gross, but so worth it when you have a lot of looks to get in). Oh, and as I mentioned, The Plaza is a great place to change too;)
POST-SHOOT
Once I choose which photos I want to be edited, I send them back to Allie and she edits them for me. Which is amazing because editing photos is NOT easy. I do have Lightroom and use presets when Matt takes my photos (like in this post here), but I’m not super used to it. Allie, on the other hand, has become a pro. I’m SO lucky she’s my photographer. After about 2-3 days, my photos are ready to go and I immediately get them into my Dropbox and onto WordPress so I know what content I have to insert into posts. Now…it’s time to get into writing a blog post.
THE ACTUAL POST
When I look at my photos, I have to decide between either a) Writing about my outfit details in length or b) Write about another topic (like body confidence). It’s really either one or the other, I don’t typically like to merge the two types of content.
If I happen to have a great idea or topic I want to write about, I use photos of a look that is simple and pretty self-explanatory. If a particular outfit is “complicated” or has a cool statement piece, I know I’m going to write about the outfit. Sounds simple enough, right?
It doesn’t end there.
I like to get all of my links set up and ready to easily be inserted into a post. If you didn’t notice by now, I use affiliate links in my posts (there’s a disclosure on my sidebar that further explains what they are). These links, in addition to me making a small commission, are really helpful to readers when they want to know the exact item (or similar items if it’s old/sold out). Since I do work full-time, sometimes it’s hard for me to answer an email, tweet or DM from someone. That’s why my looks are ALWAYS shoppable!
WHAT’S NEXT?
After I’m done writing a blog post, the fun doesn’t stop there. I have to schedule tweets, Facebook posts, and pins. I love the ability to schedule my posts, especially since I work all day. That helps alleviate a lot of stress throughout the day. Thanks to CoSchedule, I schedule all my tweets for the day my post is published. I wrote more about it in this post. I even make sure to schedule tweets for that post for upcoming days, weeks, and months. It’s always a good idea to recycle content and CoSchedule makes it easy!
You can actually schedule other social media posts through CoSchedule, but I find other platforms are more efficient (for me). Facebook’s publishing tool is actually amazing. I try to schedule at least 6 posts on my blog’s page a day. Although as of late, I’ve been slacking big time. UGH. As for Pinterest, I use BoardBooster and Tailwind to schedule my posts, recycling my pins and help me pin to group boards. I highly recommend these services!
If you’re still with me, YAY! I hope you found this post interesting (if you’re not a blogger) or helpful (if you are a blogger). It was fun to talk about what goes into not only writing a blog post, but also what exactly goes into each and every post!
This is a great post gal! Love the behind the scenes look.
xo Laura Leigh
http://www.louellareese.com
Thanks, lady!!! Xx
love all the tools you shared! I love tweetdeck, but definitely fail at scheduling posts elsewhere, I usually just do it in real time, which isn’t the best!! definitely going to check out the ones you mentioned!
YAY! Let me know how you like CoSchedule – I’m happy you reached out about it!
what plug in do you use to scroll through your looks and also what affiliate programs do you like best?
Hey! If you’re talking about my sidebar – I use a widget through my affiliate program, rewardStyle. As far as affiliates, I know there are so many out there, but the two I’m familiar with (and use) are Shopstyle and rewardStyle. These are the ones my readers are used to seeing with other fashion bloggers and know how to shop using the links, widgets, Instagram pictures I post. Let me know if you have other questions!
Thank you for sharing this information! People have told me I should start a blog, for some time now. I’ve hesitated due to other life happenings, but am leaning toward starting one soon so this is very helpful!!
Love your content, process, and organization 🙂
I say go for it! Thanks for stopping by, Nicole! Xx
I LOVED this post. It’s such a great glimpse into the day of a blogger. I appreciate all of the hard work you put into your blog, it certainly shows! xo
Aww, thank you, Camille! I truly appreciate this! Xx
Love this post, Dana.
It truly is one of the most asked questions ( to a blogger ) – it is difficult to guage from the outside the amount of effort that goes into a post.
The scheduling tools are amazing – board booster is pretty good!
xx
-Neha
LovePlayingDressup
Aw, thank you Neha! Love love love scheduling tools!
You are amazing! I too work full time and blog and it is a challenge but I love it. Its all about time management and making sure you fit in normalcy too. Loved this post!
Brittany 🙂
http://www.kingdomofsequins.com
You are too good to me, girl! Totally agree with you! Xx
My process is so similar! People really have no idea how time consuming blogging really is so I love that you wrote this post! xo Bryn http://www.waketonroad.com
Glad you enjoyed it, lady! Xx
Great post lady! Unless you blog, you don’t really know the massive amount of time and effort that goes into all the details of making everything come together. From the shoots to styling and writing, it’s a full time job in itself. Maybe making it look effortless is part of the magic 🙂
I think you shot this photo at NYPL, which is my absolute FAVOURITE place to shoot when I’m in NYC. Thanks for sharing
Lyndi
http://www.stylecalling.com
Thank you so much, Lyndi! It’s a lot more than pretty photos! And yep, this was shot at the NYPL – I actually shot there last night too….so pretty! Xx