Keeping up with a blog is difficult. When I first started blogging, it was hard for me to find my flow, but I found that one of the most helpful tools for being an organized blogger was my bullet journal. I’ve created a number of spreads since I started blogging to help with different aspects of my blog, and in this post, I’m going to be sharing my top ten. Fellow bloggers, this one is for you!
#1: Post Ideas
One of my most-used blogging spreads is my post ideas page. Whenever I think of an idea for a blog post, I jot it down on a sticky note and place it on this spread under one of my category headings. The categories you write will depend on your blog, but for me, all of my posts fall under bullet journal, books, crafts & diy, and updates. You can have as many or as few as you want!
Another simpler version of this idea is to just keep a list. I prefer to use sticky notes so I can move my ideas around and place them on my blogging calendar (more on that later!) but do whatever works best for you.
#2: Stat Tracker
This tracker, inspired by Christina77Star, is one of my favorite blogging spreads. It’s super useful for tracking all of my site’s statistics, and I love its colorful, organized look. And just like the post ideas spread, feel free to customize the look of the spread or which stats you’d like to track. These are the statistics that I’m currently tracking:
- Views
- Visitors
- Likes
- Comments
- WordPress followers
- Email followers
- Total followers
- New followers since the previous month
- Pinterest followers
- Instagram followers
- Bloglovin’ followers
#3: Post Writing & Sharing Checklist
The social sharing checklist is a spread I made about a year ago, way back at the beginning of my blogging career. For each post you log, there are separate checkboxes for writing, editing, publishing, and sharing on Pinterest, as shown by the symbols at the top of each column. You can also add columns for other social media sites where you share your blog posts. With this spread, you’l never forget how far along you are in the posting process and where you’ve shared your posts.
#4: Monthly Post Calendar
The most crucial spread I use to plan my blog posts is my monthly post calendar. Currently, I have been using a sticky note system inspired by Kara @ Boho Berry where I draw out a calendar and place sticky notes from my post ideas page (see above) in the spaces corresponding to the days I would like to post. This makes it easy for me to move ideas around if I change my mind about what I’m going to post in the upcoming month or if I miss a post.
Then, after I’ve posted, I take off the sticky note and write out the post in pen. I also use this calendar for my instagram posts, so I highlight my blog posts in one color (this month it’s green) and my instagram posts in another (currently, yellow). Because there are only two colors, I like to switch up my color code to fit each month’s theme.
Another version of this spread combines the calendar and the checklist from idea #3: the top half of the page is a really tiny calendar, and the bottom is a writing and sharing checklist. I had to cut my sticky notes to be super small to fit this calendar!
#5: Blogging Goals
Just like with any other aspect of life, goal-setting can be very rewarding as a blogger. I have been using Megan @ Page Flutter‘s three-column approach to goal planning for my yearly goals, so it made sense to carry the strategy over for my blogging goals. With this layout, you not only write down your goals, you also create smaller, less intimidating steps you can take to reach each goal and your reasons for each goal you set. It makes goals a lot easier to manage when they’re broken down into more actionable tasks.
#6: Product Review Tracker
The product review tracker is one of my favorite blogging spreads I’ve created. While mine is specifically for books I need to review, you can tweak this spread for any kind of product review: stationery, makeup, etc. The basic idea is that there are columns for what the item is, where you got it, when you got it, and when you want the review posted by.
For those book bloggers who are curious, here’s the breakdown of my columns: (feel free to skip to the next idea if this doesn’t pertain to you) the first column is just a space to check off each book once I’ve reviewed it. The next column is for the title of the book and its author. The next three are for tracking where I get my books for review. The three ways I get review copies are through Netgalley, Edelweiss, and physical books, hence the N, E, and P. For each book I list, I place a dot underneath the letter that corresponds to where I got the book. (For example, I got How I Resist as a physical book from a Goodreads giveaway, so I put a dot under P for physical.)
After that, there are columns for me to write the date I received the book, the book’s release date, and the ideal dates for me to post my review on my blog. I like this system because since I get books for review from three different sources, I want to be able to track them all in one place.
#7: Post Planner
Sometimes, it’s hard to just start writing a post with nothing to go off of. It can be helpful to map out your ideas on paper first, especially for longer posts with many different sections. Doing this helps me to figure out the order I’d like to write things in and jot down anything I want to remember to include in the post. Usually, it’s just a bullet point list like this:
You could also choose to include details like the date you’re publishing the post, the post’s url, and photos you want to include in the post.
#8: Blog Doodle Page
Back when I first started Blossoms and Bullet Journals, I drew this spread as a sort of advertisement for my blog. It was fun to doodle out things related to my blog and the vibe I wanted to have, and I posted a photo of it on Pinterest in hopes that some people might find my blog through it. If you’re not into drawing, you could also make a collage of images that represent your blog’s mood and topics.
#9: Blog Post Reading Notes
Reading other people’s blogs is an important part of blogging! (In my opinion, at least.) Sometimes when I read a really good blog post (in this instance, it was a post about reviewing books written by Aimal @ Bookshelves and Paperbacks), I like to use a spread in my bullet journal for note-taking.
#10: Hashtags List
If you’re a blogger, there’s probably a good chance you also have social media connected to your blog. Keeping a list of hashtags readily available is great because people will often find your account through hashtags.
Which of these ideas is your favorite? Do you have any other ideas for blogging spreads that I should know about? Talk to me in the comments!
♥ Annie
It’s become apparent to me that i need to bring some order to the chaos of my blogging (and love). This brilliant post may very well be the answer- thank you !
Spence:)
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Ahh thank you, I’m so glad this helped!! 🙂
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Wow! I want to create this for my blog planning and maybe using ring planner for flexibility. I like blog post log spreads!
Thanks for sharing. 🙂
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Ooh a ring planner sounds super cool! Happy journaling!
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Thank you for that nice blog post! I really want to try the post-it calendar system for my blog planning. Currently I write down all my plannings with a pen and have then to cross them out when they don’t fit.
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You’re welcome! I’m so glad this was helpful for you.
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Tanks
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I cannot wait to start using some of these in my 2019 bullet journal! My current one is rapidly filling up so I’ll wait a little longer… Especially excited to see my stats growing.
Lauren @ http://www.laurenhannah.net
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I’m so glad this was helpful, and good luck with your next journal!
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Thanks so much for sharing! Those are great ideas 😀 I’m gonna add some pages to my own bullet journal (though I’m just a beginner blogger)
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You’re welcome. And that’s awesome! Best of luck with your blog!
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Thank you so much!
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Omg I absolutely love all of your ideas Annie! All these spreads look so amazing and pretty! Also saw that cheeky stranger things sticker on your book! Love it xxx
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Thank you so much, Ella!! 🙂
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No problem Annie! I love your work xx
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Wow Annie. Each idea was better than the last! Cannot wait to start using them in my bullet journal. My personal fav was the idea of using post-it notes for blog ideas and placing them on the monthly calendar. What a neat way to move ideas around! 😀
As always, an extremely helpful read! 🙂
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Aw thank you so much! I can’t take full credit for that one as I was inspired by Boho Berry (the bullet journal queen). I’m so glad you liked the ideas and found some to use in your journal! ❤
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hahahha….as long as you learn and implement these great ideas you are inspiring many others for sure! :*
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So many useful spread ideas! Might have to consider some of these for my bujo 🙂
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Thanks Emma! So glad you liked them.
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I don’t do bujos, but this inspired me to maybe try. Thanks for sharing!
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I’m so glad! Good luck with your journal!
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I love using my bullet journal to track my blogging process! These tips are so so helpful especially the blogging stats! Loved this post !💛
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Yeah me too! It’s such a great tool. Thank you so much!
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This is SO helpful, Annie! I’m literally so excited to go and start adding some blogging pages to my bullet journal right now. 🙂 Thank you so much! (Also, I love your computer’s rainbow keyboard.)
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Thank you sooo much!! It makes me so happy that you found it helpful. (And yes, I love it so much too!) ❤
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Loved this post. I love bullet journals, but it takes so long!!
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Thank you! I definitely see what you’re saying, bullet journaling does take time, but I think (for me at least) it’s worth it. I try to just set aside at least 10-15 minutes for it per day, and I think it really helps.
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I like how it makes me feel more organized. I’m trying to get back into it slowly 🙂 x
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Definitely a good idea, best of luck!
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These are some helpful tips Annie! ❤ I really like the first one about blog post ideas, it keeps us, bloggers on track!
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Thank you so much! I don’t know what I would do without my post ideas list 😉
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Just though of pop in to say that I’ve just pinned this post to my phone home screen because I keep using it/ referring back to it. Really useful 😁
Thank your again!
Spence
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Omg that’s amazing, thank you!! ☺️
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