How to Be a Productive Blogger and Influencer: 6 Must Know Tips

Want to get more done in less time on your blog and social media?  Here are my 6 must-know tips on how to be a productive blogger and influencer in 2020…

2019 was the year I did things differently and reasonably more efficiently. I was mindful of my time on social media and in general. I didn’t try to do it all and overwhelm myself! And I earned more from the blog than I ever did before! This post will unveil how I did it.

The question I get asked the most on Instagram is how do I do it all? full-time job, blog, Instagram, informative IG stories, responding to DMs, cooking, workout, house chores, etc..

The short answer is I don’t try to do it all–  I seek help, I set priorities and I try to be as organized as I can. 

6 Ways to Be a More Productive Blogger & Influencer

1. FIND WHAT’S STOPPING YOU FROM BEING MORE PRODUCTIVE AND WORK ON IT

One of the biggest challenges most bloggers face is distractions. Raise your hands if you ever found yourself mindlessly scrolling through Instagram when you should be working? my both hands raised.

I also have this habit of researching while writing and by the end, I end up reading something else instead of writing. This is another big block in my productivity.

To address these productivity blocks, I started setting priorities and time for such tasks. I use the Pomodoro technique for setting time And when I am on Instagram, I strictly follow my priorities- 1. create and publish content, 2. respond to DMs and comments, 3. If I have any time left I will scroll through the feed, interact with other peoples posts and watch stories (only a handful of them that I know share motivating and informative stories)

[Also Read: How to Motivate yourself when you are not in the mood]

2. SET GOALS AND INTENTIONS

The key to being more productive is having a goal. What do you want to be super productive for? The “reason” is what will drive you to be more mindful of your time.

I have dedicated a whole blog post on how to set goals and intentions and you can also download my FREE goals tracker at the end of the post.

3. CREATE AN EFFECTIVE DAILY TO-DO LIST

Creating daily to-do lists in the morning or the night before will help you FOCUS on just what needs to be done for the day.

After trying everything from bullet journal to fancy planners to the online task trackers, I have learned is to keep the to-do list as simple as I can. As days get busier filling these planners and journals will appear daunting rather than motivating.

I got this ‘get shit did‘ to-do list from Amazon (it’s bit pricey for just 50 sheets, haven’t found an economical alternative yet) and it’s been very efficient. The quote makes me smile and gets me in the action mode. You can just write in a piece of paper or in your notes app on your phone. You don’t really have to go for the fancy ones.

List all the tasks you want to accomplish for the day. Be smart and realistic about your tasks. If possible NUMBER the tasks based on priority.

4. SCHEDULE A TIME FOR ALL YOUR IMPORTANT AND BIG TASKS

Tasks like pitching brands, responding to emails, scheduling pins and posts are important and can take up a big chunk of your time. Find a suitable time preferably in the peak hours where you are most active (this is usually in the mornings for me) and set a calendar alert so that you get a reminder plus you don’t waste any time.

5. PLAN YOUR CONTENT AHEAD

Posting the right content at the right time is crucial to growing your blog and possibly land brand partnerships.

This year I created a content calendar for my blog. I set reminders for all my seasonal content (Ex- Diwali, Christmas, Valentine’s Day, Black Friday, etc), personal milestones like birthdays, anniversary posts, etc so that I don’t rush content in the last minute.

This was my major setbacks in 2019 (blogging wise). I was constantly working long hours to push last-minute content. It disturbed my sleep cycle and also invoked stress in my life.

Example- I set a reminder at the end of August to brainstorm holiday content and pitch ideas. I also added notes for each of my calendars invite with concepts I want to implement and my major take-backs from last year.

My second reminder is in September to start pitch brands and re-purpose old blog posts. The third reminder is in October to shoot, write and publish content. And In November and December, I have reminders to re-share the posts.

6. OUTSOURCE WHEN POSSIBLE

“I’d rather get ten men to do the job than do the job of ten men.” ~ D.C. Moddy

Instead of trying to do it all and overwhelm yourself, try to get as many competent hands as possible to outsource the tasks within your budget.

Last year I hired a marketing agency to do all my brand pitching. It felt so good to get that off my shoulder and solely focus on content creation.

All I did was send pitch ideas and anything that could help my agent to make my pitch sound authentic and true to myself to my agent and she use to draft these beautiful emails and send them to the brands.

To be honest it didn’t quite fit my budget but I needed that push and confidence. I was struggling to see my blog past a passion project, as a medium to make money. I was stuck and wasn’t growing as a brand even though I have a good authentic following plus writing brand emails made be very anxious.

Hiring a professional and working with new and wonderful brands gave me a major boost to my confidence. This year I am handling everything on my own because I am on a budget. So, let’s see how long before I go back to hiring someone.

Outsource the tasks you either most dread or not good at. Outsourcing is also a great way to improve your management and people skills. 

Here are the tasks you can outsource to improve your blog productivity

• Photo and Video Editing– Hire a photographer who will take your pictures and get them ready for you. I use to spend countless hours editing pictures. I went from loving to edit to procrastinating (editing 500+ pictures will do that to you). Now I work with a photographer so I am assured of high quality and well-edited pictures.
• SEO Consultant– Highly recommend hiring a virtual SEO consultant if you want to seriously grow your blog and SEO is not your strong suit. I am happy to recommend the person I work it. She is amazing and very professional. Send me an email or DM me on Instagram for contact details.
• Managing your Social Media Tasks– You can hire a VA who can help you promote your blog content on social media, schedule Pinterest pins, comment, and engage with other people’s feed to improve your reach and engagement.
• Content Creators– You can hire freelance writers to write blog content for you. This is a great way to introduce new topics to your blog that you are not an expert in.
• Web Developer -You can either hire developers hourly or work with a web management / support company that will regularly monitor your site and will be at your disposal for any design questions and changes.
• Email Marketing– Email marketing is a valuable asset for any online business. Email Marketing VA will create email newsletters, schedule broadcast emails for promoting blog content, etc.

I hope this post motivates you to be a more productive blogger and influencer. We all have days when we are less productive but trust me, having 3-4 good productive days will change your blogging game. Good luck!

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Blouse | Jeans | Heels (last seen here) | Coat (similar camel coats here) | Pearl headband | Earrings | Handbag

Find these tips on how to be a productive blogger and Influencer helpful? Also, check out my tips on how to beat the Instagram algorithm and how to stay motivated always and my Q&A on blogging and Instagram