Blogging takes time and energy. Like most business owners you probably have enough on your plate each day without worrying about posting new content and coming up with new topics for your blog each day. However, keeping your blog up to date with fresh new content can be extremely important for your online strategy. This post examines some ways to help take the load off and make blogging work for your busy schedule.

Find Your Best Writing Times

We all have certain times of the day when we feel more inspired and energetic than others. If you have more energy and focus in the morning, set aside a little time in the morning to take care of your blogging. While you don’t want to waste that vital time period, you can often accomplish a lot more during your energetic periods and will find that you are much more efficient.

Plan Ahead

Devote an afternoon or an entire day to writing and scheduling new content ahead for the next week or month. Writing every day can be a chore and you will always have days when you don’t have time for writing. If you write a large number of posts at one time when you can aside a day, you can create enough new content to keep your blog active for weeks or months. Upload your new posts in draft form, then schedule them for publishing or go in and publish when you’re ready.

Keep an Idea List

Sometimes the biggest challenge in posting new content is having a good subject. Whenever you get an idea for a new article, write it down. Keep a notebook or list handy on your smartphone, and jot down the subject whenever it pops into your head. The next time you sit down to write, you’ve already got a solid list of ideas to start from. Even when you have a list, you can also set aside time purely for brainstorming new article ideas. Don’t worry too much about whether the ideas are great or not, just get them written down. You can always scratch them off later if you realize they were a bad idea. But sometimes the free thinking can lead to some really great subjects.

Know Where to Get Ideas

Take note of some good sites for finding new ideas when you aren’t feeling creative. You can discover new and interesting ideas almost anywhere online. Some of the best places to look include forums, Q&A websites, article directories, social media sites and other related blogs. Read up on what people are talking about. Take popular questions from some of the big sites and turn an answer into a full-blown blog post.

Outsource and Edit

You can also hire someone to write your blog posts for you, then edit the work they deliver to make it fit your branding and business personality. One good way to save some money doing this is to hire someone to write short articles (about 300 words or less) to use as a skeleton that you can then later flesh out. As you edit the post, expand on the points they make and add your own ideas. This is inexpensive and it can save a considerable amount of time. If you find a good writer, you can also let them come up with new article ideas for you.

Out of Inspiration?

If you’re exhausted and don’t feel like writing, don’t push it. If you’re trudging through that latest article, chances are it will show in your writing. It’s often better to take a step back and return to the writing when you’re feeling refreshed again. Readers can often tell when your posts are disjointed and uninspired, and you’re better off with no content than terrible content.