There it is again—that word—blog. If you’re a business owner you’ve probably heard time and time again how important it is that you blog, and it’s true. Blogging is vital to the marketing plans of most businesses, and it’s one of the most effective ways to develop a web presence and create long-term relationships that have the potential to translate to new clients and sales. The Problem If you’ve ever written a blog, personally or professionally, you probably realize that one of the biggest roadblocks to the creation of a successful blog lies in the loss of inspiration. A blog isn’t a short term project—any good, effective blog is a long-term undertaking. With that comes a sense of responsibility to create quality, compelling content on a regular basis. It may seem easy at first to come up with great posts that are going to draw in readers and increase engagement, but after a few weeks or months you’ve likely found yourself without a clue as to what would be fresh and interesting to your readers. Often, this becomes the reason that blogs cease to exist. Overcoming the Problem The best way to avoid a loss of inspiration that dooms so many blogs is to create a plan for your blog before you ever write your first sentence. People vary in their content planning strategies—some ambitious planners will strive to layout a year of content, while others will plan for a quarter. Whichever approach you take, it’s important that you use the planning process as a way to lay out not only your content plans, but also your goals for the blog. Understanding who you’re writing for and why you’re writing will help guide your blog and keep you on the right track in the creation process. During the planning process it’s also important to think about how often you’re going to be able to realistically produce a blog. Don’t deviate from your schedule once you’ve created your plan—your readers will begin to rely on to produce regular content, whether that’s once a week or once a month. Remember, quality content produced once a month is more effective than not-so-great content produced once a week. Check the Calendar When You’re Planning When you start laying out your plans for your blog, always consider holidays and important events that are scheduled. These are great things to blog about and they won’t require a lot of thought on your part. It can also be a good idea to include plans for at least a few slightly more controversial posts. Leave room in your blog schedule for something that could be debated, because these types of posts are a good way to increase engagement, although doing them too often will leave you open to the risk of turning off certain readers. A good way to include these type of posts is to plan on them once every six weeks. http://virtualadministrationservices.com.au/blog-content-planning-just-how-easy-is-it/#.UfBrZm09XUs