February 22, 2016

BTS - The Blogging Process

Blogging seems easy doesn't it? It's just a matter of writing a few hundred (or even less than 100) words, taking a few photographs, and then putting up a post for the audience to read, right? WRONG! Fellow bloggers will understand this post, and dare I say, will nod along in agreement. I thought I'd share some of the Behind-The-Scenes of Blogging to give you guys a little insight into the amount of work that can go into what seems like a very simple blog post.



  1. Idea - The very first thing about a blog post is the idea. Some ideas come to you out of thin air (like a lot of my random posts, and even this one*). Some ideas are born out of inspiration from other blogs (like my Valentine Blog Post Ideas). Other ideas can come from your conversations, life, experiences, etc (e.g, my Conversation posts here, here, and here). There are one or two things you can do when you have an idea - you can write it down in a notebook, or blog planner (like Cassie produces); or if you have the time, you can start writing the post immediately.

    *I take that back. The idea for this post came out of frustration because there was a little squabble about me posting on Cakes' blog, and I realized how little he knew about what it takes to put up one blog post, much less several a week!*
  2. Photos - This is most evident with Style, Beauty, Travel, Photography blogs. Blogs in these, and other niches (including Food and Lifestyle) typically require the use of photos in the posts. Photographs can be taken by yourself, or if you're lucky, you may have a photographer to help out. Getting photos taken can be stressful, to be quite honest. Imagine blogging about food, and having to take photos of each step (see Cakes' Shrimp Fried Rice post). Or if you're out at a restaurant and plan to review the food, you want to get the perfect photos of everything on your table - my friends always roll their eyes when I whip out my camera. At the end of the day, for one blog post, you might have as many as 100 photos to choose from! If you don't use your own photos, you can always use free stock images - be sure to give credit if it calls for it.

  3. Editing - You would think that getting the photos is enough, but in these days of more competitive and professional blogging, you want your photos to stand out. The best way to do it is by editing. I personally use Lightroom, and I know only the basics. Some people use Photoshop or Paint.net. Whatever it is, you typically have to sift through lots of photos, editing the lighting, clarity, saturation, contrast, etc. It can take me up to 30 minutes to edit photos for one of Cakes' blog posts, especially as I usually take between 50 and 100 photos of his cakes sometimes (I can be trigger-happy).

    bts, blogging, blog, blogger, behind the scenes, black girl blog, nigerian blog, lifestyle blog, african blog, favorite nigerian blogger

  4. Writing - If you didn't already start drafting your post from the minute you got the idea, it's time to start writing. Sometimes the idea grows as you're typing and you can finish a post within a few minutes. If it's one that you think you want to include more information on, that means researching the topic of choice. When you're finally done writing your post, it's best to do Grammar and Spell checks, so that your readers don't have difficulty while reading your posts. I could do better myself, with the checks.
  5. Scheduling - If you have a lot of posts like I do sometimes, you certainly don't want to put up all your posts at the same time. This is where scheduling comes in. If you're super organized, your blog is probably more structured and you might even have an editorial calendar. Having a blog planner can help you with this point. Scheduling posts ahead of time also makes it easier to know what's coming up, when, and what, if any, planning you need to do - e.g. my Lovely Links posts are always on Fridays, so I know I have to source for interesting links ahead of time.
  6. Social Media - After your posts are up, some may think that's the end of it. Apart from waiting for and responding to comments, there's still the added task of spreading word of your post across your social media channels. This can be on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, even Snapchat and other social media platforms. Some sites allow for linking and automatic posting which can help. Otherwise, some bloggers create different graphics and short write-ups to share their posts. 
In summary, blogging is not as easy as it looks, and these are some of the things that go into a blog post. To the bloggers reading, are there any steps I missed? Is your blog post process the same as or different from mine? Share your thoughts in the comments below. 

42 comments:

  1. *nodding in agreement* My blog process is pretty similar. With the social media/promotion, I usually try to post about it later (days, weeks, months) so it can get a bit more traffic. I also have to follow up with comments and try to leave a meaningful response.

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    1. Oooooh, I love this idea!!! Posting later. I'm definitely going to incorporate that in the future. Yay, I learned something new!

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  2. Yeah my steps are pretty similar, I usually do Idea-->Writing-->Pictures-->Editing--Publishing-->Social Media. I guess I need to do more work in advance and include "scheduling posts in advance" in my workflow.

    www.TrueSorella.com

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    1. I do the same thing when I don't have to use actual photographs for the post.

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  3. So true Berry, so true!! I love taking pictures but the choosing and editing part is the bit I hate most....

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  4. I am not a blogger, however I know it takes time to find a title for your post that is captivating and also gives an idea of what to expect.

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  5. Blogging is work. I totally agree. Pretty much the same process.
    Epiphany29.com

    Kimono Giveaway

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    1. Yup, blogging is serious work. That's why it's good to make money from it :D

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  6. It definitely isn't easy. I blogged about my blogging process a long while back Here

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    1. Haha, I went to read just now and I saw that back then I said I'd do a similar post - it only took 2 years :p

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  7. I definitely nodded along in agreement!

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  8. Oh, I love post like these! Just going through the blog process is such a fun thing to do. I love checking out how people do their posts from start to finish <3

    xx Bash | H E Y   B A S H | bloglovin'

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    1. Thanks Bash. It IS fun checking out how others do what you do.

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  9. Well-written Berry. I have also just launched a lifestyle website www.mylifestyle.com.ng. its just two weeks old and I clearly see that its not an easy venture.Please visit my site. Cheers

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    1. Thanks! I'll check out your site. My biggest piece of advice would be to remain consistent. Even if it's posting every other week, it's better than doing it haphazardly.

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  10. I totally agree with writing the moment you get the idea. That is key! I've lost great ideas because I was in transit and my phone battery died so I couldn't take notes. Sometimes, I miss the good old paper and biro.lool.. As for editing, I dont spend too much time doing that oo, call me lazy. I dont even edit most of them. I just try to get my setting perfect before snapping away...lovely post


    www.ursulasebastine.com

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    1. Me toooooooooooo. And I forget easily, so it's really annoying!

      I spend quite a bit of time editing - mostly cropping and adding keywords to my photos.

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  11. Def not easy!!!
    Add to that for people like me that run bible studies on my blog which usually is the longest posts on my blog..have to study, get "rhema" for myself, write down, then transfer to typed form and last year when I was serving, where I was had network issues! Used to climb hills to publish posts.

    Hah! But I am not complaining, I looove what God is doing through the blog...but it sure is hardwork!

    Shout out to all bloggers!
    Una well done!

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    1. Girl, I don't know how you do it! But thank God for His grace.

      HAHAHA @ climbing hills to publish posts. I can imagine.

      Keep it up!

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  12. You have said it Berry!
    I always thought it was that simple until I started my own web.

    www.kayiniafrika.com

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    1. LOL. It looks easy but it really takes effort.

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  13. This is so true,tongue out to people who thing blogging is a passive venture.It can drain out the life of a blogger if you honestly don't have passion for what you blog about.Only love for what you do would keep you going through all the stress even when you don't earn money from it. Great post.
    www.jeenager.com

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    1. You are so right. It has to be more about passion otherwise you'll fizzle out very quickly.

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  15. Yup yup!! This is the process and then my hubs looks at me wondering why I was concentrating that much over a 'mere' blogpost!

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    1. LOL. He and Cakes can have a beer over their confusion

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  16. Yep. It's never easy. I scribble on the drafts section of my BB email as soon as the idea comes, then I try to flesh out mostly at nights cos I write better then. Once I am done editing, I move it to the the drafts section of my wordpress app on BB. Then I use the the wordpress app on Iphone to set a feature image since the blackberry app for wordpress do not have such function. I skip this step the days I am lazy. Good thing I rarely work with photos cos the process of uploading photos on mobile in-between posts is hectic. There's just something off about blogging on a PC when you are not making money from it. Funny enough, I take my computer everywhere I go but the last thing I use it for is blogging except when I am publishing a post where gifs, photos and different fonts are used. I don't use the schedule feature often cos I publish based on my mood and often times, I have found myself having to reschedule posts or returning it to the drafts. As for social media, I let my readers do that for me cos I get scared that people might unfollow me if I mess their timelines. Occasionally, I RT mentions from a post long after it's been published. That's it.

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    1. Wow, I don't think I could blog much from my phone. Unless of course, like you said, the posts aren't photo-heavy. And then having to switch between your phones? Real MVP status there. I like my stuff easy and work better with a computer.

      I enjoyed reading your perspective on your blogging process.

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  17. Excellent post. I particularly liked the Editing tip, I really want to learn how to edit my photographs, people are typically drawn to radiant images.

    Well, I've learned that it's one thing to write a blog with great content, it's another thing for this great content to engage readers in a manner that progresses into a virtual friendship. That's one thing that I have learned from you over time.

    Thank you for sharing this. :-)





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    1. You're the queen of great content. I already told you about your way with words. You just suck everyone in from the first sentence, and by the time they're done reading, they all want to comment. So you're definitely doing something right.

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  18. When I first started blogging during my I.T, it was super stressful and I had to stop because of school but coming back after 2 years, everything had changed and it was all more stressful. I am still struggling especially when it comes to planning when to post like sometimes I have all these posts with ready dates but my mood can just decide to act up and that's me back to square one. It's a learning process and I'm glad we have bloggers around willing to help.
    wumituase.wordpress.com

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    1. Yeah, if you take a long break from blogging, you'll find things have changed a lot. I think that if you schedule posts ahead of time, your mood cannot dictate what is posted. Half the time, I don't even remember what post is coming when because I scheduled it a week or two in advance.

      Just keep up with your posts, stay true to yourself, and have fun.

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  19. Blogging is a learning process for me as I'm still struggling with a whole lot of stuff but thank God for bloggers who are willing to help and share more tips at least now I know I'm doing something right even though I never seem to be fully organized when it comes to posting.
    wumituase.wordpress.com

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    1. I think Blogging is a learning process for almost every blogger, because there are little improvements you can make everyday.

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  20. I'm just new to the blogging business but I'm nodding along with you too. I think combining blogging with school /work is even more stressful but triumph I shall. Thanks for sharing.
    Laitanbee.blogspot.com

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    1. Best wishes with blogging. Keep at it and be consistent!

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  21. OMG! This post is so real. I started blogging this year and sometimes, I just want to flip a table or strangle something. My blogging process is pretty much the same although most times I don't do everything in one siting. Taking good photos is such a hassle but a necessary hassle. I was supposed to have a fashion segment on my blog but taking pictures is just struggle. I have no idea how others do it. Funny enough, I actually enjoy the editing and writing but I fail woefully when it comes to social media. Anyway, baby steps. It's nice to know I'm not the only one that finds it all challenging

    http://tobiadegbemi.com/

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