Force Download

The most common complaint I see from other Goth bloggers (and that I used to have myself) was about how one could possibly generate content consistently for years and avoid unannounced hiatuses where you post. Ive written before about how to generate ideas for a goth blog, but sometimes having tons of ideas and no plan about how to execute them can be exhausting. Since its easier to give it a bit of forethought and plan ahead than it is to dig yourself out of one of these post breaks (if you ever decide to return to blogging), so in this post Ill outline the simple way I ensure I have content for weeks to come.

A blog content schedule was absolutely indispensable for me. Its a schedule of every single day that I want to have a blog post up (for me, Wednesdays and Saturdays) for a six month span. Depending on how often you post, you might decide to go further into the future.

I keep mine in my planner (bookmarked with an adorable skull paper clip), and here is a look at what mine looks like before it gets fully filled out. When I set up this content schedule in my planner, I take some time to start filling out what I would like to post when, keeping in mind holidays and special events which I might like to make posts about.

Filling out the content calendar can seem daunting at first, but having an eye on everything makes it infinitely easier. For me, looking at the dates easily triggers ideas: Oh, the fifteenth is my birthday, so I know Ill have an OOTD that day or, I always have a Monthly Favorites up at the end of the month or I want to do a post-a-day for October so I should plan ahead now. Dont forget Goth-specific holidays and events. Youd be surprised how quickly the content calendar fills out with your ideas.

You can stop there with the content calendar, or you can also pre-write posts and have them on hand if you ever run into one of those Nope, cant do it blogging weeks.

Pro-tip the first: Write in pencil. Dont feel obligated to stick with a post if something new and exciting comes up that you want to blog about it. Just erase the post idea and reschedule it elsewhere.

Pro-tip the second: If you dont get to writing some of the posts in your schedule (you didnt have the time, you didnt feel inspired, you didnt have everything you needed), keep the schedule on hand. You can always use it as a free idea bucket down the line.

For my goth bloggers out there, how far ahead do you plan your blog posts? Do you keep a backlog for when times are tough and blogging just feels completely impossible?