My Blogging Workflow (for 64% monthly traffic growth)
Having a solid blogging workflow has been the MVP of my website growth (and productivity).
So this post shares exactly what I do (and tips for building your own).
Over the past 6 months, my blog has had an average growth rate of 64% (month over month). One main reason for this success?
My workflow.
So let’s wrap up this intro – let’s get it.
Table of Contents Show
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What Is A Blogging Workflow?
Without a good system, we run the risk of losing focus and motivation (and not reaching our blog goals).
So we need a workflow.
A blogging workflow is a system of steps and processes for researching, writing, publishing and promoting content.
It’s aligned with your blog goals, supports habit formation and addresses blogging bottlenecks.
A workflow is like a personalized instruction booklet for what you need to do (and in what order).
Luckily, creating one isn’t too difficult.
But before we explore all that, let’s quickly look at some more of my favorite benefits.
Do I Really Need A Blog Workflow? (the benefits)
Simply put, workflows work.
Here are my favorite benefits of using one:
Better organization and efficiency
Supports blogging consistency and habit formation
Improves time management and focus
Maintains better quality assurance for your posts
Improves your content planning and scheduling
Tracks your performance more easily
Scale easier with a repeatable system to follow
Address weaknesses and bottleneck head on
I attribute my blogging success so far to my workflow (the one that’s given me that average traffic growth rate of 64%, month over month).
I sourced my data from Google Search Console and then fed it to ChatGPT to run the numbers (because, math).
But what about things like SEO and keyword research?
Are they not the allstars of successful blogging?
Yea, for sure – those things are crucial. So a good workflow will include them and turn them into a repeatable system to follow.
Now let's explore what that looks like.
Here’s My Workflow (4 stages)
Alright, on to the good stuff.
So what is my blog workflow, you ask? It’s a simple framework I use to plan, write and consistently publish new content.
It has four key stages, seen here:
Stage 1 (keyword selection)
Stage one of my blog workflow is keyword selection.
(keyword research technically comes first, but this is an ongoing thing for me and my process)
For this first stage, I review my keyword list and choose a topic that best reflects what I’m currently working on in my own life.
I suppose this is a benefit of having a blog where I am my target audience.
But choosing keywords that follow what I’m doing in my own life ensures that my writing is hyper relevant and top of mind.
This style of topic selection and writing makes the content quality much higher.
Readers can sense the authenticity. And the writing is naturally more engaging and participatory.
Stage 2 (content planning)
After choosing the topic (keyword) I’ll be writing on, the next stage is content planning.
This is where I expand on my core keyword by finding related phrases and subtopics I’ll be covering.
This is where I outline the shell of my blog post.
Just like how an artist sketches the outline before filling in the colors and shading in the details.
I like to create all my blog drafts in a Google Doc; you can copy my Google template here.
I also dial in on a final title at this point — or at least close to what it will be. I put my focus keyword towards the front of the title and try to keep things short (but compelling).
At this point, I’m focused on building the structure of a great post and naming the main sections.
The goal is to organize everything so it flows amazingly. I structure topics and subtopics in a way that will make the most sense for the reader.
(hint: this step is streamlined when using a blog post template)
Once I’m done tweaking and I get everything pretty much where I want, I then start writing.
Stage 3 (writing + publishing)
Writing is part three of my workflow.
I usually rely on a blend of discipline and mood for this part:
I use discipline by time blocking a couple hours every morning for writing and research
I use mood by always keeping my writing drafts open in my browser
Because 5 minutes of writing here, 10 minutes there…it really adds up!
Here’s my basic content writing process (after I draft the outline):
If you want more information on how to index a new post into Google Search Console (step 9 above), you can learn more here.
I also like to reread my post at least once more after publishing — but as if I was the reader.
Sometimes I find some minor things to change around.
Otherwise, once I’ve finished this whole process, I repeat the cycle by circling back to my keyword document and choosing my next post.
And this leads us to the final piece of my workflow puzzle: content consistency.
Hot Tip: My blog posts are usually 1000 to 1500 words long, which is a common target. But it really depends on your keyword. Learn more here.
Stage 4 (content consistency)
Content consistency is the last stage of my blogging workflow.
This part is all about posting frequency and scheduling.
Because, as you know, we can’t just write a few blogs and expect massive traffic.
Sustainable traffic comes from consistently publishing high-quality blogs.
So what’s a good blog posting goal?
Or rather, how many blogs and what frequency of publishing is considered “consistent”?
Here’s what I’m doing now:
Write and publish 3-4 new blog posts every week
Rotate topic categories every 3-5 blog posts (*not always, but usually)
For example, if I’m writing about goal setting, I usually put out a few goal-related articles back-to-back
This is probably because I write on things that are top of mind in my life
I also like to occasionally revisit older posts to:
Refresh any that could use a little love
Reoptimize ones that aren't ranking
Writing three or four new posts every week may sound like a lot.
And truth be told, some weeks are less (even zero) and some weeks are more (you know, those marathon moments).
But three to four blogs is my average. And I credit a lot of my blog’s growth to this level of consistency.
A common goal I hear for new bloggers to focus on is to reach your first 100 blog posts.
This is often when a blog will really start to find its footing and get traction.
But the most important thing is to never just stop.
Inactive websites will eventually get delisted and deranked from Google.
So start with a posting routine that’s realistic for you and be sure to keep things active as you grow.
Building Your Blog Workflow (some tips)
Separate high-impact action items from low impact ones
(and spend more of your time doing the things that make a bigger splash)
Automate or delegate lower-impact action items
Define your goals and marry them to your workflow
Know your bottlenecks and weaknesses (and create workarounds)
Review and revise as needed – allow for flexibility
Use templates and tools to streamline things
For example, use my 4-stage template and just edit the details of each
Create a main hub to organize and track everything visually
I like to use Notion to manage all of my creative projects (it’s free)
Use a content calendar to better plan and control your schedule
Customize your workflow to your particular writing and organization style
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