My Blogging Process

After reading over a few different posts from bloggers I admire, I thought it would be nice to share my own blogging steps on Anika May. Blogging is a hobby that's brought out the routine-loving, schedule fanatic in me which has affected my process in creating a blog post and promoting it. Although I don't always stick to the plan, and can become easily distracted, there is a set process that has developed, especially as I begin to fall further in love with blogging.

FIND INSPIRATION
This isn't difficult for me to do. I read a shocking amount of magazines and could spend hours browsing Tumblr and Pinterest, a habit I'm trying to relax. For me, inspiration can be found in so many different ways. Sometimes it can be motivation after a rubbish day at work or an amazing photography job found through another blog. I carry an ideas notebook with me to jot down anything I may come up with.

CREATE A FIRST DRAFT/CREATE NOTES
After creating an idea in my mind, the best thing to do is create a draft post, even if I never touch it again. I type in everything, from phrases to use and the type of photos I will take. If I already have pictures, I can write around this but I prefer to actually create the text first.

SCHEDULE TIME
When I work on a post, it's really important that I take the time to focus rather than string together whatever ideas remain in my mind. Because I'm so busy with work at the moment, I use my day planner and multiple calendars to basically timetable my free time between blogging and relaxing. This stops me from panicking about a lack of posts or the frequency of my presence online.

TAKE THE PHOTOS
On occasion, I have photos just sitting in folders on my computer, waiting to have a post attached to them. However, most of the time, I will take photos to match ideas that I already have. This is one of the most important steps in my blogging process because I love nothing more than beginning a post on Anika May with a great photo. The type of photo varies, if I have a new outfit, I'll shoot it immediately; or if I come up with a new lifestyle post, I'll find the relevant objects to shoot.

WRITE THE POST
This could be the hardest and easiest part of blogging. It's really important to me that my writing style develops and grows as my blog does; writing is the reason I began blogging in the first place. I always like the have an element of my voice or personality in whatever I write, whether it's through brackets for side comments (a habit I struggle to break) or my typical Northern dialect as a good ol' Yorkshire lass.
EDIT, EDIT AND EDIT
After taking photos and writing the post, I edit everything. I usually insert photos at the very last minute, partially because they're enormous and can be difficult to navigate around. This is also because I like to change photos to suit the tone of the post. I'm also a little bit of a perfectionist, meaning the editing process is incredibly vital and valuable.

LAST MINUTE CHECKS
Before pressing 'Publish', I check everything. Re-reading text, over-analysing photographs and taking an overall look at the preview. It's common for me to include spelling mitsakes mistakes or mix words up if I type too quickly. Checking this before I schedule the post to go live will avoid panicking if I spot this later.

PUBLISH AND PROMOTE
Finally, once all my perfectionist tendencies are settled, I publish the post. Sometimes this will be published automatically which is more common for off-the-cuff or spontaneous posts. However, because I work full time, I'm not always at home to work, so I will prepare a post before and schedule this. Once a post is up on my blog (usually from around 6am) I promote this throughout the day. This could be through my social networks or by leaving a little link at the end of a comment when I visit other blogs.

Now that the colder weather is here, there's nothing I enjoy more that curling up in bed with my laptop and creating a product for Anika May. My process seems pretty complex when laid out but is actually quite simple and effective enough for me. Do you have a blogging process? Is it any similar to mine?