Back to the Basics – Have a Plan

When God decided to create the earth and its occupants, do you think He did it without a plan? No He didn’t. He planned the 7 days of creation. He even created a plan for each of us before we were even born.

“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, [and] I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” Jeremiah 1:5

“Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly [places] in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love:” Ephesians 1:3-4

If God took the time to plan shouldn’t we? Of course, our plans should be based on God’s will and if you don’t know God’s will for your life, then plans might be hard to make or they might fall through. But if it’s God’s will for you to create and run a blog, then you need a plan for that blog.

What should your plan include?

Purpose. Before you start a blog you need to know why you are blogging. What is your purpose? Are you encouraging others? Are you educating others?
Topic. What are you going to blog about? Are you going to write devotions? Are you going to write about motherhood or do product reviews? Maybe a mixture of all three? Whatever topics you decide on, make sure they are topics you enjoy. If you can’t come up with at least 50 blog posts before starting then you might want to rethink your topics.
Time. Blogging can become addictive. Determine ahead of time how much time you are willing to dedicate to your blog. Things to keep in mind are how often you will post, promoting your blog, and basic blog maintenance.
Platform. What blogging platform will you use? Blogger? WordPress? Tumbr? The options are numerous. Do your research and find which one will work the best for you.
Promotion. How will you promote your blog? Will you have a newsletter? Will you have a Facebook fan page or a Twitter account? Will you comment on other blogs or join in memes or link ups to try to build readership?

Having a plan before you start a blog will make life a lot easier. Believe me I know from experience. Even if you already have a blog, you can go ahead and make a plan. Over the holidays, after much prayer, I sat down and made a plan for 2012 for Faithful Bloggers. I planned out content ideas, freebies, and marketing. Since I have already created the plan, all I have to do now is execute it and that’s the easy part.

Do you have a plan for your blog?