The Ultimate Blog Podcast - 113. Systems and Workflows to Create Magic in Your Blogging Business with Dolly DeLong

Episode Date: February 13, 2024

Are you using systems and workflows? Before you turn off this episode and decide that this is not what you’re needing, I want you to really take a listen today and know that systems and processes are vital in your blogging business. We have Dolly DeLong, a systems and workflow educator, to share more about implementing these systems and processes in your business. She offers practical tips that you can use in your own business and to streamline your workflows. Systems and workflows can truly bring peace and joy in your business. Tune in to hear more about how!Thanks for listening! Let us know your thoughts on Instagram: @sparkmediaconceptsCheck out Short Pixel!Check out the show notes (link below) for more information including links and resources mentioned in today's episode!SHOW NOTES: www.sparkmediaconcepts.com/episode113

Welcome to the Ultimate Blog Podcast with Amy Reinecke and Jennifer Draper. We're on a mission to empower women who want to start or grow their own blog. This podcast is for women who want to learn blogging basics and who crave inspiration and encouragement. Whether you're just getting started or have been a blogger for years, we're excited to welcome you into this space where we are passionate about creating community over competition. We are bloggers who want to encourage you to believe in your potential, step outside the norm and step into a life where you create your own schedule, your own success and your own story. Join us for weekly episodes as we navigate blogging

and work from home life all while raising a family and having some serious fun along the way. all while raising a family and having some serious fun along the way. Today, we are really excited to bring Dolly DeLong to you, who is going to share all about systems and processes, which I don't want you to hit like stop on this episode. If you're like, Nope, those aren't for me. That does not sound exciting. I promise you that this is going to be really, really, really good. And if you're resistant to systems and processes, I promise you that this is going to be really, really, really good. And if you're resistant to systems and processes, I want you to just take off that hat for one second. I mean, more than one second, like 30 minutes. And I want you to have an open mind that maybe doing something differently in your business this year could really help you become more prosperous, more

successful. And systems and processes can definitely help with that. Dolly DeLong is a systems and workflow educator who helps business owners uncomplicate systems, workflows, and SOPs with weekly education through her podcast, which is called The Systems and Workflow Magic Podcast. She also has a YouTube channel, Systems and Workflow Magic. She wants to help bring aha moments to business owners to showcase to them that when they focus on the back end of their own business, they can not only be more streamlined, but they can also start

scaling and growing in positive ways. Dolly lives in Middle Tennessee with her husband and she's a boy mom. And we are just absolutely thrilled to have her here with us today. So welcome to the Ultimate Blog Podcast, Dolly. Thank you so much for having me. So I learned about you, actually, it was last summer, and you've been on our guest list to have for quite some time. And I think the start of a new year was a perfect time to introduce you to our audience. And I think another thing too is last year is when Jennifer and I with Spark Media really put systems and processes into place in our own business. And I started this episode out like that very purposefully because I was the girl that was like, No, I don't think I want to do any of that.

And Jennifer's like, Yeah, you do. And we're gonna do it. And you're gonna be fine. Put your big girl panties on. Let's get this done. And it has been the best thing that we have ever done for our business. So I just want to give that perspective to somebody who might feel resistant to putting in the work up front to do some of these systems and processes that Dolly is going to talk about today. That coming from somebody who felt just like you, maybe it is freeing. And I completely agree with what you put in your bio that it does give you that ability to scale. And it's looking at your business in a very different way. And before we dive into this, I would love for you just to share, how did this become

a passion of yours? Have you always been a really organized person? Or is this something that you had to learn yourself? I would just love to hear your story about that. Yeah, definitely. I'll try to keep this very short and brief. This is very, I know I can tend to be a little long winded, but short form is I am currently a still a service based business owner. So I wear the hat of being

a family and branding photographer here in Middle Tennessee. In addition to being a systems and workflow educator for small business owners, the photography side started first in 2007. And that came purely as a hobby. And then that hobby merged, like most entrepreneurs, merged into a full-time business on accident. I don't want to say on accident, but just like it happened over the course of 10 years. And then I started my business full-time in 2018 as a photographer. But then as I was growing my own business, I was noticing that my brain and not because I'm unique or different or anything, it just works really well being organized with processes with systems, because I was balancing a lot out within my own photography business. And then when the year 2020 happened,

where I am from, there were a lot of shutdowns. There were rules like you can't leave to go photograph or you will be fined. And of course, me being the avid rule follower I am, I'm scared of everything. So I'm like, I can't leave. I don't want to be fined. So I also was at this cross point of, well, I still want to do photography when it opens up again. But right now I have all these open months. What am I good at? What do people ask me advice about and help with? And so I kind of like, that's where systems, I didn't know that it was called systems and workflows. I just knew I'm pretty organized. I really like running my business and being a photographer. How can I merge the two? And so that's kind of like where my systems and workflow

journey began. Again, just me trying to figure out another avenue of revenue, even though it's stream of income there. That's the word I was looking for stream of income. And so it's ever since 2020, it's just been me, like honing in that strength. And then in late 2021 is when I started my podcast, the systems and workflow magic podcast. And then it's just been like growing more and more since. And then last year, I just like I had hired a bookkeeper for the first time for my business. And we just she helped me see like, hey, your systems and workflow education business is actually like the same revenue, if not a little bit more than your photography business. So that's why I'm like, all really leaning heavily into the power of systems and workflows. And I'm having so much fun doing it. It's a wild ride,

you all. It's a wild ride. It's an amazing story. And what I love about it the most is you said you went with what people were asking you for. It was such a natural thing. And that's what we tell so many of our new students who are wanting to start a blog. You know, they're like, what do I blog about? And we're like, well, what do people ask you about? What do the people in your life naturally gravitate toward you, you know, and ask you or, you know, what are you the sort of expert in your community on? And that's, it's such a great testament to the fact that when it's a natural fit like that, that it can really truly become something. So that's, I think that's an exciting part of your story. And I love that you were able to lean into something that you loved and to be able to share it with other people too. And obviously, you're seeing that there's a need of that service out there for people. So what types of people now do you work with? Do you mainly work with just photographers? Or what kinds of people do you teach? Initially, I was leaning more towards teaching other photographers, since that is primarily my background. And then it merged

into creative based business owners, because I've noticed that a lot of creative minded business owners, I don't want to say struggle with being organized. And like, I think that creative minded business owners are very talented in so many different ways. But it's hard to make sexy and exciting, like, hey, systems and workflows are fun. They're not. They're not fun, but they're essential. So how do we merge that like creativity with the essential and make it fun on a weekly basis. And then now it's merged into now that I have my, I've had a podcast for about three years now, I'm going to year three. And I am now on YouTube. And I had a coaching session with a business coach. And she, she gave me this great advice and said, well, a lot of business owners do need help with systems and workflows. So maybe like step away from just like funneling yourself just for creatives. And now I offer help to small business owners who just need to take baby steps and understanding the foundations of systems and workflows.

And that is, I know that's already overwhelming in itself, but like I see it as, I'm really excited because it just is a baby step. Taking that first step and setting up that first system will help you then set up the second system, will then help you set up the third and fourth and so on and so forth. And so hopefully that helps answer your question. I am helping small business owners now like a team of one, or maybe they have

a VA like they are either brand new business owners, or they're in that messy middle, like they have scaled a little bit. And now they're in the messy middle. And they are like, what, how do we organize the back end of our business? That speaks directly to our bloggers because that's exactly where they're at in their business. They're either just getting started or they're a little ways down the road and they're thinking about adding that first person or they've added that first person. And they're really starting to think of themselves as a small business. And that's so important to take yourself seriously. Yes. And to allow yourself to understand the fact that a system is part of running a business.

And that's important. Yeah. Not just like producing the content, etc. Exactly. And if you think about it, if listeners need to hear systems in a new way, like we all have systems and SOPs in our life. We have a standard operating procedure for how we make our coffee in the morning. We have a system for how we wash our face at night

and in the morning, like it's called a routine. So why not think of it a routine as a standard operating procedure for a specific thing within your business? That's how I think of it as. I think that's a really good analogy. And something that you said a little bit ago is that a lot of creatives don't have this mindset naturally. It doesn't come naturally. And so once again, I think it's being willing,

and this is really hard to do as an entrepreneur, but to say, I need a little help in this area. Yeah. And whether that's, like Jennifer said, hiring somebody or whether that's turning on your podcast and saying, okay, I do feel really run down. I feel really burned out in my business. How can I streamline everything more to give myself more space and don't feel like I spend half my day just writing my notes, thinking about what I actually need to accomplish during the day. And so I love that you said that because I think a lot of creatives listening are probably nodding their heads and saying, I don't have that gene. I don't have the gene that can sit down and set up systems because I am spending all of

my energy being creative and creating things. Knowing that our brain, it's just like a baby when they're learning different things. You can't become... Your motor skills and language, they don't develop at the same time. This is kind of that same thing. If you're a creative, then that other side isn't always working. And so I think it's not coming from a place of shame in any way that you failed as a blogger or business owner by not having systems. But it's opening your mind that, okay, maybe it's time to look at this in a different light.

Let's see. I'm feeling burned out or I'm feeling like things are growing and I can't keep up. Or I want things to grow to the point that I can't keep up. What can I do to set myself up for success? And that's really where we want to get started and get to the meat of this today is to ask you, Dolly, as a beginner blogger, we're just going to frame it from this idea of a beginner blogger. And I want going to frame it from this idea of a beginner blogger. And I want anybody to put themselves in the shoes to, if you've been blogging for a year or five years or whatever, and you don't have any of like systems and workflows

put up in your business yet, I want you just to go ahead and pretend like you are a beginner blogger again and hear what she has to say and be willing to go back and rethink about your business differently. So as a new blogger or beginner bloggers listening to this, what are some of the first steps that you would encourage them to start with when it comes to adding this idea of I need some systems in my business in order for it to function more optimally.

Yeah. So the first place I start, again, it's not like shiny. It's not trendy. It's very practical with a project management tool. Like what is your home base going to be for your blog? No, I'm not talking about like where you're actually writing out the blogs or like WordPress. I'm talking about what is your project management tool of choice so that like Asana or ClickUp or Trello, or even if you're like, I don't even know where to begin. Like, I don't want to do the research that stresses me out. Then start with your Google Drive because that's also free as well. So there are free versions of,

I think there are free versions of everything I just said, especially Trello and especially Google Drive for sure. And I want that- ClickUp has one too. Okay, great. I love that there's a free version of ClickUp. That's really good. So I really want you to decide now

to have a home base for your blog where you are gonna keep everything, all your systems for your blog in you are going to keep everything, all your systems for your blog in this one home base. And allow yourself to know that you might change in a year or two years or three years. Don't feel pressured that you need to have the choice perfectly right now. Because listen, I was just sharing with them earlier, like I am changing course platforms right now. And I'm like five years into the business. And it's so stressful. But it is what it is. That's just what business is sometimes. So start with a project management tool. And the one I use is Trello. And Trello is

set up as a board. And within that board, it's like one theme. So the theme of this board that I'm talking about, it's literally called my blogging workflow. Very simple. And within the Trello board, you can have the option to have lists and columns. And then within each column, you can have like a little, I don't know, like a word bank, a list. I don't know what to call it. Card. There we go. A card within the list. And if you use Trello, you know exactly what I'm talking about. If you don't, then I'm probably like rambling right now. But within my Trello board, I like to organize my workflow starting off with the keywords that I want to be known for, for like what I want to rank for, what I want to be searched for.

So if you are basic Google 101, like or SEO, Search Engine Optimization 111, how do you want your ideal client or audience to find you? Like, how are they searching for an answer? Not knowing that you're the answer, but you're the answer, if that makes sense. Does that make sense? Yeah, totally. And so those I want you to start using those keywords within your blog posts. So for example, I am a Nashville family photographer. So there right there is a keyword that I know my ideal client is typing into Google, Nashville family photographer near me or family photographers Nashville. All right. So I want you to do some basic research.

This isn't going to be an episode about SEO or how to use keywords, but I want you to have an area, a list in your main workboard, in your main hub of all of the keywords that you want to write on and be known for. Then in another column, I like to list out how I make money, like within my business, all of my like digital products and all of my service. So if you've listened, you know that I am both a service based business owner, and I'm an educator. So within my service based business, I have two services, branding photography, family photography. And then on the flip side, I also offer education, free education from YouTube and my blog and my podcast. And then I do have digital products that are paid. So I literally write everything down. The reason why I do this, there's a reason, is because I want my blog to be

very intentional about having a specific call to action and to drive to either the service or the digital product that I'm writing content about. So I don't want you just to open up a blank document and be like, okay, what do I write about? Because if you do this work on the front end, like making a home base for yourself, knowing what your keywords are, knowing what your services are, and then we're going to talk more like there will be a purpose to this method. Okay. So I highly recommend listing at Oliveira money making services because I really want your blogs to drive more traffic to those services to those digital products. Well, then, well, how do you do that? I also have lead magnets. So lead magnets are freebies that essentially lead people closer to those services that lead people closer to those digital products. So if they're not ready to buy, because like most likely a person when they land

on your website, your blog, they're not going to buy right away. Nine times out of 10, it's not going to happen, but they're going to read. And then what if they want to get on your email list. So think through all of your lead magnets, and then put that in a column in this hub. Okay. And then think about how each lead magnet is going to lead to the specific service. So that's why I'm having you put this in different columns. So that when you I'm having you put this in different columns, so that when you write out your blog posts, you can say, Oh, I really, my blog is about, I don't know about how to crochet spring lilies on something. I don't know on a blanket. I don't know. And so let's say you have a little mini course about that. But then let's say you also

have a free PDF. So why not like put both if that is making sense at all. I'm just trying to like total sense help people see like there needs to be purpose in your blog. Like it needs to I'm a firm believer in growing out your email list and also pointing to your services. So each blog should, its main purpose should be developing more of your authority and your expertise, one. Point two, it needs to be growing out your email list. So you should have some sort of lead magnet to grow out your email list. And three, if you have an aligned digital product or a service that aligns with what you're talking about, have a call to action for that. Because that way, like you are

driving more traffic to hopefully those three different points that I'm sharing. Also, are there any other important links? Let's say you are a service provider, you're at the capacity for somebody to just like book a direct appointment with you. Like if you put it on your blog, that's where your CRM comes in. Like a CRM stands for Client Relationship Management Tool. So that could be either HoneyBook or it could be 17 Hats or Dubsado, whatever.

So a CRM is very different from an email marketing platform. A CRM is like, it houses all your client contracts, your onboarding process, your forms that your one-on-one clients need to fill out for you. So let's say in this case, I am a family photographer. Let's say, oh, I know that if I put this on my blog, I don't do this. But let's say you're like very beginner. And you're like, I really want people to book with me. What if you had a landing page that was part of your website. And then on that landing page, you embedded your CRM form. So you could always be working on

updating your CRM form, you don't have to update the links on your blog, you just update the CRM, and it automates to that landing page. And in that landing page, use that link to put on your blogs, like as the call to action. And I know I'm getting like very granular here. And it's probably people are like, wow, this woman is all over the place. But the great thing about how SEO works, blogs and content marketing is make sure that your landing pages that your links that you're using within your blogs are searchable terms on the back end. So if you are a family photographer, I keep on using family photographer, I'm just going to use this. Make sure the backend, the slug, the URL slug, I don't know what to call it, is like Nashville-family-photographer. So it's

something, again, a searchable term that people are looking for and it points back to you. It makes complete sense. It gives a purpose to every single post that you're writing. And I think a lot of times when people start blogging, it's, oh, I like to write or I like this or I like that. But it is really... If your goal is to build a blogging business, if that is the goal, then you have to think about the end in mind. Yeah. And you have to think about, okay, how is this blog post serving me? And it really is more about quality over quantity. Not saying quantity isn't important. The more you have on your site, obviously, the better it's going to do for you.

But having that good quality content that actually serves a purpose and meets the need of a person who's coming on there for whatever reason, that's important. That's one of the best things that we could tell you just to achieve when it comes to creating content is don't create content just to create content, like create content with a purpose. Exactly. And if what I'm sharing with listeners, like if you're brand new, and you're like, oh my gosh, like, do I have to do like, share my CRM and the landing page and delete, like, I would say start with the purpose of growing your email list. I'm, again, a strong believer in growing your email list. So always have a link to your lead magnet that is in alignment with the content that you're creating.

So what is the next best step for your reader to take? Once they've consumed your content, how else can they get to know you and consume more juicy content? And that's your lead magnet that's hopefully going to lead to them getting your welcome sequence, getting to know you, getting to know what services you have to offer or what offers you have. And if you're brand new and you don't have offers yet, at least having a welcome sequence and then having them engage with you to let you know, like, hey, this is what we want you to create. Hopefully, if you have an engaging welcome sequence. And so another thing I want you to keep in mind in this hub, like we talked about, what are your money making services?

What are your freebies, lead magnets? If you have a service, can you link your CRM to this board so that that can be as a link for you to put on your blog? This is something I thought of, and I have this on my workflow, but your media kit. If you have a media kit and people are reading through your blog and they want to collaborate with you and work alongside you, can they click over to your media kit? Do you have one to offer to them? You can create one for free. I haven't done this. I've done this

through my own website. I have a link for my own website. But if you're like, where do I create a media kit for free? I know you can do this on Canva. And I know you can also do this through your website as well. Like you can create a separate landing page for your media kit. So those are two free ways to do that. Then another thing to think of is we'll have a list of content ideas. So I want you to write out evergreen ideas. So that are in alignment with, again, your services that are in alignment with who you serve, what you want to do, what you're an expert in. And when I say evergreen, I'm talking about no matter when a person lands on your website, on your blog, it's going to answer that question for them versus seasonal, like have seasonal ideas. So have a little card called evergreen ideas, put all of your content ideas there,

then have a card called seasonal ideas. So if you have a seasonal business, or a seasonal blog that you know, you're going to write content that directs to Christmas that correlates with Christmas, and that's what the seasonal idea will go under, or Halloween, or I don't know, we have January. So new year, new content, new year, new you content. So and then maybe have like a little card called ideas that lead to your services like content. I have this card called ideas that lead to boosting your email marketing to grow your list. And then I also have I'm literally reading verbatim what I've like written down for my own workflow. I say, remember all those lead magnets and services I wrote out? Well, don't forget to

be purposeful with your content, with your blog posts, weave in your knowledge about what you do, so that you can nurture your readers to take the next step to download your lead magnet. Click on the contact form. And then this is like the nitty gritty, the SOP portion, the standard operating procedure. So once I have my content idea, I move it over to a planned list and I write out the blog. And then my next thing I do is I make sure it's SEO optimized before I hit publish. And then the next thing I do is make sure, is there any like opt-ins that are relating to the content?

Do I need to create graphics? And then I review it for publication. And then I move it over to uploaded and scheduled and posted and then I have a promotion tab that where I market it. Because just because you post it, that doesn't mean the masses are gonna find it. You actually have to take the steps

to then create a system for yourself to market it. So if you're listening to this, there's a system within a system within a system within a system and that can get this is why people get really overwhelmed with systems. And so I just really want to let's just create a hub for your blog. And let's start with all of those like many ideas that I just shared. Imagine if there was a tool that could easily make your website faster. Not only that, but it would save you time and effort when dealing with images. Image compression is something that we are really passionate about educating bloggers about,

and it doesn't have to be confusing. With short pixel tools, you can accomplish all of this and more. Their goal is to deliver the original looking images at the smallest size possible, which means that your website can run faster, which provides a better user experience for your readers. To learn more about short pixel and image compression, click the link in our show notes. Yeah, I think if nothing else, for a new blogger or a blogger who's wanting to implement systems for the first time, if they just sit down and create what you said in any software that they want to use those lists. Yeah.

You know, they might be saying, well, I don't, I don't monetize yet, but this is going to be your opportunity to start thinking about how you're going to use your content to monetize. So like you said, even if every single, you know, purpose for every single post right now is to grow your email list, at least if you're doing that exercise and you're telling yourself, does this serve the purpose of growing my email list? You know, you might feel like you're spending a bunch of time to set the system up, but what it's doing is it's saving you so much time in

the long run because you're really being intentional and you're making sure that the content that you're taking all that time to create is going to serve you, serve your audience, and that you're going to remember all the important steps. Make sure you're linking it to your email signup list. Make sure you're promoting it on Pinterest. Make sure you're doing all those things so that you're not just putting it out into the universe and then it just floats around out there and hopefully somebody finds it. Because I think that's where a lot of the frustration comes in is that you're creating, creating, creating, creating, nothing's happening. But we have to do it with intention. And the system is going to help you do that with intention. Exactly. Like going back to that, just like creating a system for yourself to actually

create, and then creating a system for yourself for your email marketing, because you're infusing, growing out your email list, and then creating a system for yourself for your email marketing, because you're infusing growing out your email list, and then creating a system for yourself for promoting marketing yourself. And marketing is an area that a lot of business owners like solo business owners really fail at. I'm not going to say everyone fails at this, but it's hard to self promote when you're the only one working for yourself and other people are not taking you seriously. So you're not taking yourself seriously. So this is my encouragement to listeners like you really if you want to create momentum and a business for yourself,

you're going to have to learn the art of selling and marketing yourself. And I'm not meaning in a sleazy way. I mean, like, you really have to market yourself. I think that that is beautiful encouragement because it goes back to what we say so often of taking yourself seriously. If you don't take yourself seriously, no one else will either. And there are always going to be people who are going to be like, what is she doing? Why is she doing that? I can share this story because none of them listened to this podcast. I was with family members who were having some opinions about another family member who shares a lot on social media. And they know that I'm on social media. They know I'm a

blogger. They know I'm on social media. And they were making fun of her essentially. And I finally just stood up from the table and I was like, I'm never posting on social media again and laughed. But it was like, we have to go out there and be confident in doing what we're doing, knowing that even some of the people who are very closest to us, or in our inner circle, or even our immediate family, they might not always understand. But what I will say there, and this is marketing that says nothing to do with SOPs and workflow, but a lot of the people who you're going to serve aren't even going to be in your immediate circle. So I want to give you encouragement there that when

you go and you decide, you know what? I am going to bet on myself this year. I am going to take myself seriously. I don't care if I only have five people coming to my blog a day. And actually, three of those are my family members. I do not care. If I want to do this, I need to do some things to take myself seriously and set myself up for success so this can actually grow. And sometimes that is kind of shutting out all the noise. It can be the noise of opinions of others. It can be the noise of, I'm not good at organization. And so I can't do this. Maybe that's when you lean on help. You go over to your podcast app, and you click on the Systems and Workflow Magic podcast, and let Dolly help you with that. I think that there are a lot of ways. And this is one of my favorite things about being an entrepreneur, is that we get to

learn all of these new skills. And we actually become a lot more marketable that way in general, because we are learning so many new things. I mean, you said that right in the intro, Dolly, that you started out as a photographer. And then through your own business, what did you do? You added an entirely separate stream of income for your family based on something that was helping you in your photography business. Yeah. So as an entrepreneur, think of that. Think of the realm of possibilities that you have here just by stepping outside of your comfort zone a little bit or getting a little bit uncomfortable.

And I can promise you this, when you put some of this stuff into place, when you start creating content with intention, when you start putting these systems in place, when you look at standard operating procedures that you want to implement in your business, whether that comes naturally or not, what happens is there's only a brief period of time that it's uncomfortable, really. And what you'll slowly begin to realize is, crap, how did I do this without it? begin to realize is, crap, how did I do this without it? How did I ever run my business without this? I can say that we've thought that a lot over the last year. We used to put everything on a notebook. So if you're using a ton of Post-it notes and notebooks, and then you lose them, or you just have a piece of scratch paper, and then you lose them. And then not only do you lose

whatever you wanted to do, but you lost all of your ideas too. So it's, it's being intentional about where you're putting it and taking yourself seriously and asking for help when you need it. Because like she said, it doesn't always come naturally to some of us. Can I share two stories I just thought of when you were sharing about the post-it. So hopefully this will make people laugh. For those of you who are listening with children, you will definitely relate to this story. Or hopefully your little angels have never done this to you. So when my oldest was one, so this was like four years ago, I had written out a workflow on post-it notes and I'd like posted it all over my wall and like my shared bedroom with my husband and my son, my angel son ran into that room. He took off all the post-it notes and then he threw them in the toilets. it was hard for me to be mad because I was like, I can't believe he just did that. And it's not,

he's like a really good kid too. Even when he was one, he was like, so weirdly good. I'm like, you are so good. I, so when he would do things like that, I was like, I don't know how to react to this. And so I told my husband, I was like, well, like I said, like an inappropriate word about the toilet. Like, well, he just like threw it in the shitter. Like, but I was like, shocked. And then it just like confirmed even more. I need a hub. Like, I didn't call it a hub, but I need a place to put this where my son can't damage my thoughts. Because like, he was just being one, like he was just running into the room and grabbing things. And that's what one-year-olds do. But I'm sharing that funny story to encourage others, like have a really simple,

like decide now where you're going to put all of your ideas and organize everything for the blogging side of your business. I wouldn't recommend putting it all in like this one board because then you're going to get overwhelmed. Just like keep it systematized for yourself by like keeping a theme for this board. And that's why I call it the blogging workflow. Okay, so that was the first thing I was going to share just like a funny story about why you should have a system, a hub for yourself. The second thing I was going to share was, so in this blogging hub, I also want, if you're worried, like, well, I don't know where to start from, like, I don't

know how to start writing from scratch, if that is stressful for you, if you've already written out a blog, and you feel really good about it, well, then why don't you create a template out of that for yourself? And that way, you know, like where to put the H1 header, where to put your H2s, where to put your H3s, where to put like your main content, where to put your call to action. And I'm not saying that that like you're just going to copy and paste that and then like put new words, it will act as a skeleton for you as a template for you to rep those blog writing muscles, because it's all about repping. It's all about taking those actions, taking those steps, and you'll start getting more and more comfortable with writing. And then you won't have to use that template. And I have a template within my own blogging

workflow that I use to remind myself because I hate staring at a blank screen. So I like starting with a template. That's really good advice. We get that question a lot, to be honest, from a lot of the people who take the course and then they're creating content. I think that process of like just beginning to writing a blog post can feel so overwhelming

when they open up WordPress, start to add new and you're like, yeah, what do I do now? And like where we just had a question in our membership yesterday that somebody wanted to know the process of adding photos. Like when do you add your photos into your post? And it's funny because we all have different processes there, but that's a really good, I think, encouragement, like having a template like that. Like let's say you're a food blogger, for instance. You're going to know each post if it's written similarly, like ingredients, how I make it, why you'll like this recipe, facts, tips, yada, yada, yada. To where then when you sit down and write it, it once again is saving you time. Because the goal isn't to

increase the time that you spend in your business. The goal is to increase the revenue and decrease the time. And I know that that is so counterintuitive to what we are taught. I think in American culture, we are just taught we have to work more and more and more. And that's the only way that we are going to earn more. But I can promise you when you start thinking of things from an automation standpoint, and Dolly, you really are. You're kind of like an automation queen. That's a totally other podcast. Oh my goodness. But just booking the pod...

We're going to be on Dolly's podcast too. And just booking her podcast, I said to Jennifer, I was like, man, I need to up my game. She has got her stuff. It's just awesome. But you don't have to go in there and send all those. It's just a done for you process. And so just ask yourself, what are the tasks that you're doing on a daily basis with your blog

that you could potentially automate to save you time? To where if there's a day, like today, for instance, all our kids are home from school, which means that work looks a little different. Dolly, your kids are home too. I have one kid at school and one kid at home currently. Yeah. So Dolly's in Nashville and we are in Kansas City and we got snow last night. And so our kids are home because of a snow day. And so everything kind of like went up, but it's like we knew what needed to happen today in order to get accomplished what needed to get accomplished. And that might look different. But if we didn't know, we use ClickUp, Jennifer and I do for our business. So if we can't get

in ClickUp and take a look like, okay, at the bare minimum, what do I need to do today? This is the bare minimum that needs to be done today. Click, click, click. That's done. Okay, now I can be my mom. I can get that done. And what can be moved out to another day? If you don't know what your business is doing, if you don't know your processes, if you don't know your systems, then I think you always feel like there's work to be done. That's a feeling truly that just leads to burnout. And that can be a completely different podcast talking about how to not get burned out as a business owner. Okay. If you're listening in and you're like, Okay. If you're listening in and you're like, okay, I am pretty consistent at writing. I feel very comfortable at writing. Do you have any ideas for how to create an actual workflow?

I would recommend for the consistent writers who the ideas flow naturally, they don't need a template to have batch days. And if you're not familiar with batching, I would say, this is what I do for my podcast episodes. This is what I do for YouTube episodes. And I'm trying to lean heavily into this with blogging. But one of my weak points for my personality is writing. I just am like, oh my gosh, I'm staring at a blank screen. So this is why I have I templatize everything. But I would recommend setting aside if you know you're going to have like an extra, let's say two or three hours, like for sure on a Sunday afternoon or like a Monday evening, then write out two, maybe three different blog posts. And that could be your batching time. two, maybe three different blog posts.

And that could be your batching time. Don't optimize them. Just write it out. And then on another day, you can optimize each of them according to like what service they lead to. Like what content is this about? What lead magnet do I need to infuse into this now? Okay, and then what images do I need to put in?

What call to action manners do I need to put in? What, what call to action manners do I need to put in? Maybe like have a batch week for yourself where one day you're writing, one day you're optimizing it for SEO, like all three, all four of them. One day you're putting all the images in all three, all four of them. And then one day you are making sure the call to actions are very clear. Like you have like a system for every single day. And so that batch week could potentially take care of three, four blog posts for you and you're scheduled out for the next month. That's a system. To anybody listening, batch work is a system. Yeah. I'd love... Jennifer, I know that you have a system for your food blog. I'd love for you to

share yours. I think just giving some ideas would be really helpful. And then I can share what we do for this ultimate blog podcast too. Yeah. So specifically for my blog, now just in the last year, to be totally transparent, I've added some virtual assistance to help with some of the tasks. And so having a system in place is even more important because you don't want to have any bottlenecks in your system. You want to make sure everything flows. But whether you are doing all of these steps yourself, or you have somebody helping with these stuff, I think the same documentation is extremely important. So mine starts with the SEO research. So I have enough content on my blog that we have the data that we need to figure

out what content gaps need to be filled in and what blog posts need to be updated and things like that. So that's where we start. Then that goes to creating an outline for the post. That's all outlined so that I know the important information that people need to know. So that then when I go to make my recipe, I have all of those things in mind so that I know the important information that people need to know. So that then when I go to make my recipe, I have all of those things in mind so that I can be thinking about what's important to include in the recipe, what important notes do I need to make? What are people going to be asking about this?

How can I test different things? So I will make four recipes in a day. That's part of my batch process. And then another day will be then editing those photos and getting those uploaded to WordPress so that then the blog post can be written based on the outline that was already created. The photos are already done. And now the blog post can be written and pulled together with all that information. And we do use a template for that as well based on the outline. The outline

is essentially based on our template, and then it makes it easy to write the blog post. So it just simplifies every step of the process, and it makes sure that everything is happening on time. We do that to a schedule based on how often I want to post. But I think I will be tweaking some of that a little bit and thinking about the purpose of each post beyond just creating traffic to the website. Yeah. So for Ultimate Blog Podcast, this comes from a totally different lens that's not blogging, but I think we probably have podcasters on here listening too. Well, one thing I would recommend is one is always being ahead of schedule with an episode. And that goes for blog posts, that goes for anything that you're doing, quite honestly. There's nothing worse than chasing a deadline

and fearing it coming or being like, this has to be out tomorrow and you're working at 1130 at night. I mean, it kind of feels like we're in high school again, cramming for a test and nobody likes that. So what Jennifer and I implemented, I think we've done it close to a year now, I think, is we choose two days out of every month. And those are our recording days. And we will record, I think three is our max because we find it for like we start getting like eye twitches. And like, I can't focus on the person who we're interviewing anymore. At the fourth interview, it can be just too much. But we can do like three episodes each day. So it's six episodes over two days. That gets us caught up for six weeks. So we are always ahead. Now we do use a podcast manager for the podcast. So our podcast manager never has to wait on us. If she wants to work ahead, she can work ahead. And that just it that system flow better because then every Tuesday, we know an episode is going to go out on time. We know that the guest is going to be contacted that morning with marketing materials that they need and the link to the website. It is just a very seamless

thing that has ended up being a really beautiful addition to our business. By having that system in place there, there's not a lot of stress. We can really enjoy it more. And I think that what we all three shared here, I think that that's one thing I want you to hear is that when you put it into place and it becomes more of that routine, you actually get to enjoy things more instead of feeling stressed about it. We don't lose the enjoyment out of what we're doing because a lot of us got into the work that we're doing here because maybe we weren't happy in our job or we want to be home with our kids or whatever that is. And we don't want to hate what we're doing. And so how can you find a little bit more joy and peace in what

you're doing? And Dolly, you've just done a really excellent job, I think, of sharing how that... and Dolly, you've just done a really excellent job. I think of sharing how that, like infusing these systems and workflows can bring that in and having an open mind. So just thank you today for like sharing very, you shared very detailed to a T like what you do. And I hope that people took notes and can implement this in their own blogging business.

And I hope it helps them build freedom as well. I know that they are going to want to connect with you. We've already shared your podcast a couple of times, the Systems and Workflow Magic podcast. So please, if you have not listened to that. But Dolly, can you tell people where they can connect with you more? Yeah, definitely.

You can connect with me on Instagram. I'm very active there, at Dolly DeLong Education. Again, find me on Instagram, send me a DM and let me know like how this was helpful. Every year I try to lead between two to maximum three different systems and workflow themed related either summits or bundles. And all of them have to do with teaching a very specific theme on like the systems and workflows of email marketing or the systems and workflows of bundles. And then my next bundle is the systems and workflows of launching. And so I just love teaching other

business owners that like there's a system and workflow for literally everything in your business if you just like break it down. So find me, I will most likely be talking about one of those bundles or just talking about a recent podcast episode. So either way, like find me, let me know what system you're using now because of this episode. And I would love to connect with you. Thank you so much for coming today. Yeah. Thank you for having me again. Thanks so much for tuning in today. If you'd like to continue the conversation about blogging with us, please find us on Instagram at Spark Media Concepts.

You can also sign up for our weekly newsletter where we share blogging tips and inspiration. You can sign up by finding the link in the show notes. For those of you who are ready for the next step and want to start your own blog, join the waitlist for the ultimate blog bootcamp. The link to join the waitlist is also in the show notes. Go out and make today a great day.