Why You Need a Blog Content Plan
Winging it isn’t a strategy.
Not for your wedding vows, not for your taxes, and, no, not for your business’s blog.
I’ll level with you – I’m not really a hot take kinda gal (or business owner). But when it comes to your business’s blog, I stand on having a plan – and that means I stand on helping you create a blog content strategy and system you can actually stick to.
Having a blog content strategy doesn’t mean you have a rigid, detailed, optimized blog plan for the next year. It does mean giving yourself structure and a plan so that you’re not ping-ponging every week between 'I know I need to write something for this blog!' and I have no idea what to write about for this blog!
Ultimately, the real value behind a blog content plan is that it helps you stay consistent – a must for a great strategy (which is true for any kind of digital marketing, honestly).
Wanna start piecing yours together? Keep reading – let’s walk through what not having a blog content plan could be costing you.
LIL KEY TAKEAWAYS: THIS BLOG AT A GLANCE
A blog content plan is your roadmap: It answers what you’re writing, when, and why — all aligned with your business goals.
Consistency beats inspo: Planning ahead means you’re more likely to publish regularly, even on low-motivation days.
Winging it wastes time and energy: Without a plan, you’ll spend more time figuring out what to write, risk publishing disconnected content, and face burnout.
Before-You-Publish Checklist (Free!): A quick, actionable checklist to make sure your posts hit SEO basics, have strong CTAs, and avoid common slip-ups. Get it here →SEO Blog Template ($27): A plug-and-play guide to structure blog posts that both Google and your readers love — perfect if you want to rank without sounding robotic. Grab your template →
Blog Wrangler: Your ultimate blog planning toolkit with 60+ blog post ideas, a fillable calendar, and content prompts to keep your blog strategy on track for a whole year. Snag it here →
What is a Blog Content Plan?
Let’s make this simple – a blog content plan is just your method for answering this question: What am I writing next – and why?
A blog content plan is your roadmap for what you’re going to write, when you’re going to write it, and how it supports your business goals.
That’s it. It doesn’t have to be fancy or complicated, but it does have to be intentional.
At its core, a blog content plan answers:
What topics will I cover?
How often will I post?
Who am I writing for, and what do they need from me?
How does each post tie back to my offers, services, or expertise?
How will I stay consistent without burning out?
The how behind your blog content plan isn’t as important as the why. That means your system can be as simple as a running list in your Notes app or as extra as a color-coded spreadsheet based on keyword research, SEO goals, and launch dates.
Both are valid; it all depends on what works best for your brain and your schedule.
That means that your plan might live in:
A spreadsheet organized by content pillars or keywords
A paper planner with rough monthly topics
A shared Google Doc or ClickUp board
A sticky note on your desk that says “Write this damn blog”
Don’t worry about getting too fancy with it. The best content strategy is the one that you’ll actually use.
Here’s a lil peek of what my blog content strategy setup looks like:
P.S., if you struggle with blog content structure or what to include in every blog you post, take a peek at my Essential Elements to Add to Every Blog Post blog.
The Hidden Cost of Winging Your Blog Content
When you don’t have a plan, blogging consistently can feel hard – even impossible. You’re not avoiding your blog because you’re lazy or a bad writer – you’re avoiding your blog because you don’t know what to write about and every step feels like a heavy lift.
You might think that sitting down to plan your blog content strategy ahead of time is a time suck. You might even think it could cost you to plan your content like this – time, energy, brain power, etc. But to be honest, just winging it every time you need to write a blog could be the thing that’s actually costing you.
You Waste Time Trying to Figure Out What to Write
You know you need to be consistent, but every blog writing session starts with an hour to two hours of “wait…what should I write about?” That part of the process is a time suck – and that’s time you could be using to do something else.
With a blog content plan: You put in the brain power ahead of time for the next few weeks or months. You can sit down once, map things out, then reap the benefits of it for the next few blog writing sessions because the topic is there, the research has been done, and everything is ready for you.
You’re More Likely to Publish Random, Disconnected Content
Without a bigger strategy to guide your path, your posts can end up feeling scattered. Helpful? Sure, maybe. But do they make sense for your customers’ journey? Do they track with what you’re launching soon? Do these make sense for your updated messaging? Maybe – but also maybe not. Your blogs shouldn’t be topics you throw at the wall and hope to stick. They should be thoughtful and part of a larger marketing plan that targets website traffic, your customers’ experiences, real questions, and actual buying journeys.
With a blog content plan: You can match your blog content with your bigger marketing strategies. That means fab interlinking and easy content repurposing. You can post a reel with a blog as a CTA. A blog can be chunked out and repurposed into several emails to your list. A blog can lead your customer to a new offer. Heck, a blog can walk customers through the ins and outs of your new offer. See what I mean? You can publish more connected, aligned content with a plan.
It’s Not About SEO, Customers, or Sales – It’s Just Random
It’s not that I don’t love your random musings (your people might, too), but your blog should accomplish a job. It should answer questions, provide value, and appease the SEO gods so you rank better. Truly, that’s the trifecta of the perfect blog. But if you’re just sort of grasping for straws anytime you need to sit down and write your post, you’re not hitting those three things on the head. And that means your blog is just sort of taking up space. That’s a waste of your time (and your people’s time).
With a blog content plan: You know ahead of time what your keyword strategy is (instead of guessing with every post) and you know what offers you want to highlight and when. You can hit that trifecta of value, answering Qs, and appeasing the SEO gods.
You Burnout or Stop (or Both)
Without something to guide you, blogging just becomes this looming thing you dread. Or it’s something you really want to get ahead on, so you sit down and bust out nine blogs for the year – but then you immediately burn out and don’t revisit your blog for another 5 months. Without a plan, you’re relying on motivation and energy – and those aren’t always consistent.
With a blog content plan: You don’t have to lean on motivation; you can lean on consistency. You can lean on the work already being hashed out before you sit down to write your blogs.
How to Plan Blog Content: Refining Your Blog Content Strategy
The secret to writing better blogs more consistently isn’t in the actual writing – it’s in the planning that comes before it. Because if you have a full 1-3 months of topics laid out and outlined, you’re far more likely to write those posts and schedule them – even when your motivation is lacking.
#1 Define Your Zone of Know-How (AKA, Your Zone of Genius)
A lot of people call these content pillars – I just call them the beautiful overlap of your expertise and what you want to write about.
This is where your best blog topics live.
Ask yourself:
What am I really good at?
What questions do clients ask me on repeat?
What do I want to be known for?
What are my truly unique POVs?
Pick 3-5ish core themes that reflect your POVs, mirror your expertise, provide real value, and connect to your offers.
#2 Think About Your Readers & Customers’ Journeys
What do they need from you? From your industry? From life?
Think about where your ideal reader (hint: they’re your dream customers) is when they land on your blog. Ask yourself:
Are they just realizing they have a problem?
Are they weighing their options?
Are they ready to buy and need reassurance?
Mapping content to different stages of the customer journey helps you create posts that are both helpful and strategic.
#3 Brainstorm All the Blog Ideas Without Structure
Just start dishin’ out topics. Grab a piece of paper, get your Google Doc – whatever works for you. Don’t judge your ideas, just lay ‘em down. Get a lil chaotic with it if you have to!
Brain dump everything that comes to mind:
FAQs you’re sick of answering
Myths or industry pet peeves
Client stories or lessons learned
Behind-the-scenes or how-to tutorials
Even half-formed titles or phrases that make you go “ooh!”
Here’s the most important part: Don’t edit. Don’t organize. Just get it all out.
#4 Sprinkle in a Lil SEO Keyword Research
Once you’ve got ideas? Time to see what your dream clients are actually searching for.
You don’t need to be an SEO wizard or a total prop. Just try strategies like:
Plug topics into Google or a free keyword tool (like Ubersuggest or Keywords Everywhere)
Look for long-tail phrases with low-to-medium competition
Think like your audience and not like a marketer – what are they looking for
Pro tip: If you’re writing what your audience needs to know and weaving in what they already search for, you're golden.
#5 Organize Your Ideas by Category
Now’s the time to take that brainstorm and sort it by your earlier “zone of genius” themes.
Create little, organized groups by:
Topic category
Buyer stage (awareness, consideration, decision)
Season or upcoming launch priorities
This helps you spot content gaps, repurpose ideas, and batch your writing more easily.
#6 Create a Schedule with Your Chosen System
You’ve done a ton of the legwork. Now make a plan you’ll actually follow.
What’s your ideal system look like? Think about it, do you thrive with:
A spreadsheet?
A paper planner?
Asana, Notion, or Trello?
A literal sticky note on your desktop?
Choose your tool, then block out your content for the next month or quarter.
You don’t need to write everything at once. Just decide:
What’s posting when
What’s the working title?
What SEO strategy am I abiding by”?
What needs to be prepped ahead of time?
Here’s a peek at my Blog Content Strategy Tool, Blog Wrangler – a Notion resource that organizes 60+ blog topics by category,
Tools to Help You Perfect Your Blog Content Strategy & Publish with Confidence
You’ve got the ideas. You’re making a plan. Now let’s make sure your blogs actually get written – and work. Here are my go-to tools (AKA the ones I made because I needed them too):
Before-You-Publish Checklist (Free!)
A quick-hit checklist to run through before you hit publish so you’re not missing the SEO basics, forgetting a CTA, or publishing something that reads like a journal entry. Perfect if you’re a “wait, did I actually write a meta description?” kind of blogger.
SEO Blog Template
Not sure how to structure your posts so Google and humans love them? This plug-and-play template walks you through how to write blogs that rank and convert — without sounding like a robot. Great for service providers, creatives, and anyone tired of trying to remember how many H1s you can have.
Blog Wrangler
This is your blog strategy best buddy – the tool that does the heavy lifting for you. Yep, you get 60+ blog post ideas, a fillable calendar, content planning prompts, and an easy system to keep your blog from ghosting your business.
It’s all on Notion, it helps you create a year’s worth of weekly blogs, and it’s perfect if you want to stay consistent, sound like a pro, and never start from blog-scratch again.
