"Failure to plan is a plan for failure." We've all heard that bit of wisdom a thousand times in our lives, and we shake our heads, 'yes, yes, I know.' And then we go back to our day, which normally begins with a nice goal or two and ends with us saying, 'wow - what happened?' Yep, we feel like we spend the whole day putting out fires and yet still have nothing to show for it. Like a blog post.
Ask anyone in social media and they'll mention blogging as a great way for a priest with a personality to reach out to his congregation. I mean, what does a priest do better than talk, right? And blogging is simply talking, but with written words.
But what do I say?
A great way to get started with a blog for your church is simply sharing the weekly sermon. True, many priests or pastors just have an outline of what they want to say, but if asked, they could flesh out that outline for at least one weekly post. And what a nice share for those who perhaps had to miss church that Sunday, or who were touched by one particular point and want to revisit it.
Another big word in social media right now is transparency, and this leads to another possible topic for your blog. Why not just share with the folks in your church what it is you do on a regular basis. From meetings with the bishop to serving on the ministerial alliance to that great book you're in the middle of reading right now. All those little things you do add up to a very interesting person.
In my news writing classes, to get students thinking about possible topics for a news feature, I would ask them: "What really made you mad this week?" Most of the time it was something that was common to many people (Trouble finding a parking place on campus? How about a story on the number of permits sold versus the number of parking spots available?)
Making a blog calendar
Okay, okay, those are great ideas. But, then, why can I think of nothing to write when I'm staring at this blank screen on a Saturday night. First, find a day that works best for you. Find that day now and be consistent. That is what I am doing in an effort to be a bit more consistent and productive with this blog. And, unfortunately, Saturday night seems to be the best night for me.
Then, I'm putting that plan into print. Well, coming from the newsroom, I'm calling it an Editorial Calendar. It's simply a list of every Saturday coming up over the next four months (hey, if you want to plan the whole year, go for it. Me? I find that a bit overwhelming). And, I keep it on my desktop so that I can see it on a regular basis. (Keeping daily notes on your desktop also forces you to keep that desktop organized.)
Now, I'm not good enough to have a topic for every single Saturday coming up, but I have a start. And now, when an idea strikes me, I have a place to store that idea until the next time I need a blog post.
This blog post was the first idea I had on my new calendar. So, see? It works.
