As I spend this long Easter weekend in St. Louis - where ModlyChic all began, I’m struck by how lucky I am to be a blogger/social media influencer. Being a blogger is a wonderful and satisfying career choice. It’s a way to let your voice be heard, a way to help craft the world into a place that is more beautiful and accepting and kind, a way to stretch your creative side. And hopefully, after a while, if you manage to make enough money, you could even kiss goodbye to the traditional working world for good.

As dreamy as it is, though, blogging is still a full-time pursuit. If you’re going to make it work, you can’t mess around, or do it when you feel like it. You also can’t do it on occasion and think that will be enough to quit your job and blog full time. Instead, you need to focus. You need to dedicate serious time and talent, and you need to work on this for awhile before you are likely to see any monetary results. Rather than relying on a boss to tell you what to do, you need to work it out for yourself and make sure it gets done. And, to achieve that, the chances are that you’ll want to make plans.

For creatives, having a plan and following it can be a little overwhelming, or not what they had in mind when they started, but there are some essential reasons why you need to become a blogger with a plan.

Planning gives you a professional mindset

Your blog is fun. That’s why you started it. But if you are hoping to turn this into a career, you’re going to need to develop a professional mindset. Planning is the best way to do that. Businesses don’t run off whims, and your blog is a business. If you don’t have a plan, you’ll struggle to get your head in the game. With one, you’ll have no choice but to get work done.

Of course, a plan quickly jotted on a piece of paper isn’t likely to be enough. Instead, get as professional as possible with programs like Visio or, if that isn’t an option, the best Visio for Mac alternatives. These programs are a way to organize complex ideas into charts and graphs, which might be more attractive if you’re a creative. That way, you can draw up quality diagrams about what you need to do each day. You’ll then be able to keep them in view as a constant reminder of your professionalism.

It can also be helpful to have a yearly planner that you use for all your blogging needs. Personally I carry about two planners. One is for my part-time teaching job to keep track of lessons, plans, days off, etc.. and the other is for my blog. There I plot out the month, jotting down blog posts, Instagram content, events, etc… This too is where I keep track of the things I need to do each day - 3 to-do’s total - as well as things I would like to accomplish that week/month. I also note my follower numbers and general insights to make sure I am growing and improving month to month.

Planning allows you to build reader trust

Building reader trust is the most critical thing for a blogger. You need them to trust what you’re telling them. You also need to build a decent community to rank well with SEO. And, guess what? Having a plan is your best chance to do this. Reliable uploading of content at specific times each day/week ensures that readers can trust your content and that they can know when it is going to appear.

Planning time to reply to comments can also be a huge help, as can time spent commenting on other accounts and blogs. Personally, I schedule an hour into my day to scroll through Instagram authentically liking and commenting on posts. I don’t just write ‘great dress’ or ‘cool content’ but rather try to be engaging and true in my comments. I read the captions and comment accordingly, I share my favorite thing about a look, etc… Making time for this is an essential part of the blogging business.

Planning is a way to keep stress at bay - most of the time.

As much as you love it, blogging for business can get stressful. Everything falls on your shoulders, after all, and you could end up with a technology addiction, unable to put your phone away because you feel like you always need to be on and present. Or you could end up with a never-ending workload. It’s not unusual for bloggers to work late into the night at times, as well as on weekends and holidays. But if you plan ahead, you should be able to greatly reduce the amount of weekend or evening time you spend working.

While I don’t tend to work the typical 9-5 work day as a blogger, I do make sure to schedule my days so that I have time to do the non-blog related things that are essential to my health and wellbeing. For instance, I am often at the gym at 9:30 in the morning, especially on a day in which I have a nighttime blog event. By planning your day as you would at the office, you ensure you get everything done at a decent time without stress. Plus, by planning ahead you aren’t scrambling to post when you haven’t thought about what you will say. I’ve found that when I scramble to get something up because I didn’t plan, those are often the posts I regret later or have little engagement because often they come across as rushed.

So tell me… if you’re a blogger or in another creative profession how do you feel about a plan?