My Process For Publishing New Blog Posts And Making Images

My personal blog has over 1,300 posts. Those posts have come over a long period of time. I started writing my first post on Blogger in September of 2008. Some of those posts have certainly been better than others and some have certainly taken longer than others to publish.

Through those 7 years, I’ve learned a little bit of a process for finding an idea, developing it, and publishing to my blog. Here’s a look at how it usually goes for me when posting a new blog post…

Evernote Capture

For me, it begins with a simple idea. Maybe it’s something that I thought of while I was trying to think of blog ideas, maybe it was something from my time with God, or maybe it was from something I saw or a question I answered. No matter how or when the idea strikes, I start the idea in a new note in my “blog” Evernote notebook. Ideas usually get there through the Drafts app that I have both on my phone and iPad. It allows me to capture it quickly and then send it to Evernote later.

Evernote Write

Many people would argue with me on this, but Evernote is still what I use to develop and idea as well. I usually go back to the same note I captured it in and write below it so I have my original idea close. I’ve tried several times to find a more advanced writing app, but I always come back to Evernote. I do, however write in a separate window from the rest of the Evernote app to cut down on distraction. I usually proofread when I’m done with this step… usually.

Photo Find

I’ve used a bunch of different methods over the years for finding photos to go with posts. I’ve even wrestled with not using a photo at all. Over the last couple of years, I’ve relied heavily on some great free stock photo sites. I wrote about those here.

Photo Edit

Once I’ve downloaded a photo, I open it in photoshop. I also open my template. I add the new photo on top and usually change the font for the new post. I’ll edit the photo slightly (usually just brightness, contrast, and saturation so the text will stand out. I’ll then save that as a .jpg on my desktop. Since I have the template, this helps all the images be the same size and have all the same “feel.” (you can download this template here)

Publishing

I then copy and paste my text, upload the photo, and schedule the post. This process (after the idea is captured) usually takes about 20 minutes. I know that isn’t long, but I don’t usually write long posts and can usually type fast and get it out once the idea is in my head.

That’s what it looks like for me. Have any different ideas/suggestions? Share away!