How I Pulled Off A Successful Blogmas

If you haven’t already figured it out, Blogmas is blog + Christmas fused to form one word which will hopefully get added to the Thesaurus one day. Blogmas is how bloggers celebrate the festive season, dedicating to be more consistent to our craft for the month of December. Posts may be festive-themed or not, daily or on alternate days, but basically there’s just a whole lot more content on our blogs than usual for Blogmas. Blogmas is meant to be enjoyable for both blogger and reader alike, however, the stress of having to create content on a rigid schedule and more frequently than many of us usually post can be stressful, and people often either give up halfway during the challenge or choose not to take it on despite daydreaming about how awesome it would be. Read on for three easy ways to pull off your own Blogmas next year successfully if you’re a content creator, and if you’re not? Well, this post may still be an interesting read for you to understand how I managed to put out relatively consistent content despite my busy work schedule.

Pre-Writing

The adage ‘if you fail to plan, you’re preparing to fail’ may sound cliche, but it’s true! Writing ahead of time makes sticking to a posting schedule easy, and scheduling + auto-publish is one of my favourite WordPress tools. I began brainstorming about all twelve Blogmas posts from October, saved ideas on my phone’s memo app any time inspiration struck then began the drafts once I had more free time to sit and write. I leisurely revisited these drafts, adding this and taking out that until the posts sounded exactly how I wanted them to sound, then I hit ‘Schedule.’ I also created all the promotion posters and social media graphics in advance on Canva, so by the time December hit, it was just to allow WordPress to do its thing. All I had left to do was remind you guys on my socials that another post is out! If I didn’t schedule posts ahead of time, I don’t think I would’ve had a successful Blogmas at all. I just would not have had enough time.

Crowdsourcing

Crowdsourcing is the practice of obtaining information by enlisting the services of a large number of people, either paid or unpaid, via the Internet. It’s a tool Alexis Chateau frequently uses to write her Jamaican articles, and it’s one I recently started using too. For instance, I asked my Instagram followers to share any restaurants they know which offer Christmas specials like desserts and drinks, and wound up with enough places to write a whole article! If you’re looking to make a list about anything, ask your readers or social media followers for suggestions. Two (or ten) brains are better than one.

Inspiration from Other Bloggers

There are a plethora of blogs on the Internet in 2020. As a blogger, I try to read as many of them as I can, not only because many of their writers have become friends over the years and I genuinely enjoy their work, but also because I gain lots of inspiration from them! For instance, when I was brainstorming topics to write about for Blogmas, my Google searches only turned up other blogs. Many had lists of 20, 50 and even 100 suggested topics to post about for Blogmas, and I definitely got ideas from these lists. The lesson from this is when you’re looking for content ideas, sometimes you can visit other blogs which post about similar topics and get an idea or two from them. Please note however that other blogs should only serve as INSPIRATION. Do not copy the work of other bloggers without first getting their permission in writing, and always give them full credit.

24 Ideas For Blogmas Posts

Here are 24 ideas for Blogmas articles as my gift to you. Feel free to use them.

1. Recipe for a Christmas cocktail, dessert or dish
2. Your favourite Christmas dishes and drinks
3. Christmas gift ideas for him
4. Christmas gift ideas for her
5. Best Christmas gifts for the blogger in your life
6. Stocking filler gift ideas
7. Songs from your Christmas playlist
8. Ideas for giving back at Christmas time
9. What Christmas looks like in your area
10. How to decorate for Christmas on a budget
11. DIY Christmas tree ornament ideas
12. A recap of your 10 best (insert year) posts
13. A year in review post
14. Reflecting on your goals for the year (like how much you accomplished)
15. Christmas Outfits (OOTD, sweaters etc.)
16. Best and Worst Trends of (insert year)
17. Favourite holiday scents, candles etc.
18. Favourite Christmas movies
19. Your own Christmas traditions
20. Review of a festive product
21. Review of a Christmas menu special (e.g. Christmas cocktail, cookies, scent etc.)
22. A guide to Christmas events in your town
23. Best places to shop online for Christmas/ Christmas deals
24. Christmas destinations/ getaways

Wrap Up

There you have it folks! This is my final post in the Blogmas 2020 series, and that makes me a little sad. My next post will be in 2021. As a heads up– I’ll be taking an indefinite social media break soon (well, mostly just Instagram) so sign up to get new posts delivered to your inbox in January. I hope you’ve enjoyed the series as much as I’ve thoroughly enjoyed putting it together. 🙂 Take care, and have a safe and blessed holy season.

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