How To Create a Blogging Workflow That Works With Evernote
I have been blogging for around 7 years now. I’ve seen many changes through the years. Evolution of myriad of blogging platforms, social media avenues etc. There’s one thing that has remained constant though. Any guesses?
Getting a blog post from an idea to “published” state, still involves time, effort and writing skills (amongst other things!).
As a blogger, I STILL need to WRITE and PUBLISH! (Unless you take the outsourcing route 
)
The blogging workflow I had a several ago was fairly simple. I wrote an idea on a Word document. Kept on tweaking it until I felt it was finished. Then I copied the content to the blogging platform, proof read it one final time and pressed publish! Then began another idea, and the ritual continued.
Fast forward to last 2 years..
I started getting more ideas, writing more frequently and managing multiple blogs. Did I mention that I do all that along side a full time job!
It was a great feeling to have so many ideas. However, the downside was that I had loads of half written ideas. Basically, I had so many unfinished posts and I was not able to stay focused on one topic, to finish it. While I am writing one post, I would get more ideas. Then I would start writing more about “that idea” and never revisited the old idea! I had a tough time disciplining myself and completing a post.
There was a time I couldn’t publish a post for about 1 month because I couldn’t “finish” an idea! Yes, it was that bad! I was painfully aware that I needed to find a way to stay focused and complete a post.
I did a lot of research online on what type of writing process other bloggers have. I wondered whether there was anything I could adapt. I wanted to find a process I could stick to. A process that was simple yet effective. Unfortunately, I couldn’t find any related to blogging.
Then it occurred to me that I could consider stages of writing a post as a “task”. I think my left and right brain put it together because at the time I was reading the book, Getting Things Done: The Art of Stress-Free Productivity.
Gradually, I started adapting the “Getting Things Done” mindset to blogging. It has taken me a while to perfect my blogging workflow. I can confidently say that I now have an efficient and productive blogging workflow. I thought of sharing it with you, with the hope that it will benefit you in some way.
The life cycle of a blog post at Better Blogging Ways
After trying out for a few weeks I was getting the hang of it. I was getting posts completed and published! This is the same approach or process I used today.
I try to publish a post every week here at Better Blogging Ways. I will write a post in the future about how I plan and schedule the posts. Stay tunned.
Putting the process in place with Evernote
I had a frustrating experience managing loads of word documents. For each post I used to create a new word document. Since I had loads of ideas so many documents! Initially, I tried out the above process with folders. For each stage I would move the same document from one folder to another. E.g Idea folder to the New folder.
This is the process I used, until I started other blogs. Having multiple blogs, with so many word documents was getting difficult to maintain.
Then I came across Evernote. I realized that everything related to my new found process, could be done within Evernote, and gain more productivity.
I was able to keep track of blog posts for each of my blogs.
Here’s what I did,
1. I created a Evernote notebook for blogging
2. For each blog I have I created a tag
3. For each blog tag, I created sub tags for Idea, New, In Progress , Done and Posted.
Why Evernote Blogging Workflow Works For Me!
No, this is not an endorsement or advertisement! It’s just a genuine Evernote user who happens to use it for blogging 
1. Getting ideas to finished posts
So I wanted to restrict myself, on the number of “In progress” post. So tried to impose a few “rules” for myself.
1. Always keep at most 2 posts in in progress – These would be the posts that I need to complete to publish. So I tried not to add more than 2 posts to stay focused.
2. If I wanted to write about something that didn’t have the state “in-progress”, then I would either force myself to finish a post that’s already in the “in progress” stage or change the “in progress” stage to “New” and add the other post as “In Progress”
In the image above you’ll notice tags such as VB.5, VB.10 so these are the “next posts” I’d be working on. I always make sure the focus is on the VB.5 tagged posts.
2. No more multiple documents for each blog post
Evernote has a good way to organize and search blog posts. So now I don’t need to search through various folders to find the document I need
3. Idea capturing “on the go” via my phone
I use the Evernote mobile version to track any “on the go” ideas I might have. I get a lot of ideas when I am traveling, seated at a boring meeting, having lunch etc These times, I don’t always have a notebook with me so but I always carry the phone! So I don’t lose any “good ideas”.
4. Web Clipping
Another awesome feature which can be used directly from a web page. This is great for background research as well as storing ideas. If I get an idea while reading another person’s blog then I clip it to Evernote so I can revisit it later.
I can go on and on. But will stop for now
The one thing I miss is a way to publish directly from Evernote to WordPress. At the moment I have to manually copy the text. Does anyone know of a plug-in or other mechanism to connect Evernote with WordPress?
Overall, I save a lot of time using this blogging workflow with Evernote. Gone are the days where I panic when I realize that I need to publish something, and don’t have any!. Now, I have at least 4 or more blog posts which are in the “ready for publishing” state.
I am curious to know about your blogging workflow. What’s your process? How do you deal with having loads of ideas? Please comment below. Let’s talk!
Wow, what a process Shamelle!
Of course, I don’t write for multiple blogs and I don’t have a full-time job outside of what I do online so I can see where you would need a much tighter schedule then me.
But I do love evernote and I started using it to help me with saving sites I’d visited for headlines. For that it’s come in very handy but I definitely don’t use it the way you do.
Thanks for sharing the process with us though. Way to go.
~Adrienne
Adrienne recently posted..Why I Will Not Share Your Blog Posts
It is interesting to see the different ways bloggers are putting Evernote to use.
I use the app just for keeping up with my ideas but it does look as if you write full blog posts with it.
Is that correct?
N.B. Your anti-plagiarism plugin makes leavin a comment on your site very cumbersome. Scrolling back to mistakes is next to impossible, neither can one right-click to use spelling suggestions. Are you sure it’s worth it, considering the cost?
Yeremi Akpan recently posted..Getting Started Blogging – How to Make an Impact With a new Blog
Yes, I write full blog posts with Evernote.
Thanks for letting me about the comment box. I was not aware of the issue.
I will try to see whether there is a way to by pass the comment box.
Unfortunately, I had a very had experience with the recent Panda updates and my blog was de-indexed from Google. So I am trying my best to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Shamelle recently posted..How To Create a Blogging Workflow That Works With Evernote
Hi Shamelle,
Well this must be a coincidence, or something telling me I need to check out Evernote.
I was on a webinar where they were talking about how great Evernote is and how you can really use it to meet your needs.
Then I see your post on it – sounds like it’s something I’ve got to check out!
Thanks for sharing so much great detail!
~Christine
Christine Brady recently posted..7 Ways to Increase the Responsiveness of your List
Christine, Looks like the universe is sending you quite a nudge towards Evernote
Hope you give it a try and find it beneficial. Let me know if there’s anything I can help you with. Would be happy to help out.
btw, Was a webinar available to the public? Would love to be part of it myself.
Hi Shamelle,
Yes, it was part of this series… http://hotseminarseries.com/buy-season-pass.htm
~Christine
Christine Brady recently posted..Subject Lines and the Importance of 87% and 150 Characters [Part1]
Thanks Christine. Will check it out.
Hey Shemelle! Fantastic article.
I love Evernote. Thanks for posting your workfow and how you go from Evernote to “published”
Tppls like Evernote aren’really that great unlouss you have a practical roadmap loke you just posted. Thanks! (bookmarking this one)
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Shamelle- Ahhh! Sorry I mistyped your name!
Rick Eberhart recently posted..Video – How To Upload A Transcription File For YouTube SEO
You are very right, a lot of effort is actually required from the every thought of the idea of a blog post. It requires research and then writing the research in a constrictive way. I have not heard of Evernote before but I need to look into what it can do for me. I think I am not very interested in Evernote. I am sure it will help me more to stay organised.
Shalu Sharma recently posted..Visiting places in Hyderabad
Hey Sham,
Did I just hear correctly, 7 years of blogging. If I had a medal I’d give it to you right now and with a full time job. My hat goes off to you.
Seems like you’ve found the perfect solution to meet your demands. I just use goo old fashoned pen Open Office and pen and paper.
Simmeon recently posted..6 Ways To Encourage Feedback From Your Blog Readers
Yes Simmeon. It’s been 7 years and counting. It started with a personal development on blogger platform. I sort of used it as a dear diary to log things I learned on self help.
Gradually, I enjoyed the process of writing and there were other bloggers who were commenting on the posts I wrote. That’s when I looked into how to get more people to comment, get visible in Google etc
Brilliant post Shamelle, Everyones’s been talking about evernote, and it made me search for “blogging with evernote” a few weeks ago, but even after many searches I was not able to find out how it can be used for blogging. Evernote seemed to be too complex for me. But after reading your post I think it’s simply brilliant and something that needs to be tried. Thanks for mentioning “Getting things done”, I ordered the book after listening to one of Pat Flynn’s recent podcasts, I am yet to start reading the book.
Like you said transferring your finished blog post from evernote to wordpress is a work in itself. If there is any shortcuts for that, it’ll be very useful. Btw do you save all the graphics that go along with the blog post in evernote itself? If so, how do you copy them to your wp blog?
There are no good videos in youtube for the topic. Why don’t you try one? I believe there will be many looking for information on this topic, like I did. Anyway I think I’ll give evernote a try, if it works better than my present blogging folders in my mac, then all crdits to you.
Regarding the anti copy plugin which you were using (I guess you deactivatd it, I am on my iPad and I just tried to open links in new tab and it’s working), I also found that it’s got lots of negatives. I always try to open links in posts by right clicking and opening in new tabs, but because of the plugin, I had to load the page in the same tab, taking me out of the page I am reading. If it’s an affiliate link, and the visitor is new, you pretty much lost the visitor, unless he is able to click the back button and successfully come back to your site. But I later figured out that I can still open the links in new tab by pressing the command button and clicking the link simultaneously. But who is going to remember it evertime ?
Dr.Spencer Jones
Dr.Spencer Jones recently posted..How You Can Make Money Online Selling Other Peoples Products As An Affiliate
I spent about 2 hours writing and re-writing this post. Comments like yours really make me feel all that effort was worthwhile. Thanks Spencer.
* I am also on the lookout for a smoother transition from Evernote to WordPress. I came across a few plugins. I am yet to try them out.
* Graphics- I generally store the images in a folder, not in Evernote itself. However, I add the link to my hard drive location in Evernote. This way I don’t have to go looking for which image I need to include. When I upload the image to wordpress I anyway need to get it from the hard drive, so this make it convenient.
* I will upload a future video on how I use Evernote. Thanks for the idea. Stay tuned
* Yes, I’ve had many deliberations on the anti copy plugin. I am still yet to conclude on whether I will remove the plugin or perhaps find another plugin which might have the same requirements. Given that my blog was wiped out from Google entirely, because some people tend to copy and paste content directly, I am skeptical on removing this plugin entire
Shamelle recently posted..The 4 Step Blog Branding Process That Creates An Irresistible Blog Brand
You are welcome Shamelle, I do find your posts offering value, may be it’s because of the blogs and people that inspire you, like Pat’s Smart Passive Income blog. I am also shooting for an online business with honesty and openness which will go a long way in terms of credibility and relationship building.
Regarding the YT video, please make it detailed, just for eg. Show how to do things like “linking to your hard disk folder on evernote for the images”, I don’t know how to do it.
Regarding the google penalty, are you sure that it’s because of the copycats ? I asked because it happened to my site as well. My site totally vanished from Google. And I was able to get my site back in google and Google also ranked my main keyword on the first page within just around 30 days (I also wrote a blog post on what all steps I followed.
Dr.Spencer Jones
Dr.Spencer Jones recently posted..How Blog Commenting Can Help You Rank High In Google ?
Like a lot of the commenters already pointed out, Evernote is great for being able to quickly write down an idea so that you don’t forget it. That’s what I use it for and not much else. I like things to be as simple as possible and it’s why I just stick to the basics for my blog.
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Awesome post. When I downloaded Evernote I knew their was a lot of possibility in it but this is just what I was looking for.
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Hello Shamelle, I’ve been busy for the last couple of days, just today I am starting to work on Evernote. I have a doubt regarding the VB.5 & VB.10 tags. If it’s for new blog posts that you’ll be working on, why don’t you move it to the “Idea” tag ?
P.S – I am having real trouble editing comments because of the Blog Protector plugin, not letting me to go back and edit what I typed.
Dr.Spencer Jones
Dr.Spencer Jones recently posted..How You Can Make Money Online Selling Other Peoples Products As An Affiliate
I never heard of Evernote until now and it looks pretty awesome. Going over to their site now and checking it out … thanks for the write-up about it.
Jessica Johnson recently posted..Debt Settlement Sample Letter
I’m a big fan using news stories to kick off a point I want to make. I bookmark potential blog topics and get rid of them if I later think they’re too generic or I’ve already used them. Using Evernote sounds like a good idea for people on the go.
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