By skyforbes 
Feeling stuck every time you sit down to post on Instagram (or any social platform) because you have no idea what to say?
If you’re like most small business owners, you’ve definitely been there. That creative roadblock is real and it usually comes from one of two places:
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You have so many ideas swirling around that you feel totally paralyzed when it’s time to actually share one 😵💫
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Or… your creativity is completely drained and you don’t even know where to begin 📉
No matter which camp you fall into, what tends to follow is what I call “panic posting” — that rushed, last-minute post you throw together just to keep up with the algorithm or hit a certain posting quota. Sound familiar?
But here’s the thing: posting just to post rarely serves your audience or your goals.
What your business really needs isn’t more random content. It needs a strategy. A system. A blog content plan built for small business owners who want to show up consistently and with purpose.
Because when you have a blog content plan in place, EVERYTHING gets easier. From writing Reels captions to knowing what to say in your newsletter. You’ll stop scrambling and start showing up with clarity and confidence.
And if you’re thinking, “Natty… I can’t even come up with an Instagram caption, how am I supposed to write a blog post?” Don’t worry. I’ve got you.
In this post, I’m breaking down the 4-step process to creating a blog content plan specifically for small business owners, so you can simplify your content, stay consistent, and finally ditch the pressure of panic posting for good.
How To Create A Blog Content Plan For Your Small Business
Step 1: Determine how many blog posts you want to write per month 🖥
This looks different for everyone and should be structured in a way that works best for YOU and your business.
For you this might look like once a week, twice per month or multiple times a week.
Generally speaking, as a blog writer and strategist, I suggest posting at least one fresh blog post per month so that you can build your blog content bank and have plenty to pull from to create content on other platforms.
The key here is that you don’t pay attention to what other people are doing. Be honest with yourself and don’t overcommit, otherwise it will start to feel like something you dread each week, which defeats the entire purpose!
Step 2: Brain dump your topics 🧠
Once you’ve determined your blog posting schedule, it’s time to brain dump your topics.
DON’T SKIP THIS STEP!
Just like there’s panic posting on social media, there can also be panic posting when it comes to your blog if you don’t take the time to carefully define your topics.
This list will be what you pull from when it comes time to write, so lay it all out in this step. It shouldn’t be pretty right now. Whatever is in your head, write it down. ✍🏼
If you’re in camp #1, this step should be fun and easy for you. The ideas are probably flowing like crazy and that is a GOOD thing!
If you’re in camp #2 and you’re still struggling with what your topics should be, the first thing I suggest is taking some time to scroll back through your social media posts and see what has really hit for people in the past. This can be a great starting point for your blog topics.
If you’re still stuck, ask yourself these questions:
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What questions do people ask you?
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What problems do you help people solve?
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What do people come to you for?
Aim for 10 topics before moving on to step 3!
Step 3: Consider any upcoming events, holidays, promotions, etc. 🎄🎃
Now that you have your topic ideas, it’s now time to consider current trends, the current season, upcoming events (internal or external), holidays, national days, promotions, etc.
This step is important because as a business owner, you want to be relevant and create content that shows people that you care about what’s going on around them and usually there’s a way that your specific business and the value that you bring to the table can tie in.
The topics you listed in step 2 are likely evergreen topics, meaning that they aren’t date specific and no matter when someone reads the post it would still be relevant for them.
Most blogs have a good mix of the two – evergreen and time specific – and that’s always what I encourage for clients!
To achieve this, take a look ahead at the next 3 months and list any major holidays, national days, events or promotions that you have coming up that you think you’ll want to capitalize on in your blog content.
For example:
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a boutique owner could capitalize on Christmas with gift guides on their blog featuring products in their store
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a business coach could use New Year’s as a way to provide guidance on yearly planning and then promote their yearly planning workshop
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an AirBnb owner could get creative on “National Take a Hike Day” in November to create a blog post about the best hikes in their area (which would still be considered evergreen!)
This is where your creativity really comes to life and you can think about how to put a twist on the content you want to share and make it relevant to the time period at hand.
Step 4: Divide the content into quarters 🗓
When you have your blog content topic ideas and you’ve considered upcoming holidays and events, it’s time to divide the content up into quarters so that you have an actual plan and know exactly what to take action on first.
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Q1 – January, February, March
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Q2 – April, May, June
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Q3 – July, August, September
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Q4 – October, November, December
By doing this, you’re eliminating the urge to panic post and can instead be more strategic, because you know what’s coming up and can plan accordingly.
NOTE: this plan doesn’t have to be rigid! You’re allowed to change it as you see fit.
The point is that it gives you somewhere to start and frees your brain from having to think about what to post last minute. When you have a plan in place, you’ll probably find that you’re more creative and new ideas will come up more often!
This is the EXACT process I follow for clients and is how I’m able to plan their content in advance so that we capitalize on the right things at the right time.
To keep things extra organized, I suggest using a blog content calendar like this!
How To Repurpose Your Blog Content For Social Media
When you create your blog content FIRST, you’ll find that your social media posts come more naturally and no longer feel forced or time consuming.
One blog post has the potential to become 3-5 posts for you in the form of TikToks, Reels or static Instagram grid posts that ultimately drive people back to your blog post for a more in depth look into the value you share.
And the best part is that your blogs can live on forever in a more organized and searchable way, so you can continually refer people back to them on an ongoing basis, which makes yours and their life easier!
Download The Beginner’s Guide to Blogging For Your Business
And there ya have it — my 4 step process for creating a blog content plan for small businesses.
This is the exact process that I use for myself and for my clients and is the very thing that helps people adopt my signature blogs first, socials second approach.
If you want to go deeper into this step by step process, you can download the free, comprehensive guide to help create a blog content plan for your small business.
With this guide, you can feel confident as you start a blog for your business and know that you’re creating content in a strategic way that will benefit you AND your audience for the long haul!