By Linda Pophal

Blogging can seem like a big commitment and, to a certain degree, it is. After all, you don’t want to start a blog without committing to posting to it regularly. But the time and effort don’t have to be overwhelming. I started this blog in February 2009 and have been posting to it regularly ever since. Over the past few years, I’ve been posting a couple of times a week.

I have five tips for those wanting to start a blog, or do a better job of managing an existing blog:

• Commit to a regular schedule of posting. Try scheduling time in your weekly routine to create and post your blogs. Just 30 minutes a week where you can focus your attention to this is really all you need. Two posts per week are great, but one post each week will be enough to remain consistently in front of your audience.
• Set up an “idea file.” This could be either a hard copy file folder or one on your computer (Evernote is a good tool for doing this). Use this space to place your own ideas, news items, article references, etc., in the file as you come across them. By doing this, you’ll always have an available source of ideas when you need them.
• Curate content from other sources.  This content can serve as the starting point for your blogs. Those articles or online news items that you’ve clipped can be incorporated into your blog. Reference the piece, add your own thoughts to it, and link to the original piece. This not only saves time but also can lend credibility to your content.
• Seek help from interns, freelancers, or agencies that provide these services. Local universities with communication, journalism, or marketing programs can be a great source of interns who can help to create content that you can review and edit.
• Have someone else review and edit your content. This step is crucial to avoid errors that could tarnish your brand. Never post material that you have created without having someone else look at it. We all make errors when we review our own work, and that can be very detrimental to our brand/company or our personal image.

What would you add to the list?