Creating a blog post takes a lot more work than you might think! It all starts with the photos. I usually plan 3-5 outfits and shoot with my photographer for about 3 hours. We aim for 3 different looks, but finding the right location can take extra time. I carefully choose locations that match my brand’s image.
Next, I edit the photos. We take around 200 pictures, but I whittle that down to about 20. I use Lightroom presets to edit, sometimes touching things up in Photoshop if needed. This whole editing process can take anywhere from 30 minutes to 2 hours. Then I arrange the edited photos in a visually appealing way—I avoid just stacking tons of photos vertically.
After the photos are set, I write the actual blog post. I usually write after taking pictures, focusing on creating relevant, valuable content. I brainstorm a catchy title, lay out my photos, write the text, and make sure it’s easy to read with headers and bullet points. I also add links and shopping widgets. Writing the post itself takes me 30 minutes to an hour.
Then comes SEO. I add alt text to my photos, optimize the SEO settings in my plugin, and make sure my headers are perfect for search engines. This takes about 15 minutes.
Finally, promotion! I share my post across all my social media accounts—Instagram (including Stories), Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and WeHeartIt. I tag brands, use hashtags, and generally make a big fuss to get the word out. This part can take around an hour, with Instagram alone eating up at least half that time.
In total, creating a single blog post takes me about four hours. I’d love to hear how long it takes other bloggers!