A few months ago, I revamped my entire workflow as it relates to blogging.
It’s turned out to be an excellent workflow for me, so I thought I would share it with you.
Yours will likely be different, but hopefully, this will provide you with a few ideas.
Full Disclosure: I’m 100% all-in on Apple and its ecosystem. However, the Apps I use are all either cross-platform or have alternative versions for non-Apple folks.
1). Apple iPad Pro
While I have a fully specked out 2019 iMac, I prefer to do all of my writing on the iPad Pro.
For me, there’s something about the focus and the experience that I just prefer.
Currently, I’m using the 3rd generation 12.9” iPad Pro, 256GB, WiFi + Cellular, with the Smart Keyboard Folio (I also have 2nd generation Apple Pencil, but I don’t use it for blogging).
I’ve found the typing experience with Smart Keyboard Folio to be very comfortable for me. And the more you enjoy the experience, the less resistance you’ll run into with writing.
I really like the split view feature with iPad OS. It’s great to be able to have a minimal window set up next to my writing window for research and copying hyperlinks I want to include in my posts.
Lastly, I use a Siri Shortcut call that allows me to turn on and set a time limit for the Do Not Disturb feature. This helps me not to be distracted by incoming emails, texts, etc… and focus on my writing.
Writing with IA Writer
I’ve tried just about every word processing system out there. In the past, I’ve also used programs Apple Notes and Evernote to write. IA Writer is by far my favorite.
IA Writer is a very simple plain text editor and allows distraction-free writing. I use their dark mode, so there’s nothing on my iPad screen but a black background and white text when I write. If you’re like me, this is a plus and translates into writing posts much more quickly.
I also write in mulit-markdown, which allows me to be able to copy/paste my final version into WordPress, and all of the formatting is already done.
Lastly, IA writer supports storage and syncing with iCloud and Dropbox. More on why this feature is an essential part of my workflow later.
Review and Edit with Grammarly
After I have written my blog post in IA Writer, Grammarly functions as my proofreader.
This App scans your text for common mistakes and misspellings and allows you to correct or skip with a simple click.
The only downside with Grammarly is that they don’t have a native App for iPad OS that functions like the desktop or online versions.
This is where IA Writer’s iCloud support comes in.
At this point, I will transition to my iMac and copy what I’ve written in IA Writer to the Grammarly desktop App.
After I’ve made the necessary edits, I copy the revised post out of Grammarly and paste it back into IA Writer.
Gather High-Res Images
There are many stock image companies to choose from, and even a few free ones like Pixabay and Unsplash.
My go-to though is Shutterstock. I’ve just found this to have the best images to choose from. Plus, the search feature seems to yield better results than most others, which helps me be more efficient with my time.
Publishing to WordPress
Once I have the photo(s) I want to include in the post, it’s time to publish to WordPress.
I copy the final version of the post from IA Writer and paste it into the new WordPress post.
Then I insert the image(s) and hit the hit publish date to post or schedule.
This workflow has enabled me to be much more productive in my blogging. I hope there are a few things in this post that may help you with your blogging as well.