Planning Printables for Bloggers

Two planning printables for bloggers and small business owners to help you get organized while elevating your business: coming right up!

Inspired by my word of the year

Fellow bloggers and small business owners, I don’t know what happened to me at the start of this year, but I have got a fire lit under me, and I’ve been so motivated to grow my business and to help support others (that’s you) to do the same. It all started with declaring my word of the year, which is fearless.

Setting blogging and business goals

Next, I came up with four focused goals and made a game plan for each of them. You can download your own free goal-planning worksheet at the bottom of this post). As pretty as my goals look hanging up on the wall, I fight the urge to rip them down daily.

Why? Because I don’t want to do what it says at the bottom of it. Staying focused is not fun. Does anyone out there enjoy focusing? If so, please reach out to me and teach me the magic of your ways!

Learning to stay on track

I’ve come to realize that being creative and focused are opposing forces in constant battle with one another. Have you ever been in the middle of working on a project when you’re struck with a brilliant new idea, enticing you to immediately abandon your current project so you can get to work on the new one?

Planning Printables for Bloggers and Small Business Owners

Brilliant Ideas

This first printable was designed to step in and intervene in those situations. I encourage you to print out a bunch of these and keep them handy. Next time that light bulb goes off, look to your “brilliant ideas” sheets and get those thoughts down on paper. This printable includes a space to record:

1. Your big idea
2. How to make it unique for your brand
3. Research that you need to do to refine it
4. Materials, resources, or people that are going to be needed to get the job done

Staying open

The right column has a space to determine when you will execute your big idea. This includes scraping it completely (remember, we can do anything, but not everything). There’s also a spot to write in any ideas you have for companies or brands that could potentially act as your sponsor or who you’d like to collaborate with. Lastly, and most importantly is where you will write in your first action step.

You can use these sheets to brainstorm a bunch of ideas in one session or whenever creativity knocks.

Collaboration

The second printable was created to brainstorm collaborations with brands and businesses. Partnering up is a great way to bring enhanced content to your users and readers and introduce them to products and services that align with your brand.

You may also use this sheet to list companies you would like to work with on a sponsorship basis. Collaboration is my big goal to focus on in the fourth quarter of 2016, and I will be filling out these sheets like it’s my job (because it will be)!

These sheets include a space to record:

1. Brand/Company Name you are interested in working with
2. The Project Idea that you’d like to work with them on
3. The contact’s name and email address (in many cases, these need to be tracked down, so when you find the right person, hang on to that info)

Also included is a place to record your first date of contact, and follow-up date, so you can keep track of who you reached out to, and when. There’s also a space to jot down any other important notes related to your correspondence.

Print as many as you need

The “brilliant ideas” sheet has spots for two entries, and the “let’s collaborate” sheet has room for three partnership ideas, so feel free to print as many as you need to keep track of all your big plans. Be sure to finish what you’ve already committed to before putting more tasks on your plate.

Both sheets were designed to get all those ideas out so you can focus on what you are currently doing. Once your task is complete, refer to your sheets and figure out what you’d like to tackle next!

Here are your planning printables for bloggers and small business owner downloads:

Brainstorming Sheet // Collaboration Sheet

Looking for more ways to plan?

Download this Content Planner and Scheduler.