Blogging Checklists and Printables

My first blog planner was simply a calendar on the wall by my computer. I began making notes about important publishing deadlines and ideas for posts. In 2013, I printed and used my first blog planner. Since then, I’ve become addicted to my planner. It’s an essential part of my blogging business, helping to keep me organized and on track. If you also like blogging checklists, I’ve collected a list helpful printables here.

This post contains affiliate links; as an Amazon associate, I earn from qualifying purchases.

I like to print my blog planner and checklists in early December, then take them to Staples to get them coil-bound. This year, I also added tabs to my planner to separate sections. My friend DeBalino prefers to use a binder, as she can then add pages as she needs them. Figure out what works for you and then run with it!

All printables below are free to download unless otherwise indicated; a few cost about $5 and some require you to subscribe to an email newsletter to download.

Blog Planners

I use my planner for scheduling blog posts, planning series, marking down important dates for sponsored posts or product reviews, tracking stats, and more.

• 2015 Blog Planner (the planner I started with)
• Blog Planner 2016 ($5 but worth it—this is my favourite)
• Printable Weekly Blog Calendar
• Basic Printable Blog Planner ($5)
• Catholic Blog Planner 2016-2017 ($5—this planner follows the school year of July-June, so if you don’t already have a blog planner, start now! You can enter to WIN a copy by leaving a comment on this post! see below for more details)
• Free Printable Calendar
• Blog Planner: Blog Planning Notebook
• Daily Planner Notepad – Tear-Off Daily Planning Pad

Tracking Finances

If you start monetizing your blog, you need a way to track your income. You’ll want to know both your sources of revenue and how much you’ve made. You’ll also want to make sure you keep track of who has paid for work done—and follow-up if the client doesn’t pay you.

A lot of my clients use Paypal. I try to keep my Paypal account strictly for business, and pay all blog expenses via Paypal. Of course, not all my clients pay me via Paypal and not all businesses accept payment via Paypal, so this doesn’t work 100% for tracking my finances. Invoicing clients through Paypal does help me keep track of whether I’ve been paid or not, and I can use Paypal to create end-of-year reports for tax and accounting purposes.

Another option is to create an Excel spreadsheet and use that to track all expenses. Again, figure out what works for you. Do you prefer online methods of accounting and tracking finances or do you prefer a good old pen and notebook to write everything down?

• Blog Income Tracker & Advertising Tracker
• Income Tracker: Personal & Small Business Income Tracking Notebook Journal

Blog Design

Ah, design. I’m endlessly working to improve how my site looks. Here are some handy printables to help you achieve the best-looking blog possible.

• Perfect Your Blog’s Sidebar: Free Checklist for Your Blog Design
• FREE Blog Design Tips Printable
• Blog Design Best Practices

Tracking Statistics

Don’t obsess over your stats, but don’t ignore them either. A tracker can be a handy tool for analyzing your stats and using them to set goals or plan more content.

• Bloggy Stats Tracker
• Weekly Stats Tracker

Other Blogging Checklists

These are series of printables and workbooks that may be useful to you. I’ve downloaded most of these, but try to only print the pages I think I’ll use. Many of these can be reprinted and re-used each year, as they aren’t time-sensitive as the planners and calendars are.

• Blog Notebook Pages
• How to Get Organized and Stay Organized as a Blogger
• How to Create a Bangin’ Blog Business Plan (email subscription freebie)
• 2016 Ultimate Pinterest Planner (email subscription freebie)

Do you use blogging checklists, printables or planners? If you have any to recommend, leave the link below!