Shall we start something new on Royally Pink today? There are so many things I love that don't fall into any particular category. I love websites and articles and movies and shows and weird household items... and I feel like I need to expand on that.

I'm not only concerned with fashion & beauty, so let the new series begin. I'll be talking about items that don't really fall into a specific category, or maybe they do. You never know what I'm going to be obsessed with next!

Since I was junior in college, and started this blog, I became obsessed with online magazines/websites filled with advice for the young millennial. It was an added bonus if it was a career based website.

I couldn't get enough of articles like "How to Write the Perfect Coverletter" or "What Questions to Ask On an Interview", which is why a lot of my freelance articles revolve around career advice.

I also loooooooooove articles like "How to Get the Perfect Night's Sleep" or "How To De-stress" -- combine that with a career foundation and you've got my perfect website.

That is what The Everygirl is.


The website was created by Danielle Moss & Alaina Kaczmarski around 2012. They describe it as the ultimate resource to help women live a better life, be more creative and follow their career dreams. It's inspirational but also aspirational and should help you live the live you deserve & the life you want.

Below is the manifesto that is on The Everygirl About page & it's something that really resonates with me:

Credit

I've always adored The Everygirl and read it religiously but like with any good obsession, there are ebs and flows. Within the past two months, I have become ADDICTED to the website. I want to absorb every single word they publish and have it embedded into my brain.

The writers they have are extremely talented, and I've gone on to follow them all on social media. I love talented writers who make me feel something or make me want to go out and do something, make me change something in my life.

It doesn't cover one specific vertical -- like all great sites, it covers a lot of different angles and I think that's what I love most.

When I read The Everygirl I feel inspired and I feel like myself. I feel like the writers are talking directly to me, and honestly I just feel like a better person, more refreshed and ambitious while reading it.

The Everygirl is who I want to be.

Here are a few of my recent favorites:

• How Successful Women Tackle Mondays
• 8 Indoor Hobbies to Get You Through the Winter
• How to Recover from a Spending Hangover
• How to Set Up an Online Portfolio That Will Land You the Job
• 7 Things All Introverts Understand 
• Getting Through the Holidays When You've Lost Someone

They're just wonderful articles that made me feel good, made me want to do something, and just made me feel something.

They also have a great shop where I got this mug over the Christmas break, because that's how obsessed I am with the site.

I always enjoy reading posts by other bloggers on the topic of blogging because I love learning new things. I'm always trying to improve my blogging skills, whether it's how to gain more traffic, how to plan out posts, or how to start a newsletter.

When I started Royally Pink, the only way I knew how to blog and grow as a blogger was watching other bloggers. At the start of all of this, I read blogs religiously and studied them -- how they were written, what they were written about, the photos that were taken; everything from editorial to design to the About Me Page.

In my opinion, that is the best way to learn -- by watching other people and researching the topic. You should always be original, you should never copy someone else, form your own voice and way of doing things but it's nice to take some tips from the people who have been doing this for a while.

I've always been an organizer, a planner, and I knew that when I started my blog back in May 2012 that I would bring that to the table. I needed too and I have and I think it's paid off.

Planning an editorial calendar has weirdly always been a dream of mine. I always wanted to work for a magazine and I dreamed of having a place to write all the ideas that were swirling around in my head. When I had the chance to create my own editorial calendar, I was stupidly excited.

That's what the post is about, by the way, planning for your blog posts and creating your editorial calendar.



I've tried multiple different ways, pretty much every way you can plan an editorial calendar but I finally found a way that works.

1. Physical calendar: I tried right off the bat when I first started my blog. I kept a separate notebook for my blog and would kind of create my own calendar by writing down ideas and putting a date next to it. It worked for a little while but then I started to get confused and it was difficult to remain organized and keep track.

I also love using my XOXO Heart Arrow Blog Planner

2. Combined agenda: What is a combined agenda you ask? Well, after a physical calendar I decided to use my regular, school planner as a blog planner as well. I had the Lilly Pulitzer large agenda and used the 12 month calendars as a blog planner. That worked really well for my junior and senior year of college. I had everything in one place and it was super easy to keep track of. When I had an idea, I just jotted it down and it was neat and tidy. Honestly, I used this a few months into post grad life as well but started to get bored -- that is really the only reason I stopped doing it.

3. Separate planner: When I graduated, I decided to become more professional with Royally Pink (has that actually happened?) and I wanted to get really serious. I had an extra planner lying around (My Whitney English Day Designer) and I started using that as my blogging planner. I was home more days a week and took my blog planning very seriously but it became too complicated to have two planners.

And now we come to my current routine...




4. Google Calendar: Once I entered the work force, I saw the appeal and amazingness of Google Drive, Docs, Calendar, etc. What I do now is so much easier than anything ever before. I plan out my blog posts anywhere from a week to two months in advance (I'll plan out weeks in advance if I'm inspired or on a roll and have so many ideas). I start off with the title of the blog post, which basically encompasses what the post will be about. If I have/want to input more detail I easily can by typing it all out in the description. Do I want to have two posts in a day? Do I want to move a topic from a Monday to a Friday? That's an easy, neat switch. There is no crossing out or page long outlines. Having an electronic calendar is not usually my cup of tea, but for editorial planning, it's the best way I've found.

Here are some other tips for planning out your calendar:

• Create series on your blog to keep a theme and establish a 'brand feel'. I have Links to Love, Sunday Shopping, Recipe Wednesdays, Beauty To Know, etc. I like to write about a lot of different things so this helps keep things organized
• Find a schedule and stick to it. I'm known for missing a day here and there but try to post 2-4 times a week and at the same days/times so your readers get used to when to expect a post from you. When I started out I posted 7 days a week and stuck to that for almost a year (WTF) but then I brought it down to 5 days a week and I still try to follow that now but if I get 3 posts up during the week, I'm not losing sleep
• Find your voice. I'm a writer, I always have been, so finding my voice wasn't difficult. I blog the way I talk. If you're not a writer, it may be a little more difficult to find a niche but if you just say what you're thinking, a voice will follow.

Ahh another week gone! Can it be classified as mid-June yet? I mean, Father's Day is already next weekend. I really need time to slow down. Like really really really need it to slow down.

Mercury is officially out of retrograde and I kid you not, I felt the earth shift Wednesday night. Everything just felt better. Yesterday was even better... I mean I had a mood swing when I came home from work and was sitting in a 90 degree house but laying in my mom's bed, in the dark, with the AC cranked up fixed it.

The next few weekends I have a lot planned and I'm really excited. The rest of the summer seems to be turning up (hopefully figuratively and literally). I just want to feel settled and have fun. Is that so much to ask?

Also, did I mention that my blog calendar is planned through JULY?! That is insane for me especially with the writers block that has been happening lately. I also really want to start "writing", like articles for Elite Daily and try my hand at freelance. I love my blog clearly, and it's a great creative outlet for me but the journalist in me is seething for something real and hearty to sink my teeth into.

We shall see!

I will stop rambling and get into the links. Wait, can we also talk about the fact that two crazed murderers escaped a prison in upstate New York this week and they still haven't been found? That is insane and I cannot stop following this story.

Okay, seriously, here are the links I loved!

TV writers reveal their favorite episodes & scenes they've ever written--awesome! 

Be miserable with or without you? What is your poison? 

Your first love is the realest, deepest, and truest. 

Great blog post on how a blog can launch your career, courtesy of Charmingly Styled! 

Another great blog post featuring one of my fav bloggers, Hallie! She's awesome  :)

I thought I was losing my mind, but then I read this #twentysomethings

50 beauty products to buy before you die--I stand by all of these

I'd be lying if I said I didn't go and watch "Get a Clue" on Youtube after reading this list

What did you love this week?