Write blog posts in advance
Do you write your blog posts in advance or do you write them as you need to post them? Either way is fine but I find the tendency to fall behind is far greater when you’re writing 1 post at a time. Certainly blogging should be fun but I find it more of a chore when I get behind in my posting schedule. Here are some things that will help you get in the habit of writing posts in advance.
Build a system – Once you start writing posts in advance you can post them at set times so that people can start expecting a post at certain times during the day. Or at least they will have a general idea of when they can stop by and see new content. Your system can of course be tailored to your schedule so that you the time, mindset, and motivation each week to do your writing.
Make it a habit – When you get in the habit of doing something your chances for success will increase. Partly because it’s a mindset and when you get ahead of the eight ball you feel better about what you’re doing.
Try new things – Nothing says you have to do your post writing exactly the same every time. I like to mix things up a bit and try different things. Instead of picking a topic, writing a draft article, proofing the final copy and publishing I might change things up a bit. For example while I’m sitting in front of the TV I might come up with 10 topics and headlines. Then I may go to a coffee shop with my laptop and write 5 rough drafts for articles. The next day I may sit in my office and proof the final copy on all five articles and publish them to WordPress so they’re released at my regularly scheduled times.
Kevin | February 28th, 2008 at 11:13 am #
I definately think habit is important. As boring as it is, sometimes a regular routine will help you keep things organised more easily.
Karl | February 28th, 2008 at 2:05 pm #
I’ve been reading your blog for quite a while. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
I always write my posts in advance
Internet Marketing Joy | February 28th, 2008 at 5:27 pm #
It is very important to update your blogs regularly. Also always keep in mind to post quality and original posts in your blogs to score higher in search engine’s ranking.
Andy MacDonald | February 28th, 2008 at 5:29 pm #
Well, i used to write blog posts as and when i needed them, but now im a guest blogger on 4/5 different sites i have got into the habbit of writing posts in advance, and then using the time stamp feature of wordpress to post them at the correctly sheduled time at each blog.
I find that my shedule is a lot less rushed when i take the time to post in advance, where as when i was posting as and when required, i never seemed to have the time to do anything.
Great post.
James Mann | February 29th, 2008 at 6:34 am #
I used to try and write to my 12 blogs every day and then wondered why I had no energy for my family at the end of the day.
My blogs are hobby blogs for the most part so the writing isn’t that tough, just time consuming.
What I have started doing to manage my time and stress is to take a day for two blogs, sometimes three if things go well, and create content in advance using the timestamp feature in WordPress, like Andy does.
Doing it this way has allowed me to take weekends off now so that I have time to spend with my family and on my hobbies.