by Skellie
One of the most potentially stress-inducing aspects of web publishing is that few of us have a safety net of content developed.
The trite-but-true central principle of personal finance is to “spend less than you earn.” When it comes to writing content, though, most of us spend exactly as much as we earn: we live hand-to-mouth, so to speak. We write an article and hit ‘publish’ on the same day.
This is a bad habit. There will always be times when real life gets in the way, or when you want to take a break but don’t want your site to suffer, or when you get sick (as I discovered recently). When those times come, not having a ’savings account’ of content hits you hard.
Developing a sensible content budget by writing more than I publish has always been an aspirational goal for me but something I’ve (so far) been unable to achieve.
Here, I tend to publish around 4 posts a week. If I wrote one extra post a week for a month, I’d have enough posts saved up to take a week off blogging, or alternately, several posts to use on days when I felt unwell, or uninspired, or unmotivated.
For that reason, I think developing a sensible content budget is a really worthwhile goal. For example: if you generally wrote 4 posts a week, and wrote one extra post per week for a year, you’d eventually have enough content saved up to run your site on auto-pilot for three months!
This week’s discussion point is: do you think saving content is a worthwhile goal and, if so, how would you go about developing the habit?
Introducing the commenter spotlight
Lately I’ve been thinking of ways I could make Skelliewag more communal while also saying thank you to the readers who keep me going. I think these ‘Ask the readers’ posts provide a good opportunity to do this.
Each week I want to choose my favorite comment and spotlight the author and comment on the following week’s ‘Ask the readers’ post. With that, you’ll get a quick write up of your site and the best anchor text I can manage. To talk up the reward a little, Skelliewag is a PR 5 blog and the link will be seen by a few thousand people.
What I will be looking for:
- Active participation in the discussion.
- Thoughtful consideration of the question.
- Engagement with other commenters and reflection on their answers.
What I won’t be taking into consideration:
- Names, identities and affiliations. I’ll be judging by comments alone.
To keep things fair and to give a variety of readers some time in the spotlight, you’ll be ineligible to be spotlighted again after the first time.
Those who’ve been spotlighted will be considered for a bigger prize of most valuable contributor over all the ‘Ask the readers’ posts. The criteria of that prize takes into account your contributions across all the various ‘Ask the readers’ discussions, so there’s an incentive to keep actively participating even after you’ve been spotlighted.
I want to begin the commenter spotlight next week, so I’ll be looking for that person within the comments here. Good luck!
Lastly: a quick thank you to the twenty-five readers who favorited Skelliewag on Technorati. I really do appreciate it.
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36 Comments, Comment or Ping
paidtwice
Ah, comparing blogging to personal finance… since I write about personal finance this had to catch my attention!
I do agree that having a backup/backlog of writing is important and takes a lot of the pressure off the daily publishing/schedule etc. For me however, where I run into trouble with this is that sometimes, content gets stale if it sits around (for me). I need to focus more on writing a few “timeless” pieces that don’t lose their impact if delayed by time. Since I write about, well, me and my life, that is sometimes challenging.
not impossible. just challenging. i think I’m lazy.
That being said I am usually a few posts ahead at any given time, and sometimes I bump something to make room for something I want to publish right away, which gets me a little bit further ahead. I’m still working it out, I think.
Nov 18th, 2007
MIke Pedersen Golf
About 1 of every 4 posts is done in advance. Not great, but I manage 14 other small niche sites, so that’s the best I can do.
I really enjoy your blog and your guest posts on other blogs. I’m always trying to get better at headlines and post writing.
Nov 18th, 2007
mariam
I too am I personal finance blogger and I find having back-up posts hard to do as well.
Yes, you have your timeless posts of investment strategies, saving tips, tax planning, etc. but they have been done before and it’s really hard to put a fresh spin on things. I also don’t qualify to give such type of advice.
I tend to be a news blogger and I can’t plan for that. I find that it’s hard for me to digest the news and then condense the material into a lay post. It could take me an hour or more just to compose a paragraph as I’m picky with my wording (even more so now that I’ve been introduced to your site
I guess I’ll get better with practice.
Nov 18th, 2007
ChrisB
I do think it’s a good idea to have some emergency posts saved up in case of sickness or just vacation.
I guess it’s easier to stock up on posts in my “niche” (religious), but I made sure I had a small backup supply before I ever started. Even still, after a little experience I’d like to redo some of that stuff. My plan is to set aside a day (a Saturday or maybe an upcoming holiday) to churn out a few extra posts.
My goal is to keep two week’s worth of emergency posts. Once I have them written I only have to replace those that I use.
Nov 18th, 2007
Jack
I used to not worry about this, being a personal blogger with no real schedule, but since I’m doing NaBloPoMo this month, I had to think about it. I’m currently writing my posts about two or three days ahead of time, which at least gives me a little bit of a cushion when things like business trips come up. After this month, I think I’ll hash out an actual posting schedule and start trying to stick to that, see what happens. What do you think is the best way to work out a posting schedule?
Nov 18th, 2007
Ivy
I recently got sick too, and found myself struggling to get my brains to think above the medication and flu to get a decent blog out with sentences that made sense. Apart from flu, there are times when I’d had to put in the overtime at the office and was too burnt out to blog.
A good “bank account” of articles is a very practical idea, and in fact I have been thinking of doing scheduling of my blogs. Playing around with the idea of running theme topics like say, a guide to SEO over 5 posts, or regular Social Network reviews/upates every week, etc.
This helps me plan my research, and allows me to gazette my posts for events happening in the blogosphere, community or IRL (In Real Life).
Nov 18th, 2007
infmom
I guess I’m about halfway there. I have about a page of brief notes with ideas for future posts… but they aren’t written yet. I need to make time to put a few of those into final form and “bank” them for posting later. Especially with the holidays coming up, this could be a real lifesaver.
As always, Skellie, thanks for making me think!
Nov 18th, 2007
Bente Lilja Bye
Even though I do not have the ambition to write every day but rather on a weekly basis, I am working out a publishing plan. In fact very much inspired by how you have build up your site (I have been with you since the early beginning of skelliwag).
An introduction post backed up with series of post to highlight the topic from different angles etc. is something I will pursue. Also producing lists with follow-up articles that goes into more depth of the topic. Just like I’ve seen on this site.
I believe this approach will enable me to “save up” some posts, but it requires long term planning.
I have the same concern that you have though. Part of my strategy is also to write comments on sites that requires some research beforehand. This will also be time consuming and compete with the time I have to write my own site material.
Another aspect I will take into consideration is the timing of the topics to the events around the world - like conferences or the Nobel Peace Price etc.
Again, a very good idea and topic for discussion you launch in your community, Skellie.
Nov 18th, 2007
Amber
As a personal blogger it seems harder to ’store up’ on posts, or even blog in advance. It isn’t that the thought is put into the entry, rather you’re writing for a different type of audience who will not realise how much time you’ve put into an entry. There is also that problem of stagnation: by the time the post goes out I will have already moved on to different events in my life and will not want to contribute to any comments that arise.
Nov 18th, 2007
Anthony Lawrence
I used to do this religiously - I’d have a backlog of a few weeks of posts ready and waiting. I even automated it with scripting so that the next available post would automatically get published each day. All I had to do was write whenever I felt like it and the output was as regular as a heartbeat.
When I didn’t have time to write, I’d usually at least put something into the “tickle” file and then would pull from that when I did have more time.
This worked well for years, and I still have the mechanisms there to do it when I want to, but more and more I have been releasing posts either immediately or at least ahead of the one per day schedule - that is, if I have five posts ready today, I might release three of them and let the other two go the next day.
My reasoning for holding back at all is to avoid pushing out too much in one day. I don’t want to overwhelm my readers with a deluge of content. My general rule is that I won’t publish more than two posts unless they are strongly related or are time critical (something that really needs to get out there NOW).
But other than that, I’d rather get the content out there quickly. First, it may be something that somebody needs to know: I do a lot of “problem solving” type posts where I’ve run across something broken or confusing and have found a “fix” - I would hate to think that somebody needed that on Tuesday but I didn’t publish it until a week later.
Secondly, every single article adds to my potential income (whether from ads or by bringing me a new customer). It may be insignificant in the case of ads; if an article brings me an extra dollar because I published it a week earlier, so what? But on the other hand, if I’m writing hundreds of articles per year, those small amounts can add up.
The larger potential is in new consulting business: nowadays at least half of my new business comes from someone finding my website in an Internet search. Who knows what article might bring in that customer that could be worth hundreds or even thousands of dollars to me? It could be the very article I wrote yesterday, and that customer could be searching today.. if I am holding it in the bank, I could miss an opportunity.
Overall, I feel it is important to publish regularly, but I have gotten away from absolute consistency in that regard. I have found that being irregular hasn’t affected my income from ads and hasn’t changed my RSS subscriptions - they still increase (slowly, but they have always done that). Given that, I feel the reasons I gave for publishing quickly are right for me. However, the major reason is because of my consulting business: if the website were not driving that business to me, I think I would go back to my “heart beat” system.
Nov 18th, 2007
Dominik Lenk
I usually do not have enough ideas to put one of my blog posts in ‘the cabinet’ even though I would love to. But then I only started blogging half a year ago, so I hope that it comes with experience. (I just saw that MARIAM said this as well. Hurrah, a fellow lonely soul, ehm.)
At the same time I try (it doesn’t always work) to write my articles over several days, or at least to reread them on a different one.
This is especially handy for the ‘link-list’ articles, like so and so many free resources-> go there. Granted this is not really a true article, but writing it down in one go can become very boring.
Amber: I have to agree with you that some blog posts are time-bound. But when you are less of a personal blogger and you are more ‘tutorial-orientated’ like Skellie, then pre-blogging suddenly becomes an option.
(I had a look at your blog: The challenge behind is quite amusing. Good Luck)
INFMOM: Yay, finally someone who also keeps their little sheet of paper next to them. Unfortunately, most of the ideas that I jot down turn out to have no meat to them. I hope you have more luck.
One last thing, before this comment is turning into ramble: The posting frequency? How often do you post? I often find it quite annoying when a weblog has daily posts just for the sake of blogging daily…
Nov 18th, 2007
Marcia
I absolutely want to have a backlog of posts, but have not been very successful at actually implementing that. In part, this is due to an already tight schedule (full time job + blogging + attempt to maintain some semblance of a life). More so, it’s due to my topic. I run a television blog, so I need to post current, relevant content. If I wait even a few days, all the other blogs in my niche will have posted on the topic and mine won’t even register a blip on the blogosphere radar. I have created a schedule that allows me to write several posts in advance on the weekend, and brought in theme posts that are slightly less topical, but I can’t see that I’d ever be able to take a month, or even a week, off.
I imagine this is true of any site that needs to react to events as they happen, whether that is news, music, real estate, etc. Some of the posts can be written in advance, but it would be nearly impossible to take a week off without sacrificing some of the blog’s identity as an up-to-the-minute source of information.
Nov 19th, 2007
Lea Woodward
Hi Skellie & others,
Some good comments and it would seem that most people view it as a good thing to store up posts in advance. Rather than ‘writing budget’ like @Ivy, I call it my ‘writing bank’…and currently I have 2 weeks worth of posts saved in mine.
From some of the comments so far, it sounds like having saving posts won’t work as effectively for those who blog about timely/current events such as news, TV or on personal blogs like @Mariam, @Amber or @Marcia. Perhaps a tactic for some of these would be to plan, say 5 timeless posts that ask a more philosophical question such as “My Top 5 Lessons this Decade” or “Has TV Dumbed Down?” - ok, maybe they’re not brilliant titles but that kind of thing in case of emergencies, illness or whatever.
My strategy is this…like @Infmom and @Dominik Lenk, I keep a small notebook on hand pretty much everywhere I go.
In it, I jot down any ideas for blog posts I have along with some of my brief thoughts about the idea - for future reference.
Then, usually at a weekend when it’s quieter and everyone else is out and about, I’ll take some time to go through my ideas and write about whichever ones I get the inspiration for. It may be just 1, sometimes 2 or more. I don’t force it, I just write for as long as I feel I want to…it is the weekend after all.
If an idea has been on my list for a few weeks and I haven’t written about it, then I usually cross it off - figuring that I’m obviously just not inspired to write about it and therefore it’s probably not a great topic anyway!
As I said, I’ve got about 2 weeks worth of posts in my bank at the moment for my own and a guest blog I write on…I’m aiming to get this to 4 weeks worth…so it’s probably time I consult my list!
ps @Dominik Lenk - on my more “professional” blogs, I post 3 times a week (I polled to get this preferred frequency from my readers), on my personal one I post whenever I feel like it but usually again 2-3 times a week. I guess it depends on the kind of blog it is, the kind of readers you have and the quality - if it’s fantastic, then daily doesn’t bother me…although personally I do find it a bit much. How often do you post?
Nov 19th, 2007
Mark Dykeman
This is a tough question, because I’m of two minds about writing content:
a) Writing in advance can be both efficient (making the most of uninterrupted writing time) and effective (ensuring that you have blog posts ready when needed).
b) Some of my favorite posts on my blog have arrived in flashes of inspiration whilst at the computer.
However, in the interest of better time management, I need to look at “batch writing” and “writing ahead”, a bit like I’m doing with my newspaper column.
One way that I might try to write ahead is to develop a topic and split it into pieces, such that each piece could either be written and published independently, or else they could be written and published as a series. The biggest challenge that I see with this practice is that the material can’t be reliant upon current (or at least very current) events. Otherwise, a blog post sitting around for 4 - 6 months could look very silly and dated when I publish it, particularly if the nature of the current event changes drastically. So writing in advance would require some kind of “timeless” topic which wouldn’t go out of style or lose freshnesses.
Unless… I could purposely write “time capsule” entries with the idea of publishing them as a snapshot into my Uncanny Broadcasting Brain’s brainwaves at any given point in time. Or maybe I could just play the poor man’s Nostradamus and write generic things like, “A terrible hurricane will plaque the Atlantic Ocean this year”, which is about 99% likely to happen any year.
Alternately, I could also predict that Britney Spears will make headline news this year… but that’s kind of cheesy.
Actually, it would be a challenge to write posts ahead of time - it might force me to be more careful!
Now I’m going to read other people’s comments and maybe make a separate comment on them!
Nov 19th, 2007
Mark Dykeman
@ PAIDTWICE - looks like we were of similar minds…
@ Marriam - yes, I would say that having a news blog limits your ability to write ahead, unless you can somehow have a generic post about new media or journalism that you could slide in as necessary.
@ Bente Lilja Bye - you seem to have a good plan in mind. Good point about looking ahead for major events - great way to plan posts.
@ Amber - I understand your challenge. Maybe you could pre-write some posts about things that happened in your past (if you’re into writing about that sort of thing) and have them ready as filler if needed.
@ Anthony Lawrence - good point about not wanting to deluge your readers, yet knowing that each article is another little piece of content to attract reader. There have been days when I post three or four times, but it’s always a spontaneous thought which triggers the post.
@ Dominik Lenk: excellent point about writing on one day, then reviewing/editing on a different day. I’m always amazed by the flaws I see when I give my mind some time to focus on something else.
Nov 19th, 2007
Michael Martine
My experience is much like Mark Dykemen’s above. Sometimes inspiration simply strikes, although I’m more inclined to save the article as a draft than publish immediately. My content isn’t time-sensitive.
I almost never write an article all the way through from beginning to end, but instead edit it and add to it piecemeal. My drafts collection is a hodgepodge of posts all in various states of “undress”. Some of them only require an image or some tightening up and they’re ready to publish, while others are nothing more than a headline that’s the spark of an idea.
Marcia, I had a thought about how to have backup articles for your television blog: have a couple “best of” type posts, interviews, and writing on general trends. None of these are time-sensitive.
Nov 19th, 2007
Michael Martine
Ah… I misspelled your last name, Mark — apologies!
Nov 19th, 2007
Heather
I realised the need to think ahead when I went on vacation and all my resolve to write a post a day went out the window! Too much hiking and sunbathing to do! So, I made a plan and so far it’s working for me. Here it is:
Brainstorm
Each month or so I set aside a time to brainstorm with my partner, friends, clients, in fact whoever is around at the time; asking them what they would find interesting –this is a no-holds-barred exercise and anything goes. My blogs are about the vacation rental industry and are targeted at either owners of properties or renters. So I am focusing on producers and users. We have a 15 minute period to get as many ideas down on paper as possible, and I don’t judge any idea – just let them come!
Sift
Sometimes I’ll have as many as 50 ideas (if there’s a few people taking part) so the next task is to sift through them and discard those that really don’t have value as a blog post, or are simply nutty ideas. For example,” Decorating a vacation rental for Christmas” was a great one; “How does Santa know you are renting and not at home?” was a little off the wall though a very good question to have answered if you have kids I guess.
Categorise
Each good idea is then categorized as either seasonal (S), current (C) or timeless (T). Seasonal posts are probably good for the next few weeks; current are OK for immediate release, say in the next week, and timeless posts have no sell by date.
Colour Code
Finally, each one is colour coded in red for short, sharp posts, and blue for lengthier ones requiring a bit of research.
I use one 3 x 5 card for each blog topic and keep them in a small box, as well as having a list of them on my blog file. Each Sunday I will pull out 7 topics, usually 2 long ones and shorter ones, and start to work on them. During the week, more topics usually come up – dependent on what is in the news and they will be added in.
I always carry a notebook with the week’s cards inside so if I get any ideas I can jot them down.
Nov 19th, 2007
Mark Dykeman
Actually, Michael, I am a clone (Mark Dykeman-248), so your use of the name “Mark Dykemen” is, in a sense, accurate.
In all serious, no biggie!
Nov 19th, 2007
paidtwice
@Mariam - so do you have the same thing happen I do, that you write a post and save it for later, and then 5 other PF bloggers write posts on the same topic somehow that same week and you end up shelving the idea indefinitely? Heh. I just wrote a whole new post for tomorrow morning since two other people said my original post (that I wrote a few days ago for Monday publication) better than I did anyway. heh. Shelved that post for further inspiration to make it more fresh sounding
@Mark - when I have flashes of inspiration I usually bump a scheduled post forward a bit to fit the inspiration in. I tend to have a few days ahead already written. But, honestly, I could have more if I would ease up on my self-imposed publishing schedule.
but I like my constant state of motion, so there’s that.
I have a goal to have a week written ahead at all times. I’ve accomplished that on my parenting-focused blog (thus far, it is very new still) but am nowhere near it on my personal finance blog. Maybe because I publish 4 times as much stuff on the personal finance one. heh.
Nov 19th, 2007
Ankesh Kothari
Great idea Skellie to improve the quality of comments on your blog.
As for the question - I think a writing budget is a fantastic idea. But its very hard for some people (read “me”) to form that habit. I’ve tried doing it before. And have even managed to have quite a few posts written down to be published later. But whenever I have a few extra posts, the urge to take time off of that project hits hard.
Ah - if only I were disciplined enough.
Nov 19th, 2007
mariam
@PaidTwice
Ahh, but I am a reader of your blog and your multiple postings a day make me jealous
I wish I had your output 
And yes, I’ve shelved posts before since other people have bigger readership and I don’t want to be seen as copying. Or, if I don’t know about it, ignorance is bliss
However, I do have a slight advantage as my blog is in the smaller Canadian pf niche but readable to Americans (or at least that’s what I’m telling myself) .
Nov 19th, 2007
Mark
Hi Skellie ~
What a very timely and relevant post you have written here because I was literally just drafting up a plan that contains my new schedule and goals for posting, which definitely includes a more longer term “writing budget” strategy.
At present I have been doing the daily post grind and if I am lucky have been maybe getting one or two posts ahead.
However my plan for a writing budget now includes the following:
* Produce a daily timetable for writing (whether it be two hours or five) where I do nothing but concentrate on writing for my site and various guest posts.
* Schedule posts a month in advance on an actual calendar (and not in my head) with room for creative flexibility of course.
* Within the next week draft eight to ten posts to keep as reserves.
* Finish off all of my almost completed draft posts that I have stored all over my computer so that I am always four to five days ahead of any given day.
* Learn to utilize the impending days of the week as my friends. Specifically, I want to cover specific topics on given days (e.g. Monday = blogging, Tuesday = living overseas, etc)
* Create a regularly scheduled weekly series (which is actually in the works) that will provide amazing content and the best part of all, it will be created by other bloggers.
Mark
Nov 19th, 2007
Evan Hadkins
I only post two or three times a week.
I don’t have much traffic at the moment so don’t know how this is received.
At one stage I had several weeks posts ahead but then stopped doing this. I’m not sure why - perhaps to do with freshness. I’m moving away from doing newsy stuff (in my niches the same stuff tends to get covered all over the place, I think we all subscribe to the same feed, at the same time so I wanted to be a little different). So it may be time to move back to accumulating some extra articles.
I still have my file of ideas for when I get stuck but haven’t revived my bank of articles. If I do find something that is important and newsy I just add this as an extra post.
Nov 19th, 2007
skellie
The responses have been fantastic so far!
It’s interesting to see that people tend to fall into one of three categories:
They do keep a writing budget:
Paidtwice, Mike Pedersen Golf, ChrisB, Jack,
They don’t keep a writing budget but would like to:
Miriam, Ivy, Infmom, Bente Lilja Bye, Dominik Lenk, Marcia, Lea Woodward, Mark Dykeman, Michael Martine, Ankesh Kothari, Mark, Evan Hadkins and Skellie ;).
They don’t feel it’s necessary for the kind of blogging they do
Amber, Anthony Lawrence,
The save up ideas but not posts
Heather
So the ‘writing budget as aspirational goal’ is the biggest so far — which is nice, because we can work at developing the habit together.
It’s been great to see commenters engaging with each other while also describing their own personal experiences. Deciding who to spotlight is going to be tough this week!
Nov 19th, 2007
skellie
Sorry, that’s four categories ;).
Nov 19th, 2007
paidtwice
@Ankesh - that happens to me too… I get a bit ahead and then I give myself some time off as a reward. oops. Not always but it is some kind of odd psychological hack I have to overcome.
@Mariam - Yay for readers :). keep writing about the ways you differ from the rest of the pack and you’ll go far
(but I’ll stay a brown-bagger anyway, well, my spouse will 
)
I am starting to wonder why keeping a writing bank is harder than keeping a actual savings account of money. Heh.
Nov 19th, 2007
Mary Jaksch
To end up with a stash of finished posts, I use a technique that is like making pots. The steps for making a pots and getting them ready for sale are as follows: kneading the clay, shaping the pot, firing the pot, glazing the pot, and displaying the pot in a shop. The important thing here is that you can’t do all the steps in one rush; they have to be done one after the other in a certain order–with time between each step. So, as a productive potter (which I tried to be for all of three weeks), you will have pots in different stages of completion.
I use the same technique for writing posts. The steps are: 1. mindmapping the post, 2. making a rough draft, 3. researching related material, 4. refining the draft, 5. final editing, 6. finding a relevant image, and 7. creating a ‘ready-to-go’ version to sit in my WordPress files, complete with tags etc.
Most days I’ll work on a few posts to get them to the next stage. This feels much easier than trying to force-finish complete posts. I tend to end up with more completed posts than I need and the surplus sits snugly on my site, ready to roll. I can draw on that stash when I travel or just want to chill.
Mark’s post gave me an idea of how to streamline this way of working up posts a little better. If I were to focus on working on posts of a different category on each day of the week, it would be easier to ensure that my spread of information remains even. My blog is about enhancing life through meditation, and I realise that I tend to favour certain categories more than others. Mark’s suggestion would help to even that out. I would be constrained by the discipline of working up posts of a certain category each day, and constraint seems to trigger my creativity.
Nov 19th, 2007
SpicePuppy
To continue the finance analogy, if you want to save up for a specific goal, it often makes sense to create a separate account that will not be touched for any other purpose. If you want to have enough posts saved up for a one-month emergency buffer, then store your extra posts in a separate area and declare to yourself that you won’t touch them unless you really need them. If you don’t enforce this strictly, you may find it too convenient to dip into your emergency fund anytime you have a bad hair day.
Several commenters have said that they find it difficult to write posts in advance, mainly because the nature of their niche requires real-time updates. You might consider “running a clip show,” where you highlight a few posts from the past that had been well-received. This would help new readers find some of your best content, and long-time readers could take a trip down memory lane. You could also add comments to reflect on how things have changed since then. Of course, a clip show would only buy you one day off; doing them even twice in a row would be too much.
Another idea is to take some random thoughts you’ve had that aren’t really substantial enough to form a post on their own, and put them all together in a stream of consciousness post.
If the topic of your blog warrants it, you can schedule a few advance posts that tell your readers about your time off. For a finance blog, explain how you were able to save up the money to spend a month overseas, how you got a good deal on the flight and hotel, etc. For a travel blog, describe the pink sand and clear blue water you’re experiencing (a little guesswork will be required since you’re writing this ahead of time). If your blog is about blogging, discuss strategies for scheduling posts while you’re away (thereby fulfilling your need for such posts).
You can let your readers run the show while you’re gone. If you have reader questions that you haven’t had time to answer, see if your collective readership is able to help. Then when you come back, comment on the answers given, and give a spotlight to those who helped the most.
Some ideas for timeless content that can be saved indefinitely until you need it: how you developed an interest in your niche, what inspired you to create a blog on the subject, “how to” posts, “top 10 _____ of all time” posts, and guest posts from others who don’t mind waiting to be published (probably friends doing you a favor).
But up till now I’ve ignored the first part of your question, Skellie: “Do you think saving content is a worthwhile goal?” Speaking for myself as a reader, no, I do not think it’s a worthwhile goal. I’m extremely forgiving of people who need to take a break from their posting, and in fact I don’t have a problem with one blogger I read who basically just said “have a good summer, see you later.” However, I think this has to be considered from the perspective of your readership as a whole. The more that people depend on you, the greater your responsibility to them. If you need to sustain a high level of output, then yes, saving content is a great insurance policy.
Nov 19th, 2007
paidtwice
@Spicepuppy - I have to disagree with you on the idea that it isn’t a worthwhile goal - because I think you are more forgiving than most in the bloggers taking breaks.
I have two thoughts - one, people like routines, and two, it depends on what phase your blog is in.
One - people like routines. For example, on Saturday afternoons I grocery shop. When I get home I write a roundup of how it went. Yes, these are the things i write about. lol. Stay with me.
One weekend, I had a tkd tournament on Saturday so i didn’t shop til Sunday. I got no less than 5 emails and 3 comments on my latest post by Saturday night asking when I was posting the grocery post and if I was discontinuing it and how they looked forward to it every week.
So since then, if I’m going to post it on Sunday, I mention it. lol.
For #2: My blog is in a growth phase (well, I hope at least). It is only 4 or 5 months old and it is not firmly established as far as readership. it is growing. Taking time off without posting content for a while would greatly harm my growth, *I* think. (That’s not about the time it has been around, it is about the period it is in, it is not established completely in my eyes). A big established blog in my niche, like Get Rich Slowly, could take time off with little harm done I think. Because it HAS the devoted fan base already and they are willing to wait for new content.
Anyway, before I write a book lol
Nov 20th, 2007
Julie
I think saving content is very important, and I learned this the hard way. Having just recently started my second blog, my first blog suffered due to the time I was applying to my new blog. Had I saved content, it would have helped tremendously. Even though I always had good intentions to save content for days I just couldn’t make the time to blog, I failed in that area on my first blog.
I admire the commenters who have had success in storing up posts for the future and I think they are right on track … that is, if they want to treat their blog as a business. Just like a business, if you close down for a week for vacation, it can be quite disappointing to your regular customers and you run the risk of losing them.
So my goal is to develop the habit of storing content. And I intend to do that by letting my readers be my boss. When I worked for a boss, I had no problem jumping to get something done when my boss expected it. So why should it be any different when working for myself? If I keep in mind that my readers are expecting it and/or that it is essential for the success of my blog, I will more likely put forth the effort to store content.
While storing content is essential for sick days, I will also look into finding guest bloggers for vacation days. I think guest bloggers add a fresh perspective. My experience has been that my favorite bloggers introduce me to other great bloggers. That is, afterall, how I was introduced to skelliewag.
Nov 20th, 2007
Matthew Crist
I always try to keep a week’s worth of posts around for our primary blog. For the others, I would be better served creating a savings account.
Personally, the way that I do it though, is that I forward post, so if I ever took a day off, the actual post would still appear as scheduled.
Nov 20th, 2007
SpicePuppy
@Paidtwice - I agree with your disagreeing with me. (Huh?) What I mean is that I was speaking from my perspective–it’s OK with me when bloggers I read take a long break. However, I realize that’s not typical. I think it all comes down to how dependent your readers are on you–if they really need their Paidtwice fix, then you have to be there for them. But I promise not to complain if you’re late in writing about your grocery shopping.
Nov 20th, 2007
Anthony Williams
I aim to post on my blog once a week, and I’m not very good at writing “on demand”, so I do two things: I keep a list of ideas, and I write posts when I have the “energy” to do so, even if I don’t post them immediately. This means I have a (short) backlog of posts ready in advance. I’m not sure which of your four categories that puts me in
Sometimes, I find that when I start to flesh out my ideas they become long enough for a full-blown article, and I submit them to a magazine for publication. This is good from an income perspective, but it doesn’t help the blog — I’ve spent all that time writing, and still haven’t got a blog post to show for it.
Nov 22nd, 2007
Kristen
Hi everyone! I just discovered Skelliewag yesterday — what a find! I’m a high school English teacher on leave to develop a website for book clubs who tackle the classics (and other great literature). After teaching writing for fifteen years, here is my blogging philosophy: write, every day, even if only for a short time.
I write something every weekday and then edit something else afterwards (sometimes I mix up the order). I leave each new post alone for 1-2 days before I edit it, and even those posts that seem trite, tired, uninspired at the time of writing can usually morph into something somewhat interesting (I hope!). At this point I only have 4 subscribers (including my sister and husband), so I feel as if I’m writing in a vacuum at times, but it is still fun.
I post 3 - 4 days a week, so I usually have 3-4 posts in process. I’ve only been doing this for a month, so inspiration hasn’t been a problem yet, but I appreciate everyone’s ideas and have been writing them down for future use.
Glad to enter the discussion and thanks for a great blog, Skellie!
Nov 30th, 2007
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