This week I am sharing a 'Just a Thought' that is really meant for you, my lovely friends, as a behind the scenes look. How many times have I read about the importance of remaining consistent when posting and scheduling blogs? And I completely understand the why. Readers want to be able to return to your blog knowing that on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays there will be new content.
But my schedule is a bit off from everyone else.
My (wonderful) husband works a job that has six days on and three days off. For example he could work Monday through Saturday, and then have Sunday, Monday, Tuesday off. The following rotation he would have Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday off. It can mean difficult scheduling and a lot of 'missed' holidays, but it does have a lot of benefits as well!
For the blog, however, this means that I don't always post on regular days. When (hottie) husband is home those three days, I generally stay off of the computer. I don't read and comment, I hardly tweet, and I almost never get to draft a blog post. This is a choice I've made in order to spend more time with my family when I can. During hubby's nights on, I do try to blog wholeheartedly after Baby Girl goes down for bed. But sometimes....sometimes I am just too exhausted. I can journal thoughts and reviews for days without actually typing anything up.
Sometimes when I draft a post, I am too excited for it to go 'live' and let it go up the next day, whether that is a Monday or Saturday. Other times I am feeling more responsible and try to schedule it out for a 'regular post day' like Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. This post for example, I am drafting on Friday, but will schedule to post next Wednesday! Some weeks I get three posts out, some weeks I get one post out. But that doesn't mean I am not committed to my blog, to the books, and to the lovely readers; it just means my schedule is a little different. I know it can 'hurt my chances of gaining followers', but I've made the choice to put family first and I have to stick with it.
I hope this offers a behind the scenes look at how I schedule and blog! How do you decide which days to post, or how often to post? What life events factor into your decisions??
I have a blog schedule, but I veer away from it on a regular basis, lol. I like having the structure to keep me on track, but I'm not too concerned if I get away from it, from time to time. Blogging is supposed to be a fun hobby, not a job :)
ReplyDeleteAgree! And you have a wonderful idea: if I at least create a schedule to give me some direction, it's still okay if I veer from it!
ReplyDeleteHAHA. I do this all the time! Drafting a post for a schedule, but then posting it immediately or the next day because I can't wait for it to go live. This is why I hardly ever have scheduled posts. But I do generally have my discussion posts on Thursdays and weekly recap posts on Sundays. If I can't get them up in time though, I post the next day. Not too much of a big deal for me but I do want to work towards scheduling in advance. That would surely reduce the pressure to churn out posts when I'm not in the mood to write anything.
ReplyDeleteYour last sentence hits it exactly on the button! I need to become better at scheduling in advance so that I won't feel so much pressure when my husband has days off or when I am totally clueless as to what to post!
ReplyDeleteWhew! Off the hook! :D
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