If (like me) you run a business which is fronted by your blog, and that business really takes off, you will find yourself in the annoying but pleasant position of not having enough time to keep your stream of blog posts going.
I find myself spending the majority of my time serving my clients needs and have very little time left over to write quality blog posts, this is an enviable position to be in, but if people are coming to you because of your blog, you also need to keep that quality content going, here is my list of things to do to lessen the burden of writing so you can concentrate on your clients/business.
Let Your Blog Readers Know
If people are used to a certain posting frequency from you, then it is only fair that you let them know, a quick blog post disguised as a list of things to make up for you lack of time will do.
Here we go; my business has taken off and I will only be posting once per week. Thanks for your understanding, I have a large archive of useful posts feel free to browse through them in the mean time.
Reduce Posting Frequency
Look at your current posting frequency, if you are finding the burden of writing quality content and serving the needs of your business are too much, then cut back on your posting frequency. No one is going to worry too much if you post five times per week and cut it down to three, but remember to let your readers know.
Stockpile Posts
When you have a quiet period, run off as many blog posts as you can, keep them in draft mode and publish them in line with your new posting schedule.
I find I don’t always have time to write the full post so I outline the idea I want to write about, with paragraph headings and quick notes and what I want to write. You will be surprised how much this speeds up the writing process. You have a blog post already researched and thought about which just needs some flesh on the bones. This stops the dreaded writers block when you need to crank out a post with little time to dedicate to the writing process.
Recycle Posts
You may have a post languishing in your archive that no-one visits, that you were not too happy with, or that needs an update.
Get this post out, rework it and re-publish it by setting a new published date. This will bring that article back to the top of your blog for people to read.
Warning, your long term readers may smell a rat, be transparent about what you have done. For example I could recycle one of my plugin reviews, and add an updated header like this:
Plugin XXX has been updated and the functionality has change quite a bit, so I have updated my plugin review and brought it back to the top of my blog post list, I hope you enjoy it ….
Create Series Posts
This is another way to recycle your blog posts, and that is to create a series link list of related posts. An example from my site would be to bring together all of my posts on comments, write an introduction on the benefits of comments, and then link to all of my other posts.
A bit of a cheat, but a very useful resource for people wanting to learn more about WordPress commenting.
Run A Poll
Polls are very quick to create, and are great ways to interact with your audience. I wrote a blog post on Adding a Poll to Your Blog
[poll id=”3″]
Get Guest Posters
If you don’t know the benefit of guest posting, check out Guest Posting Like A Pro, but as the blog owner if you invite guest posting, you have a ready made blog post, fresh content with a new voice, a brilliant way to keep your blog current.
I am open to enquieries on guest posting, please send me a message from my contact page with details of the post you would like to write.
Hire a Writer
If you business is booming, surely you have some spare cash to bring in a blogsmith? Pay by the post freelance bloggers are not that expensive, check out the Problogger Job Board for ideas of costs and as a way to hire writers.
For me this is something I am not that interested in, I am very protective of my blog, it has my voice and I want it to stay that way (or am I just too cheap, who knows 🙂 ). Would bringing in staff writers dilute that? I don’t know your comments would be appreciated.
Make Time
If your business took off because of your blog, and you are getting clients because of the expertise you display on your blog, you need to invest time in writing and marketing your blog.
I have blocked out one session per week for writing blog posts, I am not writing with the same frequency I used to when my business was not as developed, but I want to keep the quality up and build my blog subscriber base (and potential client base) to a much higher level. Hopefully I have the right mix of frequency and quality.
What’s Your Take
I would love to hear what you think about this subject, and it’s cousin of keeping your social media makreting going when all of yur time is being given over to your client requirements.
Drop me a message in the comments section below.