Let Your Blog Work Hard While You Take a Break

Photo by Joy Banerjee

In just a few days, my family and I will be traveling almost 7,000 miles and through seven time zones. I have a sneaky suspicion I'll be busier dealing with two preschoolers wanting to sleep all day and party all night than I will blogging.

But since blogging provides my family a part-time income, it's still important for me to keep it up-to-date. As much as I'd like, I can't just take two solid weeks off with no new material. My readers wouldn't like that, not to mention those who've purchased advertising on the site.

So how do I keep Simple Mom fresh while still tending to my main priority – my family? Here are a few simple ways to take time off your blog – without letting it dry up:

Write Your Articles Ahead Of Time

The past few weeks, I've been doubling up my writing, so that posts will continue to go live while I pack, travel, and sleep. Most blogging platforms allow for scheduled posting, so that you can prepare posts to go live months in advance.

Keep a Stockpile of Posts on File

I'm actually not using any this time, but I've done this in the past. Whenever you have a bit of downtime, go ahead and write some timeless posts – and by "timeless," I mean posts that aren't about anything newsworthy. Keep them on file, completely ready to go – if you use Wordpress, like me, then you can simply save posts without actually publishing them. Whenever life is busy, you can just open up your post and hit "publish" – a brand new post is now live.

Recruit Guest Writers

Having fellow bloggers publish articles on your site can be a great win-win situation for both of you. If she has a similar audience size as you, you can essentially "share" traffic – ask her to mention her guest post on her blog, and hopefully, her readers will click over to your blog. Link to her blog in her author's bio, and your readers will be exposed to her place as well. If you're like-minded, chances are, your audiences will appreciate both of your sites.

Republish Some of Your Older Posts

If your readership has grown since your blog's inception, you can pull some of your earlier work and publish it again. Make sure your article is at least a few months old, and don't forget to add a disclaimer at the beginning – something like, "This post was originally published on January 3, 2008."

Blogging is a great hobby, and for some of us, it's a beautiful way to let us work from home. But you don't want it to run your life, and there are times when you need to take a break from the laptop. Use smart and strategic tactics to keep your blog running strong, even when you're on break.

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