Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Scheduling Your Blog PLUS Free Printable Calendar

You know the drill. It's late Sunday night and you forgot to write your post for tomorrow's blog. You want to be on a schedule. In fact, you are bound and determined to get organized and post every day, right? Keeping up with a blog is not for the faint of heart!

But there is hope for the weary.

Did you know that it is not necessary to blog every day? Not even every other day. Because truly, do you read every single blog you subscribe to every single day? No! It's impossible! Not every topic you write on is going to interest every single reader.

I've noticed something in my blogging journey. When I don't comment on other's blogs, I don't get comments on mine. I'm know I used to kill myself commenting on everyone's blog, but I just can't anymore. I don't have the time. So I've decided to spend my time blogging on what I am passionate about, not what I "think" other people might want to hear about. Because if we want people to read our blogs, we have to love what we are writing about. We need to be "real" and "engaging" in whatever topic we write about, because it is the personality of your blog that people flock to....not how often you post. And really, right now blogging is just a fun thing for me. I shouldn't dread it!

While there is no rules for how often to post, it is good to get in a habit of posting regularly. You need to decide what that looks like for you. You might be a weekend blogger. Or you may just be a Tuesday/Thursday blogger. Or you may be like the majority of bloggers and blog Monday/Wednesday/Friday. Just get into the habit of doing it, creating content that YOU love.

Here's some interesting facts about blogging, taken from Kissmetrics.

  • The highest percentage of users read blogs in the morning.
  • The average blog usually gets the most traffic on Monday.
  • The average blog usually gets the most traffic around 11 am. (Eastern time)
  • The average blog usually gets the most comments on Saturday.
  • The average blog usually gets the most comments around 9 a.m.
  • The average blog usually gets the most inbound links around 7 a.m. (those are links back to your post)
  • If you post more than once a day, the chances of getting more unique views and inbound links are great. (That seemed rather obvious to me.)
So there is something to be said for scheduling your blog and being regular about it. If you get more traffic on Monday, then schedule your blog to post at 5 or 6 a.m. to so that it will be picked up in people's feeds by 7 a.m. You could even do a 2-parter. Post 1/2 the blog post in the morning, then the other 1/2 in the afternoon. I don't know of anyone who does that, but it is outside of the box, right? ;)

I want to share something that has worked for me. I use a blog schedule calendar and it has really helped to keep me more focused. I saw some across the internet and thought "I could make one!". And so I did. Here is a screen shot of what it looks like.

You can write the topic or title of your post on the day you would like to schedule it, then when you have it written and scheduled you can check the little yellow circle. You may have several posts going at once, but you will know it's scheduled once the circle is checked. This is just for printing. It is not editable. 


You can CLICK HERE to download the Blogging Schedule Calendar Printable. I have only created April through December for 2013. Who knows...maybe I'll created 2014 as a Christmas present for you!

Let's hear from you! What has helped you in your blogging schedule. What tips can you give us? What have you learned along the road? 


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This post is brought to you by
 Sherrinda Ketchersid

Sherrinda is a minister's wife and mother to three giant sons and one gorgeous daughter. A born and bred Texan, she writes historical romance filled with fun, faith, and forever love.

12 comments:

CJ Kennedy said...

Besides trying to keep ahead of blog posts, don't forget to let your readers on Facebook and Twitter know you have a new post. You can schedule updates and tweets automatically using Social Oomph.

Anonymous said...

Great post, Sherrinda, and the facts were interesting. I've been blogging since February, and I post on Tuesdays and Thursdays. THey may not be the highest traffic days, but they are days when I can be consistent. So, that's what I'm doing for now.

I like the calendar idea. I'm so glad you shared it.

Mary Vee Storyteller said...

Sherrinda,
I have read the recent buzz about overwhelming ourselves with blogging. So very true. Sometimes we need to step back and do the right and best thing which may be writing our books, spending time with family, etc. Not to say no blogging, just don't let it rule your life.

Amy Leigh Simpson said...

Great post, Sher! Very practical! My personal blog takes a back seat to so many things... I really needed this advice and I really need to set up a schedule. Thanks for the kick start :)

Julia M. Reffner said...

Great idea! I actually ended up purchasing a separate calendar where I write Writer's Alley, Library Journal, and other site deadlines and its helped me to feel less stressed too.

Sherrinda Ketchersid said...

CJ! Yes, of course! I think TweetDeck can do that too. I have mine set up to where when I tweet, it automatically feeds into FB. Great point!

Sherrinda Ketchersid said...

Jeanne, I think that is awesome! Everyone needs to do what is best for them. I think blogs serve many purposes...different for each person. It is all good, girl!

Sherrinda Ketchersid said...

Mary, you are so smart. Just as with anything, blogging should never run your life. :)

Sherrinda Ketchersid said...

Amy, thanks. I'm glad it was helpful. I know I need all the help I can get!

Sherrinda Ketchersid said...

Julia, great minds think alike! I love that we are on the same wavelength.

Megan Sayer said...

This was good to hear, thank you. I recently changed my schedule from Mon-Wed-Fri to a twice-weekly Mon-Thurs, because I was getting overwhelmed by the need to write something, and I didn't want to write something unless it was interesting. I'm amazed how, in less than twelve months of blogging, the thing had began to drive ME, not the other way around. So much talk of keeping fresh content, not disappointing readers - when all the while my WIP was beginning to suffer for it.
Thanks again for the encouragement!

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