Written on December 28th, 2005 at 01:12 am by Darren Rowse
7 Things to Do with your Blog when you take a Vacation
Get more tips like this in your email by subscribing to the free ProBlogger Newsletter at the top of our sidebar
What should I Do with my Blog when I go take a Vacation?
This is a question I ask myself in the lead up to every break and one that I seem to answer differently each time. I thought it a relevant topic to write about as I’m currently on holidays (or at least will be by the time you read this).
Here’s a few of the approaches I’ve taken over the last few years:
1. Give your Blog and Readers a Vacation
This is probably the most common approach that bloggers take – they simply stop blogging for the time they are away and resume on their return.
Advantages
- it’s low maintenance in the lead up to and during your time away.
Disadvantages
- your blog stops and you risk losing momentum
- you might end up with a lot of catching up when you return in terms of any news that breaks while you’re away
- traffic will probably fall due to lack of RSS updates
2. Advance Posts
Blogging software like WordPress has the ability for bloggers to write posts in advance of them being published. You simply set the date and time you want the post to go live and it will happen later while you’re sitting on a beach somewhere. This very post is an example of this. I’m currently lounging beside a pool reading a book in wonderful Queensland (or at least I hope I am). If I’m going to do advance posts I generally make them fairly generic, or a tips post or something that is not time specific.
Advantages
- this can give your blog the appearance of you actually being at your blog
- it keeps content ticking over on your blog which has advantages in SEO, maintaining readership levels
- you retain complete control over what is written on your blog while away
Disadvantages
- your posts will not be time relevant and you’ll still need to catch up when you get home on any newsy type posts
- you can run into formatting issues if you’re not careful – make sure you test your posts before you go
- moderation of comments is difficult with this. If a flame war blows up in comments you’re not there to moderate
- increases your work load
3. Retrospective Series
This is really a variation on ‘advance posts’ but instead of writing a whole new series of posts you run some older posts.
Advantages
- Lightens the load in the lead up to your vacation (not completely)
- Shows newer readers some of the older posts from your archives that they will never have seen before
- Still gives you control over what content goes up on your blog while gone
Disadvantages
- Can run the risk of messing up your URLs if you repost an old post on a new date (if your URLs are date specific).
- Still some work before you leave
- Could frustrate some of your older readers who have seen your old work
- Again you can run into comment moderation issues
4. Guest Blogger/s
Last time I went on an extended vacation this was the approach I took. Each of my blogs had a guest blogger or two (ProBlogger had 20 or so) who were given posting rights. They were asked to write a few times a week (more if they could) and were given links back to their own blogs in return.
Advantages
- Involves your readers and other bloggers in your field which increases the sense of participation on your blog
- Guest Bloggers can moderate comments on their own threads
- Gives your readers fresh perspectives on your topic that you’d never have considered yourself.
Disadvantages
- You lose some control over what appears on your blog (at least until you return)
- Can be considerable work involved in setting this up if you have multiple blogs
- Some readers might become frustrated by your guest bloggers style/voice if they are loyal to your own.
5. Guest Posts/Series
This is the approach I’m talking here at ProBlogger over the next two weeks with the majority of the posts you’ll read here. I’ve got at least one guest post per day from a different ProBlogger reader. They’ll get a link or two back to their own blogs in return for the post. Rather than giving each blogger posting rights I tend to do this as a variation on the ‘advance posts’.
Advantages
- in addition to the advantages of guest bloggers (see above) this gives you the advantage of variety. ie instead of your readers getting frustrated with one guest blogger they get a new blogger every day.
Disadvantages
- can bring problems of inconsistency. ie some readers might become frustrated with the lack of consistent voice.
- there is quite a bit of work involved in setting up the advance posts from a variety of different bloggers.
6. Blog from the Road
I’ve done this on a couple of shorter business trips where I’ve arranged for net connections along the way to post from. Generally at these times I post at a lighter frequency than normal.
Advantages
- This means you’re in complete control over content
- There is no set up time required before you leave
- You can keep up with any breaking news (less catching up to do afterwards)
- You can moderate all comments
Disadvantages
- not good for a holiday or you’ll never rest
7. Open Mike posts
Another variation on the advance posts option is to leave a few ‘open mike’ type posts where you invite readers to submit their comments on a particular topic. In a sense then it is readers who provide content for you while you’re gone (although the action all happens within your comments).
Advantages
- gives your readers a sense of ownership
- keep visitor levels up
Disadvantages
- comment moderation challenges
- need to catch up on newsy posts when you return
- some work needed in setting this up (but only really to think of good topics/questions)
I’m sure there are other options which I’d encourage you to leave in comments below.
The choice will depend upon many factors including the topic you’re writing about, traffic levels, the interactivity of your readers, whether you have a high loyal reader factor, the length of your vacation, whether your readers play well together or not etc.
This holiday I’m going for a real combination of the above points on my blogs. Many of them will be going on holidays with me, ProBlogger will have a combination of Advance posts and guest posts (and maybe an open mike or two) and a couple of my blogs have other bloggers looking after them for me.
What do you do with your blog/s when you go on holidays?
89 Responses to “7 Things to Do with your Blog when you take a Vacation” - Add Yours
IO ERROR
December 28th, 2005 2:20 am
I didn’t post much of anything over Christmas Day and Boxing Day (or whatever you call the day after Christmas). I had one future-dated post that ran very early Christmas day morning, and future-dated posts on some other blogs. Unfortunately, I still don’t feel like I had much of a holiday, for some reason…
Joe
December 28th, 2005 2:39 am
I posted as usual, except for Christmas Day, and then I posted Holiday Greetings. I think I’m too new at this to risk losing what few readers I do have to take a Holiday.
Maybe Next Year…
Blaine Moore (Run to Win)
December 28th, 2005 3:48 am
I advance post, generally.
The Language Artist: Business Blog Consulting » Blog Vacation Ideas
December 28th, 2005 4:43 am
[...] Problogger Darren Rowse offers advice on what to do with your blog when you take a break: [...]
johnny
December 28th, 2005 5:57 am
I posted as usual, except for Christmas Day, and then I posted Holiday Greetings. I took a week for celebrating Christmas. Toshiba notebook review blog
jim
December 28th, 2005 5:57 am
I go with a mix of advancing posting and light blogging from the road. With advance posting, sometimes it’s on something new or of the retrospective type, bringing a post back from the archives that I think wasn’t received very well and rewriting it.
Glen
December 28th, 2005 5:59 am
I posted as normal even on Christmas day. Though the subject matter has been light I still posted.
Sue Pelletier
December 28th, 2005 6:04 am
If it’s just a couple of days over the holidays, I just let it go, figuring that people aren’t going to be reading it anyway (mine’s a b2b blog). When I go on a vacation, I advance post some evergreen tips and links, and beg my colleagues to moderate comments for me. Sure, there’s lots to catch up on when I get back, but it seems to work ok for me. I’m thinking about doing some Q&As with industry leaders to advance post for my upcoming January vacation, just to vary it a bit.
Marcel Widmer
December 28th, 2005 6:41 am
And I thought, ProBloggers never take vacation ;-)
Bruce Allen
December 28th, 2005 7:00 am
Some great tips here. I’m going to be offline for nearly a month in May as I’m getting married and we’ll be going on a 3 week honeymoon (In Australia, Darren!) and I’m already trying to figure out how to keep 10 blogs afloat during that time period.
john echilo
December 28th, 2005 7:25 am
Good advice, but when go vacation i’ll bring my laptop on my backpack and always, so i can update my blog daily with my dialup modem
www.cellworld-review.blogspot.com
December 28th, 2005 7:25 am
HAPPY CHRISMAS
AND A PROSPEROUD NEW YEAR
Cary
December 28th, 2005 7:26 am
This week I’m starting to pre-post for a vacation to Hawaii in March…I figure if I can write an extra post each day until then I should be covered across my main blogs.
I hope ;D
Nick
December 28th, 2005 7:39 am
Advance posting is nice, I use it on Monday mornings so I can get up at 8:30 instead of 7:00. Aside from that, I run a new site(s) and advance posting isn’t much use. :(
brem
December 28th, 2005 8:38 am
I did a combo.
I preposted lots of stuff, since I wasn’t sure I would be able to post during the holidays as I was away, and then I’m posting on the road, as I get free time.¸¸
Sports Bettor
December 28th, 2005 8:52 am
I’ve done both the “Blog from the Road” and “Give your Blog and Readers a Vacation”.
Road blogging can really be a pain, so I’m more opt for the vacation approach… with the last post stating that I’m on vacation…
The readership might drop, but my blog should be seasonal away, so I’m not to worried.
Scott
December 28th, 2005 9:58 am
When I am on vacation, I’ll do “Special Theme Week” Advance Posting. For instance, an all-Superman week or a “Flashback Week” looking at classic comics from the sixties. This way I can turn advance posting into a special event rather than a liability (I do warn readers in advance about my vacation and how that may affect comment moderation).
Dave
December 28th, 2005 10:08 am
A few advance posts and then back into, perhaps a little slower than normal, but posting a few things here and there. The only way to guarantee a complete break is to either turn of the electricity supply or be away from a computer completely.
Deanna
December 28th, 2005 11:36 am
I write my posts in advance and save them as a draft, but I don’t publish until the day I want to see them on the blog. This way I get somewhat of a break, (I only need to log on to publish) and I am free to change or postpone my post if there is any breaking news.
Marsha
December 28th, 2005 1:56 pm
I tend to post in advance and have at least 5-10 new posts saved up so I can just publish them one at a time as needed. This will be harder to do for the blogs that are news related, but generally it works very well for me right now. Of course I don’t take vacations that often even on holidays so it’s not something I do very often.
K
December 28th, 2005 2:42 pm
As a marketing babe, I advance post.
Why?
Because I’m trying to create a habit.
I want my viewers checking my blog at the same time everyday.
dee
December 28th, 2005 4:25 pm
Thanks. I’ve had a time with using guest bloggers this year. I think its wise to use bloggers who have a little advanced knowledge on blogging.
I plan to cut back posting to set up my own site(finally leaving blogger), so I think over some of the other methods this week.
Thanks.
Herb
December 28th, 2005 4:26 pm
To begin with, this is my 1st post on any blog and I am doing this as to weigh the pros and cons about adding a blog to my own web site. The pros being that I would have fresh updates and maybe get new visitors to the site but the cons are that I do not want to destroy the ‘clean look’ of my website. Nor do I want to store a bunch of archives. I don’t want all the non nessarry ads and screen contents along the edges of the site. I want the visitor of the site to enjoy the site as it is. A fine arts gallery. Maybe some of your visitors and blogger could give me a hint or 2 about what they think. If you care to post this for them to check the web site feel free to do so. http://www.robertbenjamin.com
Thank you for your time and comments in advance
ps: if I do put up a blog then I will need to figure out how at that time.
Jon
December 28th, 2005 7:16 pm
Use post drafts.. over christmas though I personally blogged all my blogs.. havent a clue why .. I could have set them up to do it automatically.. eitherway If I miss a day I dont fret..
Subzero Blue
December 28th, 2005 8:20 pm
7 Things to do with your Blog when you are on vacation
What should I do with my Blog when I go take a vacation? That is a question I always find myself asking whenever I’m about to leave on a break, and up to now, the only way I’ve answered it is by telling myself I’d do my best to get online as often a…
Car Insurance Rate
December 29th, 2005 12:52 am
I always use the number 2 point – Advanced Post when i went for vacation. It is the best reason for me to use wordpress.
Jim Turner
December 29th, 2005 2:45 am
Might I add….Hire a Professional Blogger for the period of your abscence. Yes, that might have been a bit of self promotion.
paul
December 29th, 2005 3:44 am
In my country we have a thing called Wi-Fi and it enables me to blog from just about anywhere. I’ve blogged on a bus, an aircraft carrier, airports, hotels, cafes, at conferences, outside of conferences, in my backyard and on a beach in Mexico.
Cary
December 29th, 2005 7:55 am
I prefer to pre-post…to me, blogging while on vacation would just negate the reason I went on vacation in the first place ;)
A return to the mighty keyboard! at Secret Weapon Labs
December 30th, 2005 4:23 am
[...] In poor form, I must say, I vanished from the keyboard and computer these past couple of days to take some time off and recuperate away from a blinking cursor. It’s nice to come back feeling as refreshed as I feel, though the pre-holidays mess I left at home is enough to drive me to drinking. Having said that, I could have used Wordpress’ timed/future-dated posts feature to help manage keeping readers interested, but I was lazy I decided you needed a vacation as much as I did (see #1). The guest blogger idea is intriguing and I want to look into it more. If you’re interested drop me a line via email (denis [at] secretweaponlabs [dot] com). [...]
Scott Burkett
January 3rd, 2006 3:00 pm
Great read – I prefer to pre-publish, even when I’m in town. My new publishing schedule looks like this: I publish a “substance” piece on Mondays (usually), and a smaller piece that I call “Mornin’ Cup” on Wednesdays. Anything that gets published outside of those two I consider a timely value-add.
Cheers.
Scott
Bloggers Suck
April 2nd, 2006 7:28 am
Its “open mic” not open mike you turd! lol
Darren Rowse
April 2nd, 2006 8:15 am
guess it depends what part of the world you’re in BS
: ProBlogger Blog Tips
April 2nd, 2006 2:47 pm
[...] [...]
ThisBlogThing » Blog Archive » Blog Emergency: How to blog when the chips are down.
June 8th, 2006 12:17 am
[...] Darren at ProBlogger has posted some great information in his post “7 Things to Do with your Blog when you take a Vacation“. Ultimately he did not settle on one particular thing, but instead a combination. My strategy has been a combination of (a) guest bloggers, (b) advance posts, and (c) sparse blogging from the road. Read Darren’s article for more details. [...]
ProBlogger Paternity Leave Plans: ProBlogger Blog Tips
June 12th, 2006 5:52 pm
[...] It seems that every time I go on holiday or take time off I do something different with my blog (here’s 7 things I’ve done with my blogs while on a vacation) and this time will see me try something a little different again. [...]
Supa
June 13th, 2006 3:46 am
How did it work out Bruce Allen? I’d be interested to know how your blogs that depend on new news went without you there.
Quick Online Tips » Need a Blog Holiday? Hire A Professional Blogsitter
June 21st, 2006 11:10 pm
[...] Ask the problogger Darren Rowse and he will give you some excellent tips on 7 Things to Do with your Blog when you take a Vacation. Liked this article? Then grab our feed and get new posts instantly in your news reader, or get updates via email in your inbox or track with Technorati [...]
Lifehacker
June 22nd, 2006 11:31 pm
Go on vacation, but make your blog keep working…
The next time you go on vacation, don’t just leave your blog some extra kibble and water and hope it will be okay. Instead, take some advice from Darren “ProBlogger” Rowse and make that blog earn its keep while……
Eitan
June 23rd, 2006 12:53 am
This is exactly what I’m doing right now! I’m making piles of posts ahead of time so I can just remotely trigger them to post. They’re mostly timeless posts but I think I still did them justice.
Left Center Left » Vacation Blogging
June 23rd, 2006 1:40 am
[...] Via Lifehacker, I came across this useful list of 7 possibilities for what to do with your blog during vacation. I can’t even claim vacation, however, for my spotty posting this week. Bear with me. [...]
Tinta Fantasma » 7 cosas que puedes hacer con tu blog cuando te vas de vacaciones
June 23rd, 2006 2:29 am
[...] Problogger.net nos trae este artículo con 7 consejos que podemos tener en cuenta para cuando nos vayamos de vacaciones y que nuestro blog siga funcionando. En lo que se puede resumir en… [...]
Editor
June 23rd, 2006 5:36 am
To the “open mic” or “open mike” people, while it’s true that we’re dealing with an abbreviation for “microphone” and therefore the technically correct answer would appear to be “open mic,” the correct spelling is indeed “open mike” (most likely to avoid pronunciation issues with “mick” vs. “mike”). It’s listed this way in Mirriam-Webster and used by most if not all audio magazines.
Weekly Recaps: Pros and Cons | blogHelper
July 24th, 2006 1:52 am
[...] In fact, recaps also work for what Darren Rowse calls dead patches – times during the day where you creative juices run dry. And they work as well when you need to keep up the posting when on vacation. [...]
Things That ... Make You Go Hmm
September 16th, 2006 7:32 pm
Curious podcast RSS icon sighting on internet addiction recovery site…
Of the many different ways to express RSS and podcasts tonight I came across the image above at netaddiction.com. A pair of headphones surrounding the new style RSS icon. Simple, yet effective. I like.
As for the website, they treat the following ̵…
» Go on vacation, but make your blog keep working
October 27th, 2006 12:59 pm
[...] Page Summary: The blog has developed good relationships to date, but needs someone willing to see it through the rest of the season. Each of my blogs had a guest blogger or two (ProBlogger had 20 or so) who were given posting rights. Though the subject matter has been light I still posted. When I go on a vacation, I advance post some evergreen tips and links, and beg my colleagues to moderate comments for me.read more | digg story [...]
8 Signs it Might Be Time to Take a Break from Blogging
December 7th, 2006 1:33 pm
[...] at vacation time – sounds obvious that you’d take vacations – but I know some bloggers who blog while they’re away on holidays from net cafes. Periodic longer periods away from blogging are good for you, your family/relationships and believe it or not they can also be good for your blog and blog readers (here are 7 things to do with your blog while you’re on vacation). [...]
larzini
December 9th, 2006 3:06 pm
I may be on vacation right now, but I wouldn’t know it for sure since I’m on the computer. But a flunky wireless connection at your hotel may restrict your ability to continue posting or moderating if that’s what you plan to do. And then you may spend even more time than expected getting things to work, making item 1 a very realistic option if you expect to enjoy some of your time away as well.
Weblog Tools Collection » Things You Should Avoid Blogging About
December 18th, 2006 6:12 am
[...] Imagine calling someone and going straight to voicemail. Now imagine this voicemail saying, “I’m sorry I can’t come to the phone. In fact, I’m too busy right now to even call anybody. If you leave a voicemail, I might get back to you if I’m not busy enough. I’ll try to keep this to a minimum. Thanks! Bye.” By the time you’ve reached the end of the voicemail, you’re probably thinking, “Why not just say, ‘Leave a message’?” There’s no real point to those “I can’t blog ’cause I’m too busy” posts other than giving a cop-out for not keeping up with your blog. People come to your blog to read your content, not your excuses for not producing your content. There are millions of other blogs out there. If yours goes straight to voicemail, the reader will just call someone else. If you’re too busy to blog, do something about it. ProBlogger has some great advise on what to do if you foresee yourself being too busy. [...]
Welcome to my head… » Blog Archive » What not to blog about
December 18th, 2006 6:48 am
[...] Imagine calling someone and going straight to voicemail. Now imagine this voicemail saying, “I’m sorry I can’t come to the phone. In fact, I’m too busy right now to even call anybody. If you leave a voicemail, I might get back to you if I’m not busy enough. I’ll try to keep this to a minimum. Thanks! Bye.” By the time you’ve reached the end of the voicemail, you’re probably thinking, “Why not just say, ‘Leave a message’?” There’s no real point to those “I can’t blog ’cause I’m too busy” posts other than giving a cop-out for not keeping up with your blog. People come to your blog to read your content, not your excuses for not producing your content. There are millions of other blogs out there. If yours goes straight to voicemail, the reader will just call someone else. If you’re too busy to blog, do something about it. ProBlogger has some great advise on what to do if you foresee yourself being too busy. [...]
Devlounge | Things You Should Avoid Blogging About
December 18th, 2006 7:42 am
[...] If you’re too busy to blog, do something about it. ProBlogger has some great advise on what to do if you foresee yourself being too busy. [...]
ConFigures » Blog Archive » Time travel
December 21st, 2006 12:13 pm
[...] According to 7 things to do with your blog when you take a vacation, Wordpress allows scheduling of blog entries. So, a test. But to stay on topic … what does time management have to do with knowledge management? I can think of several overlaps: [...]
Michael
January 6th, 2007 6:43 pm
great stuff I am leaving for a month and that really gave me a few ideas Thanks Michael Angelo Christopher
Pua
February 27th, 2007 4:41 am
that must be one of the repeat posts but as i never read it before, i found some good recommendations what i can do when we are moving in our new house (hope next time it is when going on vacation).
i like the idea ‘to write posts in advance of them being published. You simply set the date and time you want the post to go live and it will happen later while you’re sitting on a beach somewhere’. never looked into it with blogger. will do so immediately.
thanks. pua
Vern
February 27th, 2007 12:05 pm
Blogger has “Post Options” in the lower left hand corner of their “new post” form. A small link that lets me set an advance time to publish the blog – I THINK. I’m trying it now. I’ve also looked at posting pics, videos, and text to my blog at blogger. I can do text without problem – I just set up a “Post-to” email address in my settings. Then I email to it from anywhere and it posts text. I also set up mobile photo blogging with my phone. I can send SMS messages with photo and text and they are posted automatically once I “claimed” my blog at blogger. NOW I found Youtube’s video posting. I can take video with phone, send it to a pre-arranged email address at youtube and they post the video automatically. Then I’d just create a blog entry and link to that video post. I’m in Thailand and things aren’t always as easy as for those elsewhere, but all of this appears to work. I’ve not tried the video youtube post, but in theory there’s no reason it shouldn’t work… I read your site daily Darren, thanks for helping us all out.
Edward
February 27th, 2007 1:35 pm
I will choose the “Open Mike posts” to keep readers on my blog , because once you lose traffics , visitors are hard to find again
Jon
February 27th, 2007 10:40 pm
When I travel, I tend to advance post but also try to write a post or two from the road.
Why Guest Bloggers are Great for a Blog
March 2nd, 2007 6:35 am
[...] Wondering what else you can do with your blog to give yourself a break? Here’s 7 things I’ve done with my blog while taking a holiday. [...]
Things to Avoid - Blogging about Not Blogging » Reader Appreciation Project
June 3rd, 2007 3:20 pm
[...] ProBlogger has some useful tips on what to do if you are too busy to blog. [...]
Learning the Art of Guest Blogging : The Blog Herald
August 3rd, 2007 3:46 pm
[...] 7 Things To Do With Your Blog When You Take A Vacation [...]
beej
December 7th, 2007 4:12 pm
Oh god. As if.
I *wish* I could even take a vacation much less afford one!
Good grief, what a post! “Oh woe is me, I’m so worried about what my precious blog will do all by it’s lonesome while I’m gone!” Shite. Don’t we have better things to worry about in life?
Randy PLACE
December 24th, 2007 12:27 am
What vacation? I have a new blog, don’t want to risk losing audience, so will keep my head down and write through the Holidays. In respect for those days, I’ll try to match whatever i post to the day (Christmas, New Years Day).
nso
December 30th, 2007 11:35 pm
Previously, I have just not posted and both times I have actually had an increase in traffic. The first time was my honeymoon and was very early in on my blogging days. While I was away a link to my blog was posted on a major fashion forum and that lead to a massive increase in traffic, both short term and long term. I was one happy camper when I got home and saw the site stats.
The second time was over the last two weeks, where I just warned my readers I was taking a break from blogging, alerted them to the fact that I would be posting 1 post on Christmas Eve (about the boxing day sales) and continuing to update some of the other non-blog aspects of the sites (discount codes etc). The site was a little slower traffic wise during the lead up t Christmas, which I expected, but Christmas day and boxing day I had a huge spike in traffic and it’s continued on even though I haven’t started back up blogging.
For me, its important that my vacations are vacations, and a week here and a week there, when properly warned, won’t lose me too much traffic
Yangtze Cruise
April 8th, 2008 1:58 pm
You offer a good advice . Sometimes I take a vocation.
Financial Advisor
August 1st, 2008 12:39 pm
This is a great post. I keep coming back here to re-read this advice.
Yin Teing
October 5th, 2008 3:32 am
Prior to my vacation, I will sit down and type articles and scheduled them to be posted in advance. I’ve done this when I took a 50 days vacation recently and now, I am preparing articles in advance as I will be away. My only worry is what to do with comments- since I can’t turn comments to avoid spam.
Musings of a Housewife
December 22nd, 2008 9:15 am
Great advice! I have done a series of guest posts when I’ve been gone in the past. I’ve done the Advance Post thing. I’ve never had an open mike. I think my readers might like this.
But for the holidays, I’m assuming readership will be low anyway, and I think I might take an old-fashioned blog break. I’ve never officially done this before. In three years, I think I’m due. :-) Although I’m sure I’ll post sporadically. With a personal blog, there’s always something to share.
Matt
December 22nd, 2008 9:20 am
At the moment I am busy writing away – i’m a big fan of the Wordpress scheduled post echanic. It means i can still write observational posts that will be just about relevant to the time that they’ll go up.
If anybody wants to write a guest post, be my guest (poster) :-)
Danny V
December 23rd, 2008 8:41 am
I’m going to be writing posts and schedule 1 or 2 of them per week, that way I have content for when school starts up and I’m busy.
Kimberly/Mom in the City
December 23rd, 2008 8:41 am
I’m doing “1. Give your Blog and Readers a Vacation” for a week and a half over the holidays. I hope that my readers will be focusing on their families during that stretch of time!
Philippa
December 23rd, 2008 10:22 am
Thanks for the suggestions. Writing my holiday posts now to come out later.
diamondTearz
December 23rd, 2008 10:49 am
I’ll be going through and making collections of some of my prior entries that are buried too deep for new readers to ever come across but still relevant.
David Kamatoy
December 23rd, 2008 11:15 am
I think that there is a big opportunity in the search engines in the next few weeks to gain some ground on the vacationing competition. Let’s face it most people will not be writing for the obvious reasons.
We are talking about just this on a conference call today and thinking about strategy.
Thanks for the post man. Perfect Timing.
I welcome subscribers =) lol http://www.davidkamatoy.com
Gina Chen
December 23rd, 2008 12:53 pm
on my work blog, I tend to do a combination – schedule posts and blog during my vacation. I end up with fewer posts them when I’m working, but at least readers won’t be frustrated with nothing new.
Jesse Liebman
December 23rd, 2008 4:31 pm
I really like the idea of guest bloggers. I like the idea in general, but it’s a great way to freshen up your content. I guess it depends on the theme of your overall blog to begin with as to which strategy you can engage in. It’s also important to make sure your guest bloggers are consistent readers of your blog to understand your style and what people are looking for in general.
Serge Van Cauwenbergh
December 23rd, 2008 9:15 pm
Well, I give myself a short holiday by closing the blog for a few days. Most people have other things on their mind between Christmas and New Year. Most bloggers that I follow are also lowering the amount of articles in this period. And I also need a short break :-)
Gabriel Robledo
December 24th, 2008 12:58 am
Well, this will be my very first holidays and then a few days later I will go on vacation. I was planning to leave the blog inactive but I think that an advance post will be the best.
Thanks for the tip!
Gabriel
Bryan Murley
December 24th, 2008 1:12 am
In the market where I blog (college media), most everyone is shut down for the two weeks around the holidays, and I have blogged during those holidays previously, only to find that there’s not a lot of traffic out there for the content.
Anyone who deals with education-related issues will probably want to keep in mind that even if you post, there will likely be less readership as professors and students don’t necessarily read as much work/school-related stuff during the breaks.
Tim
December 24th, 2008 1:22 am
Typically I like to do a holiday-related post a day or two before a holiday and then just moderate comments.
I’m newer to blogging so I don’t have as much reader-related action quite yet, but I like some of the ideas in this post. I think using some of them and then just keeping an eye on comments should keep the work-load down while still maintaining some control.
ATLANTA WEDDING PHOTOGRAPHER
December 24th, 2008 2:59 am
Momentum is the key. It takes a lot of work to build a readership and if you take a few days of your readership may think your not contributing anymore. Readers like to go around and see whats “happening.” If nothing is happening “posts” then there is no reason to stop by. The fist blogs I go to are twitip and problogger b/c I know they will have a few posts throughout the day. I need to follow the same example.
aftercancer
December 24th, 2008 3:07 am
Since my site is so niche related I usually advance post. We’ll be having company at the house over Christmas so blogging while they’re here just seems rude. I’ll likely be back to live work over New years.
The Geared Investor
December 25th, 2008 2:24 am
I just switched my blog to Wordpress this last week and I am going to take advantage of the advance posting feature. I’m also going to write some posts that are timeless, therefore I don’t have to worry about the posts not being up to the minute and out of date. Happy holidays to everyone!
krissy knox
December 25th, 2008 10:52 am
I celebrate the holidays, yet keep on posting. I’m going to do a post tonight in a few, and one tomorrow (Christmas day).
Thanks for a great post! It gives us food for thought and good ideas.
Krissy :)
visit my main blog: http://sometimesithink-krissy.blogspot.com
visit me on Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/iamkrissy
Rodger Johnson
December 27th, 2008 1:29 pm
I think it’s okay to, in a post, tell your readers you’re going on vacation. That you’ll return on such in such date. People understand we all need vacations, so I think that works too.
ganesh
December 30th, 2008 10:56 pm
Saying that I am on a vacation, is better than to mess up with the quality of the content.
Advance posts are the safe option out. Yet another good option, is opening up a contest or free giveaway, based on reader inputs.
The day you return from vacation, it will be a good read and also you would have accrued many a inputs and in a way to celebrate the holiday season could give away the freebies to your readers.
Dr. Mike Wendell
January 5th, 2009 5:57 am
Advanced posting is nice but Wordpress has this annoying bug that’s never been figured out where advanced posts will occasionally not show up. Keeping on your blog or site while gone is a requirement, just to make sure things are working fine.
sprittibee
February 16th, 2009 11:41 am
I’d love to hear more about the open mic method. I wouldn’t even know how to set that up. I have done the Guest Blogger series and enjoyed it a LOT. It was fun to read what the friends came up with while I was gone. I had minimal input and sent them back photos and they did their own thing. Truly rewarding and I was able to be on the road and out of pocket entirely. Best way to vacation!
Most of my time away has been just NOT posting, though – which I have not felt so great about.
Another thing I tried over Christmas break was a photo-themed series that I set up… the 12 days of Christmas. That was fun. I just had to find the 12 photos up front and write a short snip about each one… which was a lot easier than writing an entire post out. It also gave the readers a lighter side of my blog that they might not normally see.
Who am I kidding? I do that sort of thing often when I’m in a block or too busy to keep up. I get more comments sometimes on the whimsical stuff than I do on some of my heavier and more lengthy posts, though. I think it is important for your readers to see your human side – quirks and all.
PS – I have to say that I enjoy reading your tweets and your articles are really thoughtful. Thanks!
holidays in Larnaca
June 20th, 2009 9:25 am
Yeah ,the most useful i’m always doing is to make an advance post then enable comments so there’s always an update.Guest bloggers make my blog active even i’m on a vacation or i’m not around.
neon
June 20th, 2009 11:42 pm
Everything is very open and very clear explanation of issues. was truly information. Your website is very useful. Thanks for sharing.
Comments will be closed off on this post 90 days after it is published. Apologies to those this impacts but it's a regrettable and temporary measure to combat a growing comment spam problem. See our most recent posts where you can comment here.