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Are You Prepared for a Worst Case Blogging Scenario?

Posted By Darren Rowse 25th of October 2007 Video Posts 0 Comments

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Today I we had to postpone a family holiday due to our little guy being sick and I got thinking about ‘backup plans’ and being prepared for worst case scenarios.

I’ve written before about having backup plans in place for those times that you get sick and need to keep your blog running – but this video takes a step back and looks at some of the things you can do to protect yourself from disaster if a worst case scenario happens and your whole blog is in jeopardy.

About Darren Rowse
Darren Rowse is the founder and editor of ProBlogger Blog Tips and Digital Photography School. Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Comments
  1. Currently I don’t have a bloggin income. Or let’s say nothing worth writing here. With your tipps I’m trying to improve that.

    I study next to blogging so I hope I’ll earn my money from the knowledge from university.

    Best Regards

    Markus

  2. Coming up with backup plans is all well and good, providing the current sites are making enough for it to be worth having a backup plan. If they are only just making enough money it would make sense to work on them directly first.

  3. Darren, i’m sure that if you were to stop posting that your google hits would be enough to keep your revenue flowing in. If posting regularly is an issue, then perhaps you could get guest bloggers and share the revenue.

  4. Darren, I just stumbled in here and wanted to let you know I appreciate all the great info. I currently blog for the pure fun of writing, but am really seeing that some revenue could be generated if I am able to develop a good “product.” I’ve been doing traditional marketing outside of the web for many years and am intrigued by what you have accomplished here. Thanks and I will become a regular visitor. As far as backup plans?…I need a front, sides, top and bottom plan first! LOL
    :)

  5. As I’m 15 and still attending school, there is really nothing to worry about for me. Well… Nothing? As I love the internet, and making sites and stuff, I guess I need a backup plan. But for the people who are relying on their websites for their income, I suggest having a few sites indeed, with different niches, different things to offer (content, services, products), and different income streams.

    Darren, I truly hope for you and your family that you find a nice place to go to for the rest of the week … and that your son will get better soon.

  6. Hi Darren, sorry to hear about your son, I hope his ear heals up soon!

    When I read your headline I thought this was going to be about what to do if you’re hit by a hurricane or tornado….my first thought was an older post of yours where you talked about going to the library to do your posting…..I thought about that when we had a power outage yesterday! Power came back on, though.

    I think it makes a lot of sense to have a backup plan and diversify your income streams, as well as your skill set. I personally don’t have a lot of extra time to work on more training, but once I’m on steady footing with blogging I could do more of that.

    For the time being, my biggest concern in case of disaster would be posting. It would be good to have a few non-time sensitive posts ready to publish quickly as a backup, so that’s something I could work on.

  7. First of Darren, I wish your little guy to get well soon so you can all go on vacation together. Secondly, “What if?” What if something happened to your blog? I, personally recommend domain investing as one of your backups. Domain investing is hot right now and its a good way to invest some spare cash in it for the future.

  8. As for me, at the moment my blog doesnt earn anything so I haven’t really thought about it. But as you said for the worst case scenario I think I need to get some posts ready and spread them out so even if there is something my blog keeps being updated automatically.

    Hoever, there are times when you just can’t do nothing, I just need to be more serious and prepare for the worst. Thanx for bringing this up Darren.

    Keep us posted on your little guy. Hope he gets better soon

  9. Great post. If blogging ever wasn’t an option for me anymore, I would continue to work on my other businesses (web hosting and television voice overs).

  10. Darren, this is a great post and I hope your son feels better.

    As a new blogger (in my third month) I’ve been doing a lot of planning in regards to where I see my site going and things that I want to accomplish with it sothis post/video came at a great time. I believe it is always beneficial to look ahead and plan for different things even the worst case scenarios like you mention, not just with your blog but with all aspects of life.

    I have beenplanning a couple of other blogs in other niches that I am interested in and plan to get those off the ground in the next 6 months or so to “spread my wings” and diversify in this blogging experience.

    I think the most interesting thing about this post for me is that as a new blogger I find myself speaking to others about my blog and blogging in general and many still don’t understand how much it has grown and can even become a full time position as many have done like yourself Darren.

    I think a good amount of the general public would be surprised that some probloggers are even to the point in their careers that they even need to devise a back up plan in the first place regarding income should something go wrong.

    More and more I think people will understand blogging can be a profession that can provide for yourself and even a family and this video speaks to me as a true testimonial from one of the true success stories, obviously yourself Darren.

    Good post!

  11. Just get a guest blogger

  12. This gave me some great ideas, I went ahead and put a few blogs in the queue, just in case. Thanks for the tips!

  13. Solid evergreen content will give you some breathing room. Also, giving a trusted friend/family member the ability to post in your absence might be a wise move. Take a few minutes to walk them through it or type them up detailed notes so you can step away for a few days (I hope not), a few weeks (uh, oh) or a few months (tragedy!).

    Here’s hoping life’s bumps allow you to keep blogging!

    Get well young problogger!

  14. I just had this happen to me — had to leave for a family emergency for a few days. Here’s what I did:

    1. I usually post 5-6 times per day and work a few days out in advance, so I had 18 or so posts ready to go.

    2. I told my readers that I would be gone awhile and posting would be lighter than normal.

    3. I adjusted those 18 posts so that instead of appearing over three days, they appeared over a week. (moving from 2 1/2 posts per day from six per day.)

    4. Doing this gave me enough “blog free” days that I was able to take the time off with no problems.

  15. i currently decided to write posts in advance and I am going so good on the plan that currently I already have time stamped articles till 30 november!

    I will be having holiday next week from my institute and then will complete articles till 31 december. Than will concentrate on marketing my blog and interviewing some big bloggers to start the new year..

    I publish tips n ticks mostly on my blog so there isnt the problem of the content going old. Lets see when I time stamp the article of 31s december!!

    anyone wants to be a guest blogger??

  16. Hey, great video again Darren. I’m new to blogging, but I’ve already setup 3 blogs in different niches. If it did come to the point where these ‘go bad’ then I’ve got a business that I could fall back on and get through with.
    I believe with anything in life that diversification and adaptability is key, if you don’t notice ‘someone moved your cheese’ (goalposts) then you’d better give-up.

    Have a good break.

  17. Hmm… What am i doing?

    I guess I’m just trying to make real money off a blog right now.

    I have a website community as well that actually earns me a little more revenue.

    I need to find another project at some point as you suggest.

    If you don’t mind me asking, when you’re referring to more balanced traffic… I know there’s Google, Stumbleupon, Social Bookmarking, traffic from articles, blog rolls, blog directories… I get traffic from all of these, but I’m curious:

    What other sources of traffic have been of equal value for you?

  18. I really like these video blogs, but is it possible to show the length of them? Sometimes I have only a few minutes and have to decide if it is enough time to watch the complete video.

  19. I’ve recently quit my day job to try to earn a living from blogging or until the money runs out. My worst case scenario is going back into the workforce full-time. Arggggh!

  20. I’ve trained my wife and my brother on how to run my sites in case of an accident. Since my family depends on the income, it only makes sense to have someone other than me versed on the inner-workings of my crazy world… ;-)

    Beyond that, my wife knows how to access my business account funds if needed… since most are direct deposit (another good idea) the income will keep flowing in regardless of whether I’m around… (my wife likes that idea… ;-)

    Lastly… I’m trying to build up my newsletter mailing list… and I’ve created an automated newsletter via Feedburner’s service… It runs every few days all on its own… This helps me diversify from my existing main source of traffic (search engines)…

  21. You should have a backup plan for everything in your life, not just your blog.

    I have 2 weeks of blogs ready to go “just in case” and also believe that you should let your readers know if you are going to be absent for awhile. They become your extended family and would be concerned if you just stopped blogging for no apparent reason.

    As for the “worst case scenario” my backup plan is already in place. New projects developed in different niches

    Hell, if the whole Internet somehow collapsed I still have “real world” projects that will keep me busy (and busy at the bank hopefully).

    Darren, as far as I’m concerned, nothing in this world is worse than watching your own child being sick, regardless of how serious it is.

  22. Hi Darren sorry to hear about your son, hope he is feeling better soon. A back-up plan is fantastic and I understand the need to learn new skills. But learning can take up alot of time. Some people work on there sites non stop just to pay the bills so this time is not available to them, whilst others can work just afew hours a day. So a back up plan would depend on the person, the website and time available to that person to learn new skills. As for me my back up plan is Part Time Blogging.

  23. Sound advice; but I hope your little man gets better real soon!

  24. Guest bloggers with a good track record are the best options

  25. Smart Darren. You never know what could happen. Take stocks for example. If you don’t diversify your investments, you may lose it all.

  26. Hoping you son makes a speedy recovery.

    Yes, good ideas to run ‘what if’ scenarios in a venture like this especially if you’ve developed a significant income. It’s like driving; if a hazardous situation were to unfold right in front of me, how could I get out of it, avoid it or, minimize my involvement? Thanks for the insight.

    Tell us about those Plan B travel arrangements when you get back.

  27. Backing up is the name of the game in computing, whether it be blogging or storing up ur files in the hard disk. i never forget to backup, cause i have had a bad past. i had very important files but unfortunately my hard disk crashed and ever data was lost.

    so i have learnt my lesson the hard way.

    so, i backup regularly @ least twice a week and i recommend that to everyone.

  28. Have an absolute fantastic time, a great holyday. We can’t wait to have you back fresh and enlightening again.

  29. I run a few websites and blogs and I have tried using various sources for income but the only one that really works for me is adsense, all these affiliate programs just don’t work for some reason, maybe I just have a lot to learn.

    Good idea to be thinking about the worst case scenario’s though.

  30. I hope your son gets better soon, my little boy had the same problem a couple of years ago. Kids do have a way of keeping you on our toes!

    It’s great that you cover this topic, it has been on my mind recently. It can be so easy for something to happen and jeopardize all the hard work you’ve put in building your blog up. I’m still in the building stage but it’s good to look ahead.

  31. Hey, you forgot this gem from your own archives!

  32. I think you are right, and that does not only applies to blogging it applies to every thing, maybe that is why insurance company has so many clients.

    Every responsible person should think always in the worst scenario, in every aspects of their life. what could happen if you get Cancer? what if you could not work anymore because of anything?.

    Maybe ourselves are not so important as our family is, we should always think about them, and how could the manage with out us!

    Thanks Darren good point this week!

  33. I have been actively working on my blog for a couple of months and have noticed a BIG problem with WordPress.com . That is the limitation of using JAVA Scripting. Most groups have these types of scripts running and they will not work on WP.com. This is a shame because it puts a damper on this entire idea. Do you have a suggestion on this?

    I think your post was very helpful. People should always have some form of backup plan. Mine, is keeping my day job until I see some revenue :)

  34. A special day is coming up on my blog and in the blogosphere. Bloggers are set to blog for peace November 7, 2007.

    I invite you to join me – and a cast of incredible bloggers – as we mark our world with a promise of peace. Bloggers from around the world including 30 countries (and counting)and nearly every state in the United States will participate in BlogBlast for Peace.I hope you will participate in this growing phenomenon.
    Your blog. One post. One day. Please spread the word.
    How To Get Your Peace Globe
    Thank you,
    Mimi Lenox

  35. Darren, you raise some great issues. I have income from a full time job as well as from freelance income and ads, so my risk is spread out a little bit. Attending properly to one’s personal finances (which has nothing to do with blogging) is crucial. Many people have no savings to fall back on if revenue suddenly dries up.

  36. Family comes first, always. Hope your boy is doing well.

  37. now i know how to blogging when im sick.

    now, im also sick. sick of blogging.. damn..!!

  38. Hope the little tike gets better, mate. You just got me thinking whether a blogging model where contributors get to revenue share might inspire the kind of commitment where you would develop leading bloggers on your site into potential backstops?

  39. This is a great thing to think about Darren.

    Networking is a real interesting one. I want to start networking with other bloggers but sometimes I find I am so heavily into creating and posting on my blog that I don’t have to to visit heaps of other blogs.
    Are there any good ways to network apart from spending hours searching sites?

    I think it is also a great idea to have another revenue stream apart from adsense. I lost my adsense account and have found it hard to find a great advertiser that is as good as google. Which ones would you recommend for a new blogger?

  40. Darren,

    I hope by the time you are reading this that you are on your way for holidays, even if its closer to home than you planned.

    As for worse case scenario, my back up plan should I have to stop blogging for some reason is to have perfected my writing abilies to stay alive in the “brick” publishing industry.

    And being a possitive guy myself, I think about that valuable archive that grows everytime I post.

    You suggestion for diversity are heeded.

    Nick

  41. Take that hat off you look like a douschebag.

  42. Hi Darren,

    In wake of the massive fires in California, I have addressed the issues of saving/backing up your blog” , and how to prepare for a disaster, to the readers of my two blogs.

    Whenever tragedy strikes, whether it’s man made, mother nature, or other, we all need to be prepared.

    Backups are very important, as is having a backup on your web host’s server, as well.

    A loyal reader base will totally understand if you cannot post for a period of time.

    Hopefully by now, you son is feeling great, and you can take your well deserved vacation.

  43. I have gleaned the following from our discussion…

    * Backups!!!
    * Posts in Advance
    * Guest Bloggers

    My last backup is a week ago, I guess that ain’t that bad…I don’t know what I am gonna post tomorrow…and every time I tried a guest blogger it didn’t work…

    I guess I am an accident waiting to happen…good thing I don’t count on my income from blogging…

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