The answer to the question is YES. You should definitely try to schedule as many posts as you can. It will really make your a whole lot easier. Building a reserve of posts is a good idea too. Now, you might say that scheduling posts ahead of time require too much effort. You have to plan ahead and everything… When I say schedule posts and build a reserve of them, it doesn’t mean you have to schedule three weeks in advance. Even one week is good. Write the posts as you go, but instead of publishing them right after you write them, publish them the next week. By scheduling posts and building a reserve, some of the stress you get because of blogging will disappear. And they aren’t that hard either.
Schedule a Post
This literally involves less than three steps. All you have to do is write a post then click on “Schedule” on the right, below “Labels”, pick a date and a time and you’re done. Note: Instructions are specific to Blogger.
Build a Reserve
This one is a bit harder. It not only involves scheduling posts in advance, it also involves writing enough posts to give you a cushion. Do it during the weekend. Do it during a blogging hiatus.
There are, however some drawbacks in scheduling posts ahead of time, especially if you have built a large, pre-scheduled reserve. One of those drawbacks is that it is kind of set in stone when those posts will be published, if you don’t like posting more than one post everyday. Like I mentioned before, scheduling posts ahead of time involves thinking ahead and planning what to post and when, which can also take some time.
But, it does have a lot of benefits. I can tell you right now, sitting at my desk and writing this post that scheduling posts will help you in the long run. I want to do other things and go to sleep, but instead I’m writing this post because I felt like I should post something tomorrow today. Had I taken the time to build a reserve of posts and schedule them, I wouldn’t have this problem. That also means this post is kind of rushed and therefore not the best piece of writing that I’ve written… Which is another reason why scheduling posts is a good thing.
What do you think?
Do you schedule your posts?
Do you have a reserve?
I didn’t schedule posts at first, but started building a reserve when I noticed how stressful keeping up with the blog could be ! Sometimes I have a week’s reserve in advance, sometimes I don’t, depends on the job and family obligations….
I have a schedule of posts right up to the 10th and it grows each day so I’m not running out or anything yet. It’s very nice to be able to just promote when I get up in the morning!
★ Under The Mountain ★
I should probably build a reserve and schedule posts but it’s all so time consuming! I usually just do it on the spot because one post a day is all I can take haha. 😛
I still don’t manage to write in advance *sigh*, like today, I’m reading all the Sunday Posts instead of writing up a few reviews. So yes, I write mostly on the spot as well at the moment.
I *love* having a bunch of scheduled posts because it means I don’t have to worry each day about what I’m posting. I often switch the posts around depending on what I want to be posted, although I know that in Blogger that’s a very tedious task. Luckily, WordPress has a Calendar plugin which lets you drag and drop the posts around the calendar to reschedule. I work during the week, and have awkward hours, so scheduling posts in advance really helps. Before I went to America, I was at least a month ahead with my posts, now my reserve “only” covers two weeks. I’m working on it, though 😀
I like scheduling posts because my real-life schedule gets a little hectic these days (exams, 24 hour shifts, and so on). So on the random days that I write a lot (because I don’t give a damn or I actually have a day off) I don’t have to flood the internet with all of my writing ALL AT ONCE.
My only problem with scheduling has been the random comments from people like, “oh, so you can post a blog but you can’t respond to my comment?” Weird.
I’m trying to get a reserve built up right now and I think it would be a big help for busy weeks!
Yesterday, I worked on my quote of the week posts. I’ve got those scheduled out until the end of September! I have a couple reviews I need to work on, maybe I’ll get those written up this afternoon if I don’t get sucked into the book I started yesterday.
Oh yeah I schedule! I don’t see how people can survive without it!
I love when I can schedule posts in advance! Right now, I’m done through this Saturday and I’m hoping to get more of a lead in the future 🙂
I always try to schedule posts. However, once I have written one or two of those in advance I take it as a sign to relax. And then the time comes when those posts are posted and the next entry is waiting to be typed up and I am there… sitting… waiting… and staring at a blank page, because I am too stressed about not delivering in order to deliver. For this reason I now do the following: I write a review and post it immediately. And if the book happens to be one of a series, I also read the rest of the series, but don’t post the reviews immediately. Much rather, I schedule them and hope for the best.