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An editor's schedule helps you stay focused and consistent in your business blog posting. Spend some time now to think about how often you'll blog, the steps you'll take when you post, and other editorial details. This will save much headache and confusion later.
What It Takes
Many business blogs are abandoned because of the time investment involved. If you can't commit at least a few hours each week to business blogging, you might want to consider hiring a professional freelance writer.
If you're not careful, business blogging can become a bottomless time-sink. This is why it's so important to create a schedule and stick to it.
Even after you've spent the time to setup, customize, and plan your blog, the simple practice of writing posts and marketing your content can take a lot of time. If you're not careful, the hours will fly by with little being produced.
You'll need to schedule time to:
- Find & research material
- Write, edit, and format your content
- Find & format, or create, supporting graphics
- Monitor and respond to blog comments
- Actively engage in the blogosphere
- Market your blog
How Often Will You Blog?
Most businesses only blog about once per month. The most successful business blogs post new content multiple times per day. This is rarely possible for small businesses that can't afford to commit a full-time employee just for blogging.
At the beginning, try to update your blog at least once per week. If you genuinely try and still find you can't blog that often, try once a month. If you still can't put in the time, seriously consider paying a writer or purchasing articles online.
How often you decide to blog is up to you. Just remember that the more often you post updates, the better.
When Will You Blog?
Once you've decided how often you'll update your blog, it's time to work out a schedule. First, decide when you will post.
If you blog once a week, try to have your posts ready to update on Monday morning. This is the most active time for blog readers. If you blog once per month, try to post on the second or third Monday. People are often rushed around the end and beginning of each month, and spend less time online.
Time for Maintenance
If you're going to post blog updates on Monday, plan to spend the rest of the week researching, writing, editing, and marketing your blog.
You'll need time to find just the right topic and just the right words. You'll need time to find and comment on related blogs and to engage in conversation.
Most importantly, you need to remember that a blog is a conversation. When someone comments on your blog, always respond and do so as quickly as possible. People who see the blog owner interacting with the blog guests are much more likely to leave a comment themselves, and to come back later.
Many business bloggers find it helpful to plan a little bit of time each day to work on their blog. Alternately, you may want to block out an hour or two on particular days of the week for this purpose.
An Example Weekly Blogging Schedule
- Monday: Post new blog update. Market post.
- Tuesday: Read someone else's blog. Leave a comment.
- Wednesday: Research post for next week. Decide on a topic.
- Thursday: Write new post. If you have time, write a second post for your backup folder.
- Friday: Edit post and get feedback from someone else.
Next up, find out about marketing your business blog. Will you announce new posts on Facebook and Twitter? Will you incorporate Pinterest boards in your blogging? What about guest blogging and getting backlinks?
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Consistent blogging shows commitment, builds trust, and boost customer confidence
