Setting Up a Schedule for Daily Blogging

When you're starting a blog, you probably have the best intentions of blogging every day. And at first, blogging is so much fun! You share your opinions and thoughts on a subject you know about, you receive a few comments, and you're hooked. Then comes month three and four, and blogging has lost its newness. So, even though you've heard time and time again that when starting a blog, you should blog every day or on a regular schedule, it seems like it's not so important any more.

This happened to me with my blog, "Read These Books and Use Them." I just couldn't keep up with reviewing a children's or YA book a day AND providing activities for the book for parents and teachers. I knew my traffic wasn't good, and my blog wasn't what it could be.

So, I set up a daily blogging schedule (which is only five-days a week, M through F), and this helps me stay on track. It also keeps the repetition down and my excitement level up. I took each day of the week and made it a certain topic or theme. I have Maniac Mondays, which is like an opinion piece on the educational/homeschooling world today, and Tuesday Tales and Un-Forgettable Fridays--these are like my old format where I provide key information and activities about books for parents, teachers, and librarians. Finally, I made up Wacky Wednesdays and Timeless Thursdays. Wacky Wednesdays are where I provide some sort of lesson idea/plan for teachers, which could be a bit wacky and sometimes based on a book. Timeless Thursdays features an older book like Mrs. Piggle Wiggle that children still love and can learn from today.

I've seen blogs with certain days for giveaways, certain days for photos only--Wordless Wednesdays--. and certain days for interviews. You just have to look at the focus of your blog, brainstorm a little, and figure out some topics that you could stick to each day. This doesn't mean that you can't blog about something else on one of these set days if something really exciting happens. But in the morning when your brain might be a little foggy, you already have a start on what to blog about. Blogging every day helps build readership, gets your blog posted higher on the search engines, and provides monetizing opportunities. If you are interested in any of these but you are struggling, try a blog schedule in 2010.

Happy Blogging!
Margo Dill
https://margodill.com/blog/

photo by joyosity www.flickr.com

Part Two: Will Your Blog Bring You Fortune and Fame?

My last blog post about blogging, Will Your Blog Bring You Fortune and Fame? (Part One), discussed my observations about successful blogging after reading Julie & Julia by Julie Powell and thinking about making changes to my own year-old blog. I said I had a few more observations to make and would continue it with Part Two, and so here is the much-anticipated list (LOL):

• Blog every day or on a regular schedule: I have heard this advice over and over again; and now, I believe it is true! You have to make things easy for your reader. The Muffin (this blog you are reading now) is never stale. Every day, there is new material by a member of the WOW! team. There are also different types of posts that will attract different readers--inspiration, writing advice, contest announcements, interviews, and book give-aways. I am now also blogging on a regular schedule with my blog, Read These Books and Use Them. I actually got a Facebook friend request yesterday from someone who reads my blog. I've been blogging on a regular schedule for one week and hosted a blog tour on Friday for an author I met through another contact on Facebook. So, regular blogging with different, interesting content is a must. I am finally learning this lesson.
• Promote yourself on social media: I know some of you are probably tired of hearing this; but in today's age, this is a must. You have to get out there and network. You have to let people know what you have to offer. There are blogs, blogs, and more blogs. Why is yours worth people's time? Why should people subscribe to yours or check back every few days to see what you have to offer? This is what you let people know on social media. This is where you rely on your real friends and your cyber friends. When I finish this blog post for WOW!, I will put a question on Twitter such as "Do you want to figure out ways to get your blog posts read? Check here for ideas." Then I will provide a link to WOW!'s blog. I also use Facebook a lot, and I am one of those annoying people who have friended everyone I have ever known--including former students who are now in their 20s (Egads!). But it works, and your friends will want to support you and leave comments on your blog and tell other people about you! I have recently seen people leave blog links on LinkedIn also. So, use social media.
• Make your content worthy of people's time: I can't say I do this every day. I try; I do. But again, it's my opinion if people think the content is as worthy and interesting as I do. If you want to increase your views, find an expert to interview that fits with your blog's theme and find something to giveaway. People will leave questions and comments for the expert for a chance to win the free prize. It works. Try it, and get people to notice your blog.

If you have any more suggestions of things that have worked for you, please, please leave your comments. We'll even take warnings and nevers such as NEVER blog about blah, blah, blah. We're here to learn from each other and figure out our new cyber world!

Happy blogging!
Margo Dill

www.margodill.com