10 timesaving tips for a busy blogger

Posted by Ben on July 29, 2009 | Permalink | Hits: 2677 
Tags: timesaving, schedule, social networks

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Do you struggle to find the time to write blog posts, reply to comments, read other people's blogs, use social networks and keep up with everything else from one week to the next? If so, this post will help you with a few tips for making the most of your available time.

1. Set up a schedule for the time you do have.

The very first thing to do is to work out how much time you can spend on your blog, and when you're likely to be free. If you stay at home to look after your family, or you work irregular hours, it's fair to say that you might not be able to stick to the same schedule every week.

But if you can set aside just half an hour every few days (depending on how often you want to publish new posts), it's going to be much better than feeling like you never have any time for your blog.

However, if you're really struggling to find the time, you may have to ask yourself if you actually have the time to run a blog. You don't have to spend hours every single day on blogging, but you do need some time or you may as well not bother. Be honest with yourself - don't try and stretch yourself to the point where you're being unrealistic.

2. Identify any busy periods where you could "double up".

Do you get the train to work? Do you have a bit of free time when you've finished eating your lunch but haven't gone back to work yet? These may be good times to try and do some offline activities to help your blog, such as writing new post ideas.

A coffee break at a venue with a wireless Internet connection could be a good opportunity to reply to a few comments or emails. Or perhaps you could jot down some ideas while you're waiting for the dinner to finish cooking. Be creative - grab a few minutes here and there if you can.

3. Plan your posts.

Planning your posts is a quick way to come up with lots of ideas without having to write an entire post. Write a decent post title, and you'll soon be able to figure out if the post is worth writing.

You can read some more of my tips in my post, 10 powerful benefits of planning your posts.

4. Use social networks in small bursts.

You don't need to be online all the time, even if it seems as though there's always someone to talk to (especially on Twitter). Hop on when you have time, participate for a bit, and hop off while you're still enjoying it. Don't wait until you get bored. This will encourage you to come back again in the future, instead of maxing out and getting sick of it.

Although this tip is not only relevant to Twitter, there are a couple of Twitter-related links that you might find interesting. In 10 ways to climb to new heights with Twitter, I explain that you need to tweet regularly, but not constantly. (The other 9 tips aren't bad, either.) You also might be interested in TwitterForBusyPeople.

5. Clean up your feed reader.

I've heard a lot of people saying they don't bother with their feed reader anymore because it's too cluttered. This is absurd - what's the point in subscribing if you don't read?

Take the time to remove any feeds you don't read - it means you'll be much more likely to go into your feed reader from time to time, and you won't need to spend as much time skimming the posts you never comment on anyway.

Also, look for blogs that post the same kind of content, and try to remove some duplication if you can. For instance, I'm subscribed to both Mashable and TechCrunch, but a lot of stories appear on both sites. Then again, I'm not sure I can choose between them!

6. Don't check your stats all the time.

This is an interesting one. I have an interest in stats, and when I was job hunting, I had quite a bit of spare time - so I checked my stats far too often. However, since starting my new job, I haven't had the time - and I haven't checked my stats as often.

So if you don't have much free time, you may find you forget about your stats anyway. But if you're still obsessing over stats when you can't spare the time you used to have, give it a break - only check your stats at the weekend.

7. Reply to comments in bulk.

Instead of replying to comments as soon as you receive an email notification, let a few of them build up. This allows your readers to interact with each other (though this varies depending on the type of discussion that's taking place in the comments).

It also means you can write one comment to reply to several people in one go, which is quicker and won't result in a huge comment or a series of comments from you that overwhelm the discussion.

I know that some bloggers reply to comments one by one, but I don't do this myself. It only really works if you use threaded comments. In my case, I'm not ignoring anyone - I read every comment I receive - but there's not much I can say in reply to some of them. The best way to get a reply is to ask a good question - I'll reply in the comments, or maybe even write it as a new post if I have enough to say.

8. Cut out unnecessary tasks.

Are there things you spend time on that don't generate value for your blog? It's not all about you - but there's not much point in wasting a lot of time on activities that go unnoticed or are unappreciated.

For instance, do you write blog reviews and give lots of feedback, but find that the blogger decides not to make most (or all) of the changes you suggest? Or do you post in forums and find that few people reply to you? Perhaps you write great comments on other people's blogs and the author never responds, no matter how many times you've commented.

It varies from site to site, but if you feel you're putting in a lot more than you get out and time is at a premium, it may be worth adjusting your priorities.

9. Less is more.

Don't feel like you have to write a really long post every time you blog. If you have a lot to say, be careful not to write a post that meanders and doesn't end on a particularly logical conclusion. If you really have a lot to say, why not split your post into two parts?

Try to include a good image with your posts. Images are very good attention grabbers, and are worth the time it takes to search for them. Even without an image, a short post can actually do better than a lengthy post - it's less work for you, and less for your readers to go through.

Of course, quality and quantity are not always directly related, but don't pad out your posts with unnecessary paragraphs if you could say what you want to say by writing less.

10. Ask others for help.

If you've got more than you can deal with, don't let yourself get buried. Look for ways to deal with each task much more quickly.

For instance, you could delegate certain tasks, such as replying to comments or sourcing guest posts. Or you could expand your blog to include additional authors - not much good for a personal blog, but might be beneficial for other blogs.

Also, ask on your blog or on Twitter for suggestions for future blog posts. I recently did this with my reader survey - it helped a lot!

What do you think?

Are you someone who needs to use their available time wisely? Which of these tips do you already follow? Can you think of any other tips for saving time? Are there any "timewasting" activities you've recently stopped doing, or would like to stop doing?

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Comments on 10 timesaving tips for a busy blogger

3

Ben | August 05, 2009 | 190 comments

Glad you liked the post Lyndi, seeing as you suggested it in the reader survey. :) I'd be very interested to hear what you decide to do - please post about it on Nice2All or at the CMF Forums, and I'll definitely be reading what you come up with.

Kirsten - funny you should say that, seeing as I scheduled three posts for this week. I didn't plan to when I wrote this post, but I'm glad I did.