holiday preparations for your blog
Thanksgiving is almost here … and once we get to that point, the rest of the year is a blur — online and off.
Every year it seems the holiday season crashes in on us earlier and earlier. The craft and hobby stores begin displaying merchandise right after Independence Day. By mid-October, stores are advertising and selling Hallow-giving-mas products. We may want to bury our heads in the sand and wish for the “good ol’ days” when life was simpler, but sometimes we just can’t.
If your holiday season looks anything you’re facing even more demands on your time, finances, and brain. Just figuring out who is supposed to be where and what they need to have can be a challenge. So, how can we make holiday preparations for our blogs? What are some simple ways we can look ahead and get ready for the chaos right around the corner?
Here are few ways I try to prepare my blog for the holiday season:
Decide when you’ll blog and when you won’t.
Look at the calendar {not your editorial calendar your real — “this is what my family has to do” — calendar}. Are you headed on a trip with limited internet access? Will you spending a day or two with family you rarely get to see? Do you just need a break? Give yourself permission to do what you can and not feel guilty! Just let your audience know what you’re doing and be okay with your decision.
Recycle!!
This is a great time to plan list posts with all your best seasonal content. Or to update an older post. Or to create a giveaway. Regardless of your blogging niche you can use older content in new ways. For example, if you wrote a series last year for Advent, this year you could use quotes from the series on images and link back to the original posts. And don’t forget, toward the end of the year you can do “year in review” posts. This is a great way to push readers into your archives.
Schedule social media.
I talk about this a lot … but seriously! Schedule ahead. Spend some time in your archives now and schedule older posts on social media. Also, share from your Pinterest boards. You work hard to curate great material on your boards and this is a great time to share it with your audience For example, if you have a board with ideas for a meaningful Thanksgiving, share it on Facebook. Ask questions on Facebook, and share the fun moments on Instagram.
Relax!
The next couple of months will be busy for everyone. Your page views may decrease — it’s okay. They may increase — that’s okay too. You may have two or three days when you have time to write and promote and four or five when you don’t — don’t fret! Set reasonable goals for your blog during this time and then relax and enjoy your life.
I hope you have been encouraged and now have some ideas for planning ahead for the holiday season and how you will mange your blog during this time. There is no one right answer, I promise. And no one can do it all.
So, do what you can and do it as well as you can. You and your blog will be fine!
How are you preparing your blog schedule for the holidays?
