Blogging Ahead – AKA “Dripping”
December 31, 2007 by Anne Wayman
Filed under Jobs
We in b5media’s business channel have been nattering among ourselves. It’s generally recognized that a major part of growing blog traffic is lots and lots of posts. Which is just fine if you’ve got the time and inclination.
But even if you do happily post two or three or more times a day, there are going to be periods in your life when you either don’t want to or you can’t. Vacations are one example… who wants to post from the beach, at least daily? Sickness is another… it’s hard to be creative when you’ve got a nasty cold or are in the hospital. And then there’s just mood, or the need for a break. Daily writing is, sometimes, a real chore.
I was tickled to discover that most of us on the business channel make use of the blogging ahead feature. Also known as “dripping,” it means you can choose a post date for your entries. As it happens, I didn’t drip this one, but I could have written it back in June if I’d been so inclined.
Figure out if your blogging software allows postdating posts (ah, the recursive nature of it all) and if it doesn’t consider switching.
Write well and often,
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I’m confused on the subject of multiple posts in a day. I can see where it does increase traffic (more posts, more keywords, more search hits). However, I think it might have a negative impact on readership. I hesitate when blogs put out more than one or two posts per day because frankly, that’s a lot of reading to add to all of my subscriptions (which are already difficult enough to squeeze in each day). There must be a delicate balance. Any thoughts?
Melissa, I’ve sort of solved the reading problem by subscribing to a feed reader – http://feedreader.com/ is the one I use… then I can just start the reader and read the headlines, clicking only on those that interest me
As a blogger, my stats seem to indicate that my readers aren’t put off by multiple posts.
Hi Anne,
Yes, I too use a reader (Bloglines), but I still have trouble staying caught up on reading my subscriptions. I think I’m just subscribed to too many blogs or I have been exploring too many categories. Glad to hear your stats aren’t affected by multiple posts. Now I’m wondering if I should increase my own posts…
Hi Anne,
I use dripping too. I like to be ahead a couple of days just in case something comes up. I also try to keep a couple of evergreen posts saved as drafts. That way, I have access to a post to just stick up if I need it.
My paid blog allows for dripping, which saved me this past month (when the kids come home, it’s impossible to work).
Melissa, just because I subscribe doesn’t mean I have to even look at the headlines… just when I want to…
Lori… I remember when kids came home ;)