Is A Blog Schedule Holding You Back?
Ah the blogging schedule. To schedule or not to schedule that is the question.
I've never had a particular schedule to my blog, I map out roughly what content I want to put out and I have some regular segments but other than that I tend to go with the flow. Last summer I daily blogged for months on the spin, some months like this one life gets in the way and I've had days of nothing. It is what it is and it's very much reflective of my life - if I'm too busy in the evenings (which is when I blog) then no content goes up. I can't remember the last time I had anything scheduled to go out in advance. But my blog is successful enough, it ticks along.
That being said, some people swear by a blog schedule. Either by having months in advance already planned and written, by daily blogging or by set day blogging. How many bloggers or Youtube stars have 'new post every Mondays Wednesdays and Fridays'? Some people take it to the top level with like a foodie post on Mondays, social media post Wednesdays, fashion post Fridays etc etc.
But is that kind of strict schedule restricting you?
Pros of having a schedule are definitely there; amongst other things you're definitely more organised than the rest of us! Having a strict blogging schedule means you have to be ahead of yourself, you can plan your content easier, you know where you are and when you're posting. Shot some outfit snaps on the weekend? You know you need them edited and formatted by Friday.
It also means your audience know when to expect content from you. They don't need to keep checking in every day to see if you've got new stuff or checking out your twitter for your promos, they know what you've got going live when and they can get on your site at the right time.
But what happens if life just gets in the way? My biggest problem with a blogging schedule and the reason I couldn't have one is simply because I would feel so bloody guilty if I couldn't manage it. My viewers don't ever know what to expect from me when, it's all a happy surprise if I post something and I don't feel so bad if I don't. Sure we all get bloggers guilt but can you imagine if you had a strict schedule and you couldn't commit to it one week?
So is a blogger schedule holding you back?
I think in the end it comes down to personal preference. For some people a strict schedule is the answer to their sanity, it's essential to them managing their blog and managing their content. For some people it's how their viewers engage with them, it's what works and what makes them successful and they're flippin nailing it.
But for me, it just wouldn't work. It would restrict me, it would hold me back, it would become too much of a burden. I need the freedom to write what I want to write when I want to write it. I need the freedom to see news or things trending and want to respond to it. I need the freedom for life to get in the way and to not feel awful that my audience was waiting for something.
For me, no schedule turned out to be the best schedule.