It sometimes seems as though Halloween through New Year’s Day is one uninterrupted stretch of celebrations. Carols fill the air and department stores erupt in festive glitter and reasonably priced gift items, and it’s easy to get swept up in the holiday madness and neglect your blog.
Here are five strategies for blogging during the holiday season:
Maintain a Schedule. The worst thing you can do is to drop the ball (and not in the fun New Year’s Rockin’ Eve way) by abandoning your writing schedule during the holiday season. People are creatures of habit, and if they have come to expect regular updates from you, they’ll be disappointed and frustrated if you suddenly go silent.
If you won’t be able to keep up your regular posting schedule because of family commitments or travel, cut back to a manageable schedule for posting and share it with your readers as early as possible. Be realistic with yourself about how often you can post quality updates; it’s always better to under-promise and over-deliver than the other way around.
Create an Editorial Calendar. An editorial calendar, which outlines the content you plan to post in the future, is incredibly useful for any blogger, and not just during the holidays. Plan ahead and stockpile posts if possible. You may find that inviting guest bloggers to contribute will help fill any gaps in your calendar, but be aware that those bloggers have holiday obligations, too, and may expect you to contribute to their blog as well.
Scale it Back. There’s no need to make things harder on yourself during the already-hectic holiday season. If you find yourself spending too much time proofreading and correcting your posts, use an online grammar checker such as Grammarly to streamline the process. Ginny Soskey recommends choosing “easy” content during the holidays. Instead of posting ambitious, thought-provoking content with complicated layouts or graphics, choose shorter, more straight-forward posts. “That being said,” she cautions, “don’t put up a blog post just as easy filler for that day—make sure that it still meets your blog’s objectives and excites your readers. If you’re going to spend any time at all blogging at the holidays, make it worth your while.”
Write Thematic Posts. Holiday-themed content is tricky because, of course, not everyone observes the same celebrations. Lifestyle bloggers frequently share how their family celebrates the season, including pictures and personal anecdotes, but business bloggers would do well to steer clear of writing only about Christmas (or Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or Yule) lest they alienate some of their readers. Incorporating the holidays in an organic, relevant way can be surprisingly challenging, depending on your blog’s niche, and if you find yourself forcing it, you may be best served by sticking to your regular style and content.
Blog on the Road. If you’re going to be visiting family out of town during the holidays, you can either bring your laptop or tablet with you (don’t forget your charger!) or you can schedule posts ahead of time. Of the two options, scheduling ahead of time, either using the built-in tools in your blogging platform or via a social media management platform such as Hootsuite or Buffer, is the better choice.
Carrying a laptop allows you the freedom to update during downtime, but it also has several downsides. In addition to lugging around a computer (and all the accessories that come with it), you’ll also have to worry about theft or loss during your trip. You may also fall prey to the siren song of time-wasting websites instead of using your holiday to rest and connect with your loved ones.
“You don’t want to get sucked into web surfing or replying to non-urgent emails simply because you have access,” writes Heidi Nazarudin, president of Blogger Babes. “Limiting your access and time on the computer could conceivably make you more productive. And you certainly want to enjoy your vacation and come home refreshed.”
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