Daily Writing Or Article Stockpiling
January 23, 2009 by Jason
Assuming you have the time, it is preferable to try to write something every single day. Notice I did not advise that you “publish” something every day, rather that you simply go through the motions of writing for a few minutes, daily. For many of us, writing is therapeutic, and it helps keep us accountable on the subject we write about (health, finances, relationships, etc.).
Unfortunately, my crazy blogging schedule doesn’t always allow me to write something each day, though I like to publish an article once a day on my primary blog, FrugalDad.com. One of the ways I managed to work around this problem is to create a small stockpile of “evergreen” articles that I can use to fill the gaps on days when I cannot write. By “evergreen” article, I mean a topic that it not particularly time-sensitive. For example, I may write an article on the pros and cons of credit cards–something that will always be relevant.
Some bloggers have really capitalized on this idea by banking dozens of articles and queuing them up to publish for weeks in advance. If some current topic strikes their fancy, and they want to write about it, they simply slip in a current post and push out the previously scheduled post. In my case, I never seem to have more than a handful of posts in my back pocket, and most of the time I have zero articles stockpiled.
There is definitely a time for stockpiling articles, even if you don’t make it a common practice for your blog. Here are a few times when it is good to have an advanced queue of articles:
Vacations. Yes, even bloggers deserve some time off.
Illness. Think of queued articles as your “emergency fund” for writing. If you get sick, a couple scheduled posts can buy you some time to heal and then get back to writing.
Starting a new blog. When you start up a blog, it is a good idea to have a handful of posts (5-10, depending on your schedule) so that you can focus on administrative and marketing tasks in the early days.
Guest posts for other bloggers. I experienced a family medical emergency over the summer when my own stockpile was empty, but thankfully other bloggers had a few extra articles they supplied as guest posts to keep me going. I was able to continue my blogging schedule and they got a little additional exposure for their blog.
So whether you decide to have a blogging marathon (as I often do on Saturday mornings) to build your article stockpile, or you prefer to write something fresh every single day, there is value in having a number of articles in the bank.
I prefer to use a combination of techniques, and typically write a couple articles on the weekend (in addition to any I post), and then write something fresh each morning for my main blog. This way I am practicing my writing craft each day while continuing to build a reserve.
Photo by BraveNewTraveler
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I’ve found a lot of this to be true. My blog is 3 months old now. Before I began I had about 25 posts written to get me started. I no longer have that many piled up, but I do have a few. Some weeks are easier than others.
One thing that has really helped me – whenever I have a good idea, but don’t have time to write I create a new draft post with the title and a couple thoughts. That way when I come back to write later I’ve got a few things started.
P.S. I’d be thrilled to guest post for Frugal Dad if ever you have need of it
I try to do that right before I go away on vacation, but write a post each day and publish it. I like your suggestion to have several stockpiled if you are ill or just don’t have time to write.
My blog is VERY new, but I’m working to stockpile. I’m usually 1-2 articles ahead, but am trying to increase that. I’ve been a fan of frugal dad for some time now. I enjoying this new site now, too.
I have a few article ideas and also some photos in my stockpile. When I’m getting low, I’ll finish an article and schedule it to be posted at a later date. Then, like you mentioned, if I come up with something better I’ll push it back again.
When I first realized that bloggers did this, I was shocked. I think it was Trent from The Simple Dollar that offhandedly told me he had posts written out and ready to go weeks ahead of time. I was like “What!??”
I still haven’t been able to master that…
This is such good advice! I try to have at least three or four days of posts in reserve – sometimes as many posts as 12! As a stay-at-home mom, I never know when I may have sick kids or be sick myself (like I was this weekend). It’s also good for making sure you get blogging breaks. You can take a night or two off without feeling guilty!
This is great advice. Some days you’re just on a roll and will have so many ideas you can barely keep up. Other days you’ll struggle to get one article written, or life intervenes. Even having a list of ideas with one or two sentences written on each one can be great as a place to go when the juices aren’t flowing – or if they are, having an idea list is a great way to quickly knock out 3 or 4 articles in one sitting so you’ve got them saved for a rainy day.
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