MON(FX)

Making Money Online - Tip #2: Schedule Posts

This kind of follows along with the Tip #1 (Content & Consistency), as it meant to help keep a consistent schedule of posts on your blog.  Readers return to your site in hopes of finding new content.  Many RSS feed readers will update your feed only when there is a new post.  Each reader and subscriber will help you in your ultimate goal of making a profitable website.

To make things easier on yourself, many blogging platforms include a scheduling system that will automatically publish a post at a certain date and time in the future.  In the latest version of WordPress ( 2.6), for example, you can find the post scheduling tool on the right hand side of your Write Post page.  Select Edit from this menu and this screen will open up:

From here you can select the exact date and time of when you want to publish your post.

When is this tool useful?

There are many useful applications to scheduling your posts, including:

• When you’re busy and won’t have time to update your blog on your set schedule
• When you’re on vacation and won’t have access to your computer and/or the internet
• If you want to make life easier for yourself or simply get ahead in terms of work, writing several posts at once and setting a publishing schedule

While the last of these options seems unrealistic for some, I have a few semi-OCD friends who prefer to have all of their posts for a certain period of time (a week, for example) and set a publishing schedule for them.  This is also extremely useful for online magazines and periodicals powered by WordPress, as they can schedule whole issues at a time and not be pressed for time the night before.  This also can make simultaneous posting a simple task instead of a laborious chore.

Just remember, however, your ultimate goal: you want to be consistent with your posting schedule.  If you plan on posting everyday, then go ahead and set a few articles to publish when you’ll be away for a few days to maintain that consistency.

To prove my point, I’m writing this post today - Thursday, August 7th - yet it will be live on the site tomorrow, August 8th, while I’m enjoying a weekend off in the mountains.  Please note that I won’t be able to get back to any comments until Monday, when I return from my brief vacation.