I find it amazing, and dare I say it, downright annoying, that bloggers (at least the really good ones) are like MacGuyver. With a candy bar, rubber band, and two pieces of string, they can deliver great content while in the midst of a personal crisis, being stranded on a desert island having a lack of resources, writer’s block, or any number of plausible reasons. This happened to me last week, and I. failed. miserably.
My family and I left town on a getaway weekend to Martha’s Vineyard. I had nothing prepared to post, figuring that I would “wing it” and write it in the car. That never happens (obviously I’ve been here before) because I decide I would much rather read something fun like a home decorating magazine.
So, I push it off and plan to write once we’ve arrived, which of course, means it’s already late.
But, that night, I had a gallbladder attack with pain of such epic proportions that for the next four days all I could think about was how I could rid my body of this possessed devil inside me. If I had planned ahead, while I was undergoing surgery and recovering, things could have gone on as normal without missing a beat.
Obviously, the key is to not wait for a crisis to happen. (After all failing to plan is a plan to fail) So, this is my plan to keep it from happening again:
- Have an editorial calendar — I do have one, but I need to expand it and schedule the topics and post dates. Worst case, if I don’t have time to write something new, I can re-run a previous post or use something from a guest poster.
- Schedule the posts and social media ahead of time — With the technology available today, it’s as easy as the touch of a button. Do I really want to be running out the door freaking out that I don’t have anything ready? No. Using HootSuite, Facebook and WordPress to schedule posts ahead of time means they can run when I want them to without having to actually be doing the work at the time.
- Use photos/videos in place of text: Sometimes an image speaks volumes, so rather than stressing about not having anything written, I can post a photo with a caption and invite people to comment.
- Keep an idea file for possible topics around holidays, current events, etc. and add to it as I come across resources, so that when I’m ready to write, I have what I need
Thank you for sharing this space with me! What other ideas, tools, and resources do you use to make content creation seamless? Please share below. Clearly, I need all the help I can get.
Feel free to share this with anyone you think will find it of value.
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Robin Taney, (aka the “Get R.E.A.L Girl”) is the owner and founder of Studio 4 PR. She works with creative, independent, and “kitchen table” entrepreneurs who are highly motivated to be found by their perfect client. You can connect with her on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, and sign up for mailing list You are welcome to use this post on your blog, provided you do not alter it in any way and include a link to this blog.