Happy 2016! If you didn’t know by now, I manage several blogs. I’ve been blogging on my own since 2013 and at the end of summer 2014, two friends and I launched a (now disabled) blog to document our natural hair journey and connect with women in the natural hair community. Even though most tasks on my secondary platform are distributed among three people there are times I have been overwhelmed; especially since I work full time. If you’re interested in how to manage multiple blogs, here are some tips that have helped me.
Post Regularly
As much as I would love to, posting every day just isn’t possible for me so I post once weekly. This year my plan is to publish on specific days at least twice a week unless there’s a specific deadline. An advantage to working with others (and a huge weight lifted most days) is each of us committing to writing weekly, resulting in 2-3 or more posts being published. If you’re deciding to post monthly, weekly, or daily, try your best to be consistent.
Use a Planner
A few weeks after launching the Type 4 platform, I knew I needed to write things down more than ever. I printed out a template from Confessions of a Homeschooler and punched out holes to create my own planner. For a first-timer, and with my budget, it was a great help. I was able to write down ideas for future posts, track giveaways, plan for potential events and keep track of stats for the blogs and social media accounts.
Schedule, Schedule, and Schedule some More
There are occasions when I share flight deals instantly, but the majority of my posts are automated via WordPress, Buffer or Hootsuite. I also have a WordPress plugin, sharing old blog posts to Facebook and Twitter. If you’re not scheduling posts, I highly recommend it. It saves so much time. There is also a great tool called IFTT that links to your social media account to automate posts. Do your research to see which tool works best for you and your platform(s).
Know When to Take a Break
I honestly started this during my family trip last summer. I decided not to be so caught up in my blogs that I forgot about my friends and family. There HAS to be a balance. I still shared pictures through Instagram and Snapchat, but things like event promotion, checking and responding to emails (unless there was a deadline or emergency) and replying to work-related texts stopped or were very brief. I’m a workaholic and don’t like to be idle at all. As difficult as it was, I learned to schedule the out of office reply, mute the group texts, WhatsApp and GroupMe messages and really take a break. I do as much work as I can before going away and finish the rest when I return.
Right now, my personal blog is just that – personal. If you’re thinking about expanding your blog, guest bloggers and hiring contributors are definitely great options. As the weeks and months go by I’m sure I will tweak some things, but these options have been working pretty well for me for the past 6 months or more. If you have any tools or tips you use to manage multiple blogs or your general time, share them below.
