In fact, during the year-end break, you’ll finally have the time to rest your fingers and your brain. But just like New York, the Internet is a “city” that never sleeps… And if you own a blog that is not regularly updated with new content you have to expect to see a decrease in visits.
There are 3 strategies that you can adopt:
- The strategy of doing nothing: the blog announces annual closure, with a message of “Happy New Year”. This is the one I recommend least because it leaves your readers unsatisfied, and secondly, it suggests that for one week no one is in control of your blog.
- The defensive strategy: to schedule in advance your content to ensure continuity in the activity of your blog.
- The offensive strategy: it is to take advantage of the fact that “competitors” are on vacation and you can gain visibility. Indeed holiday periods are excellent opportunities to gain visibility as competition between sites is much less strong even if the audience is smaller.
This is the time to stand out…most of the biggest blogs usually enjoy these periods and post out quality articles, making greater engagement than usual.
Whatever strategy you adopt, here are 9 possible techniques to leave your blog during your holiday:
#1. Take a break and leave an away message on your site
Currently this is a solution which is adopted by a minority of bloggers. However, you can still see it often on smaller blogs.
The webmaster posts a message that the blog is on holiday and it will continue its activities in early January (sometimes there is no message, just a judgement that you can make of the last publication, which is worse because it looks like your blog has been frozen).
- Advantages: It is easy and quick way to set up and it is a clear way to do it.
- Disadvantages: This gives a picture of “amateur” blog. It can remind your readers that your site is not regularly updated, you will be back from holidays with a full inbox and comments to read. Finally, your traffic will drop.
#2. Prepare content in advance and post them automatically
WordPress, Blogger… Both offer the ability to post articles on a given date, allowing you to make an editorial calendar for your blog.
- Advantages: your blog will continue to look alive without you which will allow you to keep your readers and it is also good for the search engines and your
SEO activities. - Disadvantages: you must prepare your articles in advance (be careful to write articles that are not related to current events!). You must pay attention to the layout and spelling because you cannot act before you are back from your holiday. Also you will not be able to manage the comments on these articles.
#3. Conduct a retrospective of your best articles of the year
This is often a variation on the option of preparing articles in advance, but it’s a good way to get content quickly (e.g. By subject classification, the 10 most commented articles…).
- Advantages: it is a relatively quick way to write and it brings to daylight some old quality articles.
- Disadvantages: this can frustrate your old users because they already know these articles.
#4. Give the keys to your blog to other bloggers
Just invite one or two bloggers who are close to the topic of your blog and ask them to post a few unique items directly to your blog (not duplicate content) which can give a “fresh air” to your Blog.
Of course, it is advisable not to give the login and password of your blog, but rather to give them the rights of users to contribute to your blog.
- Advantages: it gives fresh content and quality articles ahead. Guest bloggers can handle the input for their articles. It is suitable for long holidays (2 or 3 weeks).
- Disadvantages: these bloggers should write original articles in order to avoid any problems with duplicate content. You are never sure of the quality of the articles of other bloggers and you can lose control of your blog.
#5. Ask other bloggers to write articles in advance and plan your own publication
This is a safer approach than leaving the keys to your blog to others (even with limited rights). With guest posting you can get 3 or 4 articles from other bloggers and plan to publish them on your blog.
- Advantages: For a short absence you have control over the publication of articles and the quality of the content. By publishing articles yourself in advance you can give coherence to the style of the content.
- Disadvantages: Finding bloggers willing to give you quality content as they too can go on vacation. Taking existing articles can be bad for your
SEO (not to mention that your readers probably have already read these articles).
#6. Blogging on your vacation
Sometimes this is a good solution for a few days off. Simply connect or access to your blog from a cyber cafe, or by using your smart phone to publish articles.
- Advantages: you continue your publishing.
- Disadvantages: the articles are shorter and less excavated (you’re on vacation!).
#7. Give voice to your readers
Instead of working, your readers can help you with the work on your holiday by offering, for example, discussion of a topic or theme of creativity.. For example, the challenges for the coming year, changes in the Web… or “What topics you want to see in the blog next month…”
A good trick is to post a question on Twitter or Google+, and then publish the answers.
- Advantages: Giving voice to your readers, start a buzz (e.g. “List your good blogger’s resolution for 2015, what are your essential tools…).
- Disadvantages: Manage comments and reactions – finding an interesting topic and maintain good attendance on the subject.
#8. Write a seasonable topic
It’s simply written article on the theme of Christmas or New Year.
- Advantages: Engaging keywords with highly sought expressions to boost your traffic, and an up to date topic.
- Disadvantages: You can hope that other bloggers will not have the same idea before you!
#9. Rewrite an existing article and update it
Rework an already written article (like this one) and update it with the latest information. This is a well known method of creating new relevant fresh topic.
- Advantages: Getting back to live highly engaged topic – can bring you more traffic and social engagement.
- Disadvantages: The topic is old and you can’t have the previous success of the article.
Happy holidays!
Images: ”four on white background isolated 3d rendered gift boxes with christmas blog symbol coming out of it/ Shutterstock.com“
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