Standby Idea Vs Standby Post

9 November, 2007 - Blogging - 3 Comments

Earlier this week I read a post in the blogosphere about the importance of having standby posts for your blog. I’ve spent a lot of time going through my deleted RSS messages but I can’t find the post so I’m unable to give credit to the author. If it was you, please get in touch with me and I’ll edit this post accordingly.

I wrote a comment on the blog to say that I have a text file which contains approximately 30 ideas for blog posts, and should I ever find myself low on ideas then I use one of those in the text file.

That Isn’t Good Enough!

Today, I found out that having a list of ideas simply isn’t enough. To really capitalise on standby posts, you have to actually have full posts written and waiting for publication.

How I Learned the Lesson

Unfortunately, my grandfather passed away earlier this week. Today was his funeral so I haven’t had much chance to blog. In fact, it’s almost 11pm and this is the first time I’ve been at the computer today for any significant amount of time. It’s been one heck of a long day, and as I’m sure you can imagine, it hasn’t been the best day for me and my family. For most people, the last thing you want to do on a day like this is blog. Personally, I find blogging is a good way to relax and remove the stress of the day so it doesn’t bother me. However, if I had actually wrote some standby posts as opposed to writing one line ideas, I could be catching up on some much needed sleep right now.

For an active blog, standby posts truly are important. As writers, we often find ourselves on a role where we feel like we can write all day long. Those are the best days to write three or four posts to save in WordPress ready for a day when you’re busy, or when you simply want a day off. It might not seem like it as you write all those posts, but you’ll be pleased you did it when you want a day off. Next time you find yourself motivated and ready to write for your country, join me in writing several posts to act as timeless standby posts. :)

Do you prepare posts in advance or you just have a list of ideas like me? Maybe you don’t have either of these. However you manage your ideas, let us all know!

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Posted on 9 November, 2007 by Jamie Harrop
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3 Comments»

Comment by Erik Karey
2007-11-09 23:45:52

I’m sorry to hear about your grandfather, I hope all is well. I think standby posts are a good idea, but I haven’t got into the habit of doing so. Right now I just have a bunch of post ideas written down in a text document that I draw from when it’s time to make a posts.

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Comment by Jamie Harrop
2007-11-09 23:48:45

Thanks Erik. :)

It looks like you’re in the same boat as me. Out of interest, how often do you use the ideas in your text file for posts in your blog? I often find I write ideas in there and then never actually turn them in to a post.

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Comment by Erik Karey
2007-11-12 19:29:37

I usually draw from my ideas text file a lot, unless something particular strikes me when I am ready to write a post. For example something that is time-sensitive or relevant to the actual day. Otherwise I look at my text file and when I get new ideas for posts, I write them in the file.

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