How to blog while on Vacation

It may seem impossible to take a vacation when you run your own blog, but you can. Even bloggers need vacations. It just takes a bit of prep work. Here are my suggestions for how to keep your blog running while you are on vacation.

Write enough posts and schedule them

Pretty obvious. Write enough posts before you go to equal the same amount of posts you would do if you were at home. Then, schedule them to be posted while you are gone.

How to set up scheduled post in WordPress

I actually use this feature for every blog post I write. I like my posts to go live early, but I don’t like to wake up early. First, write your post and get it 100% ready to go, but don’t publish your post.
Under the publish tab, there is an option that by default says Publish immediately. Click edit. Adjust the settings for the time and date you want your post to show up on your blog. Click ok. Double check the date and then click schedule.

All done. Now you can get some R&R on vacation without worrying about posting a blog.

Also, make sure your RSS newsletter is set up. Once you’ve got your posts scheduled to go live while you are gone, you’ll also want to make sure you have your newsletter set up to auto send for you as well. I use Mail Chimp for my newsletters, you can check out their tutorial on scheduling an auto newsletter here.

Short on time? Refresh and re-post an old blog post

I get it. You’re busy. I’m busy. Sometimes it might not always be possible to write enough blog posts to cover the entire time you are on vacation. That’s okay! You can refresh an old post and re-post it. Dig deep and find an old post that could use an update. Most likely, you’ve improved a lot as a blogger since your early days. Re write the post, and refresh the graphic for Pinterest.

As for posting, everyone has different takes on this. Some bloggers create a whole new post, while others simply change the date for the old blog post. It really depends on how you want to track how well the post does in your Analytics.

If you want to be able to see the difference, how many visits the post gets on the old one compared to the new one, write a new post with a new permalink.

If you want all the old Pinterest traffic to be reading the new post, just adjust the date of the old post and reschedule it for while you are gone.

Invite guest authors to post on your blog and respond to comments

Another great way to cover your blogging absence is to invite guest authors to post articles on your blog. Choose a series and pick a few bloggers to help you write articles for the series.

An advantage to having a guest author post on your blog while you are on vacation is that they can respond to comments on the post. Once you’ve secured a guest blogger, let them know that you would like them to be responsible for replying to any comments on that particular blog post.

To socialize or not?

Keep up with social media while you’re on vacation

Some bloggers prefer to keep up with their social media while they are on vacation. Some vacations, this is easy to do. Tweet, share, and pin just as you would at home. Many bloggers like to share pictures and stories from their vacations. Just remember to be safe, letting people know  you are away from your house is always a risk.

Unplug and really take the time off.

On to my last point: it is okay to unplug and be away from your blog for a bit. I know that this advice probably differs from most, but I think everyone needs a little R&R or you’re just going to get burnt out. If you’re able to stay in touch via social media with your blog readers while you’re on vacation, great. But if not, it will still be okay. Your numbers might drop a little, but once you return they’ll bounce right back.

Unplug and relax. Want more advice on how to completely get away from it all, check out this blog post by @merebullock: Life without Internet

Enjoy your Vacation

I hope you have a fun time on your vacation. Relax and enjoy the break from your blog. Hopefully you come back re-energized and ready to post again! If you haven’t guessed yet, I am on vacation now and loving every minute of it. We’ve been canoeing and four-wheeling and we’re off to a hot do roast soon!