Everyone’s been there. It’s the early hours of the morning, it’s been a rotten day, and you still have work to do. In the ordinary course of things, this work wouldn’t be that difficult, but after a day of procrastination, it seems a monumental task. As quickly as you can, you slap together something that will suffice and go to bed.

Most people will have experienced this situation at some point during school or university. A lot of the people who face this situation in modern times are those who run a regular blog, and ‘panic posting’ in this way can absolutely decimate a blog’s reputation.

Hosting a blog puts extra pressure on a site. There is a certain expectation that a blog will feature a comfortable tone, interesting information and regular posts. The need for constant content can lead site owners to make rash moves, posting just about anything in order to keep a regular schedule. Here are a few ways to avoid this kind of panic posting:

1. Have a content schedule. Every site needs a content schedule, whether it hosts a blog or not. If you’re interested in your site’s SEO, you’ve probably followed your consultant’s advice and have planned for regular content updates. These will attract the search engines back to your site at frequent intervals and give you a better chance in the index. Planning content requires that you find a source, plot out topics, and schedule your publishing.

Planning content is something that is best done in the stages of your site’s initial search engine optimisation work. This allows you to build up a list of topics that focus on your keywords.

If you’re in contact with an SEO firm, talk to them about how regular your posts should be, and what keywords you should target. Many SEO companies also have content provision options, to ensure that your SEO is taken into account in your content. You can talk to our consultants at SEO Consult Australia about content provision.

2. Have a back-up plan. There are times with every business that things don’t go according to schedule. This is why it’s important to have a back-up plan for most contingencies. It is no different with content. It’s a good idea to have a list of blog topics, or even a few written posts, handy for those times when you just can’t write. Having these on hand means that you have a little time to work around whatever it is that’s preventing you from posting new material.

Having blog back-ups is a good idea even when you’re sourcing content from a professional. Keeping two or three posts off site gives you time to find a new writer should your current one resign. It’s important to remember to replenish this ‘blog larder’ whenever you use it.

3. Work ahead. There is no law that says that a blog post has to have been written on the day it’s posted. Unless your blog contains information about breaking news, you can comfortably work up material for weeks or even months ahead.