Comments on: How to fit blogging, social networks into your writing work day

By: Julie

Julie — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:01:05 +0000

Michele,
I enjoy reading your blog, but don’t comment often (I’m an FLXer). I have a cooking blog, so it’s not very newsy at all. I try to post twice a week, but if I’m crazy busy or all my cooking involves developing recipes for work, I might only post once a week. I probably spend an hour per post on average. After over two years, I’ve gotten into a rhythm, and I enjoy doing it.

By: Kerry Dexter

Kerry Dexter — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 22:15:55 +0000

I post two to four times a week at Music Road. I’ve just passed the two year mark keeping the blog going, and that pace seems to to suit my readers, my subject, and my schedule. I have a syndication contract which requires twelve posts a month, which fits in with that fine. Spend maybe half and hour to an hour on each post, usually. Sometimes write in advance, many times not.

I have a number of contacts on LinkedIn but haven’t determined a really good way to make use of it, probably spend about an hour or two a month on there. I’m on the music side of MySpace, as I write about music, and I’ve found making connections and comments there to be helpful. Visit there briefly every week or so. I’m not on Facebook.

By: Dara Chadwick

Dara Chadwick — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 21:30:02 +0000

I blog five days a week and typically, I’m working no more than a day or two in advance. But I’ve also found it helpful to keep a file of more broad topic posts, so that on days when I don’t have a lot of time to write or I’m not feeling particularly inspired, I have something fresh to post.

I’m on LinkedIn, although I don’t do too much with it and I’ve yet to venture into the world of FaceBook.

By: Julie Sturgeon

Julie Sturgeon — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:44:20 +0000

I use social networking like a builder uses mortar. I have my foundational blocks of time scheduled throughout the day: write this article, interviews at 10, 11 and 2. So that time between hanging up the phone at 10 and picking it back up at 11 is too short to drag out notes and concentrate deeply enough to write an article. I fill the gap with checking LinkedIn, FLX, TwoPeas, LA-Story.com, and a host of other blogs I keep up with.

As for writing my blog entries — mine is to promote a second business, so I chose an essay style. They write themselves in my head in the shower or on the treadmill.

By: Michelle Rafter

Michelle Rafter — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:37:44 +0000

I pre-wrote a week’s worth of posts before going on vacation earlier this month and have to agree that although it took a couple hours, it was nice to get it out of the way all at once. Not sure I’d want to do that all the time, however, because I like being able to respond to events as they happen.

Michelle R.

By: Roxanne

Roxanne — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:11:17 +0000

Shoot … my blog link didn’t work above … Trying again.

http://www.championofmyheart.com

By: Roxanne

Roxanne — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 19:10:45 +0000

I post entries at least 5 days a week at .

I set aside Monday afternoons (or sometimes Friday s) for blog writing, and I write all 5 entries back to back, then each morning I give the post a quick edit before posting first thing.

I find that I’m MUCH faster if I do them all at once. Sometimes I can write all 5 in a couple of hours vs the potential for fiddling with each one every day for an hour or more.

Early on a fellow blogger told me that you need to blog at least 5 days per week to be taken seriously, so once I got over the learning curve, that’s what I’ve done.

By: imelda

imelda — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:57:16 +0000

It takes me sometimes under 5 minutes to post a photo with a blurb, tag it properly and categorize it and post it.

Other times it could take me up to an hour to form my thoughts into something others can try and comprehend.

It really varies for me. I like your answer much better.

By: Michelle Rafter

Michelle Rafter — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 18:13:21 +0000

As Jackie and Jenn have pointed out, there’s a definite difference between the amount of time writers spend on paid blogging gigs v. blogs they use as marketing vehicles for their work. As you’d expect paid blogs=more time but more $$$. But sometimes the line gets blurred, especially if you’re blogging to build a platform, like Jenn is.

I too am rethinking my blogging schedule after reading Ferriss’ opinion that fewer posts a week might be better. Since May I’ve posted every weekday, but come September I might shift to three or four days a week and use some of the time that I’d spent writing into promoting my blog and updating my social networks.

Michelle Rafter

By: Jenn

Jenn — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 17:50:24 +0000

That’s very interesting. I’m in the building phase, so my blog is taking up more of my time right now–closer to the hour+ range.

Also, that’s good food for thought re: the less is more philosophy. On my blog, Atlanta on the Cheap (www.atlantaonthecheap.com), I post leads on freebies & deals for exploring the city on a budget.

Right now I’m trying to build up some content, so I’m posting 2-3 times a day. I’ve been thinking of myself as a service provider, so I’ve been approaching it from the more is better viewpoint. I’ll have to revisit how I post the content to trim the volume down a bit once I get a little further along. Within the next couple of weeks, I plan to drop down to 5 or so posts a week, maybe 30 min. or so each.

Best,
Jenn