Vacation and Your Blog

Summer officially kicks off in the US this weekend with Memorial Day Weekend. With it comes family reunions, beach vacations, lazy days by the pool, late nights watching fireflies. You may have great plans to make it through that stack of bestsellers while sipping a fruity drink with an umbrella, it is likely you are going to find yourself crunched for time when it comes to your blog. A little planning now will keep your blog floating happily along while you do the same. Here are a few tips...

Tip 1 - sign up for book blasts or sponsored giveaway. These quick posts usually come pre-formatted for easy cut/paste. They also have the extra benefit of helping you gain followers on Pinterest, Facebook, or Twitter. A quick search of "Bloggers Wanted" will turn up available giveaways. You can check under the Bloggers Wanted tab above for current events I'm organizing. Other companies that are looking for bloggers include Jitterbug PR, I am a Reader Not a Writer, The Finishing Fairies, Lady Reader's Book Stuff.


Tip 2 - Spread your posts out. If you typically post a review every day, you may want to put a few in reserve so you can have them weekly throughout the summer. I have a calendar with the days I'll post a review through out the summer. If I get ahead on my reading/reviewing then I can always move a review up, but I won't come up short at the end of summer.

Tip 3 - Reading Lists and recommendations. People have more time to read during the summer, but they don't want to spend it reading review after review just to find the next great book. Instead help your readers quickly locate a good read. It can be Top 10 Must Read Murder Mysteries or Audio Books for Road Trips. The key here is to group books you've already read. You can give a line or two about why it fits the category or why you recommend it. Remember to link back to your previous review.

Tip 4 - Participate in a meme. Are you going to the library more because the kids are out of school? Then you can link up with It's Monday! What are your reading? To show off all the library finds that week. Teaser Tuesday will let you share a couple of sentences from your current read, while Waiting on Wednesday will tell your readers about what you are looking forward to.

Tip 5 - Don't stress. If you miss a few days of posting or even a week, that's okay. If you know you are likely not going to post for 5 consecutive days, then put up a Gone Fishing sign to let your readers you are taking a much needed break, but will see them on the flip side.

I hope everyone has a wonderful summer full of great reading. What tips do you have for keeping up with blogging when so many warm weather activities are vying for your attention?