I'll have my people call your people and we'll do lunch. WFMW

This week's theme for Works-For-Me-Wednesday is "Blogger tips."

My tip is:  Scheduling your posts. 

How to do it (in Blogger):

When you are writing your new post you will see at the bottom a link that says "Post Options."  Click on it and you will see some options like:

• Reader comments
• Edit HTML Settings
• Backlinks
• Compose Settings
• Post date and time

 Post date and time is what we're looking for.  Click on "Scheduled at" underneath the Post date and time and you can schedule when that post will show.  You can make it say any time you want!  If time doesn't matter to you, leave it at 12:01 AM and just change the date.  But if you want it to appear as if you just spur of the moment wrote it, you could schedule it for say 8:07 PM.

So say you're feeling particularly chatty one day and you want to show all the pictures you took over the weekend and all the thoughts you had breaking them down into separate posts but don't want to overwhelm your 33 followers with THREE POSTS IN ONE DAY but you just HAVE TO POST THEM ALL ie.  Pookie's birthday party, Twins update pics, Rude things people said to me at the store, etc., you can schedule them.  This makes your readers happy to see posts coming in at a regular rate; versus going a week and then BAM! four posts at once. 

Some posts I really want responses to.  I want to know your advice on things, like when I needed a blog name for Tater. Sometimes I want to know that you think I'm funny.  Those posts I do not post on the weekends.  People don't seem to comment much on the weekends.  And some posts, like journal entries, I don't really care if people comment; so those are more likely to appear on the weekends on my blog.  But I feel like you are thinking, Oh my that's boring.  Moving along now.  when you don't comment.  Comment dangit.  If you took the time to read it, couldn't you possibly bring yourself to leave a smiley face or SOMETHING?  ahem.  Anyways, I digress. 

Sometimes I get inspiration for like three WFMW posts at the same time.  This is rare.  But when it happens, I grab my calendar and see what the dates are for the next three Wednesdays and enter them in individually in scheduled posts or drafts if incomplete.  But usually, it's Tuesday night and I go, oh yeah, Works for me Wednesday is tomorrow........... umm......hmm....tumbleweed.... what should I post about....there must be ...errr... umm...diapers.... what can I offer? ......  do I know stuff? ...... I must know something......  On those days, I am SO GLAD when I already have a prescheduled post.

And sometimes when I'm feeling particularly frugal and wise, I break up those WFMW posts into WFMW categories and Frugal Friday categories.  Then I can post one on Wednesday and another scheduled for Friday.  But if I don't start typing it up when it comes to me, it may as well never have happened.  I have severe post-partum twin mommy brain and it empties frequently.  I've got to at least get the thought started on a saved draft in Blogger.

So, if you're still with me, if you schedule your posts you feel ahead of the game.  You can provide a regular update and increase your subscribers.  When your last post shows your baby's birth picture and now she's on her way to Kindergarten, your followers start to drop off.  Scheduling works for me!  Visit Kristen at her site to view more WFMW entries from hundreds of other smart folk.