How to take a blogging break this summer (without losing readers or traffic)

As the child of two teachers and an inveterate, unrepentant traveler I’ve developed a severe aversion to working during the summer.

What? Social media strategy? If by ‘social media strategy’ you mean ‘white sangria in my friend’s backyard.’
Can I do this conference call from the dock? Wrapped in a He-man towel? Because that’s what’s happening.

But since I spread my travel out over the whooooole year, taking three months off - smack dab in the middle of it - isn’t really an option. And I imagine you’re in a similar situation: wanting to slow things down a bit, but not quite ready/able to remove your foot from the proverbial pedal.

7 ways to take a blogging break this summer

1. Do a guest post swap

If you, like me, have been blogging for years upon years, you probably have some great content that’s accruing mold in your archives. And I bet your internet friends do, too. Why not ask them if they’re interested in swapping some particularly phenomenal older posts? New readers (and potential clients) will see your stuff and you won’t have to do any extra work!

Not sure how to be-friend bloggers so they’ll swap with you? This will help.

2. Update old posts

In those aforementioned moldy archives I bet you’ve got some great ideas that weren’t written or expressed particularly well the first time around. It’s okay! That’s the reality of blogging for years - you get shockingly, staggeringly better as you go. Dig through your archives and see if there are any low-traffic-but-good-idea posts that you can polish up, optimize, and repost.

Earlier this year, I updated an old blog post and it went viral! As of right now, that one post has almost 700,000 views. Here are all the steps for how to update your old blog posts.

3. If you have approval, post things you wrote for other blogs/websites/publications

Sometimes, when you write a guest post, you’re forbidden from posting that content anywhere else. If that’s not the case (triple check to make sure) repost it on your own site. To keep your karma clean, include an introduction that says something like “This piece originally appeared on Tiny Buddha but it got such a good response I thought you guys might like to take a peek at it, too.”

4. Reformat + repurpose old posts

THIS TIP IS WORTH ITS WEIGHT IN FINELY AGED CHEDDAR. All those clever, helpful posts in your archives? Take all the useful information contained therein and put it in a different format. My ‘How to get over a breakup‘ post is one of my most popular. I could turn it into an infographic, a podcast, a video, or create a worksheet to go with it, turn it into an ebook and use it to bulk up my newsletter list. Here’s an insanely helpful post about all the other ways you can repurpose content.

5. Schedule posts and tweets deep into the future

If you’re super ambitious or reluctant to share blogging duties with anyone else, it’s totally possible to write all your own content and schedule your posts and social media weeks (or months!) into the future. When I’m traveling, I usually have 90% of my content scheduled and check in and update from time to time.

6. Focus your energy on one social media platform instead of your blog

Maybe you’re not up for writing 1,500-word posts this summer, but you don’t mind snapping photos or filming quick videos. Tell your people that they can find you on Instagram, Facebook Live, or Periscope. You’re still connecting with your people - and maybe even finding new followers! Then once you’re ready to go back to blogging, you can tell all your new followers where to find you.

7. Just don’t post

Last summer, I made the executive decision that I would be posting a lot less. I felt like work was eating my life and that I was just doing a lot of things poorly and nothing very well.

And you know what the response was?
“Good for you Sarah! Taking this time to do you will definitely help enhance all aspects of your life. Enjoy your summer!”
“You are one of the few bloggers I read who posts seven times a week. You deserve to do All The Things with happiness and ease. Cheers to playing outside instead of sitting at a computer! Happy Weekend. :)”

In the best and most loving way, let us remember that the world will turn even if we do not post. The internet will not break if we don’t post every day.

Are you taking a summer vacation from your blog or business? How are you managing it? Share your tips in the comments!

photo credit: joe cooke // cc