Back in my days working in television news, I was taught the importance of having “evergreen” material ready to air in case of an emergency. Basically, this was generic content without any dates, names or specifics attached to it. Yes, like the plant, it has leaves all year round.
If you’re serious about your blogging, and pride yourself on regular updates, I would recommend creating a contingency plan in case life gets in the way.
PHASE 1: Create several evergreen posts. Choose an area within your niche that is broad and has a long (or infinite) shelf life. Make a pact with yourself that you’ll put the articles behind glass and only break in case of emergency.
You also might want to draft a quick paragraph stating that unforeseen circumstances are keeping you from updating the blog.
‘Hey reader. If you’re seeing this post, that means something out of the ordinary is going on in my world. Rest assured, we are still your source for <BLANK> and will resume posting as soon as humanly possible.’
So many blogs fade away. So many more are late on a scoop. You don’t want either, so let your readers know that something is up.
PHASE 2: Make a plan to get your evergreen content posted. Armed with so much technology, it seems unlikely that we’d find ourselves in a position where we are unable to post. But there’s always a chance.
Upload your emergency posts to a shared space and give a friend or family member credentials to access. In the same location, save a document with basic instructions on posting the item. Depending on the tech ability of the person, you might want to have it sitting in your blog platform. Either way, sketch out detailed instructions on what they need to do should you call and say, ‘post!’
This might sound extreme for the casual blogger. But for those who have made a mark in a respective space, the last thing you want to do is let it slip away.
Go evergreen. I promise it’ll come in handy one day.
Originally posted on February 19, 2008 @ 8:01 pm
