Batching and scheduling content and social media is one of the productive things to do if you are an online creator like a blogger or YouTuber.
In this post, I would speak about the benefits and purpose of batching content.
Why you may want to batch and schedule content in advance
Briefly, let’s go through the benefits of batching and scheduling content. This method is also helpful when it comes to other creative endeavors such as writing a book, preparing to showcase your work…where you need to spend a dedicated amount working on your project or venture.
1. To maximize productivity during peak time
Especially if you are creative, and happen to have ADHD where you can make good use of your creativity and focus when it is at its peak.
This is very true for me personally because I find there are certain periods when I am in the ‘flow’ or zone and ideas flow out effortlessly. While if I were to dedicate a time to write, I may have writers block during that time.
2. You wish to take a break from producing content and go off the grid or for holiday
3. To focus on other priorities in life such as:
- moving house
- welcoming a new baby
- busy with other life events such as wedding, examinations, writing academic papers, etc
4. To ensure we never run out of content
If we only produce content for the next day or next week, we would run out of content if for some unforeseen circumstances we could not work on our content such as falling sick, family emergency or writers block. Few years ago, we were planning to move. In anticipation that I would not have time to produce content, I actually batch produced more than 1 year of content (not for this blog but some of my other blogs)! For many days, I got up earlier so that I had more time to focus on my content. Eventually, after I moved, I had a period where I was refocusing on other priorities and had it not been for the content I had prepared, my blog would have ran out of content.
5. Just because…. you can 😉
This last one is added for fun. But it is true as one of the perks of being a blogger is the flexibility. We make our time. The same goes for other creative work that you are managing at our own pace such as being an artist, crafter and writer.
My experience in batching content and scheduling in advance
Since more than 10 years ago, I have discovered the joy of batching and scheduling my content in advance. During that time was because I had quit my job to try to give it a go at blogging. However the opportunity came up for me to travel and spend sometime in Thailand.
During that time, bloggers did not talk about batching content. That time blog was at its infancy and the idea of a blog was that it was similar with an online journal so content was published as they were written.
The internet in Thailand during that time was super slow, and the computers in internet cafes seemed to be still on dial up speed. So prior to going to Thailand, I sat down to prepare posts and schedule them so that my blog did not look abandoned even I was away. I only had to use internet cafes or borrow my friend’s computer to login to moderate comments.
I discovered then even though I was away, my blog looked ‘alive’ and active. My traffic even increased during that period.
That was when I was hooked on the concept of batching and scheduling content long before anyone talked about this.
Over the years, I have adopted this method frequently in my blogs. I utilized my most creative, focused and productive time to batch produce content and then schedule for publishing. After that, I would take breaks to focus on other things.
That is probably why my love for blogging remained even though it has been more than 10 years since I started my first blog.
The last few years, I have adopted this method almost always when:
- I had to have my house renovated and was busy with cleaning, decluttering and organizing
- planning for a wedding
- moving to a different place
- travel to a place for a period where Wifi is not available
- just taking a break to recharge
Batching and scheduling posts have helped me tremendously to prevent my blogs from looking ‘abandoned’.
The downside of Batching and Scheduling Content
This post would not be complete if I do not cover the disadvantages.
1. Losing momentum
When we stop for a period, we may lose momentum and other things in life gets in the way. By then, after the scheduled posts run out, we may not make any new content and the blog becomes kind of abandoned.
However, I find that usually I am able pick up the momentum after starting on a few posts because I genuinely love blogging.
If you are worried about losing momentum, then you can consider staying consistent, ie even if you have scheduled posts ready, you can still prepare like one or two posts which cover on current events or trends.
If you have been consistent, it is easy to pick up the pace later on.
2. Content may be irrelevant due to unforeseen circumstances
If we schedule content way too advance, content may become irrelevant when it is time to post it. For example, if we write about a business, it may close down or the competition may beat us to it.
I have some travel blogs and when the pandemic hits, travelling worldwide come to a screeching halt. Posts about airlines and tourist tips become irrelevant and outdated. Many business has closed down and even if they are operating, they may no longer provide the required services.
I also could not use the photos I had taken of places because at the point of time when I took it, people were not wearing masks. There would be an issue of writing about a place and showing photos where no one seemed to be wearing masks. That is why, I always do my best to stick to evergreen topics if I am preparing content in advance.
Give this magic a try…
But overall, despite of the little downsides, preparing content in batches is still the way to go for me. And in online content creation such as YouTube, Instagram, Facebook and blogging it is getting to be more popular.
Now I take time off the grid to focus on my own personal development (plus looking after my mom of course as I am now a full time caregiver).
This has kept me from burning out, kept my love for blogging going, my traffic consistent and enabled me to have some income after resigning from my corporate job to care full time for my mom.
If you have certain time where you are full of inspiration, then why not use this for batch producing content. After which, you can then take some time off to focus on other aspects of your life. Then your online work would not feel like a chore or another job.
