It can be difficult to get a new blog off the ground.  A recent IBM report announced that 80% of the blogs they host never made it past the 5^th post.  Other blogs, especially business blogs, often start with a flurry of activity only to peter off after a month or two.

If you want to keep your online presence from becoming one of these social media casualties, you need plan out how you will keep your blog alive.

Build Blogging into Your Calendar

When it comes to scheduling, you need to treat your blog just like you would any other formal project.  That means setting deadlines and allotting time for writing and research.

Be reasonable.  To maintain an ongoing blog you will need to write articles during times of both feast and famine.  Since your objective is undoubtedly a constant work stream, consider what your schedule will look like when you are being successful, and build around that.

Save Your Enthusiasm for Later

A Blog is a powerful and responsive tool that is very easy to fall in love with.  However, most Blogs come with a featured denied to human paramours - you can save the passion of discovery and call upon it later.

Right when you start it will be tempting to write a blog post every day or two.  That’s a great impulse, but be sure to save copies of the excess articles rather than posting them right away.  You want to be able to stick to your schedule.  If you build up a surplus that means you’ll be able to stay on track even if you are later swamped by other work.

Pick a Regular Feature

One easy way to ensure that you can work ahead and not run out of material is to come up with a regular feature.  Ideally you want something relatively short and easy to research so that you can run it along side your other posts without a significant time drain.

Consider the following and see if any of them speak to you

• Tips & Tricks
• Daily Aphorisms
• Word of the Day
• This Week in History
• Problem of the Week (a.k.a. “The Weekly Puzzler” if you listen to Car Talk)

Build in Avenues for Feedback

Social Media is social because it allows interaction.  A blog is more likely to build up a community if you allow readers to post comments, ask questions, and suggest topics for new posts.

“Never Say Die”

The will to continue is vital to any persistent campaign.  However, dedication needs to be tempered by strategy or it will grow brittle when faced with tight schedules and writer’s block.