It’s Summer time and either you’re planning a trip this summer or your about to take one.  You can see it now, getting on the plane to your favorite destination, ready to hit the beach or backing your boat into the lake to catch that next big fish.  Either way, you’re in vacation mode and you can’t wait for that much-needed time off. Day by day, you start checking off your list of things to do to make sure you don’t forget anything on your trip.  You want everything perfect on your trip and forgetting that one piece of clothing can make or break your mood. Everything seems fine, you have all the stuff needed for your trip, you’re in the car ready to leave and you check off your list one more time to make sure you don’t forget anything.  You’re frantic now, because the kids are driving you crazy and you can’t think. “Did I pack this?”, you think to yourself and thankfully you see it in your bag. You can breathe a sigh of relief as your mate urges everyone to get in the car. Yippee! You’re off on your trip and you hit the road….then it happens… Who is managing my blog? Crap! Has this ever happened to you? You plan everything down to the wire only to forget your blog. I know the feeling, but don’t fret; here are some easy tips to keep your blog running, when you’re out chasing the wind this summer:

Start using an Editorial Calendar

If you haven’t downloaded this plugin, what are you waiting for? Having a calendar to work from helps to keep you in tune with your current topics and helps to avoid ignoring other topics on your blog that needs content.  You don’t have to fill your calendar up to make it work, but it will give you a clear-cut view of what’s ahead and spur other ideas you haven’t thought about.

Schedule Updates

This is dummy-proof with so many options available to schedule posts for certain days, but do you use them? Whether it’s Hootsuite, Facebook Scheduled posts or Buffer, use them to your advantage so your blog isn’t forgotten about when you’re away.

Schedule Guest Posts

Lisa Buben from Inspire To Thrive, did this very well when she was on holiday awhile back. I didn’t even know she was gone, but the posts never stopped coming and she promptly responded to each comment when she got back. Her blog never missed a beat and neither should yours.  Ask bloggers you trust ahead of time for guest posts to cover the days you won’t be posting. Take care to make sure your blog doesn’t go dormant.

Announce your Absence

People understand that everyone needs a vacation; hell so do I, but giving a heads up is always nice. If you don’t want to announce it on your blog, send it to your subscribers via email to keep them in the loop.  Taking these steps shows you care about your blog and your readers.  You don’t need to give a long-winded 5 paragraph story detailing your vacation…TMI. Just announce when you will be gone and that posts will still go out as usual. Enough said.

Ask a friend or Trusted Blogger to Maintain Your Blog

Some of you might not like this option, but there are some blogs that have multiple contributors, where this option might work great.  You could have someone overlook the small details while you’re gone, to ease the worries of responding to comments and Twitter responses.

Prepare posts a month early

You know you will be away far in advance to start preparing for time away from your blog. No excuses! Take care to start writing posts worthy of a comment. Avoid deviating from your usual pattern by creating posts for the hell of it. Ask yourself:

• Is this post a “smoke screen” to just get something posted?
• Is this post-worthy?
• Will this post add value to my community?
• Will my readers feel it is something to comment on?

You don’t want your blog to miss a beat. Make it seem as if you were right there reading their comments, as you secretly sit on a cruise ship heading towards Tahiti (I wish). Question:  What have you done in preparation for trips with your blog? Have you made mistakes leaving your blog unattended before?