Why Holiday is Bad For Bloggers
Although most people think that blogging is an easy job, I think blogging requires commitment as well. Unless you don’t really care about how many people visit your site everyday, you’ve got to dedicate your time everyday on your blog. Updating regularly is a must. And by regular, I mean everyday. Not once a week. If you don’t, you’re gonna be sorry and you’ve got to do a lot to make it up.
That said, holiday is another major problem for bloggers. Why? I tell you why
1. Keeps you away from posting articles
Major bummer. You don’t get a chance to post anything because you’re enjoying your time somewhere else, probably on a sandy beach or an exotic escapade you’ve been dreaming to go all your lifetime. And what’s the reward for having a time off? On to the next point
2. Traffic goes down
You return home, turn on your computer, check your Alexa graph and Google Analytics, only to find that your traffic has gone done big time. You’re thinking, well that’s not too bad. I still have my loyal subscribers. Or do you?
3. Subscribers run away
You check your feed, but lo and behold, hundreds have turned away from you! Just when you thought everything was fine and you’ve got your subscribers to cheer you up
4. Reputation goes down
Everybody starts to think that you’re just another average Joe, or a problogger wannabe. Why? Because they think you’re not blogging seriously. You didn’t post for more than a day. A serious blogger must do it everyday. And for that, people start turning away from you.
5. Income goes down
Your Adsense income went down along with the traffic. What a day! No traffic = no clicks = no money. Great, just great. No more dollars per day. And you must be lucky enough to get even a few cents per day
6. Come home tired and no post for another day
After your long holiday, the day you return might not be the day you start blogging again. Already tired from the journey, your comfortable bed is your first destination when you come home. Not the computer. So there goes another day without any postings.
7. Sick and no post for another few days
Somehow, you didn’t follow your doctor’s advice during your holiday (not enough suntan lotion perhaps), and you end up lying on your sickbed. Bam! There goes another 2 or 3 days without posting anything.
8. Lose the momentum to write
Still in holiday mood, you lose all your energy, enthusiasm and momentum to write even short articles. Top that up with less visitors coming to your site, a significant decrease in the number of subscribers, and Adsense earnings you don’t even want to look at. Everything just drag you further away from your blogging activity.
9. Tons of backlog activities
Answering emails and comments that’ve filled up your mailbox, deleting all those spams, writing outstanding reviews and dealing with so many other things you left behind are just too much a burden to carry. You simply can’t catch up.
10. End of the line
You end up selling your blog to someone else, because you just can’t cope with the pressure and commitment. You’re thinking, blogging doesn’t suit your style anyway, why bother. What a tragic end!
BUT
Don’t give up! Here’s some solutions:
1. Guest blogging
I’ve seen John Chow invited Jane May to guest blog on his site while he’s having a helluva time in Taiwan. So if you’re planning a long holiday, ask some friends to write on your blog. That’ll keep the contents coming while you’re away.
2. Use Timestamp
Write 4 to 5 articles before you go away. Use ‘Edit Timestamp’ features in Wordpress for each article so that each of them will be posted one at a time, once a day until you return. (sorry I don’t know how to do it using Blogger)
3. Bring your laptop along
Most of you should have a laptop. Bring it along and find any internet access point to check your blog, or post a new article. Find some space and time to do that even though you’re on holiday.
That’s it. Everytime you’re planning a holiday, think about your blog too. Otherwise, holiday might not be as fun as you think.
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Comments
Good points. I am not sure there is a way to do a time-stamp with blogger. You can go in and change the date and times of posts you’ve already posted, but I’m not sure it’s possible to automate - unfortunately 
Perhaps, that’s something they will do in the future. I know, personally, I am dreading the next couple weeks as I will be moving and absent for a fortnight.
Or you do something dumb like mis-timestamp most of the 10 posts you’ve prepared, as I did last week. These are all hazards and very good points, I’d recommend a blogger start preparing for their vacation time well in advance of doing so and hope nothing major happens.