Stick to the Schedule.

Congratulations to Coco-Ono, of The Coco Cafe for winning the blog header redesign!

And, thank you to all who entered the contest! We'll do another giveaway soon!

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Cheeky Secret #11:

Post regularly

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Oh, crimeny. I know there is great irony in my dropping this hint when I've been absent for two long weeks. Absent without sending you a single hello, a hint of when I'd return, a clue to my wherabouts. It's been a rather harried holiday season already, and I'm wickedly sorry for my lond delay in posting. Especially when I've more tip to get your blogging of the ground than I could carry in a tipped over tee-pee.

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Muse upon your mornings for a moment. You've paid for a newspaper subscription. You plan on it's delivery each day at dawn. You rely on the perusal of advice columns and classified ads to get you through your morning bowl of Grapenuts. Then, one morning, you wake. Don slippers. Open the front door. Peek upon your threshold. And there discover nary a sign of the newspaper. Frantic, you call the delivery man.

"Wherfore art my paper?" you cry.

"I dunno," he replies, "Guess the writers got tired of writing, so there was nuthin' ta print this morn."

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Well, that sort of a scenario wouldn't work at all, would it?

There's certainly plenty to write about.

There are certainly plenty of advertisers awaiting their paid-for hocking.

There are certainly people to read the writing.

In fact, there are people whose days depend upon the delivery of the paper.

(Can you imagine a Monday morning without a clean list of home listings to look over, or a Friday morning without the printing of movie times? Pshaw! and Pfooey! The very idea is absurd.)

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When it comes to blogging for money, it's vital to put yourself on a schedule and stick firmly with it. Your readers will come to depend on it. Your advertisers deserve it. You will discover that you are more likely to get more done when you place yourself on a scheduled pattern of posting.

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There's ever so much more to say on this topic, but for now, may I suggest a few tips to finding your best, most successful blog schedule:

• Always post a new blog late Sunday night or early Monday morning. With weekend chores and such underneath their belts, and the fresh canvas of a new week in front of them, your readers are much more likely to check in on Monday's that on any other day during the week.
• Blogsite visitorship peaks slightly on Thursdays, then falls on Fridays and through the weekend. If you're interested in a 2-day per week posting schedule, consider posting on Mondays, and again late Wednesday night or early Thursday morning to ensure the highest number of site visitors possible. Mondays and Thursdays, then, are also the days when any important announcements or giveaways ought to be mentioned on your blog, to ensure maximum readership.
• The ideal 3-day posting schedule (in my mind) is M, W, TH. This posting schedule allows you to evenly spread your posts throughout the week and weekend, while ensuring that your posts are being replenished on days when the highest numbers of reader's will likely visit your site. Ideal four day? M-TH.
• Take the weekends off. You deserve the break, and the site visitor numbers dip so significantly during the weekend that I don't think it's worth the time and effort to post.
• Post late at night or early-early in the morning. There are some early risers among us. Get your posts up for morning visitors, lest they stop by and see the same stale post they gandered at the week before, and brand you as a non-regular poster. Ee-gad! No one wants that brand to be seared upon your blogsoul.
• Consider yourself a business. Because, if you're attempting to make money off of your blog, that's precisely what you are. A business. Therefore, it's vital that you appear organized, prompt and dependable in every aspect of your blog-keeping, but most especially with your posting.
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Now onto your regularly scheduled posting...