3 Tips to Grow Your Writer Platform When You Need a Break

Everyone needs a break from time to time. For a writer building a platform, taking a social media break might seem like you’re losing precious ground. If you’re willing to think outside the box and do a little planning, you can take a break and continue to grow your writer platform.

1. Recycle An Old Blog Post

In the spirit of “going green,” recycle an old post (or two or several). Go back in your archives and find an old post that didn’t get as much traffic as you hoped or one that wasn’t as well developed. Rewrite it and share some insights you’ve learned since the piece originally posted. You may even include some of your reader’s comments.

Be sure to optimize for SEO and include new shareable tweets and images.

2. Line Up Guest Posts

Ask writer friends if they’d like to write for you. If they’re busy or in need of a break themselves, look through their archives and find a post you liked, and ask if you can repost on your blog. (First be sure they’re not recycling it for their own site!)

Add click-to-tweets at the bottom of the post that mention the author. If you’re republishing an old posts, share an attribution such as, “This post first appeared on [friend’s site name with hyperlink to their site].”

Whether the post is new content or a republished post, always link back to the author’s site. Ask the author if there’s a particular page they’d like you to feature. They may ask you to direct readers to their About page. Another option is to link to their home page so your readers can see your friend’s most recent work.

3. Consider Hiring A Virtual Assistant

This may sound like a splurge, but VAs can help with many tasks. They can curate shareable content, research topics, or edit and schedule blog posts. They can respond to comments, coordinate editorial calendars, optimize posts for SEO, or even help with tips 1 & 2 – recycle old posts and line up guest posts!

VAs are unique and have different skill sets, so ask friends for recommendations. Some VAs prefer to work for a stretch of time (monthly or quarterly), but others are happy to do piecemeal work when needed.

Time away from writing and social media doesn’t necessarily mean your platform growth will suffer. With a little creative thinking and planning, you can enjoy a respite and still grow your writer platform when you need a break.

Anything to add to this list? Please share in the comments!

Shareables:

Helpful A3 links:

3 Ways a Virtual Assistant Can Help Your Writer Platform

3 Mistakes to Avoid With Your Social Media Strategy

4 Simple Rules For Guest Posting