When you see a writer disappear from social media, what’s your first thought? Some may not notice. Others may wonder where they are—particularly if this writer has a prominent presence. These writers may be talking about tips, posting memes, or sharing their work regularly.
Then, all of a sudden, they’re gone.
Where are they? Did they decide to stop marketing their business? Does the writer think posting so much didn’t make a difference for their career objectives? Will the writer resume their posting schedule?
Under most circumstances, when writers disappear, it’s because they’re working. Sometimes it’s because of breaks or vacations, too. Most of the time, though, it’s due to writing work. So, be happy for them!
However, this begs the question—should they have a contingency plan for when they’re away? Does disappearing hurt their marketing? Do these gaps in posting on social media or their blog cause issues with their business plan long-term?
Ultimately, the goal of every freelance writer is keeping our reader’s attention. It’s excellent news to be away from social media because we’re working. Celebrate that!
Setting Up a Contingency Plan
How can you set up a plan for when you’re away? If you know tight deadlines are looming, schedule your blog posts ahead of time. Take a couple of hours to write them ahead of time, source images (or create them using Canva), and develop a posting schedule. Most blog platforms allow you to do this. I use WordPress for my website, so scheduling happens seamlessly.
What About Social Media?
Freelance writers have shared with me several social media tools they like using for scheduling their posts. Out of all of them, here are the top three:
- Buffer.com: users attach their social media accounts, then schedule the content they would like to post on each of these accounts. You can use either their free or paid account. The free version allows three social media accounts. For $15 per month, you can have eight social media accounts and $99 will boost you up to 25 accounts.
- Hootsuite.com: users can schedule posts for publishing on their social media accounts in the future. Up to thirty messages and three social media accounts are part of the free plan. For $29 per month, you’ll receive unlimited messaging and ten social media accounts. Paying $129 per month will boost you up to three users, twenty social media accounts, and unlimited messages.
- CoSchedule.com: this one isn’t free after the first fourteen days. However, many love using it because of all the features. In addition to an editorial calendar and project tracker, you can track and monitor your social media. Pricing starts at $20 per month for a blog, editorial calendar, and ten social media accounts.
So, when you’re away from social media, schedule posts periodically to help prevent your presence from vanishing entirely.
Preventing Anyone From Noticing At All
Would you prefer that no one notice when you’re not on social media? You can opt to use a paid account and develop a “round the clock” posting schedule. That way, no one notices when you’re on or off.
Yes, they’ll be able to tell when your posts are authentic or from a schedule. However, your presence will always be there. So, no one will notice if you’re away working or doing other things. This schedule also helps readers in different time zones see your work and efforts as well.
What If You Forget?
If you forget to set up a contingency plan, don’t worry. It’s not the end of the world. Your readers are still there. If you’re away for a significant amount of time, it may take some effort to wrangle their attention again. It’s not impossible, though.
Here are some basic strategies:
- Start blogging again regularly and share those posts everywhere.
- Share posts from other influencers, as well as informative content.
- Resume a regular social media posting schedule.
- Don’t forget to include images, memes, videos in your social media posts.
- Engage with everyone who comments on your posts—no matter if it’s on your blog or social media.
- Comment on other blogs, as well as social media posts.
These strategies will help attract your readers back into the fray. They’ll see that you’re active again and will be more likely to click around to see what you’re doing.
Final Thoughts
Celebrate being a busy writer as often as possible. Congratulate other writers when you see that they’re working hard and picking up new clients. We’re in this together and, it’s a tough business in many ways. When we join together and boost each other up, it’s easier to manage our careers and succeed. Disappearing doesn’t always mean they’re not doing their job; it could mean their working hard at growing their business.