Not too long ago, I had blogged about my own experience, running a co-blogged domain. It was very successful although we’ve been having problems with some of the younger staff members. My niche caters to the pre-teens, teens and tweens, specifically. So it’s only understandable that I’ve found experts in the topic who’re still in middle or high school. Many of them would be busy with school at one time or another. Anyhow, going back to topic, my point is — sometimes things don’t go as planned. We encounter humps and bumps on the way and we go through various trials and errors.

I currently blog professionally for an established blog in the tech niche. I feel elated that I’m part of the team, but it’s co-blogging that’s a whole world of difference than what I’ve discussed in my previous posts about the topic. Since we’re posting on the fly so we can get the juiciest news of the hour, we can’t exactly plan our topics ahead and coordinate our own subjects.

Unlike reporters for TV or radio, we, bloggers, aren’t given “beats” to patrol. In short, we co-bloggers, since their niche is the same, could come across the same news and they might all end up writing the same thing. Imagine my dismay earlier when, while writing a post, I refreshed the page and found out one of my co-bloggers has posted his version of it before I did. I had also mistakenly written a post which, I didn’t know, was written the day before. I checked for duplicates but I guess it slipped past me. For co-blogged domains wherein you aren’t given a set of rules to follow or wherein you’re expected to find your own story on the spot, it’s best to have your own techniques to follow so you won’t clash with your co-bloggers. Here’s what I plan to do to ensure I can post in peace and without having to check every single minute if someone else has written what I had planned to write.

1. Find My Own Beat

Despite the fact that we’ll probably check the same sources, read the same web sites and think of similar things, people are inclined to check the same web sites and to write on certain topics within a niche. I aim to find my beat, as in my own selection of sources as well as that certain subject within a niche I’d like to concentrate on. I believe that finding my beat would take some time. While I’m sufficiently knowledgeable about the topic, I’m not a maven who can answer every question about the subject. It would take many trials and errors and it would be some time before I’m able to find sources my co-bloggers don’t usually visit. The moment I find my beat, I know my problems would come to an end.

2. Post On a Certain Schedule

I observed my co-bloggers’ posting habits and noticed that all of them stop posting at a certain time of day. I plan to take advantage of the situation and use that time to post. With them not posting during those hours, news, hot off the press, comes out and no one covers them. With them out of the way, I could find the hottest news on the web and know that I won’t have a problem with a co-blogger planning on doing the same post. This might not be applicable for co-blogged domains whose bloggers are so many, there’s no cessation in posting. In situations like that, you can find a certain time of day to post and stick to that. That way, you have a consistent schedule and you know where to find the news during that time of day.

3. Divide The Number of Posts Throughout the Day

I plan to try this one time. I’ll simply attend to the posting for that blog on different set times during the day. For example, if I’m expected to post eight times per day, I post one entry per hour. I’m not planning on using this technique frequently, however, as it means I’d have to shift focus all throughout the day. Still, it might be the technique which would work for you.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 18th, 2007 at 3:49 pm and is filed under blogging. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.

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