Working your business online doesn’t have to mean being absent from it for a week if you go on a trip, or want to take some time away. Having your business run on auto-pilot for a few days is not a bad thing, as long as you plan ahead. Of course with technology the way it is, you can usually decide the degree of “away” you want to have. However, maintaining an online appearance during your absence may be something you’ll want to consider.

Use your blog’s scheduling feature – Most blogging platforms (I use WordPress) allow you schedule your blog posts in advance so that they are published on specified dates and times. This way you can have have the time away from your business knowing your posts are being published while you’re gone. This keeps your blog updated, and offers no interruption and fresh content for your readers.

Keep your newsletters going out – If your newsletter goes out on a weekly basis, or some other interval like the first and third Monday of each month, it is important that you keep your schedule. Many email providers (I recommend Aweber) allow prescheduling of newsletters. So, if you’re going to be out of town on the 15th, you could format your newsletter on the 10th and schedule it to go out the morning of the 15th without skipping a beat.

Outsource some tasks if necessary – If you already work with a VA, this is the perfect opportunity to assign some tasks that will help your business run while you are away. If a VA is not in your budget, then bartering with a trusted online friend, or recruiting family members to assist might be an option.

Check in when/if you can – You don’t want emails going unanswered for days, so depending on what coverage you may have arranged, it’s a good idea to check you email everyday, or every other day. If you’re on Twitter, hop on and tweet every so often. The idea is to maintain your relationships, even while you’re away.

I’m writing from experience here, because I just got back from being away for a week. I prescheduled posts on two sites, had 2 newsletters go out with the help of prescheduling, checked my email every day or so, and kept up on Twitter through my iPod Touch Twitter app. Did ya miss me??

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Tags: Balancing