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Time Stamping Your Posts

written by John Chow on March 9, 2007

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Every since starting John Chow dot Com, I have been progressively stepping up the number of posts the blog does each day. So far this month, I’m averaging almost five new posts per day and they’re spread out evenly thought out the day. Some people have asked if I stay at the computer all day long so I can write a new post every 3 to 4 hours. The answer is no. I do all my posts at once, then timestamp them.

timestamp1.png

WordPress has a timestamp feature which shows when a post went live. Normally, the time posted is the time you hit the publish button, but timestamp is user adjustable. Therefore, I can write a bunch of blog posts in advance and timestamp them to show up at different hours of the day.

Using the timestamp is extremely easy. Just write your post like normal but instead of hitting Publish, you edit the timestamp for the time you want to post to goes live, then hit publish. Your post won’t be on the blog front page until that time comes.

You’re reading this post now, but I actually wrote this over a day ago. I like to maintain a backlog of 3 to 4 posts in the timestamp queue. This way I know I have posts coming up if I enter a period of “OMG! I have nothing to write about!” Generally, by the time the last timestamped post hits, I’ll have something new to add to the queue.

The WordPress timestamp is just one of the tools I use to keep a constant flow of new articles on this blog. Try it and watch how it improves your productivity.

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This tip is golden! I can write days in advance and just let the post come as needed. Thanks so much for letting us know about this!

this would be a good idea for when you have to go away for a long period of time

Why would anyone use anything other than Wordpress?

Hm... Tried this last night in my WP blog to publish an article for this morning and it didn't show up :sad:

Did you check the "Edit Timestamp" box ? If you go your "manage" window on Wordpress, does the article appears with the date you chose ? Does it appear at all ?? Give us some details so we can help you !!

I think I found the answer. I had it set for 9.08 this morning, So I'm looking at 9.30am to see where it is - I never changed the DST of by blog so it thought it was only 8.30am. After changing the time in WP and republishing the post, it showed up. I have another blog post that is supposed to go at 12.08pm today, we'll see if it does or not.

I knew about the time stamp...but never thought of editing the time stamp to the future...Good idea!! :twisted:

I though the time-stamp was always meant for future posts. Now that I know, it alters the past, present and the future. :) We have.. post manipulation.

yeah it's pretty useful, Combined with stacked posts (http://oscarsito.com/?p=28) it's an easy way to maintain a blog

is there anyway to timestamp in blogger...?
i would find it useful it i can get something like this...

Yes, there is.

"In Blogger however, if you date something ahead of time it will stick to the top of your blog until that time comes."

Time stamping new posts is great, but I've seen people move the time stamp on older posts just to try to keep something on the front page.

The problem hits if your blog uses the /YEAR/MONTH/DAY/post-slug format, in which case you just changed the link to your post and broke any incoming links.

Again, not a problem with time stamps on new posts... only a problem if editing time stamps on old posts.

Hey Engtech,

Great point, that actually happened to us once when we were op Typepad a while back - only because editing a previous post always updates the timestamp, and it DEFAULTS TO TODAY'S DATE/TIME!!!!!

ON Wordpress however - for SEO purposes, the year/month/daty default date path has little value, only takes up space. you're much better served going straight with the post title in the path, or maybe /category-name/post-title/

Have an awesome day!
Dan

Personally I like using the Drupal method of having a node id for each post. It gives you some flexibility if you ever have t move your site or change your urls.

It is bad if the URL of the old posts does not keep up with the current date. Iguess some people did not realize the error that they are making in the process as well.

thanks John...!!

I'm laughing right now (like hell)...!
I never knew this before and now, I can give a concrete reason to my "darling" (she will believe that I'm at home.... but I go for a fishing..!!!)

hah...!!! hah...!!! hah....!!!!

thanks again John..!!!!

I use this feature all of the time...although I don't post as often as you do, John.

I was told about the timestamp 'trick' or feature when i first started and still have yet to really implement it

Well, it is never too late to implement. Why not start now? :?:

Holy moly... I'm gonna use this when I can!

Gotta love WordPress! :)

Thanks John

The idea is not 'new', but it is definitely one to keep your posts regular and appearing at the expected time for your readers. Readers dislike not knowing when to expect your blog to be updated, so it is a good move to counter that.

Ha, I thought everyone did this! I'm definitely not actually posting live 90% of the time myself and I have a huge queue as I have time to write. Definitely a must with the little guy & the business, helps me look productive even when I'm swamped with other things!

Why is it so important to post regularly, is it just to try and keep people interested?

You would want to retain your visitors and attract more people if you are 'monetizing' your blog. It is less so important in a way if you are updating solely for yourself or family and friends to read/ keep in contact with you.

I never would have thought about posting this little trick...great idea John! Thanks for being so involved in the JCDC community. You're a great blogger.

I feel very stupid for not knowing about this, and now that I do know about it, I'm definitely going to use it.

Thanks John!

Dareen Rowse wrote an article about how 2-3 posts is the optimal amount to post a day (for one-writer operations). This WP Feature is the best way to spread your work evenly throughout the week. I'm trying to get into the habit of creating a game plan of content at the beginning of each week and then timestamp accordingly to maximize my exposure.

I agree with you, Gary. Sometimes we might have alot of ideas to write, and at other times, hardpressed for even one. I believe the longer term writers have ample experience dealing with this. I guess it is pretty important NOT to rush with publishing many articles at one time.

Common mistake that newer writers commit.

I'm trying to timestamp my posts to maximize my exposure too, give each post an equal chance at the top of the front page...

Yes I agree this is one of the best features of Wordpress. Of course I don't write enough to really use it like you would.

It is just to keep your posts regularly posted at the regular time. :) Just in case something crops up during the day..

I've been wondering about this for the longest!...Glad I've made the switch to wordpress one of the best blog hosting around with tons of tutorials and themes...I had no website skills when I first started and put together my site...I think it looks pretty good!

OK that's just freaky Master Chow - I was just wondering this afternoon how to achieve delayed postings on my blog. Thanks

Grasshopper

I always wondered what the timestamp was for :D Thanks for the information!

But John you come to comment on the post anyway! The myth is still not busted - you must spend every living moment of your life on the computer.

Unless, you timestamp your comments based on future knowlegde.. :twisted:

It's a comment bot. It spiders the comments and tries to give the best reply possible. :cool:

why none of my comment show up :oops:

I guess the time when you are 'really' at your computer is when you do comment posts. :) No bot would be able to 'read' and 'understand' what we are saying.

And now if you could please let me know how to limit the number of recent posts on the sidebar I would be greatful, its pissing me off at http://www.mubinahmed.com

I just recently started using this feature as I disovered it by accident. I was doing some testing on my test blog and wanted to move a post so it was the oldest post and thought thats what the timestamp feature was for.

When I tried to put in a future date, I was surprised to see that it was added to a "scheduled posts" queue. They should promote this feature more as I would never have known (well, I guess until today as I would have read it on your blog)

the only down side i would see with this is i would feel like im a day behind with news/etc instead of a day ahead

Breaking news you would post right away. The timestamp is great for your normal stuff.

So how far behind are we :mrgreen:

well not necessarily 'breaking news' but just regular stuff I guess. I notice bloggers post about things all at once. Such as the review me "bug"

Yea, it is best to space out what you write evenly. Even with the "bug".

Cool Post John......Wordpress rule :!:

I've used this feature before, it is pretty handy, for me because sometimes i write 2 or 3 posts at once, but I will have them displayed one every day.

I want ask John or anybody if they have had any experience setting the timestamp using 3rd party client software to write the post instead of using the web front end for wordpress?

Cool, I didn't know there was that feature. Something to look into as I do make several posts a day.