Scheduling Posts on Blogger

Ahhh, so I discovered this blogging thing isn't always intuitive for me.

I'm using Google's Blogger (if you haven't noticed already.) Anyway, yesterday I decided it would be most appropriate to schedule a new post to publish the following morning. Under Post Options I modified the post date and time to reflect when I wanted my entry to publish, which was this morning (3/25/09) at 5:00 AM. I checked my post for typos, saved and home I went.

This morning I opened by blog to make another entry and discovered the entry I had so carefully planned was still unpublished.

I quickly went to Blogger help to figure out what I did wrong. Alas, I could find no insight. And yet, I was certain I had scheduled one before. I was sure it had gone off without a hitch.

I considered that perhaps I had been hallucinating, that there wasn't really an option to schedule when a post publishes. As I examined the posting section of my blog it became evident the option was indeed there somewhere, or "scheduled" would not be included as a post status.

I opted to run a test. I started a new post, updated the "Post date and time" and then sat still for a moment. It seemed that this was the point in the process at which my error must have occurred. Then it came to me.

The first time I scheduled a post to publish, at this very same step, I had a moment of confusion. The answer had been to "Publish" the post. I tested my theory and viola!

Question: How Do I Schedule a Blogger Post?
Answer: To schedule a post to publish at a specified time:

1. Complete your post for publishing.
2. Select "Post Options" below the text window.
3. Update the "Post date and time" to reflect when you would like the post to publish.
4. Click on "Publish Post" at the bottom of the page, beside "Save As Draft."

It seems contrary to your goal, to "Publish" a post that you don't want to publish until later. But that is exactly what you need to do in order to schedule it. To verify, go to "Edit Posts." It should show your post as "scheduled."

Note: If this entry posts on 3/25/09 at 3:00 PM this process will have successfully completed its second test.