Have you wondered how often to blog?
Can you blog too much – could that even be possible?
For the month of January, I’m taking part in the Ultimate Blog Challenge, where the goal is to blog daily for all 31 days of the month. I signed up, even though my intent was to blog 3 times a week – which is double my last year’s average of 6 posts monthly (see last year’s website traffic report). Why do I have concerns about blogging too much?
How Often to Blog: 8 Reasons I’m Afraid to Blog Too Much
Concerns if I push myself to post daily:
- Quality of each post goes down
- Can’t keep all posts on-topic for my blog, diluting my message
- Quickie posts don’t have much longevity
- Won’t have time to do my most popular type of post, a tutorial
- RSS subscribers will be overwhelmed and unsubscribe
- My readers are expecting 1 – 2 posts a week
- My readers don’t have time or interest for so many posts
- I’ll be neglecting other important business tasks
My main concerns are about lowering the overall quality on my site and my site’s focus, which could decrease my Google ranking as well as my subscribers.
In addition, I’m not certain how much traffic quickly-done posts will bring. My site has a handful of quality posts that bring in hundreds of pageviews daily, for months – those are the posts I’d like to make more of!
If only I were psychic and knew which those would be ;)
Finally, I’m concerned about neglecting more-important business tasks. Last year I had a tough time prioritizing what benefited my business most, and I don’t want to start the new year doing the “wrong” things first.
For the flip side, tomorrow we’ll look at the benefits of blogging daily. Then the next post will share more blog challenge benefits!
How Often to Blog: Conclusion
I can’t give a definitive answer for myself – yet. I’ll keep checking my stats and keep you posted, though. But your best blogging frequency will vary by your audience.
I recommend blogging as often as you can blog consistently. Minimum for any small business: once monthly. Preferable: at least once per week. But commit to a pace you can maintain. Why? Both your readers and the search engines will know what to expect. And hopefully, so do you – so you’ll allow time in your schedule for each blog post!
What’s your opinion of my thoughts on how often to blog? Do you think you can blog too much?
I am tossing up between posting weekly or fortnightly, but my newsletter is going to be monthly so need to take that in consideration. Quality over quantity is very important too – totally agree. I need to grow my business, and blogging is part of that, but it is being able to optimise your time and getting into a routine. Food for thought. I’m hoping it will be clearer at the end of the challenge. Thanks Louise.
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Great point Michelle, we’ll have a lot more info and experience on which to base a decision!
Louise Myers recently posted..10 Benefits of Blogging Daily
I agree with all of those points you made and have been having similar thoughts myself.
I do not have a concern about the RSS people though as my blog is not set up to email people when my blog is updated, it simply goes into their feed.
Looking forward to hearing the benefits!
Stacey Myers recently posted..Adding a Feedburner RSS feed to you WordPress Site [Video]
Well, I just read that “too many posts” is the top reason people unsubscribe from RSS. But, they were talking about MORE than daily. Now, that would be a lot of posts!
Louise Myers recently posted..Small Business Marketing: What’s in Store for 2013?
I’ve been on multiple webinars on blogging. Everyone of them said blog 2-3 times per week. I can see how that can be challenging however I have seen reslults from my blog posts so I know it’s working. For me it’ll be about balance. I know there are so many great topics I want to blog about but it does take time away from other things. I want to focus more of my posts on being video posts. My posts will be on creating an online video marketing strategy for your business. The do’s and don’ts of filming such as lighting etc. I am currently filming segments and then will release them once a week. The other posts will be written.
Once I get going with blogging, there’s no end to the ideas I get! Being consistent in theme and format, as you suggest, is a great idea. Looking forward to your series!
Louise Myers recently posted..Website Traffic Report: From 6 to 1,200 Visits a Day in 2012
I’m right there with you right now Louise. I’ve been doing 2 blogs a week for about 1 1/2 years. What I’m doing different this month with the UBC is in my 2x weekly emails I send with the blog I’m listing the add’l days blogs. RSS feeds – they’ll have to watch and monitor themselves.
Thanks for blogging about what I’ve been wondering.
Sue recently posted..Everything Is New
You bet Sue! I’ll be looking forward to hearing your results of the blog challenge.
Louise Myers recently posted..New Year’s Resolution Ideas: Your Words for 2013
I’ve wondered a couple of those things myself. I know that after this month I won’t be posting daily. Like you said, its easy to get away from your focus. Even then, I think it depends on the kind of blog that you have on how often that you should post.
Toby recently posted..What do you want?
So true, Toby. News or “gossip” sites would have to post frequently. But that would require someone dedicated solely to blogging, or several people who write!
Louise Myers recently posted..Top 10 Social Media Posts of 2012
Yes and no.
I think it would depend on the type of content you write and the people who you. Follow your intuition.
That’s a great tip, Malika!
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You make excellent points. And I have had to juggle things to do daily posts. I started out great by writing my first 4 or 5 before the start of the challenge. Now I’m writing on a daily basis (whew!). My plan for the year has always been to do 2 posts a week – that should be a piece of cake after January! I’m working a little extra to make sure my clients get my best work. Thanks for the insightful article.
Julie Myers recently posted..6 Email Marketing Tips for Your Small Biz
Writing an entire blog post daily just isn’t feasible for me – unless I’m writing some stream-of-consciousness thing that I doubt would have a lot of appeal or longevity. More on why I don’t write “quickies” next week!
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I think the most important thing is to be consistent and dependable. Today it’s my 100th day of blogging in a row. (Two blogs) Yes you do get tired, but it is very goo to create a presence. When people come to my site there is a lot of content even thought it is very young. Only six weeks. I also do spend a lot of time to create good content that gives real value. I do think it will pay off in the future! :-)
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That’s awesome Stella! You’re very dedicated, and I know you’ll see great results! Can’t wait to hear of your success :)
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Thank you for this valuable content, Louise. I’ve tried lots of different methods but have found that consistency and quality over time always wins (i.e. one post a week or so). I also have had to search my heart. I’ve posted informative articles which seem to do well in the search engines, yet when I post something more heart-felt and personal, I seem to attract a quality audience that is moved more by emotion and stories they can relate to. Just a couple thoughts. Thanks again.
Thank you for sharing that, Laura! I hadn’t thought about the importance of connecting with people through more personal posts.
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