I have been doing a bit of reading lately about the frequency of blog posts and what is an ideal amount. Like most, I came from the school of thought that more is better. Living in mortal fear that if I didn't blog at least two times a day, then anyone who had subscribed would quickly unsubscribe in disgust thinking that I didn't care, I planned out how I could achieve that...
It's not easy. I fact, I would go as far as saying that if you are running a business and a life at the same time, it is impossible.
I was reading through Skelliwag's post on How to Turn New Visitors Into Loyal Readers and point number 15 in her list contained the immortal words..."post frequency doesn't matter anymore." The words led onto a blog post which didn't just reassure me, but actually made me wonder whether over-posting was causing me more damage than good?
Eric Kintz listed 10 reasons why it is better to aim for quality not quantity. All of them seemed valid, but the one that made me think the most was that frequent posting was having a negative impact on loyalty, simply because it was causing overload to my readers.
Like most people, I continually suffer from Email Fatigue, RSS Fatigue and Forum Fatigue (three conditions which I suspect are becoming endemic). Unless I don't sleep, ever, there is no way I can keep up with the volume of email, the number of posts in my favourite blogs or the new discussions in my favourite forums to the extent I would like. And here was I planning on making it worse.
Blogging is a lot of fun, and I know how easy it is to think "ooooo, I have a great idea for a post..." and post immediately. But to hold yourself back a little, and ensure that you are providing quality over quantity, you could try one of the following:
1. Keep it for another day: if you have a great post idea, write it in Word and save it to your 'Blog Posts for a Rainy Day' folder. There will be days where you can't get the inspiration or you aren't going to get to the computer, so you can post one of these articles as a backup. Just imagine the relief when you discover that you already have a well crafted post just waiting for you.
2. Think about another format: A good social media marketing strategy will cover all kinds of other media as well as blogging. Record the post as a podcast. Submit it as an article. Turn it into a news release. Video it and put it on YouTube. That way you can still get your idea out there, and better, you may be attracting people who might not have looked at your blog.
3. Combine it: Is your post idea really an idea unto itself, or could you combine it with another idea and create something of even greater value? The key is providing as much value for your readers as you can, so it might be worth sitting on it so you can offer the concept in greater depth in a couple of days.
4. Guest postings: Could you offer the article as a guest post to another blog within your niche? Guest postings are great ways to get yourself known and encourage people to come and look at your site.
5. A different blog: Many social media sites have their own blogging facilities. Put the post up on your profile's blog on StumbleUpon or Ecademy. Once again, it gives you wider exposure to an audience who may not have known you existed before.
Don't add to the RSS Fatigue of your users. They aren't going to disappear if you blog 3 to 5 times a week rather than 15 to 20. Curb that enthusiasm. As long as your content is good, and you are sticking to your topic, chances are your users will probably thank you for it.