I just got a delivery of two books about blogging for a roundup review I'm writing for the American Society of Journalists and Authors (ASJA). (I'll post the review here, too.)
I love blogging, but maybe I don't do it as often as I should. Actually, I'm not convinced that I should be blogging to some set schedule. When I write blog posts on assignment for other people or magazines, I meet my deadlines of course.
But for my blog? I post when it makes sense.
How often you blog probably depends on who you are and why you blog. If you even do it at all ...
As a fitness writer and presenter, I encourage fitness pros to use social media like blogging for marketing purposes.
"Just do it!" I say. "Start a blog!" People get overwhelmed though.
OK, then think of it as being a bit like exercise. (If you're a fitness pro and you're like me, you probably really enjoy relating most things back to exercise.)
You wouldn't tell a fitness client to exercise ONLY if he or she could absolutely, positively do it the recommended 4-5 times a week, would you? Isn't 2-3 times a week better than just not working out, ever?
So that's what I think when I start getting down on myself for not logging onto Blogger more often. I might only blog once a month sometimes. But it still beats not even bothering to have a blog at all.
What do you think? Is blogging like exercise in that you should just do it when you can, or should you commit to doing it at set times even if you don't feel like it?
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6 comments:
Boy have you spoken to my heart, Amanda. Occasionally, I feel guilty that I don't post more often. However, I'm a firm believer that it is better to be silent and thought a fool than to speak up and erase all doubts. :-) To that end, I only post when I have something relevant or meaningful to say. I may not have massive numbers of hits or get pushed to the top of the Google rankings, but at least I know that I have made the effort to provide quality information. Thanks for the timely post!
Krista, I'm glad my post was timely for you. I'm like you in that I have made the choice not to post just to score higher hits or Google rankings. I don't follow the advice of bloggers who say you "have to" post frequently.
I'll see what the three blogging books I'm going to review have to say. But I've observed fitness pros who shy away from blogging because they see it as one more thing they have to do in a day or week, or they feel they don't have anything of value to say.
The last thing a blog should be is a burden. My hope is that fitness pros will learn how to blog so it opens opportunities for them in terms of business, career development, educating the public and stronger relationships with clients/prospects/colleagues.
Thanks for your comment!
Amanda
Loved your post. Look forward to your follow up review of the books.
I like this blog post Amanda. I once subsribed to a blog that I thought would be interesting to read from time to time. But, it ended up being just too much to keep up with. A number of times a day I would get updates and soon that wore me down trying to keep up with all that was being written about. In the end I asked to be taken of the list. The lesson, all things in moderation - even a blog. You dont want to give too much for people to read, but you dont want to give too little either. Find the happy medium, dont make it a burden on yourself nor on the people that enjoy reading what you write.
I have to schedule a time in to work on my blog otherwise it may never get done. When we don't schedule in writing or make a goal to get so many posts in a month, more often than not we may end up with zero posts.
If you're using your blog for marketing you want to be providing fresh content on a regular basis to keep people coming back for more.
One thing I notice is that a lot of people who advise blogging regularly are professional bloggers.
Right now I am reading "ProBlogger: Secrets to Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income." In that book, the authors suggest that beginner bloggers try posting about 4 to 5 times a week.
Well, maybe that's a lot of pressure for someone who wants to have a blog, but not be a professional blogger because he or she has another career.
Is it like asking a beginner fitness client to work out as often (not as vigorously, but as frequently) as a professional athlete?
Whether you feel it's best to set deadlines for blogging, or you prefer to just go with the flow, there's got to be a happy medium to blogging frequency.
Amanda
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