For the last week I’ve struggled with an ongoing debate among the bloggers that I follow. It boils down to a simple question… Should I put up a blog post every day? It sounds simple enough, but there are powerful arguments on both sides. Here are the competing voices
Pro: Popular bloggers like Chris Brogan and Michael Hyatt suggest that you build your platform by blogging on a regular basis. They argue that you should aim for a post (almost)every day. This builds consistency with your readers, gives you lots of content, and helps your readers form a daily reading habit. It brings people back.
Mike Lieberman adds to the discussion with a compelling post with six great reasons to blog every day. They include…
- Search engines re-index your website every time there is an update.
- Search engines are looking for content rich websites.
- Your prospects are looking for content.
- Blog daily and your prospects are reminded of your company every single day.
- The blog is a great way for your prospects to get to know you.
- It’s a worthy goal.
Con: Martyn Chamberlin of Two Hour Blogger suggests that you only publish a post when it is fine tuned and worthy of attention. He argues for efficiency over productivity. He writes…
Instead of spending five hours writing ten blog posts, spend five hours writing one good post. This means the amount of attention you are asking is less, and the prose you are offering is superior.
Jeff Goins recommends taking a break from blogging to regain your writer’s soul. He writes
You started this whole writing thing, because you had a passion and a voice. You had drive and something to say. If you’re like me, you may have found yourself spending more time promoting your work than actually writing. This is bad.
If that’s you, then it’s time to refocus. On what really matters. On the art and not just the craft of writing. So that you can become a real writer, not just another poser with a blog.
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So this week I decided to write the ultimate post. Something that would rock the world. It would have cool graphics, a free download, and lots of great resources. I thought back to all of my previous posts, to the ones that stood out, and formulated a plan. I compiled the information. I spent hours on the data. I refined and refined. I agonized over the small points. Finally when all was said and done I ended up with…
NOTHING
NADA
ZERO
When I looked at the data it was all over the place. My previous posts that I spent days on sometimes went nowhere. Posts that took me a half hour went viral. The big thing I came away with… was…
I never know for sure what will be popular
There is no secret formula
I just need to blog from the heart, create some cool stuff, and hopefully you’ll find something here that you like.
The bottom line… This blog is not about me
It’s about you.
It’s about finding out your needs and provide some material to help you reach your goals.
Hopefully you’ll find something useful here.
For now, I think I’ll go back to what I’ve done for the last six years.
Try to blog consistently and provide good and compelling content.
If I can do that, I’ll keep going.
If not, I’ll stop.
Thanks for stopping by!
Question: How often do you like to blog?