For those who post to their blog daily, do you feel obligated to? For example, my regular visitors know I post daily, and I know they come daily. If one day, I don't post, I worry that they might not come back the next day, they might forget. I don't want to lose anybody. As much as I love blogging, sometimes life gets in the way too and occasionally there's a night where I just don't feel like it, but do because I feel like I've set myself up as a daily blogger. Probably not explaining it the best I can, but those who post daily probably get the gist of what I'm saying/asking. Was thinking one way to combat this might be to have a regular "Sweetnicks Closed Tuesdays" or something similar, so then I can have a regular night off, and regular visitors would know ahead of time. Thoughts? Opinions?
Separately, but somewhat related, I pitched an article idea to a national cooking magazine and it was favorably received. It will likely either appear in the magazine, if not, the web site contact said she wants the article. Once picked up, it means lots more traffic for me and others referenced in the article. That said, I figure I should decide how to handle the above dilemma first, you know?
This post was written by Sweetnicks
13 comments:
I had this dilemma too, but, you know, since i bravely left my blog unattended for 3 whole weeks for a vacation and came home to find all my readers were still there (I think?), I haven't been so worried.
Currently I have been without internet access at home for 2 days and therefore I haven't been able to post for 2 days and it is beyond my control and I am less frantic than I might have been earlier in the life of my blog. I feel less obligated to than I used to, and for my own wellbeing I must look upon this a good development.
I kind of feel more chilled about it all now I feel more established. This thing I am doing comes from me, and if I can't do it for reasons beyond my control then I am just not going to sweat it or let it stress me. I am not going to let it get in the way of my life. If I go away - my ratings drop for sure, but its not like they don't get back on stable footing when I return. And I am only doing this becasue I like to, so it doesn't really matter how many readers I have (even though, I admit, I do like having readers)
No one is going to mind, I am sure - it's not like there aren't enough other food blogs to read whilst my own is unavailable.
I used to post six days a week on my Swedish language blog Aglio e olio but now I have reduced it to 4 postings a week and people do return. There are even more of them... Now that I have started an English language sister blog I post 6-7 days a week in order to get known but when I have established some kind of readership I'll slow down there as well! It's not human to blog to much...
Some of us have more discipline and inspiration than others. I've never set daily (or even weekly) posting goals.
There's no doubt posting frequently keeps your traffic up, but forcing posts can be detrimental too.
If you have commercial reasons to keep up your stats, then your blog has become a job, and you should treat it as such. Posting to be loyal to your readers is a worthwhile goal, but uninspired posts and burn out become inevitable if you start posting solely for the sake of posting something.
I think if you've captured readers loyal enough to visit everyday, they probably won't go away if you only post 5 days a week.
I use blogging as a way of unwinding from my job, and if I have something else I want to do instead of blogging to unwind, I don't bother. But then I usually miss writing something, so I end up posting the next morning on a weekday, since I get up a lot earlier than I need to get into work. On the weekends, I don't post, since I usually have other things to do.
I've had ups and downs, whether I post every day or not. I've found that it's more fun to blog when I have something witty or funny to say (yes, I'm one of those people that can laugh at my own jokes), and when I am just writing to write about food, it's not very fun.
It's so easy to feel obligated to post and sometimes I feel that way. But in the end, most of us are doing it for the fun of it, and I think readers all know that. Also, I use bloglines (and I'm sure other people have their own favorite feed-update-sites), so most of your loyal readers might already have a way to come by when you put a post up, no matter how long your time off might be!
I'd also like to add that it may not be in your best interest to relegate your day off to a particular day of the week.
What if you DO feel like posting that day, or something worth sharing pops up? So you post, but then a couple of days later, just don't feel like, so you wind up in the same pickle.
I think that people will continue to visit your blog, if you post daily or every other day, even. Remember- the point is to have a fun outlet, not add to your stress level!
I like to post once a day and I think my readers have gotten used to it.
When I know I'm coming up on a busy stretch I start pre-writing material (stuff that's evergreen) that I can just launch that day instead of writing fresh.
It's easy because I'm just a daily candy review blog, but I can see some others not having that flexibility.
I wish blogger still let you post into the future, then I could go on vacation without having to worry.
RSS will be an increasing factor and it certainly veils how often/when someone posts. While it's likely not even close to ubiquitous among average browsers, it will become more common especially if it gets easier/more intuitive to set up and manage. You might even suggest RSS to your readers, to assure them they'll not miss a thing, that they'll know as soon as you have posted, whether that's once a day or once a week. And there's also the question whether you're writing for yourself (and would, no matter who showed up) or for an audience (and you wouldn't if they stopped coming). PS Congrats on the publication possibility!!
Congratulations on the news about the article. I hope you will be keeping us posted on the blog about when it comes out.
I do like to post every day. I find I like to write after work, kind of to unwind. I usually try to write two or three "extra" posts every weekend, just to take off the pressure for the week. I publish in the morning before work (I save as a draft on blogger, and then change the time and date when I post it). Having some extra things saved means that if something fun comes up at night I can take a night off, but the next morning I still have something to post.
Having said that, I still agree with others who have responded that you should not feel an obligation to post every day. One of the blogs I read regularly is Dooce (after all, she is in Salt Lake and is from a Mormon family, but chose not to be a practicing Mormon, like me). She doesn't write a thing on the weekends, but that does not stop me from reading her blog. I think people who enjoy reading your blog will keep coming back as long as you have something regularly. It does not need to be every day. (After all, we want to keep up on the romance between Nick and Payton!)
Nothing that comes from obligation is any damn good.
I had to teach myself that again last week, when I finally admitted that I can't keep up with the voluminous daily blogging I did this summer. I'm back to full-time teaching, the days are growing darker, and it's harder to fit in everything I want to do with everything I have to do. And so, I surrendered.
Blogging is supposed to joyful, not a job. And I care about the writing I'm posting, not the requisite number.
Let go. It's the only way.
I typically post daily. I was doing this because I seem to have so many pictures and I want to get them up. Lately though, I've been sort of losing steam as the pictures keep piling up, but the writing has slowed. I guess its normal but Im thinking I may be in need of a break.
Like Sam said, people will always come back, so post as often as you like...at the end of the day, its for you anyway, right?
If you are going to be off line for a few days or weeks, a note IS nice though...there are a few blogs (Ahem, Lex Culinaria, ahem)I am constantly checking in on that havent been updated in weeks and I am not sure if they have been abandoned or what...
I have been reading these posts and wanted to offer my point of view as a person who is a regular reader of some of you who have posted here. I sit here at 6;30 every morning with my tea and run through all my favorite sites to see if anyone has posted since I went to bed (l live in the EST zone). So if you are gone or take a day off, it does not lessen my interest at all, but makes me excited for when the next new post goes up. I am faithful to check my favorites usually twice a day; once for the East Coasters, and then for the West Coasters. I think putting up a sign saying you've taken the night off or you are on vacation is a great idea. So I wait until I get to see "I'm Back", and start reading the new posts. I would love if everyone that is on my favorites list posted everyday, but let's face it, I have a life too and sometimes I don't have the time I would love everyday. I am going out of town overnight tomorrow and will be excited to come home on Sunday and read all the posts that I missed. If anyone is that interested in your posts, they will check in to see if you are back or not. I have read at least 4 of your blogs here everyday when I can. So have some faith in the ever faithfully obsessed! lol!
I'll come back later today and write a more complete reply, but in the meantime, I just wanna say "I love you guys!"
For me, as someone who writes for a major portion of my living, the blog provides almost sort of my daily "warmup." So I do try to blog every day, even if just a short paragraph. On those days though when I just don't want to write anything, I've gotten over my anxiety about not having posted... I think... :-)
Post a Comment