Tuesday, July 19, 2011

What’s the Best Prescription for Posting to Your Blog? Is it QD, BID or PRN?

                                                                   
               “…RSS fatigue is already setting in…” Seth Godin

 I can think of many things where more is better. A few things that come to mind are:

·         The number of karats in a diamond

·         The number of people you know that you can call upon when the “chips are down”

·         The number of mornings you can remember when you really took a moment to enjoy a new day with all of its possibilities

·         The number of times you said, “I’d never do that” (like parachute from an airplane) but you did it anyway and loved it

·         The number of times you took the high road when taking the low road was oh so tempting

But there are many things in life where less is more. We may each have our own list of what those are but one thing that is probably pretty common is the number of blogs that hit your inbox/feed daily by the same blogger.

I haven’t decided what the cause of this “too frequent blog posting phenomenon” is but here are a few theories I found while researching the topic and a few of my own.

Why do people post blogs daily and think that people will read them - daily?

·         There is a lack of understanding of human nature – none of us read anything every day unless it is from our maker, our boss, our loved one, a client or maybe a book we can’t put down (yes, I intentionally left out the newspaper since most people do not read the paper anymore and if they do, they do not read it from cover to cover like my dad did!)

·         In this relatively new era of freedom to communicate one’s thoughts with the masses, some may begin to think that others need to hear their thoughts daily

·         There is a misguided understanding that blogging is a replacement for “cold calling” and the more we write, the more chance we have that someone will read it and reply, take action or evangelize our brand

It is suggested that there is a connection to the quantity of posts to the volume of traffic. However, as seasoned marketers know, you want to choose quality over quantity every time. If you are using your blog for branding, you want loyal readers. You drastically raise the stakes on losing those loyal readers if you bombard them with too much information. They will tune out, log off and unsubscribe.  

If you are using your blog as a lure to get traffic on your page because you are advertising anything and everything on your site then you are hoping that you will create more ‘clicks’ on ads that pay you by hyper-posting. If this is the case, you probably aren’t writing for a loyal audience and you might want to consider some less work intense ways of driving traffic to your site. Blogging can be work. Try keywords, links, ads and other traffic generation tricks. It might work just as well for you and you might not offend true blog readers by filling up their ‘head space’ by over-posting to the same audience.  

So what is the right prescription for blog posting? I think your safest bet is PRN  (as needed). When you have something to say to the audience you are or want to reach… then say it. Don’t post just to post. We’ve all been guilty of saying too much too often, but I know that I get the best response when I write less frequently and only when I have something to say to my audience of SMBE’s and entrepreneurs. I also know that people I may initially “follow” get tossed in the Junk Mail or Block Sender Folders when I receive daily messages that clog my brain. The sad thing about that is that some of these things might be good for me to read, but I just don’t have the bandwidth to read all of it.

So, when it comes to the right prescription for blog posting, I think that substance over quantity will help all of us  to achieve true communication with those who we are trying to help, educate, engage, or…..


                               The Noisy Tragedy of Blog Commons by Seth Godin

9 comments:

  1. very interesting -- I really don't have a schedule for posting. I post about my craft, but also stories as they come up, or come to me, as I am a writer. Still, I am conscious of wanting to space them out, as I do spend time on writing my stories. They are not journal entries. So I'm hoping each one can be savored!

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  2. If they keep reading...keep writing! Good luck to you and thank you for your comment and sharing your experience.

    All the best,Mary

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  3. I also, post as needed. Sometimes I have nothing to say and who wants to read about nothing? Maybe Seinfeld?! Anyway, I can post 2-3 days in a row and then not for a week. If I push myself to write, it becaomes a chore and I have enough of those!

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  4. Barbra,
    Great point! it shouldn't be a chore! sharing what you know to help others is a joy :)
    Thank you,
    Mary

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  5. I post maybe 3 times a week. I have a long list of post topics started, but working full time cuts into creative and marketing time. But the pressure is off because I have the backlog. I also belong to some blog groups that help me come up with blogging topics of interest.

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  6. Dear Finding Charm,

    If your readership numbers are high and consistent with posting 3x per week --- good for you! Do you think you'd lose readers/followers if you posted less often? It would be nice (since you mention that you work) if you could keep your readership up and post less. It would give you a break and maybe give you some spare time! :)

    I'm curious, do you use your postings as a sales tool? Lead generation tool? Or helpful tips / product info for your loyal customers?

    It is interesting that you bring up a group(s) that you belong to that help/s come up with interesting blog topics. I will be writing about how important the blog title, sub-title and content is soon!

    Thank you for your feedback. If you have time, I'd like to hear about the purpose and readership of your blog.

    Best wishes,
    Mary

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  7. IMO, too frequent posting can actually be detrimental to your blog's success. If your readers are following a number of blogs and each of them post daily, they will have a hard time catching up with what everybody writes.

    In my (mostly academic) niche I have realized that once or maybe twice weekly seems to the preferred time span where my return visitors have the time to come, read and comment on my post. If I post too often, they barely have time for it.

    If I have more than one idea or post on my mind I simply schedule it for later, as most of what I write is timeless, and not related to current events. This way my blog is like a periodical or magazine that is perhaps planned and ready to go weeks before its actual publication date...which gives me some rest and time to do other things, and hatch out more blog posts, in peace and quiet, without pressure or deadlines hanging over my shoulder.

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  8. Dear Jan,
    It really sounds like you have figured out the answers to the two important questions: 1) What works best for you and, 2) What works best for your readers.
    Summed in one word, touche'!
    Wishing you continued success and good blogging!
    M

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  9. I think this post is accurate. If you are blogging for yourself and for the purpose of getting your thoughts out, that's one thing. But if you are blogging in hopes of people wanting to read and enjoy them, then less is definitely more! Just my thoughts :)
    Cousin Cathy

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