When posting frequently on a blog, there's always a worry that quantity over quality will be displayed. I've recently been thinking about this and if I'm doing that or not. Over the last couple of months I've been posting much more frequently, and as a result more people have started to visit Smart Blog. However, I'm concerned that some of my previous posts could have been more informative in some areas. Where I have other commitments too, it can be tricky to balance everything so that I can manage to squeeze a blog post out in a day - I'm sure many bloggers would sympathise.
It's this writing frequency that has got me slightly concerned. Because, as I mentioned above, I have other commitments, sometimes the limited amount of time that I do have to blog, a post may be rushed. And as a result, the quality isn't what it should be. Sometimes some of my rushed posts have turned out all-right, however, some of them I feel could have had more done to them.
So to combat this feeling that quantity over quality is starting to take place, I will alter when I'm going to publish posts. Instead of forcing a post out in the limited amount of time that I may have in a day, that time can go towards writing, but not anywhere near the finished product. That could then be for the following day.
I would rather post every other day and have a more qualitative post than post every day and have what may be seen as more quantitative posts.
It's this writing frequency that has got me slightly concerned. Because, as I mentioned above, I have other commitments, sometimes the limited amount of time that I do have to blog, a post may be rushed. And as a result, the quality isn't what it should be. Sometimes some of my rushed posts have turned out all-right, however, some of them I feel could have had more done to them.
So to combat this feeling that quantity over quality is starting to take place, I will alter when I'm going to publish posts. Instead of forcing a post out in the limited amount of time that I may have in a day, that time can go towards writing, but not anywhere near the finished product. That could then be for the following day.
I would rather post every other day and have a more qualitative post than post every day and have what may be seen as more quantitative posts.
That's not to say that I won't publish posts that I've written in a single day the same day, I'm just a little bit concerned that quality-levels could be sliding, but as long as I'm happy with the end result, hopefully you lot will enjoy reading it...hopefully. :)
Does this mean that quality and quality can't exist together - no it doesn't mean that. If I post everyday, although I would like to think that quality and quality may be being displayed, I think that over time I would produce some less than good posts, not on purpose, but as a result of some factors. If you're the type of person who can exert quality and quantity then that's great, keep it up, however if you're not, you should make the decision to either stay with quantity or quality
Allowing myself more time to focus on my blog posts is good for the outcome, although when thinking about it - is it? I know that I've just been saying that I would rather have more qualitative posts than quantitative amounts, and that's still true, but I don't want this to become an excuse to slack. I say this because when someone says that they're going to concentrate more on quality over quantity, they're also giving themselves the excuse to start slacking. Doing less work is easier than doing more, and so allowing yourself this excuse to do less work is only detrimental.
So having this in mind, the trick is to now try and remain at a consistent level of quality while trying to achieve quantity, however quality will still be my main priority. I know that blogging every day is great for almost any blog, and is something that a lot of bloggers strive for. Being too determined to get a blog post out every day can be at the expense of quality, but like I stated before not for everyone.
If I was to say that I was going to post every day, I know that that would be unrealistic, not to mention would feel like a drag. When you feel forced to write (well with me anyway), a feeling of dislike starts to come into the equation. That's not why I want to blog, I want it to be enjoyable, not only for me, but for you.
If I was to say that I was going to post every day, I know that that would be unrealistic, not to mention would feel like a drag. When you feel forced to write (well with me anyway), a feeling of dislike starts to come into the equation. That's not why I want to blog, I want it to be enjoyable, not only for me, but for you.
I realise that the majority of my readers don't have time to spend reading every blog post, but are people who have their own families, people who are at work, people who have other priorities, and so can't spend that long surfing the Internet, and so what they want are quality posts that can feed them with what they want. That's why I want my posts to be helpful and interesting for you all to read. And for you readers who do have more time on your hands, hopefully you enjoy them too. :)
It's through quality content that helps in the long-run. Having quality posts means that there's a likelihood that quality readers are going to stop by. When I say quality reader, I'm not referring to the person's character, but in terms of their visits. If a person visits my blog often, then they're a quality reader because they like (I assume) the content that I'm putting out there. I would rather have one quality readers read my post every day for a year, than 365 people who only read my blog once and never return.
Now that I'm trying to get bump up quality-levels, the next stage is to focus on quantity. Now I will try to post every day, but if I feel that the quality of the post could be better, then I'll leave it to the next day. I would personally feel happier with myself for doing that. Like I said before, the trap of letting yourself slack is an easy one to get into, it's about staying productive and persistent that will help to push Smart Blog onwards.
Common blogging schedules
- 7 times a week - every day
- 5 times a week - Mon to Fri
- 4 times a week - Mon, Wed, Fri, Sun
- 3 times a week - Mon, Wed, Fri
- 1 a week - chosen day of the week
When sticking to a specific blogging schedule, quality posts may not be always possible to achieve - so filler posts will be employed to help keep readers coming back, knowing that they can rely on a blog post.
I don't think I'll have a blogging schedule, not because I think it's a bad idea, because having a schedule is a very good idea, I just have never intended my blog to be restricted or driven by a schedule. I want my blog to be of a spontaneous nature stemmed from my enthusiasm to write about various topics - because I enjoy it, and not because I feel that I have to.
Posting 7 days a week may be seen as the most optimal solution, but in terms of quality, I feel anyway, because of my other commitments, it would be better for the long-term life of this blog to deliver more reader-friendly quality posts.
Just because I'm not having a schedule for my blog doesn't mean that you shouldn't have one, it's very helpful.
So does this mean that because I'm deciding to fuel my blog from my joy for doing so that you the readers shouldn't know when I'm going to post. No. I do have a sort of schedule in my mind, well more like a weekly target/guideline, and that's 3-4 posts out a week, some weeks may be more.