I'm having difficulties with blog consistency....(posting, keeping it, etc.)

vicky271

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I'm having a massive problem posting consistently on blogs I start. Or keeping the blog. I end up posting for 1-4 weeks in a row, get stressed/bored, delete the blog and forget about blogging for a year. Then I start a new blog, and the cycle continues. I'm working on a new blog/website through Wordpress right now. I have a blog draft I finished the other day. But I'm trying to figure out how I can stop this vicious cycle. I like to blog. I read/write and believe I have some very good insight to share!

I'm not sure how to break the cycle. Anyone have any suggestions?
 

Kat M

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This is precisely why I don't blog. :)

Could you, when you're still feeling excited and/or disciplined about blogging, draft a lot of posts in advance? Then only post a specific number of times (1-2x a week, for example) and if you're not able to write a new post, you have a backlog of posts.
 

vicky271

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This is precisely why I don't blog. :)

Could you, when you're still feeling excited and/or disciplined about blogging, draft a lot of posts in advance? Then only post a specific number of times (1-2x a week, for example) and if you're not able to write a new post, you have a backlog of posts.

This is gold advice! It's what I do with my vlog! I will definitely try this tactic! Thank you!!!
 

Jason

Ideas bounce around in my head
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It's the only way to feed the blog beast imho - set up a trickle feed exactly like Kat said. I have an auto drip of 52 articles on mine and every once and a while when I have time, I write a new one and bump the order around to inject new content.
 

vicky271

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It's the only way to feed the blog beast imho - set up a trickle feed exactly like Kat said. I have an auto drip of 52 articles on mine and every once and a while when I have time, I write a new one and bump the order around to inject new content.

Thank you! I think I'll do this! I'm going to work on blog posts, work on the website when I feel like it, and maybe around January I'll publish the website. And I'll schedule the posts!
 

Jason

Ideas bounce around in my head
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There used to be studies around the web that also floated ideas of the best day/time to post new content. Some suggest Monday as the "start of the week", others suggest Friday. Surprise surprise, there's about 7 different opinions on which day is best to publish, and about 24 different opinions on which time of day.

I don't think at the end of the day it matters too much as many people get notified via email if they are subscribed. No one really "surfs" the web the way they used to based on SEO, advertising, or other gimmicks. The key is consistency. If people find you and are like "Oh, she publishes every Monday, cool, I'll add that to read/listen/watch on my morning commute" then that's it :)
 

thomasdown92

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I've been in your shoes many times. I have lost count of the number of blogs I created and deleted till now. As you mentioned, it is very difficult to post something interesting on a consistent basis. While the advice of creating blogs in advance and scheduling them to publish later sounds great, I feel it might create a disconnect with your readers who might be hoping to read your views about current topics. For example, at the start of this year, if I scheduled essays about climate change to publish on my blog for months, I would totally miss talking about the coronavirus pandemic. Blogs after blogs with no mention of coronavirus might sound kind of odd to my readers.

I know I can write something topical once in a while to keep the blog relevant with current times, but what if you don't relate with topics that are trending and don't want to feign interest for the sake of posting? Then we are back to square one!
 

Woollybear

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Not only do I not want to blog weekly, personally I have no desire to read *anyone*'s blog weekly.

I'd rather google for the info I want and find it on a blog. (A few days ago that was publishers who take on series with existing self-published content, heh.)

I've got no followers to speak of on my website, which is fine by me, and the blog is a way to periodically put up content (every few months) so that when someone does stumble by, they can see that there is a trail stretching back a couple years. Only a handful of blog posts, but they are more-or-less regular in their appearance. I've got another one in mind now, and feel no rush to write it, but might write it in the next few weeks.
 

Laer Carroll

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I blog every week or two, not any frequently. I make short posts, include an image or a youtube video, of events my readers might enjoy & which are likely to be in my stories. Over the years my subscribed readers has grown to 211. All of them, to judge by my emails from them, are very involved in my two story series.
 

frimble3

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That depends on the nature of your blog, and it's general themes and interests. Thomasdown's blog sounds like it has a current issues/scientific bent. If that's what his readers come to him for, yes, he'd have more of a need to keep up-to-date.
Vicky271 seems to be going for more of a general reading/writing blog, which leaves her room to discuss current events, but possibly from a more 'writerly' point of view - how will BLM affect minority writers, or, for that matter, police procedurals going forward?

But, her readers may expect more of a literary POV, rather than straight up op-eds about whatever's in the news.

In any case, I don't think a schedule needs to be written in stone - there's a difference between posting a year's worth of posts, and having a bunch of posts in reserve, written when an idea strikes, which can be bumped down if something current strikes Vicky271 as interesting to write about.

Main thing is, have posts in reserve, and don't use them all up in one glorious blast. Her readers will be good with a regular every-couple-of-weeks blog, rather than a burst, then nothing.
And, good move starting in 2021 - time to get posts together, polish them up, and skip the holidays - for which people might expect 'specials' and may be too busy to pay attention. Start in January, less competition for eyeballs.
 
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