Thursday, November 20, 2008

How Much Blogging Is Too Much?

By Don Bethune

It is true that blogging has become very popular with web users. It is an easy way for people all over the world to tell others their story and their history. It is able to connect people better than print media because the connection is personal and immediate. How often you should add to your blog, however, is a question that many people share.

Timing can be critical and the most important aspect of your blog to know is your readership. Some choose to blog every day, others weekly, or monthly, but whatever timeline you choose remember that your readers should be the ones that you consider. When, and how often you post an entry is not as important as content, but it is another form of engagement with your audience, and should be treated as such. The frequency of your blog will start to develop a schedule that your audience will become accustomed to.

When choosing how often to blog you should consider all conceivable aspects that come into play. If you are just starting out with your blog and get that beginners rush where you are blogging twice a day, then a month into it you start to lose your drive and post a new entry every week, your readership will diminish considerably. Think of your newspaper, if you got it every day when you first subscribed then one month later you only got it sporadically, if at all, you would probably subscribe to a different newspaper. With a myriad of bloggers on the internet you want to make sure not to do anything to diminish your readership.

Taking into account what kind of blog you are writing is another important factor. If you are chronicling your cross country trip with a day by day account it is a good idea to stick to your day by day schedule. Posting daily, or more than once a day, works well for things like a blog diary of a trip or event, but can be a bit too frequent for those that blog about broader themes. Frequent posts work well for short periods of time, as with the reporting of an event example.

Content can be a determining factor in how frequent one blogs. Be sure to know your own capacity when it comes to your writing skills so that you can determine how often you can have a blog prepared. It is not always a bad a idea to write extra entries while you have an idea, then save the entries to post later. It is better to have a consistent stream of entries than to post in blocks, where you post numerous times in a short period then have a dry spell. Try to set short term goals, such as two to three postings per week. Remember to know your own limits and mold your schedule around what you can reasonably handle.

In order to maintain maximum readership, letting your audience know your posting schedule is a good idea. It is also important to keep your readers abreast of any changes in that schedule, like when you take a vacation and wonat be able to post. That connection with your audience is the most important part of a successful blog, so keeping them informed about what is going on is very important.

Determining posting frequency by knowing who your audience is can be helpful as well. If you post daily, there is a lot of work involved, but sometimes daily posts are the most effective. Sometimes, however, daily posts can be too much, depending on the blogas focus. Try to establish the right posting schedule for your particular blog, one that is balanced and workable. That way, you will not alienate your readers and they will always have fresh content to check out.

Frequency is important in blogging. It is an aspect of blogging that can optimize your readership. Although it is overlooked by some, how often you blog can invite or alienate those who read your blog. Remember to find what works best for you, and have fun.

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