Six words that strike terror into the heart of bloggers:

Please share your latest blog post.

 

This according to Her Mom-ness. Me? I’m cool with a daily walk and “dinner” twel… I mean twice a day. But you know how moms are. For as long as I can remember – both minutes – Her Mom-ness has insisted that:

• Serious writers need a blog like peanut butter needs jelly; and
• Daily blog posts are the one and only way to build your audience and create a platform.

Not Anymore

Now Mom says that “daily blogging thing” fits like a rhino in leotards. I’m not sure why. But you know how moms are.

She showed me Ali Luke’s post, “How Often Should You Blog? (Hint: The Answer Might Surprise You)” by Ali Luke. She says:

“Over the past couple of years, there’s been a shift in the blogging world. More and more prominent bloggers-on-blogging are moving away from daily posting—and reassuring their readers that you don’t have to post every day in order to be successful. “

Luke continues, quoting Darren Rowse of Problogger:

“I once surveyed readers here on ProBlogger about the reasons they unsubscribed from RSS feeds, and the number one answer was ‘posting too much.’ Respondents expressed that they developed ‘burnout’ and would unsubscribe if a blog became too ‘noisy.’”

Re-Eval

Mom and I recently re-evaluated the blogs we follow. She dumped several. We simply don’t have time to read lots of posts on a daily basis, “particularly if they’re the blog equivalent of War and Peace.” (I say “we” because who do you think is sitting on the floor next to her, tail wagging a mile a minute while she plows through this stuff? Sometimes she even reads out loud. I like that especially.)

A Crackly Crisp and Criteria

Trying to read and crank out quality posts every day had us both fried to a crackly crisp. Been there, done that? If so, it’s okay to scale back. (More time for walks!)

Thinking about this, we decided to throttle blog posts back to a more realistic schedule of every three days or so. Maybe less. There’s no sense cranking out noise just to fill the screen. Besides. When it comes to “building a platform,” it’s okay to not be in a hurry.

A Matter of Priorities

So daily blog posts may be over-rated. If your first passion is blogging, says Her Mom-ness, then get at it and go to it. But if it’s working on your next novel, short story or creative non-fiction piece, concentrate on that first. Blog when you can.

I find that having a treat close at hand always helps. My favorite is Alpo Little Bites. Beef. Just sayin’.

“Besides,” says Mom, “I’m pretty sure neither you nor I will turn into a pumpkin if we’re not blogging every day. Blogging is supposed to be fun. A creative outlet. Not a tedious, tiresome chore. Or a stressed-to-the-max item to check off your daily to do list. So relax and enjoy the ride.”

So, how often should you blog? Short answer: That depends on why you’re blogging and what you want your blog to do for you. If you’re blogging for fun, posting once a week is probably fine. If you’re trying to build a business with your blog, you may want to post more often, at least until you cultivate a steady stream of return readers.

But bottom line: How often you post is entirely up to you. You may even want to dial it back during summer. Fine. Just let your readers know so they don’t think you stepped into the kitty litter crud and got lost.

And remember: Blogging is work. But it’s also supposed to be fun, okay?

How often do you blog? What do you look for in a blog post?

XXOO,

Kimber