I just got through a ten-week experiment. I decided to try out blogging every day.
I did this for two reasons. #1 to see if I could do it, and #2 to increase readership.
What I found was an initial spike in average views per day, then a lull that made me wonder if daily blogging had become annoying to people. But then Boom! A spike again, along with added followers.
I’m not really sure what the magic formula is.
In general, I’m not crazy about people who blog every day. Why? Because most people run out of interesting things to say.
I did learn that I DIDN’T seem to run out of things to say. I guess that’s a good thing. My problem is time.
I suppose if I just dropped words on the page without the graphics I would be able to keep up. But how boring is that? I like the graphics and interactive-look of the blog. But BOY! Does that take time! I’ve also found that I am getting lazier and lazier on the graphics. Sometimes, I am just too dern tired and want to just get it done.
So, I’m stopping my little experiment. Before this, I used to blog on Mondays and Fridays, but it seems looking at the numbers that most of you read on Monday, Saturday, and Sunday.
Monday is usually my big topic night…. First Gold Mine Manuscript, then Writing to a Deadline, and now Road to Publication… and I have a few great topics all lined up.
I might keep Monday for “Series Topics” if everyone’s into it.
So, tell me… what days are good for you? Which days would you like to see post from me?
What’s a good night for “tuning in” to a weekly blog series?
If I can wrangle in the Monomaniacal Middle Grade Reviewer regularly, (Which looks pretty plausible right now) how often and on which days would you like to see a review from a kid’s perspective?
At any rate, if you stop by one day and see yesterday’s post, don’t fret. I’ll be back the next day. Once in a while though, I need some R & R.
How many times during a week do you think is “just right” for a blogger to post?
Jennifer M Eaton 
Yeah, I’m somewhat new to blogging, honestly. I’ve been posting since around December of 2011 and tend to post every three or four days mostly because of reasons similar to yours – time. But, I’m not sure there is a magic formula.
It’s a tough one to figure out.
Hi Jennifer. I traced you back here after you “followed” my blog.
I think the answer to your question is “it depends.” There are daily bloggers who are great. The Bryonic Man is one of them: http://thebyronicman.com/. Others who post daily are boring. It depends.
Me, I post whenever I feel like it. No discipline whatsoever. That way when I don’t have anything to say, I don’t post. Unless my stats are really low, that is ;).
Yeah, I need to stop being so neurotic about it.
Neuroses doesn’t help much. But it really depends on content. When I look back at some of my posts, I cringe and vow never again to just hit the publish button when my piece is, ummm, crap.
Which is not to say that yours are. I’ve only looked at a couple so far and have yet to find anything stinky!
Ha! Thanks. I actually do look at them all pretty hard. I don’t type unless I think it’s worthwhile
If I knew the secret formula to making my day 37 hours long I would tell you what it was. The same is goes with blogging. In fact, I disagree with your last commentator on the length of preferred posts. I don’t think length matters so much if the posts are interesting and engrossing, and that just depends on your blogger. Most of my favorite bloggers tend to do 1000 to 2000 word posts, but like ME, they don’t have the time to post every darn day, or even every week. It’s just not in the cards for a lot of us. I can come up with interesting things to say every five minutes, but that doesn’t mean I have the time to blog it out. Writing three books, doing a job hunt and taking care of family will do that to a person. I say, don’t worry so much about it and say whatever you’re going to say whenever you’re going to say it. I’ll look you up in due time. Trust me! 😉
Thanks, and I think your right. I am going to “wean myself” slowly.
I’ve been blogging daily since January, and, as yet, I haven’t run out of things to say 🙂
I follow blogs that post daily, weekly, 3 times a week….it doesn’t really matter to me, all the blogs I follow are interesting and I enjoy reading them. I guess it’s all down to the individual 🙂
I know what you mean about time though. It takes me about 2 hours a day to read blogs, reply to comments and sort out my own post lol
I challenged myself at the tart of this year to post daily, and yeah, it’s been hard work, but very rewarding. I think next year I’ll probably go down to 5 days a week, have the weekends off lol
Xx
The blogging gods must hate these comments of “fewer is better.” But, honestly, it’s easier for me to follow a blogger consistently who does NOT post more than 2 or 3 times a week. I will skip some posts from daily bloggers because I don’t have the time.
All the advice I see for writers says to pick a schedule and stick to it. And that’s what I try to do. I dropped from 3 times per week to 2 on Saturday and Tuesday. (Granted, I did a special one today, but that was to share the new way to opt out of the default email notifications!)
Any posting days work fine for me. The email notifications of new posts work great. 🙂 I may not be “normal” here, but I’m glad to see fewer regular posts from bloggers.
I post when I feel like it and have time. Currently, that’s often, but I’m fairly new here, so it’s easy! My issue is having time to read and comment on other blogs, so I try to do that at least once a week, usually twice. I always feel out of step. And, very funny about the graphics part! I agree that blogs are better, more fun to read, with graphics, but they take so long to add, you’re right!
As I try to figure out exactly how best to juggle not just one, but two blogs at once, I can relate to your dilemma. I’m trying to set a pace of one post per week on my first blog and three per week on the other. It doesn’t sound like all that much until I realize that adds up to four posts a week.
All while keeping up on the revision of my WIP!
Fortunately, (like you 🙂 ) I have more ideas than time, so it is just a matter of getting these all done. I can definitely see a blog merge in my future! Writing two posts a week–total–would make me a happy camper.
I like your new blogging schedule, and admit that every day was quite a lot of posts. I would hate to miss some great content because there simply was too much of it! Any day is as good as the other for me, since the internet is open 24/7 and I can help myself to some great writing advice anytime.
Keep up the great work, at whatever schedule suits you best!
Before I began, I took the advice of a seasons blogger and published writer –set a certain time to blog (mine are M, W, and F) and your readers will expect you to deliver on those days. If I had to write every day, I’m afraid that it would eat into family time or diminish my message. It was a good experiment for you. At least you know what it’s like and you’ve a made a decision based on solid information. I applaud you. Sandy
I’ve been posting everyday, but I’ve been wanting to scale it back mainly due to time. I found that posts that aren’t too long tend to work best, or a subject that people really relate to (although finding that is the difficult thing). I decided I would keep going until post 100 (which I have now passed) then maybe scale it back a bit. I have some regular readers, but I understand how it is a lot for someone to visit everyday.
For me, I just blog when I feel an emotion, memory, or beef I need to express. Sometimes this is everyday, or a few times a day, but I’ve had a seven day hiatus as well. To each their own. 😀 Commenting, reading, and engaging with other blogs adds readership to yours. Above all, you start connecting with like minded individuals, and learn so much from this garden variety. 😀
Pink.
I can’t help much with this, since my day is your yesterday, my night is your today and my weekend is your end of work week, so your Monday’s are my hump day. Okay. Made that too complicated. I’ll read your posts any day, but I find that I’m inundated with new ones to read about twice a week, so maybe you could see what days you receive the most to read from people you follow, and make yours alternate days, so people focus on you more? Or we could all eat chocolate. Whichever.
I vote for chocolate.
Like you, I find everyday is too much. Personally, I follow quite a few blogs and I find it hard to find the time to visit them on on a daily basis. Best days for me are Mondays and Wednesdays because those are my two days off. The other days, I get online if I don’t work too late. I like 2-3 times a week. Hmmm….are we still talking about blogging here? 😛
I was blogging 5 days a week for a while and found that hard to maintain while balancing writing and reading other people’s blogs and social media stuff. I cut back to 4 times a week and that seems to be working. I also use “theme days” to help me stay focused and provide me with a wealth of topics. Monday is whatever – usually something from my real life. Tuesday is some crazy product that I make fun of OR a funny video if I am low on content – something to make you smile. Wednesday is urban word fun. Thursday is my day off and I usually catch up on reading or commenting. Friday I do a post about impaired driving. The schedule works great for me but my biggest days are Tuesday and Wednesday (although Monday is close behind).
I say whatever you do, it needs to be consistent. If it’s once a week, or three times a week, if you are consistent, your readers will get a sense of when you are around and will keep coming back for more….
There’s no right answer to this question. I really enjoy blogging 4-5 times a week (on weekdays…I’m off weekends), but many weeks I just can’t. I’ve found most people read my blog Mondays through Thursdays, and on Tuesdays and Thursdays I have guest posts. So right now, that’s my formula. But it changes when it needs to.
I wish I had the magic answer, too, Jennifer.
My blog posts have taken a hit for the writing team lately. I’ve decided to go to once a week, with spots open on Wednesdays for guest blogs/reblogs.
What I want most is to be comfortable in my blog-topic-hat. I’m hopeful followers will be able to count on the content and voice in my blogs when my posts hit the net. KUDOS to those who can accomplish three-plus stellar blogs per week and make forward progress on their WIP.
And, I’ve had to ration my blog visit time. SO many wonderful blogs (yours included in that number). But, I can’t visit and comment on all of them every day or I’ll never finish my manuscript. (Yes. I guilt-trip over that.)
As for your question on “what day?” The only day I see a consistently heavy hit of new posts is Monday, so I plan more blog time for that day.
Congrats again on your pending ISBN number. Think your town will let you change your address so it matches? No? Dang red tape.
I, too, am cutting back on posts. I need to start writing again. There is no one particular good day for me to read posts. I think you need to find your own rhythm and everyone else will fall in line. And I don’t think you need to worry about readership. You’re doing just fine in that area. 🙂
I think twice a week is fine, with one post towards the end of the week when spirits are flagging!
I agree with Char and Doug. I’ve been posting pretty much every day, but often I don’t have anything wildly original to say. I would think that 2-4 times a week is good, maybe a Monday post to get us going, a midweek review, then a Friday post to cap the week and a Saturday dose of something light?
Anyway, that’s what I may be doing. I do tend to get a little weary of every-day posts, maybe a little suspicious of quality as well. I would prefer someone who blogs quality stuff twice a week to someone who feels they have to say something every day but can’t quite get there.
Case in point is Philip Athans at The Fantasy Author’s Handbook. He posts once in a while, but I always read everything he writes, because it’s quality. So there you go — quality, not quantity, seems to be the answer (for both of us!).
Dear Jennifer,
1. Rest easy.
2. Breathe deep.
3. There is no rhyme or reason to my clicking on your blog and reading. And once I do, if the topic resonates with me I’m there to the end. Graphics are nice but actually (for me) kind of distracting, though they do not take away from content.
4. I don’t know how anyone can blog once a day and then manage to reply to all comments. Mind boggling. And as to growing readership? More power to you if you can figure out how. I’ve decided to make sure that what I do post is as compelling as possible and hope that readers will simply check in to see whether I’ve added anything new.
5. Thanks for all your hard work. We’re out here, staying tuned.
Aloha,
Doug
When I started I blogged daily. But I found it was hard to keep up with other blogs that posted daily because I was reading so many. So I eased off and only post 3-4 times a week now (unless there’s something special that warrants extra posts), so that I wouldn’t overburden my readers. Short posts are best. If someone does 1000-2000 word posts consistently, I start skipping them because I just don’t have time. Short and sweet are the best! And I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE your graphics and wish I had your talent.