This is the second part of my series on How to create and maintain successful blog as a writer. (or anyone else) In this instalment, we will focus on how much or how little you should plan on blogging. If you haven’t read part one, I would highly suggest you start there. Here is a link.

Whether you’re just starting your blog or have been doing it for years, this subject is relevant.
You may be at the point where you need to re-organize or restructure what you’re doing. We should consider this yearly even for the most experienced and successful blogs. It’s how they stay successful.
Take a few days and evaluate what you are doing, what works, and what doesn’t. Is your stress level too high?
Is what you’re doing working? This reevaluation process is a must for any blog.

First on the list is: How often should I blog.

Because we live in a time where the web is so important, we almost have to have a website as a writer. It’s the first question that most editors, publishers, and fans ask. We need to have a web presence. But do we all need to have the same thing? I hope not! And I don’t think we do. Our sites need to reflect use and who we are. When a visiter come to your site, they want to know who YOU are.

So, how much time do you need to spend on your blog and how often do you blog? There is no right or wrong answer here. The length and frequency of content that goes in your blog in unique to each individual person and blog. There is no right or wrong answer except for this:

Be Consistent.

A successful blog is dependable. If you write every day, readers expect it every day. If you write once a month, they expect once a month. They adjust to you and you will draw those people in who want what you are offering. They come because what you have in your blog helps and encourages them. But if they don’t know when it there, they won’t stop by to check it out.
But they subscribe and get a notice, you say? We hope that happens, but it’s not always true. Only about one-third of those who come by my blog are subscribers. I know personally that I don’t subscribe to every blog I regularly visit. I just don’t want all those notices cluttering up my email. I get too much mail to keep up with as it is.

Don’t Over Commit.

When I first started, I thought I needed to blog every weekday. I had looked at other blogs and bloggers, and that’s what they did. I wanted a successful blog, so I tried to mimic what I thought other successful blogs and bloggers were doing. Wrong!

This was my first failure. I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t keep up with the pace and work it took to create a new blog each day. I burned out so quickly and fully that I almost chucked the whole thing. There were too many other things going on in my life.
I had a full-time job, a family, church activities, a book to write, and other outside duties. There just weren’t enough hours in a day. It became a something I dreaded doing instead of an excitement and joy. I began to put off writing my blog until the last minute and even skip days altogether.

It takes time to put together a blog post. Time needs to be set aside for the planning and creating of each one. It dosesn’t matter if you choose to write every post yourself or have guest bloggers. Even a quick post take time to find the right images and check to see if each one looks write in every format. Remember, not everyone uses a mobile phone or laptop like you do. You need to be sure that they all look nice in whatever format your reader chooses to use to view your posts.

Decide What Days You’ll Post

How often you’ll post, depends on other areas we will go into the niche you decide on for your blog and your own personal commitments in your life and the near future. We will go into how to find your niche next month in part two. Find out what works for you and do that.

I highly suggest starting out slow. It’s easier for readers to accept you adding to day you blog, than seeing them disappear.
Start out with once or twice a month. Do this for a year before adding more time. Remember that different times of year have their own commitments. What might be easy in a slow January may prove impossible during your summer vacation month or busy holiday season. What we put on our plate when we’re hungry is often less than we can finish.

So find out what works for you and stick with it. We can change it as our life commitments change. (I evaluate mine each year) Set a schedule and stick to it for a year.

But mostly, don’t be afraid to fail. Nothing works perfect the first time out of the gate.
Keep at it.
Keep tweeking.
Fail your way to success.

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