Why Giving Up Blogging May Be Your Worst Decision

Thinking about giving up blogging? Think again.

I’ve been posting to one or more blogs regularly since 2005. That followed three years of running an online forum and several more years of belonging to one or more groups or forums. I became active online in 1995, but had at least a passing fancy with computers for years before.

Blogging Adventure

A latecomer to blogging, I still have managed to see the blogosphere change dramatically. Technorati was the driving force for many bloggers, a platform by which they got noticed, connected with other bloggers and, hopefully, monetized their sites. Technorati’s influence has gone the way of MySpace and Digg, virtual afterthoughts in all things Internet.

Blogging’s strength can be credited largely to WordPress which took the blogging model and ran with it. Early on, WordPress experienced the usual growing pains, but by the time Word Press 3.0 rolled out, those problems largely disappeared. Today, WP is a stable and broad platform, an excellent content management system whether you use it for blogging or other purposes.

Gone Dark

Lately, I’ve been visiting the blogging sites of some of my colleague writers and have found two that haven’t been kept up in at least six months. Both sites offered engaging and sometimes instructive content, but each appears to have ceased being updated. No word from the blogger that the work had stopped, just an aged post occupying the home page. They’ve gone dark, but nobody has turned out the light.

I understand what may be driving some bloggers to quit, especially writers who have a lot of other projects and perhaps personal websites to manage. Matt’s Musings faded in 2011 as I allowed a steady stream of contributors to fill in. I stopped accepting guest posts last May, realizing that this blog belongs to me and it is my voice I want out there. Besides, I have an ulterior motive for continuing this site. Read on and I’ll explain why giving up blogging may be your worst decision:

It is your site and your voice — How do people find you other than you making regular queries? Querying for work is great and needful, but I must admit that most of my current crop of clients found me. Matt’s Musings was one of several platforms where my writings brought me work. Without it, I would lose an important marketing tool.

You can express yourself — You can’t possibly express yourself to the degree that you want anywhere else including on Facebook, the site that seems to have the most impact on pulling people away from blogging. Sure, longer form writing is possible, but it just isn’t the same. Facebook may also delete your content if Mark Zuckerberg changes the rules again.

You own it — Unless your blog is hosted Blogspot or WordPress.com, you probably own the site and have arranged your own hosting. You dress up your site the way you want it to look and you backup your files automatically. Why contribute content to a site that you don’t own when you can connect with your readers at the home base you do own?

Your expertise can shine forth — People who are experts in anything always have a home site where their thoughts can be shared. Unless you have a redirect to a new website, people may assume you have quit writing. Why degrade your expert status by gradually disappearing or getting lost in a sea of Facebook users?

No blog, no income — It is no secret that bloggers make money off of their sites. Yes, paid links and paid content are no longer part of the mix, but a display ad can certainly be a money generator. Matt’s Musings is not a direct money maker, but I’ve garnered work through this site that pays for my web hosting and my time writing articles many times over.

Having Fun

My points here aren’t meant to dispense guilt on anyone. Your reasons for not blogging may have everything to do with your schedule, your interest and your workload. Still, I would venture to say that you have blogged for the fun of it, not worrying about grammar, syntax and a host of other rules we must follow when writing for our clients.

Should You Schedule Your Blog Posts?

This article is dedicated to Dominique who solicited my thoughts on blogging in advance. Make sure you check out her blog, An Unlikely Perspective 2, to find out what is on Dominique’s mind.

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The blogosphere has evolved over the years to where it seems to be much more about marketing or conveying business information than about personal online journaling. Still, blog variety is the spice of life which means that there is enough room for all kinds of writing and publishing styles, with few rules holding sway. I hope that I never see the blogosphere organized to the point where originality is no longer prevalent!

How Often Do You Write?

One question that some bloggers have about blogging concerns their writing schedule. At some point, you’ll discover a rhythm that works best for you – perhaps you like posting on Mondays and Thursdays or maybe you prefer a more frequent schedule which includes Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and the weekend. Or whatever.

Regardless of how often you write, you can probably agree with the following sentiment – there are days when inspiration flows, but there are other times when you’d rather not write. However, by not adhering to a consistent schedule your blog could eventually fall to the wayside, perhaps even die. No serious blogger would allow that to happen to their blogs which for some folks serves as an extension of themselves.

Scheduling Your Articles

An important way to ensure that your blog is always fresh is to write articles in advance and schedule them to appear (drip) at certain times and on specified days. Even though I don’t have to tell you, I wrote this article on Labor Day when things were quiet and slow. I completed the article shortly before noon, then took the rest of the day off. Thanks to scheduling, I have enough articles set to appear on my other blogs for the coming days as well.

What this ultimately means is that I can work writing around my own schedule without being tied down – a measure of freedom I want and crave. Likely, you feel the same way too.

Assuming that your blog platform allows you to schedule articles in advance, developing a schedule certainly makes sense. Even though the calendar says September, I’m already thinking about articles I’ll write for the remainder of the year, including seasonal topics such as Thanksgiving and Christmas. I may write and schedule my Christmas message in November, especially if I feel particularly inspired.

Three Tips For Successful Article Preparation

Of course, there are a few things to keep in mind when writing in advance:

Don’t Date Yourself – You may think it odd to write your new year’s message when the leaves have yet to change, but that’s something entirely up to you. If I’m writing well in advance, particularly for a holiday, I write as if the holiday is in the present or “today” – not the future. That goes without saying that you should never reference the actual date when you wrote your article – your readers don’t need that distraction nor will they care.

Pick And Choose – With several of my blogs, I usually write one or two articles in advance, but with one particular blog I go much further. For example, sometimes I’ll write an article about a special event taking place one or two months out, then I fill in the remaining dates here or there.

Don’t Force It – One bad habit to avoid when writing in advance is to force yourself to write when you aren’t prepared to write. I have a personal policy that works well for me – I write only when inspired. Maybe I have only one article to write; perhaps three or more. If I write when my creative juices aren’t flowing, then I’ll torture myself to complete the task. And, who wants to read tortured writing?

In the end, writing in advance is something completely up to you. Sometimes, I will write in advance and amend the article before it is published. There are other situations where I’ll change the date when an article is to appear. My readers aren’t aware of these changes, but I like to maintain control over the publication process as that gives me the freedom to write and publish as I see fit.

Photo Credit: Maxime Perron Caissy