Note: This is the final part in a three-part series I’m writing this week on how to finish your writing projects. In this post, I’ll talk about how to blog every day. Read part 2 here.
A friend wanted advice on how to build her author platform through a blog. “How often should I blog?” she asked me.
“You should blog every day, if you can,” I told her.
Her face fell. “Every day?! I can’t even blog twice a week. How am I supposed to blog every day?”
How do you blog every day? If you’re like my friend, struggling to write on your blog more than once or twice a week, this post is for you.
Photo by Gilberto Taccari
Why You Should Blog Every Day
Is it even necessary to blog that often? Writing a blog post every day is a lot of work. Why is it so important?
Regardless whether you write non-fiction and are trying to “blog your book” or you’re a fiction author posting your short stories and adventures as an author, blogging every day can be a boon to your online platform. From a marketing/SEO perspective there are two main reasons to blog frequently:
- Get more love from Google. Google loves websites that update their content frequently. If you want to get more traffic from Google, writing frequent, high quality posts is a good way to do that.
- Get more readers. You might think your readers don’t want to hear from you every day, but if you’re writing good posts, a lot more people are going to find you if you’re writing every day. More good posts = more good readers.
But there’s one more reason to blog every day, and it’s probably not what you’d expect.
It’s Easier to Blog Every Day
You might think blogging every day is impossible, that you’ll run out of ideas. This has been the opposite of my experience. In fact, I’ve found that it’s actually easier to blog every day than it is to just blog once or twice a week.
Let me explain. When I first started blogging every day, I was worried about running out of ideas, too. In fact, when I started The Write Practice I nearly had a panic attack. How could I do this for six months? How could I even do this for three weeks? I nearly quit right then and there. I thought I would run out of ideas and that The Write Practice would be like all of those other failed blogs you see like ruined ships all over the internet.
However, something amazing happened. I kept coming up with new ideas. I thought I would eventually run out, but as soon as I sat down to write a post, I would remember an article I had just read about my main topic or something one of my professors had told me in college or a quote by a famous author from their memoir.
I realized my subconscious had been collecting these ideas all along. I knew I had to post and so my mind reacted on its own and started collecting ideas all the time.
You Can Blog Every Day, Too
It just takes a commitment. Why not commit to it today? Promise yourself and your readers:
For the next six months, I’m going to blog every day.
No, it won’t be easy. Getting your mind to adapt to coming up with new ideas every day will take time. You may wake up in panic for a few weeks, as I did, wondering, “What am I going to blog about today?!”
However, the results are worth it. Not only will you be building your platform and developing valuable content that you can use in your books, you’ll be honing your writing skills and getting feedback every day from your readers. Blogging every day has been one of the most important causes of my improvement as a writer. When I look back at posts I wrote three years ago, I can see how the daily discipline of blogging has helped me find my own unique writing voice.
If you’re trying to build your author platform and hone your voice, what are you waiting for?
Note: This was the final post in a three-part series on how to finish your writing projects. If you’ve enjoyed this series, you might like the Story Cartel Course, an online course to help writers find their Cartel and get published. Registration opens only a few times a year, and tomorrow we’ll begin a brand new class. Stay tuned.
Have you thought about blogging every day? What’s stopping you Share in the comments section.
I participated in the April A to Z Blogging Challenge and have been posting almost every day since. Doing so helps me write. I post excerpts from my book, related articles, some reflection and a bit about the challenges of writing a painful memoir. Checking the stats also helps. It feels good when I reach readers and even better when they comment.
I know so many people that would say never look at the stats. But you are so right the stats do help whether we admit it or not. We all love to see a positive reach and to know that we a connecting with people, or rather our writing is 🙂
I agree Drusilla. I love the connection you get. It sounds like you’re building an awesome platform!
” … like ruined ships all over the internet.” That is a great way to describe the phenomenon. Loved the post. I have committed to writing posts daily… many times so obviously it hasn’t ‘stuck’ yet, but posts like this reinforce the idea. I know I will benefit from the habit, so thanks for the reminder.
Al Bargen
Thanks Al! I hear you. Been there before, and I’m sure will be there again. It’s a fun discipline though.
Hmmm, I’m going to try this!
Blessings,
The How-to Guru
Let me know how it goes!
It’s not just the content, it’s finding the words to write what I’m thinking. I blog because I want to be a better writer but getting those thoughts formulated into eloquent words seems like such a hefty task. Maybe it’s because I’m focusing too much on the words being eloquent? Any advice would be great!
Did you see the post from a few days ago about writer’s block, Mariama? It might help! Here’s the link again:
http://my.storycartel.com/writers-block/
I have THOUGHT about blogging every single day and it is like a giant slobbering monster on my shoulder…. it would probably be easier to blog than it is finding other things to procrastinate with. House projects, art projects, people fixing, there is a huge pool to dip into when it comes to finding reasons NOT to blog. sIGH.. maybe tomorrow. Thanks for adding more drool….
Haha no need for drool. You might need to revisit the earlier post in this series about writer’s block though! 🙂
Perhaps if I blogged every day it wouldn’t seem like such a big deal, so intimidating, and therefore, as Joe says, easier.
Exactly, Skipper. Honestly, I used to have anxiety attacks when I blogged for 100 people. Now I feel comfortable blogging for 10,000. You get used to it.
I agree.
I did so many years ago and built my own platform with no intent to do that!
It was only a desire deep inside.
But for now my blog becomes like a ruined ship, as you said exactly, as I am blocked.
Still hoping.
Did you see this post? http://my.storycartel.com/writers-block/
Might help!
I post once a week. As you asked yourself, I ask the same question. What could I write about if I posted every day? It takes me time to write a blog post. I write on a legal pad in pen, then type it into the computer, revising as I type. I let it sit for a couple of days and read again to check for sense and nonsense, typos, grammar mistakes, spelling. To write a post every day would mean for me shorter, quicker pieces, a sort of spontaneous flow which risks being not the best I can do. I don’t want to blog about my daily life, but only about my writing life. For me, a longer, well written and informative post would be preferable to a reader than a short post which reads like a slogan or epigram. I think it is important when writing for the public to present the best writing you can do, and I am sure that writing a post every day, for me, would not be my best writing.
Adelaide B. Shaw
You’ve got a great thing going. Do what works for you, Adelaide. Thanks for sharing your process with us!
I’m doing it! I am blogging every day. Since the beginning of January, I have written a blog post about service to others, or being kind. I call my blog “A Year of Being Kind: 365 Days of Service.” (ayearofbeingkind.wordpress.com)
I wanted to get out of myself, and doing acts of service is a sure-fire way to do that. I am a chaplain, and now am serving as an interim pastor for a small church. So, some of my posts have Christian emphases. But the message is clear: I pray for the opportunity to be kind, every day. And–I blog about it! Here’s a recent link: http://wp.me/p4cOf8-9d @chaplaineliza
So awesome, Elizabeth. Congratulations on keeping up the habit!
Great, thanks for sharing this blog.Really thank you! ededafbagdad
No problem! Also, what’s ededafbagdad?
Thanks for the food for thought. My commitment it to blog twice a week, which is almost always on Monday and Thursday. I have found that this works because I really value quality and so it takes me hours to research, write, and edit one entry (not to mention all the time reading books for review). If I wrote every day (I used to, long ago), I would be afraid of writing more fluff (I like my readers to have a solid piece related to their interests every time I approach them) and also giving up precious time writing novels, editing, and publishing (which is more than enough for my six hour workday). However, you make some compelling points about getting more readers with more visibility. I’ll have to think about it.
Also, I find that bloggers don’t read on weekends. Do you find this to be true?
I think that’s true as a general rule, but I’ve had some of my most popular posts on Saturdays and Sundays.
Yes, there’s always a tension between quality and quantity. With blogging, I found that by pursuing quantity helped me write better quality posts (after a lot of practice that is!). But I know that’s not true for everyone.
You talked me into it. 🙂 I’m definitely going to do this.
Awesome Erika! Please let me know how it goes okay?
Hmmmm, you really have me thinking. Thank you for the inspiration.
Of course Tammy. Thanks for reading! 🙂
As a new blogger, I never realized that blogging every day is so important! Some days I work 15 hour days and literally don’t have the energy or time to make my brain think anymore, but I’m definitely going to start blogging more often than the once a week that I’ve been doing! Great post! 🙂
It’s definitely helpful. Not absolutely necessary, but helpful. It sounds like you’ve got a lot going on though. I don’t think I could blog every day with your schedule!
I am writing every day and blogging more often than before. I made a commitment to write every day this year and then joined Jeff Goins’ #500Word challenge. I ended up deciding to commit to 500 words a day. Some days are just word vomits and not worth posting. Some days I just don’t have the energy for much. I’m hopeful that by writing every day this year I will develop a habit and I will also have a lot of unpublished things that I can go back to edit and post and maybe someday I will be able to blog every day. Right now my commitment is to my weekly #ThankfulThursday post and if I post more than that it is just bonus. But you can count on that one every week.
Great post and great tips Rick! You rock!
Absolutely, Sherri. 500 words a day is a great habit to have!
Hello… Well, this post is right for me! I haven’t been able to write even twice a week I try and try, but it’s like my mind keeps saying “No, you can’t do it” “It is too much” Everyday I make myself the same promise: I will do it tomorrow, then, for one thing or another day goes by and didn’t write anything. Fear of running out of ideas or not writing great content makes me procrastinate. I see the stats and that pushes me to write though, and I also I with Mariama… Any advice is welcome.
You might check out this post Virginia: http://my.storycartel.com/writers-block/
I think it will help!
When I first found out that having a blog was essential to “building my writer platform,” I literally had a panic attack. Full-blown. My blogging history was filled with failed attempts on LiveJournal and WordPress, and even Tumblr. Well, I got myself together at last and thought about what I would post in advance. Then, I set up my new blog. Now, I have over thirty followers and have started a schedule of aiming to post at least twice a week. This week I’ve been pretty heavy on the posting.
That’s awesome SB. Twice a week is better than 0 times a week!
I like this, i will do it. And by blogging everyday, do you mean posting something everyday or just working on articles (e.g first draft or correcting) and the posting 3-4 times a week ?
so, please define blogging for me I guess 🙂
Thanks Yannick. 🙂 For the best results, publish once a week. But if that doesn’t work for your schedule, posting 3-4 times a week is awesome.
Nice advice, but if I have to post something everyday, how to find time to something “big”? Many small tasks steal all my time…
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