Friday, September 26, 2008

Blogger Tip: Balance Quality and Quantity

I’ve already mentioned the importance of high quality content.  But  there is also something to be said for posting frequently:

*Imagine a blog with 100,000 posts.  It would probably get thousands of hits from search engines due to the sheer number of posts.

*The best blogs are updated fairly frequently—at least once or twice a week (some at least once or twice a day).  Readers get bored if you rarely update.

I want to write quality posts, but I also need to update regularly.  Here’s how I handle this dilemma:

"Hamburger" vs. "Steak" Posts

Some posts simply require more thought than others.
 
My relationship (for women; for men) and devotional articles are “steak” posts.  Such articles/posts are very carefully researched, prayed over, and edited.  I think about them for days (or weeks) before finally publishing them online.  These posts are the most important, most read, and deserve the most attention.

Other posts are “hamburger” posts.  I don’t care if my movie reviews look like something you’d read in the New York Times.  Mentioning some research or another website doesn’t take much time. 

Likewise, you may find some topics/posts that interest your readers but don’t require a great deal of work.  Pictures, announcements, quotes, and random thoughts may give you some “burger” content for your blog.  Nothing wrong with burgers, just don’t forget the steak. 

Diversifying

I’ve mentioned that it is good to have a few major themes for a blog.  Having said that, you may want to experiment with other subjects that interest you.

Take fitness, for example.  Weight training/bodybuilding is something I’ve studied for years.  I wouldn’t want to create a separate blog/website for it, but I occasionally make posts about it here.  Some readers find my blog when they look for fitness information.

Note: A few months after writing this, I indeed decided to create my own fitness blog. 

Maybe these tips will help you keep fresh content on your blog.