I’m a Blogging Failure

Erik Karey Jan 15th, 2008 12 Comments

Failure Wow, it’s been another month since I’ve posted on my blog and I’ll admit, I feel like I’ve failed with regards to blogging. I took an extended break back in July and made the goal to post with more frequency. I took a one month break in October and again I vowed to be more consistent. And now I find myself in that same predicament, just 2 months later. So the question I have to ask myself now is do I have what it takes to be a blogger?

When I first got into blogging it was an extremely exciting day. I saw what others were doing with their own blogs and wanted to be part of it. Since then I’ve racked up just about 100 posts and generated over 700 comments (not a bad ratio). Yet, my inconsistency is killing me and this blog. Just when I reach record numbers for unique visitors, I shoot myself in the foot and disappear from the blogosphere. So what do I do?

I’ve thought a lot about this blog over the past month or so and the thought of just totally abandoning it had come to my mind. However, I don’t think I could ever do that. I’ve put too much time into this blog writing posts, responding to comments, and designing its current theme to just throw it all away. So then I got to thinking how I can make this blog survive.

It’s obvious that what I am doing right now just isn’t working. Trying to post on a daily basis, with a quality article just isn’t going to happen at this point in my life. I have way too many things to do in the day and not enough time to do them all. So the thought has crossed my mind to post sporadically over the course of the month (say 1-3 times per week) with updates on my money making, articles on techniques, etc, etc. I think this would be a much more manageable task for me and not put the pressure on me daily to come up with a genuine quality article.

What does everyone think of this strategy? All I’ve ever read regarding a blog posting schedule is consistency, consistency, consistency. So that leaves me to wonder can posting sporadically work? Will my RSS readership and unique visitors count still increase? Is anyone else using a similar posting strategy?

When it all comes down to it, I can’t justify scrapping what work I’ve done here. Honestly I like being able to post my thoughts, findings, and goals (when I have the time). In the end I might not have what it takes to be a full-time “problogger” but that was never really my goal in the first place. My real goal is to become a full-time internet entrepreneur making a living from my websites and web businesses and that I am still fully committed to.

Thanks for your continued support!

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12 Comments

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1

Andrew January 15, 2008

Well you have at least one subscriber still checking :P.

I don’t think posting like clockwork is that important, just updates every now and then - at least one a week hopefully - will keep the site ticking over. If you find yourself taking another extended break ask someone else to write some posts to fill in the gap? That’s what I ended up doing for a bit over the last two weeks.

How is your overall going anyway, to become an internet tycoon/entrepreneur?
2

Erik Karey January 15, 2008

Thanks for responding Andrew. I think I will start posting 1-3 times a week and see how it goes. Also I will try to get guest posters to fill in those gaps for sure.

In terms of my goal to be an internet entrepreneur for my job it’s going, but I still have a lot of ground to cover. I currently can make around $400-$600 a month.
3

Ben Barden January 16, 2008

You can still be consistent if you do not write daily posts. I think the important thing is to be consistent with which days you post - e.g. Monday, Wednesday, Friday.

If you were to have three consecutive days of posts then nothing for four days, I think you’d be more likely to lose momentum. Maybe you have more time at the weekend, or possibly less time, I don’t know.

My suggestion is to find which days work best for you and try it out for one month - say February. Then review your progress and go from there.
4

Terry January 17, 2008

You don’t have to post everyday to run a blog. In fact you may find (as I did when I specifically tested it), that posting less often actually increases your responses from your posts.

You can be consistent in posting once a week on the same day of the week. Or you can do twice a week or three times week. The key is being consistent with a schedule. It isn’t about how many posts you make.
5

Jed January 18, 2008

Don’t give up you can still do it. Just think of it as starting fresh with some good content backing you up!
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7

Fat Kid Unleashed January 20, 2008

I took Skelie’s advice and wrote about 4 posts and have em sitting in draft waiting for a rainy day. You may have inconsistency, but try to at least make the posts you do write worth reading
8

Joshua January 20, 2008

Think about your audience.

If you think they’d be in the mood to read longer, in depth articles, focus more on the quality than quantity.

Forget about post frequency, and even the consistency of your frequency.

If you think they’d like to read (or you’d like to write) shorter, quick-consumption posts, then look at providing a higher output with frequent and consistent posting.

: )
9

Deron Sizemore January 24, 2008

Nah, don’t quite. Everyone hits bumps in the road. Just keep plugging a long.

I don’t think you have to post every day to have a successful blog. In my experience, there are very few that can actually post every day (or more than once per day) and actually have any meaning to their posts at all. Myself, I’m not one of them. I post around once per week usually.Well, it’s been around 20 days since posted last right now but normally it’s once a week. With the once a week posting schedule (and I don’t adhere to that… I just post when I feel like it) my blog continues to grow in visitors and subscribers, so it’s definitely possible. Just the last 20 days since my last post, I’ve been an increase in traffic of about 85 per day, and I’ve had zero activity on my blog except for replying to comments, so I definitely don’t think not posting for a couple days (or 20) will make readers give up on you.

Deron
10

Øyvind January 27, 2008

Hi, I’ve just entered but after reading your posts I have to say that I hope you continue writing as you do, its great reading. Presure will only ruin the fun, try a couple of posts a week, I sure will follow you.
11 January in Review & February Goals by Erik Karey: Internet Entrepreneur February 1, 2008

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12

elliot February 27, 2008

you are not a blogging failure at all - in fact, i find your posts most helpful…..