Only Blog When You Have Something to Say

April 10, 2012 By Sarah Arrow Filed Under: Blogging Tips 26 Comments

Hey you. Yes, you. Do you have something to say? No??

Oh so you’re one of the quiet ones… one of the groups of people who only blog when they have something to say.

I hate this piece of blogging advice; to me, it invokes laziness in the blogger.

It makes it easier for Resistance / Lizard Brain / Imaginary Boss to say, “hey don’t bother writing. You don’t have anything to say, and that’s ok.”

And when that’s being said to us in a soft, cajoling voice that’s like liquid chocolate to our ears, we are only too ready to believe it.

In case you haven’t already worked out I am a fan of scheduled posting. I have this belief that if you are truly an expert in your niche, you have something to say all the time.

You have an anecdote; you have a story, a review or a tutorial to share with your readers, and you share your thoughts and expertise often, at least once a week. In fact, posting only once a week probably sounds like some kind of punishment…

What Are You Saying?

I understand all the positives about blogging only when you have something to say

Better quality of writing
More fun
Richer, deeper content as you aren’t forcing a post

However, I also believe you can have all the above, and more, by posting often. I am a banner waving member of the “write every day” crowd.

By writing every day your writing improves. Writing is, after all, a learnable skill. By posting often you start to get a better understanding of what your audience expects from you and what they like, and more importantly what gets them to take action.

Blogging frequently is live research and development at its best. You learn and grow faster, and you benefit greatly by being easier to find.

I’ll give you an example – cupcake creators. I love them. I truly do.

Some of my best friends are cupcakes (and I have the figure to prove it) but there was a time when I truly hated the makers of cupcakes. They would ring up and ask how much it would be to deliver cupcakes 350 miles on the same day, as it was extremely important to the buyer to have the cupcakes for breakfast, and they are honestly fragile (the cupcakes not the buyer), and they need a courier to deliver who won’t damage the 4 inch high frosted icing covered in glittery sprinkles and iced tabby cats (phew!).

So I would explain to them on the telephone that yes, we have this service, no the cupcakes won’t be damaged but no, no, we won’t be delivering them for them. And I would have this conversation with 30 people a day.

Saying no to the cupcake ladies always elicits a sharp intake of breath followed by “You don’t want my business? I need this done every day… sometimes twice a day” and afterwards I have to explain (and explain as if I hadn’t said it 11 times already that morning) that it’s too expensive to deliver cupcakes via same day courier.

Eventually, I get through to them that they can’t afford me and after that I hear a muffled sob, and they hang up.

I know after blogging 2-3 times a week for five years that any blog posts get into Google fast. Damn fast.

So I write a blog post just for the cupcake ladies explaining what happens and why they can’t afford me and more importantly what to do if they can . One blog post was all it took to stop 30+ calls a day for something we could do, but not at a price the customer could afford.

Our call answering service had to cancel additional staff, and our receptionist could answer calls normally but more importantly our drivers could go back to deliveries instead of answering the phones.

If I’d have only posted when I had something to say I wouldn’t have the experience to draw upon, and I wouldn’t have the time to write this post, I’d still be disappointing people on a thrice hourly basis.

Blog Often, Be Found More

It’s because I blog regularly that I am found. Transport is incredibly competitive and blogging allows me to reach the customer and explain to them very quickly what they need. And it has its benefits. These customers recommend me all over the place; I am the cake courier expert.

The truth is I just wanted to get them off of the phone and get on with some blogging. There possibly is an expert on delivering cakes out there, whose phone doesn’t ring as often as mine. You see; he’s still waiting to have something to say.

If you are an expert in your niche, you always have something to say and your timetable should reflect that.

Here at FBBB we show up every day, the regular contributors show up every week. Week in, week out. And we get found.

Stop waiting and start showing up.

Buffer

Filed Under: Blogging Tips Tagged With: blog schedule, blogging tips

About Sarah Arrow

Sarah Arrow is the managing editor of internationally renowned Birds on the Blog, listed by Forbes (3 times) as one the top websites for women in the world. In her day job she blogs about very unsexy transportation issues in her role as communications director of a same day courier company and social media marketing. Her goal is to get on the AdAge blog list. Her first love was Twitter, it's now G+. Shhhh! Don't tell Twitter she's left...

SuzeStMaurWrites

Love it, Sarah!

On my site, http://HowToWriteBetter.net, I only post about 3-4 times a week … but having accumulated a library of nearly 300 articles on the site which people can access for free, I don’t feel too guilty about not posting every day.

I can’t say that I have blogged about cupcakes but then they don’t take much in the way of writing … much as they are delicious…

Seriously though you’re right. If you and your topic/business/reason-for-being are worth your salt, you need to keep communicating. And as you also rightly suggest, if you have worthwhile thoughts to contribute that help others, you shouldn’t find that hard to achieve.
- http://www.saraharrow.co.uk/ SarahArrow
  
  @SuzeStMaurWrites When we started HTWB Suze and I said for the first month to post every single day, and you didn’t bat an eyelid . After getting all your content ready you went to a more sensible schedule. The defining moment for me was when you said you were going to Canada for a month and would I keep an eyeball on the site…. You had scheduled an entire months worth of posts A lot of people would have dropped the ball, you kept communicating with your readers and gently let them know that you were there in spirit I admired that so much.
  
  Steven Pressfield calls this “going pro” it’s when you decide to show up, come hell or high water. I think blogging is like that, showing up and saying something rather than just settling back and letting life slip by.
http://www.RyanHanley.com/ Ryan Hanley

Sarah… Love this article…

I find that there times when I don’t want to write but I sit down and force myself to anyway…. I get some really great stuff that comes out, maybe something that I wouldn’t have otherwise written if I had a specific topic on my brain.

thanks!

Ryan H.
- http://www.saraharrow.co.uk/ SarahArrow
  
  @Ryan Hanley I also have to force myself at times to write, it’s only after a few weeks of getting into a routine that I find it becomes easier.
http://www.thejackb.com/ TheJackB

Not everyone is willing to invest the time it takes to become a better writer. Write now, write later and write often.
- http://www.saraharrow.co.uk/ SarahArrow
  
  @TheJackB yes, it takes time and practise to become a better writer, thanks for adding that
GemmaThompson

I write everyday, and I publish 3 times a week. When I started blogging I was scared I wouldn’t have enough to say and I would look inconsistent … Turns out I’ve got plenty to say, some people might even call me gobby!!
I think a lot of it has to do with confidence and in the early days particularly you just have to get your head down and publish, then you will get the comments, retweets and likes that show you it’s worth it!
- http://www.saraharrow.co.uk/ SarahArrow
  
  @GemmaThompson I like that you write every day but post on your own schedule. One of the reasons I have been able to continue the last few weeks with a broken finger is because I write every day, and have a stash of posts in reserve. By posting often you get to see what works better and then you truly target your audiences needs Thanks for stopping by Gemma
http://www.wmwebdesign.co.uk/ wmwebdes

Hi Sarah
Sounds as though this one raised your blood pressure a trifle.

“ I am a banner waving member of the “write every day” crowd.”
Have to agree with that, or as Brian Gardner put it:
“The more you post the more you will get indexed”.

So obvious when someone puts it like that.
- http://www.saraharrow.co.uk/ SarahArrow
  
  @wmwebdes yeah, there’s a reason we show up all the time all that indexing
  We all want to be experts in our respective niches, but what about the expect that doesn’t show up? How do we know they are an expert? How do we find them? Where do we find them? And that applies to all of us in our businesses
http://www.ipnostudio.com/ Andrea H. | The Hypnotism Weekly

Well, I have to disagree. Sorry Sarah, I hope you don’t mind.

Blogging everyday might be the right thing to do for some businesses like transports, and some niches, but as a general rule I think it doesn’t work. Or better, it doesn’t work if you’re into evergreen content and don’t want to pass every free hour writing or being online. Which is one of the main reasons why so many bloggers get burned out well before the first year of their blog has passed.

Each one of us has, or should have, a real life outside the net and given the time needed to write a good post, and especially to have a good idea for a good post, there is a definite amount of time we can and should devote to blogging.

Also there is the problem of quality. Once I wrote much more frequently without having studied enough the rule of the blogging games which comes from reading blogs like this one and now I’m reviewing all those old posts because they’re simply crappy. Because one of the things which make a better blogger is not only writing but reading other people’ posts. I mean I changed immensely after having found FBBB and I think that also comments count toward writing everyday.

Clearly if someone is into news or technology or gossip writing everyday is more or less mandatory but it’s also easier to find something to say.

Also it goes down to the blogger attitude: there are those sniper bloggers like me who try to hit every time they shot and others who prefer the “Puff the Magic Dragon” attitude. With all that’s in between. And on the sniper side there are those who prefer to use a .308 and those who go for a .50.

But I definitely agree on having a schedule and following it. Mine is writing once or twice a week and then after reaching 100 good posts (which probably means having to write more than 150) stop and see if it’s the case to go on or to move to something else.

So, I see your point and I agree that it can work, for some niches and businesses. My 2 cents.

Note: “Puff the Magic Dragon” was the nickname of those flying gunboats used during the Vietnam War able to put a bullet every ten centimeters in an area as big as a soccer field in a matter of seconds.
- http://www.saraharrow.co.uk/ SarahArrow
  
  @Andrea H. | The Hypnotism Weekly Disagree away did you notice I said write every day and show up, not post every day. Writing is the key component to blogging, we have to do it every day until we become so good at it that we miss it if we don’t do it.
  
  Quality of posts is an interesting one, sometimes what the writer thinks is quality, the reader doesn’t. My transport blog would get rejected as a professional blog on many levels yet it outperforms many other business blogs, partly because we show up. Is it quality as it’s effective or quality as in it helps the reader make a decision?
  - http://www.ipnostudio.com/ Andrea H. | The Hypnotism Weekly
    
    @SarahArrow You’re right, I missed the point a bit. I usually show up every day, not on weekends though. But if a blog is older than one year I’m usually dubious the owner is still writing on it everyday, unless he goes on Fiverr or uses a lot guest posts. I love blogging and the blogosphere but as in other places separating truth from legends is hard, especially when it comes down to earnings. If a blog is also a business, as it always comes sooner or later, then taking care of the business everyday is a common rule, if it doesn’t burn you out. Or steals too much time from family. It should not becomes a burden but it probably depends also on each blogger characteristics.
    
    Quality sometimes is in the eyes of the beholder but at the same time when something is good, it’s good. Like looking at something done by Michelangelo, no one in the world can’t say it’s not beautiful even if he comes out from the deepest forest.
    
    Quality, imho, is if it’s good and if it’s useful. Sometimes it can be either of them, better if it’s both.
    - http://pharmastrategyblog.com/ MaverickNY
      
      @Andrea H. | The Hypnotism Weekly That’s interesting – I have actually written almost every day (M-F) for the last 3 or 4 years and never ran out of material to blog about in my field, nor did I contract out the posts or have a heavy schedule of guest bloggers (~ 3 posts to date), so it can be done.The only time this hasn’t happened is the last 3-4 weeks, where I decided to experiment with writing once weekly. It was an useful experiment, since I learned that writing/blogging is also important for my mental health as much as communicating with people.
    - http://www.ipnostudio.com/ Andrea H. | The Hypnotism Weekly
      
      @MaverickNY Thanks for the reply. Well, it probably depends also on the niche, I’ve already difficulties thinking and writing in English but even if it was my first language I guess I couldn’t keep a schedule like publishing two posts per week for a year. I write when I feel I have something to say and it doesn’t happens everyday.
      
      Also it depends from the kind of posts. I’m not into that either but guys like Gregory Ciotti or Glenn Allsop who usually write posts around 2500 words surely cannot do more than one or two per week. Imagine that sometimes I find hard to come out with two 400 words posts.
      
      Probably everyone has to follow his or her own style. And if it works and it doesn’t burn you out well, that’s the only thing that matters right?
      
      Have a great weekend!
    - http://www.saraharrow.co.uk/ SarahArrow
      
      @Andrea H. | The Hypnotism Weekly Michelangelo is a good point, and it would be hard to deny the beauty in his art. But in truth, how often does an artist like him come along? And could you think of Damien Hirst in the same way? I know I couldn’t
      
      Some excellent points regarding burnout and family time and things coming sooner rather than later.
http://www.smallbusinesstraining.co.uk/ Linda Mattacks

How many people who are self employed or run small businesses actually have a blogging strategy, do you suppose?

Even bigger question:
How many people actually have a marketing strategy of which blogging forms a part?
- http://www.saraharrow.co.uk/ SarahArrow
  
  @Linda Mattacks Oi! don’t come over here asking questions like that… I might ask you the same
  My original strategy was to have the answers that my potential clients were looking for – and if I didnt have them, why didn’t I have them? It’s not changed much
- http://pharmastrategyblog.com/ MaverickNY
  
  @Linda Mattacks Yes and Yes. Do you, @Linda Mattacks ?!
http://primefit.org/ Mary C. Weaver, CSCS

Oh, this was good for me to read. I always manage to find something to say when I’m confronted with the deadline for my guest posts . . . while posts for my own website take a back seat because I’m not feeling inspired. Excellent post!
- http://www.saraharrow.co.uk/ SarahArrow
  
  @Mary C. Weaver, CSCS thanks Mary I know that feeling too, I should pretend that all my posts are guest posts so that I can just crank them out rather than writing 7 drafts and hoping for the right opportunity to publish them – the joy of writing daily
http://www.sendaflowercard.com/ Anita Hunt

Hi Sarah, oh I remember those cupcakes ….

I am writing much more now on numerous topics. With one of my sites I find it much easier to write about as much as possible.

I’m struggling with writing for another reason at the moment, but the words are flowing freely, so take every opportunity that I can, as it’s definitely worth it!! I have a real joy in writing now.
- http://www.saraharrow.co.uk/ SarahArrow
  
  @Anita Hunt I love how you have expanded your range of blogging topics. I know how hard it is to focus on one tight niche, but you do an excellent job of turning up on a regular basis and showing how good you are. Thanks for stopping by and commenting
http://pharmastrategyblog.com/ MaverickNY

Superb point, @SarahArrow ! I diligently write something daily, but rarely blog daily depending on the muse and my workload. It’s a critical but subtle difference. Some drafts I have created, but not finished because the information was incomplete so I saved it and left for a while. Then sometimes, some new information came along (perhaps even a year later) that inspired me to finish the piece, and voila! The secret sauce here, I think, is the judgement to know when an article is ready for publishing or not.
- http://www.saraharrow.co.uk/ SarahArrow
  
  @MaverickNY :) yes, the secret sauce is knowing what’s ready and what’s not and having the conviction to stick with that. My stash of drafts is what has kept me through the broken finger phase.
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