Can you judge a blog by the quantity of posts?
This past weekend, I could not bring myself to the computer. I got on for a few quick things, but I just didn’t feel like blogging. I had a pretty intense week at work and the last thing I wanted to do was look at a computer screen for any longer.
I love blogging. It’s a great outlet for me and is often a stress reliever. But sometimes, I let it stress me out. I feel like I have to post everyday. I feel guilty if I miss a day and worry that readers will see that I didn’t update for a day (or God forbid, two days!) and stop checking my site. I realize that, quite frankly, most people won’t even notice if I don’t update my blog or even care. But I still worry.
I like having lots of readers and I know that I’ve stopped following a blog because they didn’t update frequently enough for my taste. I’ve also stopped reading blogs because they posted too much and I just couldn’t handle Google Reader exploding with their posts. And some of my very favorite blogs post on a sporadic, although fairly regular, basis (e.g. at least weekly, but rarely daily).
I like to think that quality trumps quantity. But does it?
I know that I should blog on a schedule that works for me but one of my favorite aspects of blogging is the response I get from readers and I think regular posting encourages regular readers and commentary.
Does anyone else worry about how often to post? Does quality really matter more than quantity or is just about quantity sometimes? Am I overreacting? 
{ 12 comments… read them below or add one }
I am so glad you posted this as I am going through a similar dilemma.
What I have decided is I’m going to strive to post 5 days a week…and if I post more, I post more (and same goes if I happen to post less).
I also believe that you can’t always plan when you will get the urge to blog about something (i.e. you may stumble across a great article, eat a great dish at a potluck, find a controversial link on FB or Twitter, etc).
I think as long as you post a few times a week, you shouldn’t lose any readers and will be less stressed about feeling like you have to post all the time.
Completely relate. I used to think I had to post three times a day, but I had nothing to talk about so I try to post once a day. Gaining readers is hard too. It’s like some people only read your blog if you comment on theirs. It makes me wonder if people like my blog or if they read mine because I read theirs.
Lots of blogs post multiple times a day. Lots of advice on how to be a good blogger says to post once a day. I have lots of things I’d like to write about and lots of recipes I want to cook. But sometimes I only post once a week. Why? Because I’m freakin’ busy and sometimes blogging isn’t the most important thing in my life. Sure, it keeps my readership from being as high as it could be and I sometimes get frustrated that my own blog isn’t the quality that I’d like it to be, but then I remember that it’s *my* blog and it’s supposed to be enjoyable for me to write. If the stress of updating regularly makes being a blogger not fun, that’s stress I don’t need.
I would rather have one worthy post than a smattering of crap just for posting’s sake. It’s like that bowl of oatmeal, over and over and over and over and over….
I worry about this all the time, ever since I stopped posting the daily eats format. I’d rather make interesting and thoughtful posts but sometimes I feel the need to just post about SOMETHING, to make sure a post pops up. The weekends are the toughest but on the other hand readership goes way down on the weekends anyway. I’ll figure out a pattern someday!
I used to worry how often I post but now I’ve just accepted that I’m not nor will I ever be a 3x a day poster or even every day for that matter. You have to do what works best for you and readers will come back because hopefully they like what you have to say. I blog for fun, so when it turns into an obligation it takes that out of it. At the very least I’ll post once a week, more if I’m having a good week and I can find a some time at night to sit and do it. Blogs should be fun and a nice way to share experiences, thoughts, lessons etc and to maybe even meet some great people. I don’t want it to be that annoying second job that I have to stress about getting to on time. People will either read or they won’t. Either way is alright with me.
I really think quality trumps quantity. I honestly believe you shouldn’t update unless you have something of value to share, and a run-of-the-mill healthy lunch is really not cause to post. I would have rather have a small group of intelligent readers who offer real insight in their comments as opposed to a giant readership who are like, “Oh! Wow! Looks yummy! Have a great day!”
I totally agree with you, quality trumps quantity and I often feel like I need to post everyday or I will lose readers. That being said, if I’m not feelin it, I’m not feelin it. Also, I think posting too much is a negative.
I went through this a little while back. I personally cannot keep up with blogs that post multiple times a day. I have a life that I need to live and can’t spend all of it reading blog updates. Since I couldn’t keep up with them, I don’t read them anymore.
I used to post more than once a day and it stressed me out a great deal. Plus I was spending so much time writing and worrying about a generic oatmeal post that I didn’t have time to post on topics I really wanted to talk about. I finally gave it up and am so much happier because of it! If I don’t post everyday, whatever. The world doesn’t end. Also I would rather spend that extra time with my husband as opposed to cranking out a subpar blog post just so someone can see the salad I had for lunch.
Basically, yes I agree, quality over quantity!
No, I totally feel you. I have very little time to blog and often go about it in spurts. But, I really really enjoy doing it. I’m a bit of a perfectionist, so I have a bit of the “all or nothing” attitude, which doesn’t help my blogging schedule. Often I will wonder if I should continue to blog if I really don’t have adequate time to really commit to it – at least as committed as the bloggers I regularly follow. My fiance put it into perspective for me by reminding me that I started blogging for myself and not for anyone else. Also, I think I’m only disappointing about 20ish people if I don’t post on a regular basis, if they are disappointed at all.
Stephanie, you hit the nail on the head: I shouldn’t take the fun out of blogging and make it feel like an obligation since I started blogging as a fun hobby. It’s not a job – I don’t get paid! – so I shouldn’t treat it like that.
This is currently something I’m dealing with, for sure. When I first started blogging a few months ago, I was doing it 3 times a day because I thought that was the “best” way to go about it. I realized I wasn’t posting any meaningful content, so I cut back to 2 times a day. But now with my schedule, I’m down to once a day. I realized that blogging was starting to stress me out, and it should NOT be that way! I don’t want it to be another result of my mild case of OCD….I want it to be something I do because I LOVE it. And like you said – quality over quantity! I hope I can get to the point where I go a day or *gasp* maybe two without blogging at all. I mean, I go on and on about the important of relieving stress and having mental wellness, yet here I am killing myself over a stinking blog post!