If you’re like most makers I know, blogging is a major thorn in your side.
You know having a blog is important, but you struggle to make time.
(You do know that having a blog is important, right? A strong blog can improve your SEO, build trust with potential customers, and establish you as an expert.)
Between designing products, attending shows, shipping orders, and having a life, it’s easy to let your blog slip through the cracks. You wake up one morning and realize it’s been two months since you’ve written a blog post! You vow to do better!
It’s at this point that a lot of makers commit two of the biggest mistakes I see made on their blog:
1. You make excuses.
2. You make promises.
I’m guilty of this too. We’ve all seen the post that starts with “Sorry I’ve been away so long but…” and ends with “I promise and try to post here more in the future.” Perhaps you’ve even written a few yourself. I know I have.
These types of posts are, at best, pointless, and at worst, a turn off to your readers.
But what if it really has been two months since your last post? And what if you really do promise to be better?
First, don’t sweat it. Your readers are busy people too. They probably didn’t realize how long it’s been since your last post. Until you just pointed it out. So don’t broadcast it. Just write a new post like your last one was yesterday. (Note: if you’re a very infrequent blogger, you should consider removing the date stamps on your posts. That way people really can’t realize how long its been since the last one.)
Second, don’t make promises you aren’t necessarily going to keep. It’s admirable to want to tell your readers, “from now, you’ll see daily posts about X, Y, and Z.” But people don’t want to be told what they’re going to see. They just want to see it.
I recently recommitted to blogging on my other site. No fanfare. No apologies. I just did it.
In order to hold myself accountable, I created an editorial calendar. (Which I’m following loosely.) But I didn’t broadcast that either. I just started.
So if you’ve fallen off the blog bandwagon, no big deal. Just pick yourself off, dust yourself off, and get back on the blog.
No apologies. No promises. Just do it.
fantastic advice. you are so right. it ends up being that “darn old blog” when it should be “awesome! I can blog about this today” thanks Megan for your fresh & current advice.
This is the commitment I made. A year ago. I stopped making excuses and learned to blog ahead and schedule them. Now, I have a Blog Planner that I create myself (http://slmpetersen.blogspot.com/2011/06/studio-talk-blog-planner.html), I write several posts when the mood hits and I schedule them out through the course of each week. I have gained readers and also in comment content. People only really care when you actually have something to say…not just the empty promises and apologies. Great article. Thanks for the share.
Couldn’t agree more, it’s such a turn off to read ‘sorry I’ve been busy/slack/mia’. Just get to the interesting bit already. That is my advice when someone asks about starting a blog – ‘just don’t be one that apologises for missing a post’. Readers generally don’t care that much. Gosh I follow 180 blogs, do you think I know if you missed a post. ….gonna go take off my grouchy pants now and call it a night
Agreed x 1000. I cringe whenever I read ‘sorry, blah blah blah’. It’s not that I don’t have that thought when I’ve fallen away from my normal schedule, but I don’t write it because it really doesn’t matter to my readers. Plus I don’t like to point out my own mistakes 🙂
Great advice. I’ve done this so many times with personal blogs! Now that I have one for a business though, I’ve gotten more serious about it. I really like the idea of a blog planner like in the comment above.
I know it’s been a long time since I’ve commented, but I promise to do it more often! 🙂
Since baby came along, my blog has been seeing its days of tumbleweeds followed by excuses just as you said! I love your advice to remove the date stamp – I may go do that right now!
Great advice – right on point. I do this to myself all the time. It’s like anything else – I make to go to the gym, I can make time to blog. I like the date stamp idea – I might need to do that 😉
So true! I hardly ever notice when someone I follow hasn’t been blogging in a while (I mean, don’t we all read oodles of posts a day?), but that ‘sorry’ post sticks out like a sore thumb!
Thank you, thank you, thank you for this post! I’ve been postponing writing on my blog for months, making excuses and promising myself it would be the last time for so long, I feel terribly embarrassed. Now that I know I am not the only one, first thing I’ll do is remove the dates and just give each post a number. And second… well, I’m not promising anyothing, just in case. lol.
this is great. you couldn’t be more right. i’ve done exactly that – ‘i haven’t been here in so long, sorry’ and the ‘i’ll do x,y,z from now on’ only to fall again and rinse and repeat. i’ve been good about keeping up these days, but i know i’ll fall behind again, so now i know next time to point out my absence and just move on;)
While I agree it is important to write, I also think it is important to alter your blog so you don’t show dates. For most, especially creative and informative blogs, the date of the post is irrelevant, the content is key.
Write regularly but, more importantly, write when you have something to say. Writing for the sake of writing is deadly for you and your blog.
(Blogging for 6 years now, just coming off of a 1 year break)
I’ve thought about this every once in awhile when I’ve missed a few weeks of posting… but every time I start to apologize, I stop myself. The only thing worse than no content is useless content. I’ve been trying harder to recognize WHY I read the blogs I read… and I hate it when bloggers apologize. So thanks for affirming my beliefs!
this is such a nice read! great tips
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Thank you for such a lovely no-nonsense post. Love it! We all live busy lives and I surely don’t notice when other bloggers don’t blog. Why would anyone notice when it’s been a while since my last post. I’ll stop apologizing from now on:-)
Birgitte
Megan, I feel like you’re talking directly to me! Like I was caught red-handed. It makes sense what you say. I won’t do it again 😉
Great points. I talk to a lot of small business owners and entrepreneurs who don’t necessarily always have time to create their own content. Sometimes I will see an “I’ll blog more often, I promise” post, which is done with good intentions. But, you’re right; it’s a turn-off.
Great advice and as a new blogger a tip I will keep in mind!
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This is exactly what I needed to hear right now! Thank yooou! 🙂