I get asked this question often – and become acutely aware of it when not posting for short periods of time. Last week I was on the road downunder and just didn’t have time to get to posting.
For me, the simple answer is, as often as you can and whatever you are comfortable with. Not posting for extended periods of time will definitely cause folks to stray to other things. Will they come back? RSS keeps you on the radar for when you do raise your head – but I am still amazed how many folks are not using an RSS reader.
I’d rather post and read content of some quality than drivel for the sake of posting. So, rule of thumb – shoot for once a week, more if you can.
Thoughts?
Quality over quantity works for me. I’d rather read good, interesting content once a week than average content once a day (or more). I don’t have the time or inclination to wade through lots of rubbish just because someone once told the author that they had to post at least once a day to keep the readership happy.
But, like you say, I can adopt this attitude because I use RSS.
I’ve also noticed that there are only a few bloggers who I miss when they’re not posting frequently. And when I notice, it makes me realise that they are a blogger who I really do want to stay up-to-date with.
In that sense, less might be more – the readers who stay regardless of frequency of posting are the ones who really are important.
Here’s the problem…everyone SAYS quality, but I can tell you that quantity works.
Even I say quality and, based on the realities of my real life, it is what I focus on delivering.
But the more I post, the more I see traffic. I think the trick is posting thoughts in more of a snapshot format vs. a full-length tome. It allows you to find a happy medium.
David and Kevin are both correct. Quantity keeps people clicking on the site. Quality keeps them interested. The key is making sure there is always something releveant in the post. It can be one sentence or a dissertation…just keep it relevant to your readers.
Andy,
I agree with quality vs. quantity. I try to read through my favorite blogs on a daily basis and can’t keep up if postings are too frequent. I think there has been too much out there that you have to post frequently to build readership. While I understand the cause/effect, I prefer to absorb meaningful information.
Personally, I think your posting frequency is just right!
Deborah
The rule is: there are no rules. Especially for someone who is a professional who blogs rather than a professional blogger.
I’ve never unsubscribed because someone doesn’t post often.
You’re on my roll because when you blog you often say things I find interetsing, challenging or informative. I remove feeds because they aren’t doing that for me any longer.
If you’re paidcontent or TechCrunch, a lot of value comes from being aggregator-like, filter-like, because you know they always have info on what is current in their niche NOW.
Quantity merchants like Scoble I can do without. When they say something interesting for me I know that someone like you, or Steve Rubel, or TechMeme or someone else in the network will flag it and I’ll see it then.
If traffic is what you are looking for then quantity would seem to be the answer. If personal growth and influence then quality would seem to be the answer. Lots of quality would then seem to be the best of both worlds. Personally once to twice a week really pushes me.
(Nearly) everybody is going to aim for quality over quality over quantity, but whether this is the best option for your blog is another matter. for my $0.02 I think that the frequency of posts is influenced by what you are blogging about, and what the function of your blog is.
If it isn’t relevant to your subject to post every day then don’t, and have a longer post every few days/week. On the other hand if what you write about is fast moving in nature, then you will need to write often, and will possibly need only a short post each time to bring the reader up to speed.
(Nearly) everybody is going to aim for quality over quality over quantity, but whether this is the best option for your blog is another matter. for my $0.02 I think that the frequency of posts is influenced by what you are blogging about, and what the function of your blog is.
If it isn’t relevant to your subject to post every day then don’t, and have a longer post every few days/week. On the other hand if what you write about is fast moving in nature, then you will need to write often, and will possibly need only a short post each time to bring the reader up to speed.