Proper Care and Feeding of Your Blog

Some of the more challenging aspects about blogging include figuring out what you're going to write about and then finding the time. I know I often get writers block when faced with the responsibility - self-imposed, mind you - that I must post something fresh on my blog before it starts gathering dust. Then again, a stagnant blog is a boring blog and boring equals no visitors.

Developing content for your blog can take a variety of forms such as writing, compiling and linking. Writing means you write your blog posts from scratch. Compiling means you gather information from other sources and bring the content together to create a blog post. If you compile, make sure you cite your sources. Linking is simply finding something interesting on another blog and posting something brief about it and linking to it.

And of course, as you develop blog content, you can use any combination of the above. More thoughts on blog post styles in a moment...

The Schedule
So how often should you post before people start to notice the dust collecting? Many bloggers post daily or at least several times a week. Depending on how many blogs I'm working on at any given time, I try to post at least once or twice a week. When I'm just concentrating on one particular blog and really working to build up my audience, I will try to post daily. Although sometimes I have ideas for many posts, I try to space them out rather than publishing them all on a single day in order to keep the interest in my blog going. Some bloggers are so prolific they are comfortable posting several times a day.

Once you establish a schedule, people who are following your blog begin to expect a consistency in posting. But what happens if you don't stick to a regular schedule? You might lose your audience unless they are accustomed to checking back with your blog periodically. If you aren't trying to build a blog following, frequency and consistency of posting becomes irrelevant and when you blog is totally up to you.

I know when I've established a solid following for one of my blogs and then I fail to post for a few days, I actually get emails from my readers checking in to make sure I'm okay. When you develop a rapport and relationship with your readers, blogging on a consistent basis takes on a whole new importance.
You have to be realistic about how often you can post. Take a look at the rest of your time commitments. Then figure out how long a post usually takes for you to compose. Fifteen minutes? An hour. Where can you the time you need to post to your blog?

Just because you can squeeze in a half hour in the morning before starting your day does not mean you'll be inspired at that time. If you are a stay-at-home mom blogging about motherhood, you may end up having to take advantage of whatever natural break occurs during your day such as nap-time. My blogging schedule has changed drastically since I've become a new mom. I used to blog anytime I had an idea. These days, I find myself blogging in the wee hours of the morning after I feeding my baby and putting her back to sleep.

The Style
Here are several blog posting styles that can save you time on your blog posting duties:

1. Narrative content ? This is an essay-style post that can be either long or short but often takes longer to compose so can be time-consuming.

2. Compiled content ? By excerpting and properly citing sources for the experts, you can quote other blogs or content online or offline. Excerpting less than 200 words of source material can help prevent copyright infringement. Using links to lead visitors to sources that you cite is another good idea.

3. Linked content ? This involves linking to other content that can be read to supplement your own post content. The trick is to be able to easily create links in HTML in your posts. There can be less narrative in linked content posts.

4. Link lists ? The original weblogs were lists of links to other sites with a minimum of commentary. As long as you know how to create a link, this style of post can be a time-saver in terms of text but could take a while to locate and organize the links.

5. Collaborative content ? Sharing the posting load with others and alternating posting schedules. In blog terms, this is often called a multi-author or multi-user blog.

When preparing to post, don't think you have to write a novel to get people's attention. Sometimes the best way to express yourself on your blog is to compose short, succinct posts. If you begin your blog with longer posts, you might experience writer's block because the thought of posting becomes intimidating. Don't try to do too much too soon.

Also, when you begin posting on your blog, just be yourself. If you try to use an unfamiliar voice or style because you think it might sound more appealing, you end up putting even more pressure on yourself to "perform" on your blog. Keep it real and the words will flow.

The Ideas
Sometimes, an idea for a blog post can come to you when you are nowhere near a computer. Make a habit of jotting down the idea so you can refer to it later and see if you still feel compelled to post about it. You might also read something online, in another blog or on another Web site, that sparks an idea for a post but you are at work or pressed for time. Quickly e-mail the article to yourself or e-mail your personal address with a link so you can refer to it later. Don't let those great ideas get away from you.

No matter how you decide to blog, you always have the right to change your blogging frequency and style any time you want. This is your blog. You make up the rules. Check out my new book "The Everything Blogging Book for more tips and information on blogs, bloggers and blogging!