Don’t Blog Until You’re Ready

Posted March 15th, 2010 / By David Griffiths in Misc

I’m probably not the only one who’s ever jumped the gun and wanted to start a project right away. And in blogging circles, the pressure to make a premature start comes from several angles:

• The technology is so easy.
• Everyone’s doing it.
• I mustn’t get left behind.
• Blogging is supposed to be casual.

Well, most of these points are true. And in a fast-paced environment like the web, it can seem even more important than usual to avoid delay. But here’s a wakeup call.

Most Blogs Fail

Remember that old saying about failing to plan, and planning to fail? It applies to blogging. Most articles that promote starting a blog emphasise points that I consider to be secondary like how often you’ll write and what about.

The primary concern you should have is whether you’ll write at all! Because statistically speaking, not many people do. And going from non-writer to persistent weekly or even daily writer (not to mention all the other tasks involved) represents a significant change in lifestyle and thinking habits.

Beyond All-or-nothing

Blogs tend to be setup as interminable soap operas, destined to stretch on into infinity. But actually it doesn’t need to be that way. Take a step back and look at blogging’s close cousin, podcasting. Blogs and podcasts both have something big in common, and that is RSS feeds. But while blogs are often infinite, podcasts can just as easily be limited to 10 episodes, or some other number.

My point is, consider alternate blogging scopes. Judging by the fact that many blogs fizzle out after a certain amount of time, it might be better to plan a few limited ones first as a step towards long-term commitment. Planning episodes in advance will also give you a taste of the discipline involved in maintaining an emotional and topical arc for your blog posts, even more important over the long term. And ending on purpose can turn a short blog into a permanent resource, instead of half-finished waste of time.

Some examples of shorter blog concepts would be: groups of related tutorials that combine to cover a specific knowledge area (eg Nanna’s lost recipes), or even just news coverage of a specific event.

Think Ahead

If you do embark on a long-term blogging project, it’ll pay to write as much material as you can about the subject matter ahead of time. For a few reasons. First, you’ll be able to identify any holes in your expertise or thesis. Second, you’ll have the opportunity to practice a unified style, pace and tone. And third, because the more source material you have lying around, the better equipped you’ll be to plan future instalments and ever cover downtime or vacations.

David loves working with people and being creative. He blogs at DX Griffiths.com, and posts as @dxgriffiths on Twitter. You can contact him anytime via LinkedIn.