10 Oct 2008

The Pressure Is Immense

Image by VelvetG

Bloggers understand that the only way to build a sizable readership is to consistently write good content. However, I’ve read the advice of many bloggers that say once or twice a week isn’t enough to do this. Some suggest that blogging once a day may not be enough. The pressure on bloggers to produce enough quality content is enormous, especially when there are producers out there posting as often as 2-3 times per day.

What ends up happening is that bloggers start producing content just to have something new. This could take the shape of a weekly review or a linkbait article in which they jot down a quick list of some decent URL’s. In the end, I believe one of two things starts to happen.

Content starts to suffer as the blogger simply cannot keep up with the demand and realizes that he or she is in a losing battle with fickle RSS subscribers…or
The blogger falls into the trap of success and begins to blog his or her life away. Eventually, trying anything to keep the community around, the blogger runs out of steam and starts to panic due to the high expectations placed upon him or her.

In my opinion, making a living as a blogger simply isn’t a sustainable model…at least for the long haul. There are tons of bloggers making money right now, but most of them blog full time and have little time left over to pursue other investments. I subscribe to the theories of Tim Ferriss, who believes in working hard to create more time for yourself. My goal with blogging, is to create enough money to move into other realms of profit, not to get caught in a trap that has me blogging 10 times a day for the rest of my life.

Too many bloggers get caught in this trap and although I commend them for writing good content, I feel sorry that they have so little time for themselves. You’ll start to realize this is happening to you when you feel the pinch of your community pull you in a direction away from something else that is important to you, such as your family or personal time. I agree that in the beginning, busting your butt to produce massive amounts of content is a good way to turn your business into something sustainable, but you must be careful as you approach that fine line of no return.

There are options to avoid some of these situations, such as using guest bloggers, but readers get used to a certain style of writing and the success of guest blogging can be difficult to predict.

Please don’t get me wrong, I enjoy blogging and I don’t think I’ll be giving it up any time soon, but as media continues to evolve and the internet does with it, I don’t see blogging lasting as long as many hope it will. I don’t take my audience for granted either, but in the same token I realize that they can disappear at any minute and if that happens I should be prepared for that.

Personal Branding is the Key

This is why I suggest personal branding as a focus, rather than just blogging to stay afloat. If you are able to successfully brand yourself and treat your blog like a business, then your brand will survive changes in technology as well as changes in the pulse of information. With branding as one of your blog’s primary functions, you will be able to transform and adapt to anything that might come your way. Remain Fluid and flexible and don’t let yourself get caught into the trap of endless blogging.

What do you think? I am anxious to hear your thoughts.