Update (11 months later): This post may contain some outdated advice. The main advice that is applicable to the average blogger is that you should have a post frequency. That’s all. As for the rest of the advice, follow with caution.
Inconsistency…
Why is it such a big deal in blogging and writing?
Anybody’s guess. It’s because in blogs, people expect you to have a regular posting schedule. They don’t want to be forced upon two posts on the same day, but they also don’t want to wait a whole month for a single post.
I’ll admit it.
I suffer from inconsistency too.
If you’re one of those people who notice the details, you’ll know about it. 6 posts in July—5 in August—and this including, 3 in September. (Statistics of this blog).
And you might ask: What’s wrong about these statistics? It’s really natural to post 3 posts in a month. And it’s really natural for the posts to be a high amount in the first month: everybody’s excited about the launch.
But what’s not natural: I posted some of these posts on the same day. In fact, there was a day when I posted, ahem, 3 posts on the same day. And then an 18 day break. Ouch.
Now that’s inconsistency.
You probably face it too. In blogging, everyone does. It’s inevitable. It’s natural. But can’t we do something about it? Can’t we?
Of course we can!
It only needs a little hard work, little organization skills, and most of all: determination. Doing your homework first, calling in your creativity, and “just doing it”!
Why does everyone say blogging is a good choice for writers? Because blogging forces them to produce. To produce without having to cut—that comes later. Blogging makes our writing speed faster, forces us to produce better and tighter posts, and altogether, improves our writing skills.
Not to mention, there’s nothing like that feeling when you’ve written a great post and hit the “Publish” button. 😀
And blogging also forces writers to write consistently and continuously. It’s a great way of building your presence on the web.
Back to inconsistency, though.
How to get rid of it
Make a posting schedule. Seriously. It’s the best way. Command yourself to make a post at least once in a week. Two a week is okay and even good. But more than that, and your readers (especially RSS ones) will feel overcooked.
Don’t—I repeat, don’t—post two posts in a day. And also, don’t post if you have nothing to say. If you post just for the sake of posting, your credibility will suffer.
Update: For some niches, this is wrong advice. Suppose you’ve got a tech news blog. That niche is certainly updated very frequently. Therefore, people expect you to post two or more articles per day.
If you feel you have no time to post once a week, maybe you shouldn’t do this. However, I think that with time, posts do not feel a responsibility—they feel fun to write once you can write them faster. To achieve that one has to have practice. Perfection is the prize of practice and patience!
And when you do that, the critics will have nothing to say
That’s true. The ones who grumble at your inconsistency will be surprised by your consistent posting schedule and the quality posts. They may even begin to respect you as a presence on the web ;-), and, even subscribe!
Inconsistency is only a lazy man’s way to work. Inevitable and natural in the beginning, but you must nip it firmly in the bud afterwards.
Have Your Say
How do you feel about inconsistency? Is it nothing to you? Or is it a big deal? Let us know by commenting.
Update: Since the time, I wrote the post, I have realized that it is NOT natural to post three or so posts per month. People except you to post three posts per week. Sorry for the mistake. Blogging, after all, is a fast journal-like format.
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