Blogging 101- Staying Consistent

In my weekly ongoing series, Blogging 101, I discuss my quest towards being a full-time blogger who makes her income solely off her blog. It’s a daunting feat I know, and I am not exactly sure if I am ready to devote 100% to blogging full time, but my Blogging 101 series stands as a testament of my journey through my eyes, and hopefully not only helps myself, but others who are new to the blogging game as well.

This week, I wanted to talk about staying consistent. Of course, this is one of the hardest things to do in the blogging realm. That is, staying on top of your blogging content and updating your blog on a regular basis so that you can continue to gain readership as well as keep the readers you already have. Staying consistent is probably one of the most important things you can do for your blog. By updating your site, you are showing your audience first and foremost that you are serious about your blog. How many of you have been to a blog that you are interested in only to find out the person hasn’t updated the page in six months? Does that make you feel that the blog is being taken seriously by the writer? For me, that answer is no.

I have fallen victim to this as well on my personal blog site. The last time I blogged on there was in October I believe, during the same time that I began blogging on The Cubicle Chick. I realized that in order for me to take TCC to the next level, I have to devote as much time as I could on it, and that meant that my personal blog would suffer. I’ve left my readers on that particular blog hanging as well, but many of them are now readers of this blog. By the way, I plan on revamping my personal blog next year, but more on that later.

In order to become a seasoned blogger and a well regarded one, your content is most important. Now the real conundrum I have found is what is consistent? How often should you blog? I see some bloggers update their sites three to four times a week. Others like myself update the blog almost every day. Entertainment, gossip, and news driven blogs tend update several times a day in order to keep up with the breaking news stories of the day. I say this: if you update your blog almost every day, then you should always do so. If you update it three to four times a week, continue to do this consistently. This will become a pattern that your readers and subscribers will come to learn and appreciate, giving you credence and respectability in the blogging world. And one of the most important thing to remember is that most bloggers are also readers of other blogs, so know that when you are updating your blog, you are also being critiqued. Know your audience, be consistent with your blog posts and your topics, and most of all, enjoy what you are doing. Hard work can be, and should be, fun as well when you are doing it right.

Staying consistent doesn’t just mean doing the tangible items above, but other things that your readers may not see you doing on your blog. Check your email and respond to inquires and requests consistently. Also, check your statistics regularly so you know where your hits are coming from and it also will help you better understand your audience. Communicate with other bloggers and writers and try to develop communication because the transfer of information can be a powerful tool for all parties involved. Know your blog like the back of your hand. Know what you’ve posted, know what your strengths and weaknesses are and try to improve. Staying consistent means that you are on top of your blog in every way possible in order to help it get to that next level, whichever that level may be.

In my quest for greatness in blogging, I have been so fortunate to be surrounded by other bloggers who have been in the arena for some time and don’t mind sharing their tricks of the trade. I hope to one day be that valuable contact to another blogger coming up as well.

Here’s to happy blogging!