Because I Wasn’t In The Mood… Skipping Blog Posting Dates

Did you like the post I wrote on Monday? I’m thinking you probably didn’t, since I didn’t have a post go live on Monday.

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Usually on this blog I post on Mondays and Thursdays. I did that the two weeks before this one. The week before those two I had a post every day, as I was doing a survey and wanted to try to maximize the coverage as much as I possibly could.

There’s this thing about trying to keep on a consistent schedule so that your visitors will always know when to expect content from you. I’m not going to disagree with that because I can’t say for sure whether or not it’s true. I tend to believe that what’s more likely is people who like your content and visit your blog are more apt to be looking for new content whenever they visit, unless they’re stopping by daily. I know almost no one who’s doing that these days.

I do know a few people who are sticking with a schedule, but it’s a once a week thing these days. My buddy Adrienne has a new post every Monday, but once a month she releases a guest post. My buddy Peter writes a post every Friday, though these days it’s known as the Friday Funnies. So, I know when to check those folks out, and that is the part about understanding when people are releasing content you want to check on.

But what about… well, pretty much everyone else? Is anyone really paying attention to my Mondays and Thursdays? For that matter is anyone really paying attention to my Tuesdays and Fridays when it comes to my business blog?

No, I don’t think so. These days I notice that I get fewer consistent visitors to the blog. If there are more, they’re not commenting so I don’t know about it if they are coming more consistently than I know.

Actually, that’s not quite true. If I believe my Google Analytics then I know that the percentage of new visitors is 58% and returning visitors is 42%. That’s actually pretty good when compared to my business blog, where the percentage of new visitors is 78% compared to 22% for returning visitors.

Based on the comparison of the two, does anyone really think the difference is based on schedule?

I had a post ready to go on Monday… then decided I just wasn’t in the mood to release it. I wanted to make an educational point by not posting it, and then decided to let it sit until next Monday so I could comment on it today.

There’s always a lot of advice regarding posting frequencies, and of course having a set schedule so your audience knows when you’ve got something new coming out. I tend to believe in two things regarding this.

One, unless you’re going to write a lot, it’s better to write as many posts as you can but stagger their release so that you have consistent content going out, rather than having a day where you put out 3 posts and then don’t release anything again for a month.

Two, if you’re not someone who writes posts in advance and you’re feeling pressured to meet a deadline… unless someone’s paying you for it don’t worry about deadlines when it comes to your own blog. I think some kind of consistency is definitely needed if you’re serious about blogging. However, if you want to write a post a day or a post every couple of weeks, or if you usually have a post go live every Monday and Thursday but one of those days you’re just not feeling it… it’s fine. You’re okay; everyone does it.

So, there will be a post on Monday. I’m not guaranteeing a post next Thursday though. Why? I just might not be in the mood. 🙂
 

15 thoughts on “Because I Wasn’t In The Mood… Skipping Blog Posting Dates”

  1. I don’t always read all my favorite blogs, and I don’t always comment when I do. I’m still working my way back from near-terminal burnout, and it’s a slog, some days. It’s not you – it’s me. The “Comment Queen” is mostly full of “Meh” lately, no matter how interesting the content is!

    I’m the same way with my own blog, though, and always have been (except during brief stints of competitive overdrive). I write when I feel like it. Otherwise, it starts feeling like…work. And work is good, but I do that all day – and the blog (for me) was always about fun, first and foremost. It’s FUN for me to have readers and commenters and conversations and such – but only if it’s also fun for the readers. I’m not into perfunctory comments for the sake of looking like the blog’s not deader than a doornail. 🙂 My stats tell me it’s definitely NOT deader than a doornail, and the conversations that sometimes happen on the blog assure me the stats don’t lie. So it’s all good, but it isn’t paying the bills.

    That’d be that “work” thing. 🙂

    1. Holly, you’re one of the most sporadic writers I’ve ever come across. You might skip 10 days or so and then suddenly you’re writing multiple posts a day. You and your stories are the wildest thing to try to keep up with. lol

      Like you, I don’t comment on everything because… well… some stuff I just can’t figure out what to say. lol But you see me there so you know I’m commenting when I can. Still, I’m not saying it’s meaningless to have a publishing calendar, but it certainly makes it easier to spread one’s posts out for those days when you’re just not in the mood and you do have kind of a schedule.

      But if we’re not in the mood… that’s cool also. 🙂

  2. Hi Mitchell,
    I hear you. I hadn’t posted in weeks but I had my granddaughter in for a visit and time fly. I thought about blogging but just never sat down to do it til she left. I finally did it. But on a Friday and I was more of a Monday and or Thursday blogger. It is not easy to stick to a set schedule but once you get back into the routine it does help.
    I don’t believe in just posting for the sake of it. Why waste everyone’s time right?
    I do prefer seeing dates on post so I know the relevancy of them. It really bothers me when posts are NOT dated.
    I hope you have a great weekend and get back in the swing as September nears us.

    1. I’m with you when it comes to dates Lisa, though I understand the other side as well. As for routine, I still think it’s a good thing to do but when you’re not in the mood or have other stuff going on, don’t feel guilty about missing it. Yes, let’s look forward to a great September!

  3. Hey Mitch,

    I don’t think I’ve ever written a post in advance. I sometimes format a post in my head but by the time I’m ready to write it down I’ve forgotten all about what I wanted to say. 😀

    Actually, come to think of it I sometimes write the Friday Funnies post on Thursday ready for publishing on Friday.

  4. I belong to a group of bloggers that post on one topic every Friday. We have been doing that for over four years now. The original champions have dropped out, some new ones came in and have left and some newer ones have added some muscle to it but one constant has been my posts without fail every Friday except for four weeks when I was in hospital and in post surgery recovery. Isn’t that something?

    1. Rummuser, if I was a part of a group and that was the commitment I’d keep it. I always keep commitments I make to others unless there’s extreme times, in which case I’d write something to go live on that day.

  5. Sincerely if I aint in the mood I dnt write on my blog, if I do, trust me my writers wuld no, caz they keep enjoying my writeups anytime I find my self enjoying my writeups.

    If I don’t write an article and yet went further to publish it, I found out it get less shares, less views , less CTR’s and less attention from my audience, thus if I dnt have a reason to mae a social share I dnt.

    1. Actually Neon, although I’d like my posts being shared more often and have more comments across the board, I write because I want to write and I put out posts because I want to… not necessarily because I expect to hit a home run with each post of I’m worried that some of my audience won’t like it. Over the years I’ve written lots of posts that I just KNEW were winners that got no comments, and I’ve written some posts I thought were quite simplistic that people loved. Made me realize that it was up to me to put it out and promote it, and after that it’s up to people to decide if they like it enough to comment or share.

  6. Thank You! Very useful Post… Your comment policy is very tough. Hope my comment will aprove here.

    Yes, sometimes we dont have mood to work anymore with our laptop, post and so on. Same happend with me many of times; but I used to go out with my friends in order to refresh.

    Keep Posting!

    Regards,
    Astha

    1. Anything you can do to get back in the mood works in my book Astha; good stuff. As for a tough comment policy… it’s only tough when one isn’t used to writing a lot of comments. 🙂

  7. Mitch,
    As a blogger sometimes we getting bored while makiing content for our blog. But that time we can do some of exiting things like share our posts on social media, book our blog to social bookmarking sites and play wth html to add new exciting plugins or widgets to your blog. Like all things we can do when we bored. Thanks sir for your words on this .

    Cheers,
    Rahul

    1. No problem. Course, it’s not only boredom. Sometimes life gets in the way, business gets in the way… we all have to learn to go with the flow, no matter what it is… as long as we don’t stay in the water too long. 🙂

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