Why (And How) Writers Should Blog Every Day

Filed under Proactive Writer, Promote your book.

I recently posted about why I believe writers needed to blog every day – it created some debate!

I have now thought more about this topic and, after discussing it with a number of writers, I am now even more convinced that blogging every day (by this I mean work days) is essential for any writer looking to build a platform.

I don’t say this lightly, or to be controversial, I say this because I am passionate about offering the best possible advice for writers looking to build an online platform.

So let’s cut to the chase. The internet offers a unique opportunity for writers. It provides them with the tools needed to get their work read by more people than any other moment in history. But let’s not kid ourselves, though setting up a platform is easy, making it work and spreading your message is tough (very tough).

Many bloggers (myself included) have in the past suggested that the whole process is easy – we were lying and we were wrong! Though it takes very little financial resources to establish a voice online, it does take a huge amount of time and effort for it to be heard.

I think the crux of the matter is that I am talking about becoming influential in your space. If your goal is to express yourself online to a select group of readers, then my advice is not for you. Don’t get me wrong, I truly believe this is a noble and valuable goal – yet my words are for writers looking to use the internet to build a career.

This leaves writers with a question:

Do you really have the dedication to build a platform?

The biggest objection, that has been levelled to my suggestion that a writer should blog every day, was that it would reduce the time they had to write.

Seriously, is it really a choice between blogging and writing?

I fully understand people have lives and that writing is something they do in their spare time. I would hate to think that a writer was giving up precious writing time to blog. In fact, I blogged earlier this week suggesting the opposite.

Let me just take a slight detour. The number one priority MUST be to write and get your book written. Without a written book you have nothing to pitch and nothing to sell. If you genuinely have so little free time that it is consumed fully by writing, then forget about trying to build a loud online voice. Instead, focus on making your book amazing, producing a great book pitch and approaching traditional publishers.

If you are looking to build a platform then it all comes down to priorities. If you are going to build an online presence then you need to develop a voice and audience. The more you push, the louder your voice becomes.

The problem writers face is that there are now thousands of writers building platforms. Thousands of writers with twitter streams and irregular blogs…thousands. Thousands of writers whispering into the wind.

The question that faces you is what are you doing to be heard?

Blogging every day makes a difference. The massive output of content feeds google, attracts visitors (potential readers) and builds your voice.

Yet it is hard work. The key comes down to priorities. If you are serious about building a platform, then it needs to become a job (a way of life). You need to ‘find’ time each day to read blogs, leave comments, play with twitter, update your Facebook and write blog posts.

It is finding the time that is key.

Ask yourself – How long does it take to write a blog post?

For me it is about 30 minutes.

I find it hard to believe that you can’t find 30 minutes each day to write a blog post. You could do it in your lunch break or watch less TV or not play on the Xbox or get up a bit earlier or go to bed a bit later.

It is all about priorities…what is more important than building your voice?

But, perhaps I am being unfair.

Maybe you do want to build a platform, perhaps you are passionate about getting your voice heard, but blogging every day just isn’t…well…you. Then fine, you still have a chance.

The key is to be amazing and different.

Perhaps you are writing amazing blog posts on a weekly basis and this may be enough. Word of Warning! These need to be amazing not just very good. If people are not reading them, talking about them and sharing them they are probably not amazing!

Though perhaps blogging just isn’t your thing. I am serious. Who said that just because you are a writer you need to be a great blogger? Maybe you would be better with a podcast or a video blog or a photo stream or…well…anything. If you can’t be an amazing blogger, go produce the best Facebook fan page ever or free downloadable ebook.

The key for a writer building a platform is to stand out from the crowd. Your duty as a writer who is looking to stand out from the crowd is to find the platform from which you can be heard the clearest.

Here’s some tips from Chris Brogan on blogging every day.

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  • http://djkirkby.blogspot.com/ DJ Kirkby

    I’m hedging my bets and hoping that blogging three times a week is enough as that is all I can manage while working full time and writing in the hours I used to use for sleep.

    • garysmailes

      Why not try a week where you blog every day? On sunday, write down the outline for five ideas and then post these during the week.

  • http://www.gamesbrief.com Nicholas Lovell

    I’m not entirely sure I agree with “every day”, but if you aim for every day, you might get three a week.

    I run a blog on the Business of Games at http://www.gamesbrief.com. I am writing an ebook for it too (just finishing up at 150 A4 pages). I find that doing the two is symbiotic – I think of things that I would like to blog about and think “that would go well in the book” or I think of an idea that doesn’t fit in the book but would make a good blog post.

    The key for me is to stop thinking about “must write a blog post” and to change to “that’s an interesting idea, I’d like to share it”. That has changed my approach to blogging more than anything else.

    • garysmailes

      This is amazing advice. I tend to use the blog as a sounding post for ideas. Sometimes they are great, sometimes they stink up the internet. The key is that readers know I am honest and open. The idea of the ebook and blog relationship is interesting. I often find that when writing books I miss the interactive nature of blog posts. Anyway, why is a blog post any less worthy than a printed page?

      • http://www.gamesbrief.com Nicholas Lovell

        Because it is still easier to charge for the printed page? :-)

  • http://www.paulinerowson.com Pauline Rowson

    A good blog post and sound advice. I run two different types of blogs and usually blog four times a week on each, sometimes more, and I am increasing this, as I am seeing it attract more visitors and followers. I also write full time (crime novels) blog on three other social network sites, my official web site and use feeds to update Facebook etc. In addition some of my blog posts have been used as articles in magazines. Building a platform for yourself as a writer also includes media releases, talks and book signings all of which in turn feed back into blogs. The whole point about any marketing, for it to be effective, is that you should communicate a clear message, consistently.

    • garysmailes

      You are my Friday Hero!

  • Anonymous

    I’m sure you’re right Gary. My blog’s relatively new, but already I can see a clear trend. When I manage 2-3 consecutive days of blogging, Google Analytics shows an upward trend of visits, but when there’s a gap of a few days (as there just has been), the numbers fall back, and I need to start building all over again.

  • http://twitter.com/astridparamita Astrid Paramita

    I see it this way. Blogging is waaay easier that writing a novel. I don’t have to make an incredibly long post. I concentrate on making short things, or even just a photo or two. If I feel like I have more things to say, then I write longer posts.
    I find blogging is a good training for the mind to write something that’s engaging to other people. Finding things around me that might be of interest to other people. Sometimes it work, most time it doesn’t. But the good thing about blogging everyday is: I learn. And people could easily forget the bad things that you wrote if you write better things ;) .

    BUT, to be honest, I haven’t succeed in blogging every day, and sadly the reason for it wasn’t that I’m too busy working on my book. Most of it because I’m just too lazy to think about it *headdesk*. I want to do it starting yesterday :) .

    Thank you for this post, BubbleCow!

  • http://varietypages.jamiedebree.com Jamie D.

    I’ve been blogging seven days per week – but to create *quality* content, it was taking me longer and longer to write each post, and it was cutting into my writing time (I also work full-time, and do both blogging and writing at night). I’m cutting back to five posts per week, and rather than just use the “work week”, I studied the statistics on my blog, and chose to cut the two least popular days in terms of page views and site hits to cut. For me, that turned out to be Thursdays and Sundays. I like blogging, but it definitely was getting in the way of my writing when I started producing higher-quality content (because it simply takes more thought and time to write those).

    I do visit many blogs that have new content two or three days per week, and I actually kind of appreciate the fact that they give me a “breather” between posts. I follow literally hundreds of blogs, and I do tend to pay more attention to those with less constant content when they come up simply because the posts are a bit more “rare”. So I’m not in the “you must blog every day” camp as a reader…sometimes less is more, in my opinion.

  • http://djkirkby.blogspot.com/ DJ Kirkby

    I'm hedging my bets and hoping that blogging three times a week is enough as that is all I can manage while working full time and writing in the hours I used to use for sleep.

  • http://www.gamesbrief.com Nicholas Lovell

    I'm not entirely sure I agree with “every day”, but if you aim for every day, you might get three a week.

    I run a blog on the Business of Games at http://www.gamesbrief.com. I am writing an ebook for it too (just finishing up at 150 A4 pages). I find that doing the two is symbiotic – I think of things that I would like to blog about and think “that would go well in the book” or I think of an idea that doesn't fit in the book but would make a good blog post.

    The key for me is to stop thinking about “must write a blog post” and to change to “that's an interesting idea, I'd like to share it”. That has changed my approach to blogging more than anything else.

  • garysmailes

    This is amazing advice. I tend to use the blog as a sounding post for ideas. Sometimes they are great, sometimes they stink up the internet. The key is that readers know I am honest and open. The idea of the ebook and blog relationship is interesting. I often find that when writing books I miss the interactive nature of blog posts. Anyway, why is a blog post any less worthy than a printed page?

  • garysmailes

    Why not try a week where you blog every day? On sunday, write down the outline for five ideas and then post these during the week.

  • http://www.gamesbrief.com Nicholas Lovell

    Because it is still easier to charge for the printed page? :-)

  • http://fictiongroupie.blogspot.com Roni @ Fiction Groupie

    I think this is great advice. I blog every work day and it really has been the key to building up a following. Even when I’m going to be on vacation or away, I set up “reruns” of my more popular post to keep content flowing while I’m gone. It does take time, but once you make it part of your routine, it’s pretty easy to churn out posts.

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  • http://www.paulinerowson.com Pauline Rowson

    A good blog post and sound advice. I run two different types of blogs and usually blog four times a week on each, sometimes more, and I am increasing this, as I am seeing it attract more visitors and followers. I also write full time (crime novels) blog on three other social network sites, my official web site and use feeds to update Facebook etc. In addition some of my blog posts have been used as articles in magazines. Building a platform for yourself as a writer also includes media releases, talks and book signings all of which in turn feed back into blogs. The whole point about any marketing, for it to be effective, is that you should communicate a clear message, consistently.

  • garysmailes

    You are my Friday Hero!

  • alainmiles

    I'm sure you're right Gary. My blog's relatively new, but already I can see a clear trend. When I manage 2-3 consecutive days of blogging, Google Analytics shows an upward trend of visits, but when there's a gap of a few days (as there just has been), the numbers fall back, and I need to start building all over again.

  • http://twitter.com/astridparamita Astrid Paramita

    I see it this way. Blogging is waaay easier that writing a novel. I don't have to make an incredibly long post. I concentrate on making short things, or even just a photo or two. If I feel like I have more things to say, then I write longer posts.
    I find blogging is a good training for the mind to write something that's engaging to other people. Finding things around me that might be of interest to other people. Sometimes it work, most time it doesn't. But the good thing about blogging everyday is: I learn. And people could easily forget the bad things that you wrote if you write better things ;) .

    BUT, to be honest, I haven't succeed in blogging every day, and sadly the reason for it wasn't that I'm too busy working on my book. Most of it because I'm just too lazy to think about it *headdesk*. I want to do it starting yesterday :) .

    Thank you for this post, BubbleCow!

  • http://varietypages.jamiedebree.com Jamie D.

    I've been blogging seven days per week – but to create *quality* content, it was taking me longer and longer to write each post, and it was cutting into my writing time (I also work full-time, and do both blogging and writing at night). I'm cutting back to five posts per week, and rather than just use the “work week”, I studied the statistics on my blog, and chose to cut the two least popular days in terms of page views and site hits to cut. For me, that turned out to be Thursdays and Sundays. I like blogging, but it definitely was getting in the way of my writing when I started producing higher-quality content (because it simply takes more thought and time to write those).

    I do visit many blogs that have new content two or three days per week, and I actually kind of appreciate the fact that they give me a “breather” between posts. I follow literally hundreds of blogs, and I do tend to pay more attention to those with less constant content when they come up simply because the posts are a bit more “rare”. So I'm not in the “you must blog every day” camp as a reader…sometimes less is more, in my opinion.

  • http://fictiongroupie.blogspot.com Roni @ Fiction Groupie

    I think this is great advice. I blog every work day and it really has been the key to building up a following. Even when I'm going to be on vacation or away, I set up “reruns” of my more popular post to keep content flowing while I'm gone. It does take time, but once you make it part of your routine, it's pretty easy to churn out posts.

  • http://www.fictionbycmholst.webs.com Cathleen Holst

    What if I have nothing new and exciting to talk about on a daily basis? I have a website (where I occasionally blog) as well as a Facebook fan page. But right now I really don’t have anything (IMHO) to talk about. I am working against a deadline to finish rewrites and edits for the publication of my debut novel “Everleigh in NYC” (plug!). I suppose I could blog about my rewrites and edits, but wouldn’t that get a bit tiresome after a while? I mean, how much can I mix up edits and rewrites before people get tired of reading? I don’t know, I’m so new at this I never know if what I’m doing is working.

  • http://www.fictionbycmholst.webs.com Cathleen Holst

    What if I have nothing new and exciting to talk about on a daily basis? I have a website (where I occasionally blog) as well as a Facebook fan page. But right now I really don't have anything (IMHO) to talk about. I am working against a deadline to finish rewrites and edits for the publication of my debut novel “Everleigh in NYC” (plug!). I suppose I could blog about my rewrites and edits, but wouldn't that get a bit tiresome after a while? I mean, how much can I mix up edits and rewrites before people get tired of reading? I don't know, I'm so new at this I never know if what I'm doing is working.

  • http://louisewise.blogspot.com/ lousie wise

    If I haven’t got anything to blog about I cheat. I ask to “interview” or do a feature on an author. In fact I’ve so many waiting to appear on my blog I’ve had to put it on hold!

    This works me for and the author I’m blogging about.

  • http://louisewise.blogspot.com/ lousie wise

    If I haven't got anything to blog about I cheat. I ask to “interview” or do a feature on an author. In fact I've so many waiting to appear on my blog I've had to put it on hold!

    This works me for and the author I'm blogging about.

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