Blog question: How often do you post? What do you suggest?

[BenOnAdventures]

Good morning fellow adventurers, I was just wondering about your blogs how often do you post/suggest to post? I was thinking of trying to start doing one per day, what do you think about that? What are your experiences? Thanks!!

[Another Kevin]

I post when I have something to say and the time to write about it. Sometimes that's twice in the same day, sometimes if I'm busy I go weeks without posting. I'm not trying to recruit an army of followers, I'm trying either to document stuff that I want to remember, or have something written up once that I can refer people back to. If you're trying to become known as a blogger, you'll of course have different goals and keep to a different schedule.

[linus72]

i post after each trip, unless its just a stroll in a nearby park to get a quick nature fix. But any significant day hike or multi day backpacking trip i put up. Its really just to share with family and anyone who's interested, not a money maker by any means. Doing one a day would be impossible on my current schedule. Maybe when I retire in 20 years! It would be fun to talk about new products, movies and other related media, etc. You can check it out if you want - happyonthetrails.wordpress.com . i guess my tip is do it as often as it remains fun to do. when it feels like a chore, you will not want to do it anymore!

[LoneStranger]

I'd rather be on trail so my posting frequency depends on the weather and family schedules. Thankfully this year I've been so busy planning trips, going on trips and recovering from trips that I'm three months behind on trip reports and haven't made any other sort of blog posts since spring.

Like Kevin said, if it is your job, you have to post a lot more and on a set schedule. If it is for yourself then don't let it get in the way of having fun.

[cycle003]

What is your goal for this blog? I blog about my trips and do some gear reviews, so my goals are to record my trips for my reference and sometimes to let other people know about some of the places and gear. Therefore, I post when I have something to say.

[BenOnAdventures]

Thanks for all of the sound advice everybody! I will take it account when planning what to do for my blog. I've had this blog about a year now and I first started a post a week, then I've moved to more, now I think I'm gonna aim for one per day unless I don't have anything to talk about/i'm on a trip/busy with family or other commitments. Thanks again, I truly do appreciate the input.

[Deacon]

Ben. Why exactly are you going to increase your post rate? If you have something to share, then fine, but why are you trying to put a "schedule" to it?

[russb]

It depends on the purpose. Some see blogs as a publishing medium for others to read. Some see blogs as their own personal journal which may or may not be viewable by others. I am in the latter. My blog is just an online journal. I care not if others read it. I wrote it for me, it is a record of my memories of my adventures. I just happen to allow others to read my diary. So for me, no schedule. If one is publishing for others then perhaps a routine schedule might be appropriate. However I cant imagine anyine would be able to find something worthwhile to write for others every single day. Heck, even professional writers do weekly columns at most. More is not necessarily better in this case. If it is crap no one will read it regardless of how often it comes out. Now a monthly gem might be worth it for others to read.

[cycle003]

More is not necessarily better in this case. If it is crap no one will read it regardless of how often it comes out. Now a monthly gem might be worth it for others to read.

Exactly. Quality, not quantity.

[Mags]

Post when you are moved. If you just post for the sake of posting, you may as well be Buzzfeed.

[OCDave]

Ben,

I do not blog. I am not likely to read your blog. With that in mind, you are free to disregard this post entirely.

What do you hope to achieve with your blog? Do you have an audience that looks forward to your posts? Or, are you looking to develop your writing skills? Could you keep up a daily post rate without resorting to writing garbage?

To develop your skill as a writer, post as often as you can generate something interesting and well written. Newspaper columnists, (there are still a few), generally produce 2 or 3 columns a week. (Google "Mike Royko"). Magazine columnists, (think- Frank Deford, Sports Illustrated) published once weekly or less.

While you are not likely to have the writing skills of Mike Royko, Frank Deford or even Paul Magnanti, at only 22 years of age you have time to develop. If you want to be a writer worth reading, write.

Good Luck

[RangerZ]

Do something to blog about.

[Violent Green]

Quality content is much more important than quantity. You will find that old & new readers cycle in & out - it's just how things go. The new readers are all drawn in by your best 2-3 articles.

Ryan

[BenOnAdventures]

Thank you to everyone for the great advice! I really appreciate it! I think I am going to aim to post about one time per day unless I am too busy with family, out on an adventure, have other commitments, etc. Thanks again!

[ralph23]

My suggestion is to keep posting random questions as a way of promoting your blog.

[MuddyWaters]

I dont
Dont blog
Dont trip report
No time for that, not to do it well, which should be a goal.

Once tried to writeup a multi week trip. Gave up after 4 full pages and i was still on first trail day. Literally like writing a book.

[4eyedbuzzard]

... a monthly gem might be worth it for others to read.

Exactly. Quality, not quantity.

Do something to blog about.

My suggestion is to keep posting random questions as a way of promoting your blog.

[Playing Devil's Advocate] There are hundreds of millions of blogs on the internet. 99% remain largely unread. Why should anyone read yours? What unique content coupled with expert knowledge and presented with an entertaining writing style are you offering me, the reader, in return for the investment of my precious time?

A once-a-month well written piece, based upon personal experience, exploring a topic in depth, will be read more than something written daily just to fill white space.

[Another Kevin]

I dont
Dont blog
Dont trip report
No time for that, not to do it well, which should be a goal.

Once tried to writeup a multi week trip. Gave up after 4 full pages and i was still on first trail day. Literally like writing a book.

You're right. I've accumulated rather a backlog myself. But it's a lot of work to do the research for a decent trip report. I do find that mine run to multiple pages for a single day - because once I start delving into the human and natural history of a spot, it's hard to stop. Postings like the one on the helicopter crash on Graham Mountain, my family's catastrophe on North Dome, or the rich Black history of one access road near the midpoint of the Northville-Placid Trail have meant a fair number of hours in the library or on the Internet.

Someday, I might find enough a common thread in all the disjoint anecdotes actually to write a book. Until then, they are what they are. I keep my journals primarily for myself, but don't care if other's read them. I'm not trying to self-promote here, but thought that if MuddyWaters's style is that much like mine, he might enjoy reading my take on some of these things.

One of these days I'll manage to learn more about the ghost town in the valley of the Countryman Kill, and write a piece on that. The highway is grown to trees, but there are still a lot of visible ruins. There is even the wreckage of some sort of mill. And I can't seem to find any mention in print that the place ever existed.

[linus72]

how do i update my signature to add my own blog in my footer. would love to share it more with interested folks without posting about it specifically

[rafe]

I've got a blog but nobody goes there. I wanted online access to all my best hiking photos, and the photos are too large -- slow to download, nobody's going to sit through that. WordPress is free for the taking, registering a domain is easy. Running a busy, active blog is something else altogether. Kind of a vicious cycle -- I'd put more effort into keeping it current if I thought anyone really came to visit. But there's no evidence that they do, so my motivation to work on it is near-zero.

Or you might say I've fallen prey to the WalMart-ization of the web, aka Facebook. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. If the goal is to share photos with friends, there's no easier way. Assuming your friends are on Facebook.