New Year’s Resolution: Consistency

I hate New Year’s resolutions. The whole ideas is just silly to me.  However, the first of the year for whatever reason feels like a blank slate.  There is a new sense of possibility that only seems to come around this time of year.

I’ve decided to capitalize on it by setting a new mission: consistency.

To do anything well, you need to do it consistently.  In my case, I run/manage about 26 sites year round in addition to one-off client projects.  Being so busy makes it hard to write on any of my sites consistently.  I’ll get a random post off from time to time, but doing it daily gets tough.

For 2010, I’m going to give it my best effort to write here on BlogCraving.com as regularly as possible.  It isn’t that there’s nothing to write about, it’s just a matter of sitting down and doing it.  Building and maintaining an audience only happens when a site consistently publishes new content.  It can be as little as one new post a day as long as it is done on a regular basis.

I’m also going to make a solid effort to comment on my favorite sites more often.  Being active on other websites is one of the best ways to get your self out there and known in the business.  Posting great comments on a regular basis will get you noticed.

How Many Topics Should a Blog Cover?

typing 250x187 How Many Topics Should a Blog Cover?One of the mistakes people often make is trying to be all things to all people in their blog. Folks, there’s a blog already out there on every topic you can imagine. From knitting blogs to squirrel awareness blogs to blogs about bubble gum. That’s right, it’s all been written about before.

So how many topics should your blog cover? Well, if you’re blogging for fun, cover as many as you want. Just do whatever makes you happy.

However, if you’re blogging for fame and fortune, I would advise that you establish your “wheel house” and stick to it. In general, people start to return to blogs over and over because they know what it is going to be about. I know when I go to my favorite Yankees blog, there’s not going to be something there about the Knicks. When I go to read a celebrity gossip blog, there isn’t going to be in depth political coverage, etc.

So ask yourself, what made you want to start your blog in the first place? Whatever the answer is, that’s what you should stick with.

Sure, there’s room for branches out into other directions once in a while, but the reader should always be able to find their way back to your central theme. Also, it’s kinda hard to keep all your “category buckets” fresh with new content. Once you have 20 different things to write about, eventually a category starts to get neglected. [Read more...]