“Bloggers’ block”? Don’t blog.
December 6th, 2005Kevin links to yet another guide to Battling Bloggers Block. But I have the perfect one-step solution: don’t blog. Frankly, if you don’t have something worth saying, or don’t have the time to say it, why bother. Go do something else. Heck, watch TV. Your blog will still be there later.
Now, of course, there are exceptions. If you are a “full-time blogger” or have some aspiration to be (“I’m not a waiter, I’m a blogger!”), then maybe this makes some sense. Or if you are a student who has been forced to blog regularly by some ogre of a teacher, then maybe you need some help. I will be distributing this great 10 killer post ideas listing to my students who are blogging next semester to inspire them.
But if you are an everyday, run-of-the mill blogger type, take the day off. I do. And consider whether the world really needs to know about your cat’s quirks or your least favorite color.
Is this about addictive bloggers? No, it’s about what people seem to value in blogging. There is clearly a relationship between frequency of blogging and traffic to a site. If you are after numbers, sure, blog incessantly. If you care more about the quality of your readership, stop for a moment and think about what they want. And maybe they are willing to wait until you have something not good, but great to tell them about.
Then again, maybe blogging is the medium of the “good, but not great.”
December 6th, 2005 at 11:53 am
Good point. The struggle is overcoming the need to express without alienating readers. I’ve come to realize that the more I blog, the less it becomes about me and more about what the “fans” want. What began as a semi-personal journey through life has become a comedian stand-up routine. (the online version)
July 15th, 2006 at 10:19 am
[...] It sure is frustrating, it must be “bloggers block” that many bloggers have talked about. [...]