You must Post each day on your Blog [misconceptions new Bloggers have # 2]

This post continues our Misconceptions New Bloggers Have series and looks at one of the most common questions I'm asked about when speaking about blogging — posting frequency.

I've lost count of the number of times I've heard prebloggers dismiss the idea of blogging because they don't have the time or discipline to produce daily blog posts.

The belief is that to be successful they need to get posts out daily (if not multiple times per day). The reality is that there is no single approach to successful blogging when it comes to how often one must post. There are plenty of examples of highly successful blogs that operate at both ends of the frequency spectrum (I'll highlight some less frequent posters below).

So what can we say about how often you should post? Let's take a look at some of the factors we need to consider.

The blogger/reader interaction is a lot like any relationship — the more you see one another as friends, the more you begin to know about each other, the more intimacy develops, and the more you get to trust each other (a big additive distortion modeling, I know).

Regular posting on your blog puts you and your brand in front of people on a regular basis, and this opens up the opportunity for a deepening relationship. Infrequent posting can lead to readers feeling disconnected, and to even forget who you are completely.

This was highlighted to me once at a conference when, after getting off the stage from speaking, I was almost knocked over in a warm embrace from one ProBlogger reader.

Through her tears she stammered, "I … just … feel … sob … like … I ... sniff ... know … you … so … well! "

Why did she feel that way? Every day she'd received an email from me with advice on how to build her blog.

Of course if we look at "real life" relationships we also have to acknowledge that the amount of time you spend with someone can also have the opposite effect. Have you ever had a friendship with someone that became a little too much? You know the relationships … where the other person leaps in so far that you end up feeling a little smothered!

Posting too regularly can get a little like that too.

I once surveyed readers here on ProBlogger about the reasons they unsubscribed to RSS feeds and the number one answer was "posting too much." Respondents expressed that they developed "burnout" and would unsubscribe if a blog became too "noisy."

There's a tipping point for every blog where one more post just becomes too much and readers begin to disengage.

So what's the tipping point? How many posts will grow the relationship and how many will destroy it?

Unfortunately there isn't a single number that will work for every blog — instead I suspect it really comes down to the relevancy and usefulness of the content you're producing. If what you're writing is going to solve problems and be valuable to them, they will forgive a lot, whether that's lots of posts or a long period between them.

One question to ask yourself on this front is, "What do my readers need?"

On one hand, you might find in answering that question for your readership that they need lots of short, sharp posts because there is a lot of breaking news in your niche that they want.In other cases you might find that your readers actually need thoughtful analysis — longer posts that they have time to chew on before moving onto another topic.

The answers to this question will depend a lot on the type of blog that you're running, the niche or topic, the style and length or content that you're producing, and the types of readers you're hoping to attract.

There are a few more benefits or more frequent posting that are worth mentioning:

More entry points into your blog via the search engines: Daily posting means 365 entrypoints into your blog for search users every year as opposed to 52 if you're posting weekly, or 12 if you go with monthly.More entry points into your blog through social media: Similarly, by publishing and promoting your content, you're also providing more doorways into your blog on sites like Twitter and Facebook. Daily posts give your readers more opportunities to share those links around.More connecting points for RSS subscribers: Similarly again, the more you post, the more alerts or updates those who subscribe to your blog via RSS will get.

On the flip-side, there are benefits or less posts, too:

Potentially higher reader engagement: I've noticed on my own blogs that if I post once in three or four days, the posts tend to get higher levels of comments and conversation among readers when compared to times when I post two posts in a single day. I guess posting frequently posts pushes off the radar or readers faster, as there's always something new coming out.Absence can make the heart grow fonder: I know of a couple of bloggers who post quite infrequently, but have built up almost a cult following, and who build a lot of anticipation among readers for the next post. Posts become highly anticipated and valued, and they get shared around the web at a higher rate than if the posts were coming out multiple times a day (I'll give some examples of this type of blog below).It helps to avoid writer burnout and can lead to higher quality content: After the initial adrenaline rush that often comes with launching a new blog subsides, many bloggers hit a wall when, a few months in, they begin to struggle to find things to write about. The pressure of daily posting can add to this, so a less frequent publishing schedule can give a little more space to write only about the things that they think really matter. They are free to write the most useful content, and to avoid burnout as they do so.

I asked on Twitter for examples of blogs that post less frequently than daily, but which still have been successful. I was inundated with examples. Here are some that were most commonly suggested by my followers:

Zen Habits: updated an average of eight times per month over the last few monthsThe Art of Non Conformity: Chris Guillebeau's blog, which has averaged just under ten posts per month latelySimpleMom: posts more regularly than the above two, but usually has a day or two off per week — a good example of regularity with breaksThe Four Hour Work Week: as you'd expect, Tim's not going to be updating daily on this given his topic (he posts three or four times a month), yet it gets a lot ofUnmarketingcommitment: Scott Stratten commented on Twitter that "infrequency is my middle name." However, keep in mind that Scott's working hard on developing engagement on Twitter — he's closing in on 75,000 tweets!Social Triggers: Derek Halpern posts two to four times per month, but the quality is high and there's a lot of reader engagement.Penelope Trunk: Penelope is another great example of someone who has regular posting but doesn't feel the need to write something every single day.

Check out the other posts in the Misconceptions or blogging series.

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You should write about making money blogging on Make Money blogging [misconceptions new Bloggers have # 3]

This post is the third in a series of studies of misconceptions and myths about blogging, that many new (and some experienced) bloggers about blogging.

We have already discussed the misconceptions that blogging superhuman effort takes (or is simple!) and that you daily on your blog should books.

Contemporary misconception is all about money. It is one that I hear every day when I observe what people are saying about making money from blogging.

Only people who sell make money blogging resources, make money blogging.The most profitable topics to blog about his blogging tips of making money blogging.It is impossible to make money blogging on "normal" everyday topics.

The reality is that most people who talk about making money blogging those trying to create a name for himself in that very niche. I think part of the creation of authority and credibility is to show what you are doing, so that bloggers in this niche are often not Wars of their revenue share.

On the other hand, many bloggers who are making a living from blogging in other niches don't have an avenue through which to talk about it, or don't want to (for privacy reasons or because they don't want to warn the competition to their success).

As a result, is the impression that new bloggers often get that nobody is making money blogging with the exception of a letter about writing.

Let's see some of the realities of working in this niche.

You good money blogging about blogging. It is true — there is money to be made in this space. Teaching others blog and that a life of it can be profitable. I make enough to live (and some) from ProBlogger every month, and know of at least five or six other bloggers in your niche that on a comparable level would be. As with any subject that has nothing to do with money, this can be a lucrative niche.It's been a busy niche when it comes to finding readers. As a result of the success of a number of (and the public service broadcaster of results), many others joined the hunt for market share in this space. I have not seen figures on it, but I suspect that the result is that it is one of the more crowded niches. As a result, can break into the niche and making a name for yourself can be tough.It's been a busy niche when it comes to products. If you want to make money in the niche Make Money blogging by releasing a product, there are not only a lot of other blogs, but a lot of products that you will have to compete with. Not a day goes by when I'm not approached by another blogger like me to their e-book, course or tool ... Again, it is difficult to distinguish, and I suspect that many bloggers already have bought just enough products, and are not so interested in buying more.There's a lot of suspicion about the topic. Thanks to the nature of the subject has a lot of suspicion about it. Unfortunately, over the years, this niche has attracted its fair share of dubious characters and those less-than-ethical and transparent tactics have used to make a name for itself. This has a lot of suspicion among the public about the niche. I'm kind of glad about this suspicion, I like a lot of people who've seen scammed, but it makes this a tricky area to work in. My recent ban on (and then reinstatement) of YouTube seems to have occurred because many in the niche were tarred with the same brush (most of the accounts had made an end of videos including the words "make money online").Bloggers are perhaps more reluctant to spend money than other target groups. Let us be clear: I'm not calling you cheap! But one of the factors to consider in this area is that the barriers to entry for the blogosphere (unlike other hobby) are very low. You can setup a blog for free, there are thousands of blogging themes, tools, and how-to instructions there for free, and there is plenty of free help within the niche. As a result, many bloggers don't come to their blogs with the expectation of having to spend a lot of money. This can affect the bottom line for those who try to operate in this niche (I will touch on this more below).

I'm not going to pretend that all other lucrative niches. I know a lot of bloggers with decent readerships that are struggling to make money, because their subjects do not lend themselves for monetization. However, my experience teaches me that there is definitely a lot of opportunities in other niches, and that in many ways they can make it easier to make money than the niche blogging tips.

Personally, I have found it a lot easier to build significantly larger audience and higher profits in other niches. My photography blog has about five to six times the readership of ProBlogger, and is more than five to six times as profitable.

The niche photography is very competitive, but there are some other so quickly including:

The market is larger: There are a lot more people around who own cameras than blogs.The audience is more of a public expenditure: I mentioned above that since blogging has low barriers to entry, bloggers are often less likely to spend money. Photography is a little different. People increasingly spend thousands of dollars on cameras, they buy photography magazines and books, they enroll in courses ... There is just more of a willingness to bring in that niche.The audience is not as suspicious: While people still a healthy suspicion of online marketers in this space, there are fewer barriers on this front.

This assessment is not only relevant to the photography space — plenty of other niches are also bigger and his audience that more be used for expenditure.

This is probably not the place for a full exploration of how a niche for your blog (I will also be some links below for more information about that). My general opinion is, however, to choose a topic on which there is a healthy demand for content (it's hard to have a successful blog about a topic that nobody but you bought) and that you know something about (and preferably have a passion or interest).

My co-author on the ProBlogger book, Chris Garrett, last year on the day of the training ProBlogger presented in Melbourne, and used a slide which I think is a great Visual at this point:

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