I was checking Twitter last night when I ran across a Tweet from the awesome Sydney Owen:
28 day blogging challenge has officially begun. Thanks @thescottbishop for the idea, needed some motivation to post! http://j.mp/djeV0p
(No, I don’t know how to do those cool Twitter screenshot things, and I’m too lazy to look it up.)
My first thought was, Yay! Sydney’s going to post every day this month! She always writes great stuff! And I’m not sucking up here – there’s a reason that Sydney: Unfiltered was on my Top Blogs of 2009 list. Once you’re done reading this post, you should check her blog out. But I digress.
A second thought crept in: I post almost every day – I started on (and recently went back to) a 7 day posting schedule. What makes this an event? And yes, I do think in parentheticals.
Now I’m not trying to cast aspersions or detract anyone from taking up this challenge, but I’d like to offer a counterpoint: if they’re serious about your site, bloggers should be blogging almost every day. Here’s what I mean:
I read a lot of webcomics, almost all of which are published several times (or more) per week. Some, like PvP, Least I Could Do, and Sinfest are daily strips. And before we get more involved on the subject, I am aware that all three of these strips are run by full-time cartoonists. Instead, I’d like to focus on Sam Logan’s Sam and Fuzzy and Kevin Church’s various comics.
Both Kevin and Sam have full-time day jobs. Sam works on art direction for a couple of magazines, and Kevin…um…I think he said somewhere on his site once that he does marketing, but I also know that he’s a writer. And in both cases, their comics are updated several times per week. In Sam’s case, he is the sole creator. Kevin has several comics that he writes, with different illustrators handling the art chores on each one.
Bear with me here, I promise that there’s a point to all this.
Sam has said on his site that the act of creating a single comic takes around eight hours. He updates three times per week, and takes two weeks off per year, running guest strips during the interim. I would imagine that for Kevin, it’s a bit less since other people do the art, but good collaboration is still very time-intensive, so let’s estimate his input as being two hours per comic. Kevin has three comics, one of which updates three times per week (written review segment not included), while the other two update once per week.
Now, how long does it take to write a blog?
For me, it takes around 25 minutes for a weekday post to an hour (if I’m procrastinating, distracted, or doing a copious amount of research). Links take 15 minutes tops if I’m being meticulous, and JTMSCBAKS and NSS usually take around 20. So the time I spend on blog posts per week (assuming there’s one big post and the rest are normal) is:
(25 x 4) + 60 + 20 + 15 = 195 minutes, aka 3 hours and 15 minutes
Now let’s compare that with Sam and Kevin:
Kevin: 2 x 5 = 10 hours
Sam: 8 x 3 = 24 hours
But they’re cartoonists, and you’re a blogger! You might say. Exactly! If they can find the time in their schedules to devote a solid block to work on their comics, you can do the same for your blog or projects. But they do it for profit! They merchandise! You might add. So I assume that you’ve never seen stuff like Penelope Trunk’s book or Rich DeMatteo’s awesome shirts?
Look, I know we’re all busy. Work, relationships, social engagements, posting to Twitter, hobbies, relaxation time, working on badass dance moves, starting businesses, sharpening crayons… it all takes a lot of time. But sometimes it’s just a case of organization or inspiration.
I’ve discussed how to get creative at any time. There have been a number of posts on time management. There’s been plenty of talk about personal motivation. This is all well-worn territory. So really, everyone can blog every day of the week. It’s just a question of if they want to.
So good luck to Sydney and all of the other people taking the 28 Day Blogging Challenge. I hope that all of you make it.
And for the rest of you: what are you waiting for?
Hey Andrew – thanks for the shout and mentioning my shirts! You Rock.
I find it hard to post everyday, and I do have tons of time. I also sometimes feel that people don’t want to read a blog from me every single day. The way I look at it is, most of my readers are other bloggers, or folks from twitter. Everyone is busy, and most people already have 15-20 people on their reader.
I know, I’d rather prefer to read 2-4 times from someone a week, but not 5-7 (just my personal preference). It is just way too, time consuming to read every post, from everyone in a week, and I don’t want to miss anything from my favorite writers. I concentrate on writing 3 solid pieces a week, and then display those posts around the web to maximize discussion and comments.
There is no right or wrong way in my opinion, but that is the way I’m going.
Thanks again, and I’m loving the new look!
Hey Rich! Thanks for the comments – you rock as well, sir.
I’ve actually got the opposite philosophy: most of my readers won’t check by every day, but when they do, I want them to see new content and find other posts through callback links. Then again, I suppose I could also solve this problem by setting up a concrete blog posting schedule.
I definitely am going to give some thought to your approach. Mine is more that I want to hit up a variety of topics, so whatever someone comes to the blog for (pop culture, business world tips, Gen-Y commentary, etc.), they can find some new content and have a good selection to look through. Although at this point, I might have enough of an archive buffer where I could ease off a bit.
Heh, I actually spend 3-4 hours on most of my posts, and try to do each one in 2 drafts. This is because I’m going for longer and more timeless posts that will last a while, have a broad appeal, and have to be carefully thought out so I don’t say anything I’ll be embarrassed about later.
So I’m actually working on the blog 4 days a week, and am pretty happy having a real life the other days. My posting schedule is something substantial every Tuesday and Friday, with occasional shorter extras sprinkled in between. I figure being consistent goes a long way with readers. As long as they believe that I’m going to keep the good stuff coming, they’ll keep coming back, even if it’s not every day.
And don’t forget to count the time you spend networking, which I consider part of the blogger’s job- reading other blogs, commenting, connecting on twitter/brazen, etc.
Btw, I have neglected until now to tell you I’m proud of your domain move, rethinking your blog, alienating people, etc! You seem to actually be thinking about what you’re doing. I feel this is a good skill to have in life. Keep it up!
Aurora, you are much more dedicated than I am. I just throw something up after a quick read-through and spell check. No multiple drafts, no second thoughts. Of course, I always wind up rereading some old stuff and trying to figure out what I was thinking, so your approach makes sense.
Consistency is key. And judging by your post quality, I definitely see where you’re coming from on that one.
Thanks for the comments! Hopefully I’ll be able to keep thinking about what I’m doing, though I have to admit that perhaps that should be done a bit more…
Well I certainly do respect how much time you put into it. I guess, I believe people don’t have enough time to read everyday. I want them to read everything I write. If I write 3 times per week, and if each post is powerful and thought driven, then I hope people stay and build a discussion.
My blog is for people to learn. I don’t claim to be an expert. If anything, I hope to start an idea and then facilitate learning. With 5 posts a week, I can’t imagine people wanting to comment on every post. But with 2-3 I think I’d get a better response, and I can promote those pieces more.
I do love your commitment and I know how much time it takes!