Five goals to keep a blog fresh

Don Day September 23rd, 2007

I wrote this piece for the Idaho Business Review, the local business newspaper - and thought there might be some interest here as well. The paper’s editor asked me for some “rules” to help keep a blog fresh and active. Full story after the jump…

1) Don’t do it all at once. Instead of blogging a dozen items twice a month, spread it out. You want to hook visitors into stopping by regularly. If you empty your notebook with a lot of items all at once, you discourage people from checking frequently. Sites fall into three categories for me - the every day “must reads,” the once-a-month “should reads,” and the once-in a while “read when I have time” sites.

2) Keep it short. Don’t overload your readers with a long dissertation on your topic of choice. Make it short and bite-sized. If you must go in-depth, make sure you include a summary. Most blog software will allow you to put longer entries “after the jump,” meaning the summary goes on the home page, while your long, lovingly-crafted thesis goes on a separate page. This keeps your home page neat and tidy.

3) Save up. My goal on IdahoRadioNews.com is to post 30 items per month. Sometimes I go way over that number when it is busy, but if it is quiet, I still try to hit that number. If it is a slow month, I always have a few items saved away. Keep a file of evergreen topics you can trot out during a slow period.

4) Produce discussion-evoking content. This is easier said then done - and I am not an expert in what will light the fire of my userbase - even after four years of blogging. However, try to be a bit provocative and work to engage. The easiest way to keep your site fresh is by having a community of folks who comment regularly. They generate content for you — free. Don’t be discouraged that you might not have a lot of comments in the first year or so. As you establish yourself, this part of your blog will grow.

5) Post regular features. Though this isn’t a trick I personally employ, many sites do this with great success. Local photography and culture site Boisee.com does a “Monday Follies” feature as well as a “Photo Friday” roundup. This helps keep the content pump running, since the site’s editor knows he has to fill these regularly scheduled blanks. It’s important to stick to something you can keep up with. The worst thing you can do is to commit to something, then disappoint your users.