Comments on: My Weekend Blog Strategy

By: Ron

Ron — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 04:22:20 +0000

I wrte a horse racing blog so my busiest days are on the weekends. I do get easy days on Mondays and Tuesdays when racing is light. I’d find something else to blog about, but I know about anything else. Come to think of it, I don’t know anything about racing either. Maybe I’ll switch to a subject with weekends off. Thanks.

By: Sharon Sarmiento

Sharon Sarmiento — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 12:20:46 +0000

I actually don’t post on the weekend, but on my last post before the weekend I do like to keep it light, and either share a funny site I’ve found (something uplifting for the reader), share a video or pose a question.

You’re right, Darren–question posing is a good technique for stimulating conversation and the lazy weekend is the perfect time to let the post sit at the top of the page and the discussion to develop.

In answer to some of the other comments here–I pose the question in the title, so it’s obvious. Also, I don’t have a gazillion readers like Darren does :-) , but when I pose a question they seem to come out of the woodwork to participate. You don’t have to have high traffic to use this technique. :-)

By: 60 in 3

60 in 3 — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 03:17:19 +0000

I like the idea of posing questions on the weekend, but for lower traffic blogs like mine, that could mean a conversation that never quite gets started. As much as I wish more people would read my posts on Sundays, it just seems like people are less interested in reading about fitness and health on the weekend.

By: Grace

Grace — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 16:31:15 +0000

Hi Darren. You have a nice strategy of mixing it up for your readers and making it “fun” to read. :) I used to post questions on the weekends and labeling them “Reader Feedback”. Should I keep on doing that? Or should I just ask the questions in the title?

By: David Davis

David Davis — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 15:14:11 +0000

Darren,

As a web developer, during the week I am on a 16-18 hr/day schedule including my 1-2 posts to my blog daily. Well, as you can imagine, by the time the weekend has arrived, I simply want to relax, watch TV, go to church, and anything that does not involve work. I’ve noticed that not only does my visitors decrease, so does my feed subcribers

What do you suggest to keep readers active,yet still get the rest I need?

By: Niamh

Niamh — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 14:35:17 +0000

Just had to say that I love the graph for post production software and reminds me of how pictures can really enliven a blog and give it a real lift.

I’ve been reading your blog for a while now and it is the first time I felt inclined to leave a posting. I had never thought about blogs having a different weekend life and find it an interesting and useful fact.

By: suppk

suppk — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 13:46:51 +0000

I read every word of this article, thanks.

By: kktm

kktm — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 10:15:58 +0000

Hi Darren,

With the busy schedule I have during the week, I get only the week end to visit blogging site and like many other I am a silent visitor who just enjoys reading a good post and your blogs top my list.

kktm

By: www.BloggingMix.com

www.BloggingMix.com — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 06:34:05 +0000

Very interesting post you’ve got today! Thanks for sharing.

By: Shine

Shine — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 06:25:48 +0000

Hi Darren,

Thank you so much for the sharing – for this is one of the questions that I’m pondering. Good strategy!

By: Sushith Mundayadan of -- Tips To Run A Money Making Website Or BLog

Sushith Mundayadan of -- Tips To Run A Money Making Website Or BLog — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 06:20:47 +0000

I have noticed a relatively high number hits during the weekends.May be because everyone will be home relaxing and will be in a mood to read blogs and post comments and replies.
Or may be because of the fact that i always posts something just before the weekends (most of the times).I would love to post daily on my blog but hardly ever manages to find time during the weekdays.

This weekend strategy which darren is using will sure let you take some rest during the weekend and will keep your visitors glued to your blog even during the weekend when you are taking a break.

By: Terra Andersen

Terra Andersen — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 05:09:24 +0000

I catch up on most of my blog reading on Mondays…. then I let it all build up until the next monday. *=)

By: NetBusinessBlogger

NetBusinessBlogger — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 04:55:37 +0000

My sundays are spent reading rss feeds of blogs i’ve subscribed to. Once i’ve finished with them, I spend the rest of the time tweaking my blog templates for maximum performance!

By: David Hobby

David Hobby — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 23:15:54 +0000

Darren-

Very timely post for me, actually. I have just left the Day Job to blog full-time, and have been giving a lot of thought to what to do on the weekends.

I used to work till 3:00 am, like every other day, when doing both jobs at once. But the whole point of taking the plunge is to be able to lose one job and reclaim more time with the family. Which means keeping weekends free for us.

I have a tremendous amount of how-to content that is basically missed by new readers. I average about 40k – 50k new readers finding the blog each month, so for content say, a year old, only a small percentage of the sites readers are familiar with it.

I have decided to post on Sundays (my slowest day of the week) linking to two or three of my stronger archive posts from way back. It is a good way to show people the value of the stufff that many will never take the time to search out. And I suspect, with the internal linking, that it’ll turn out to become one of my highest pageview days.

Saturdays, I have decided, will be my speedlinks day. Cool lighting-related stuff on the ‘net, and one or two things outside of my normal (very tight) focus that are just too fun to pass up.

Both of these days can be done in advance. I will likely do Sunday’s post midweek, and save the Saturday post to be done on Friday, to allow for the freshest plate of speedlinks.

Starting it next weekend. We’ll see how it goes.

By the way, thanks for your guidance and leading by example. I do not think I would have successfully transitioned to a full-time blogger without you.

David Hobby
Strobist.com

By: Greg (Mighty Mortgages)

Greg (Mighty Mortgages) — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 22:09:40 +0000

So being a Problogger really is a seven day a week job? Or is it the “love for the game” that keeps you going over the weekend?

By: Eve

Eve — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 21:31:04 +0000

That is a great plan, I think I will be trying this on my blogs tomorrow. I had never thought of some of those points before- thanks!

I like some others usually use the weekends to catch up on my own reading, hence why I am here :-)

By: Laura

Laura — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 21:14:48 +0000

Interesting strategy. I think Deb Ng at Freelance Writing Jobs must use a similar tack. I’ve actually had some of the highest numbers of visitors on weekend days. I’ve found that what I do on Friday is very crucial to what happens to traffic on Saturday, and throughout the weekend.

By: the How-To Geek

the How-To Geek — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 18:55:18 +0000

I almost always post more on the weekend, just because I have free time.

By: Jim Gordon

Jim Gordon — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 18:41:53 +0000

I am planning on making weekends an opinion weekend. Basically, I will talk about something totally unrelated to the norm. By doing this, readers will have a chance to be on a bit more of a personal level with my writing style and opinions. I mean, it is only 2 days out of the week, so why not?

By: Mike Goad

Mike Goad — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 18:31:21 +0000

I agree with your statement that “when a reader participates regularly on a blog that they are more likely to feel a sense of ownership and belonging to that blog. This means they’re more likely to comment again and keep on visiting.” For me, though, actually this is the only blog that I read and write comments on a very regular basis. I certainly have learned a lot here, though I’ve hardly even begun to implement any of it, and I will be a regualr visitor, looking forward to learning much more.

Thanks for all that you do and all that you share!