Written on January 10th, 2009 at 12:01 am by Darren Rowse
How to Launch a Blog and Have Fresh Content for Weeks
This question from James of My Fitness Guide hit my inbox this week:
“My question is, when starting a new blog, do you write a list of all your blog topics first, then plan to write one of them per day, or do you write it all as fast as possible to build your archives, and then try and think of a fresh new blog topic every day?”
Here’s my answer (I’d be keen to hear yours in comments).
James – I generally suggest a few things with regards to content when I’m starting a new blog.
1. 5 Posts Already Published
I like to have at least 5, preferably 8-10, articles already published on the blog – so when people come they can see you’ve written useful stuff already and don’t just see a blog with one post.
At b5media we ask our bloggers to have around 10 posts already written before we launch but I think 5 would be my minimum.
2. 5 Draft Posts
I also like to have at least 5 posts already written but held in reserve as drafts that I can post in the next few days after launch.
I find that when launching a blog you can be a bit distracted by the excitement of it all, by promoting it, by responding to comments etc – so content creation can sometimes take a bit of a back seat.
If you have 5 posts in reserve (I’d even prefer to have more than that) it means you can keep any momentum from the launch going for at least 5 days without having to write a whole lot more. In fact I usually start a blog with just 3 posts a week and gradually increase the frequency of posts over time – so 5 posts in reserve can almost last two weeks.
3. 20 Post Ideas
Lastly – I also like to have a list of possible topics to write about in future (I try for at least 20).
I actually like to write this list as part of the process of even deciding whether to choose a topic or niche because it helps me to work out whether I’ll be able to sustain writing on that topic for the long haul.
If you can’t think of 20-30 post titles/topics pretty easily before starting a blog it could be a signal that you’ve chosen the wrong topic.
Having this list at your fingertips means you’ve always got a topic to write about in the first month or so of your new blog.
And You’re Off and Running
I find that between having a few posts already up on the blog, having a few in reserve for the coming few days and then having a list of topics to write about that creating content for a new blog is not that difficult.
The numbers of posts that I’ve mentioned above will vary from person to person (and even for me I’ve not always exactly followed this formula) but I think it’s probably a pretty solid way forward.
The only thing I’ll add is that it’s really important to put your best foot forward in terms of the quality of your content in the early days of a blog.
Of course you’ll want high quality posts as every post on your blog going forward – but a few really high quality and engaging posts in the first week of your blog can really launch it and help establish some good traffic and subscriber numbers in the early days of its life.
What Do You Do When Starting a Blog?
I’m interested to hear what your experience is with creating content on a new blog? How many posts do you launch with? How do you keep the posts coming in the early day of a blog?
Tags: Writing Content
109 Responses to “How to Launch a Blog and Have Fresh Content for Weeks” - Add Yours
Writer Dad
January 10th, 2009 12:18 am
Those are good suggestions. My second blog, a co-authored blog with Eric Hamm is all about blogging. We implemented many of these strategies before we started. Though we started with a single introductory post, rather than five, we have been keen to “fill the bank” with as many follow-up posts, drafts and ideas as possible.
Enduring Wanderlust
January 10th, 2009 12:20 am
It’s definately important to publish a few articles and have a few more ready to go. When your first visitors come thru, often friends and family, you want them to come back. You also want them to send it to their friends. If they don’t find content and design that inspires they may return, but they won’t recommend it.
The first weeks are busy too. Having a few extra posts written allows you to make sure the site links are working properly and it allows you to start finding traffic.
Kevin
January 10th, 2009 12:35 am
I am at 288 right now for a site that I just launched. Perhaps that is a tad overkill.
Jonathan Muller
January 10th, 2009 12:37 am
Some good tips, we always need to have extra posts ready to post. For the new years i’ve started posting every day and i’m seeing the results from it already. More subscribers, traffic, and comments. They way i do it is to just write as many posts as I can in a single time, and then use a wordpress plugin to post them each day. Now we can all post every day like Darren :)
Chris
January 10th, 2009 12:39 am
I wish I had read this post before starting my blog! I kind of had a “oh crap what am I going to write about” moment right after I started it.
Since using a strategy I found on this blog, just sitting down with a piece of paper and brainstorming, I’ve not run out of things to blog about.
Thanks for the advice!
-CD
Scott Williams
January 10th, 2009 12:47 am
I looked around at what others were doing, especially those whose blogs I liked. I read as much as I could about traffic, search engines…
I’m continually sharpening my skills and learning. The running list is very important for me, I keep a running list of topics in my iPhone notes.
TrailBlazer
January 10th, 2009 12:52 am
Really appreciated your strategies and plan.
Thanks for sharing your ideas ..
Best Wishes.
frank
January 10th, 2009 12:59 am
Research::
I think spending time in the industry you are going to blog about is a great place to start. Studying other bloggers in your niche, thinking about what the hot topics are, thinking about what angle you will take and the type of value that you want your readers to get from reading your blog.
I don’t know that it would always be doable, but having someone spend 6 months doing ‘research’ before they launch their blog would definitely benifit them.
Social Media::
You should also get deep into Social Media during the research time even if it’s not your long term strategy. Being in the social media world will teach you a lot and help you connect with a lot of great people. This may be where you start to build relationships with fellow bloggers in your niche as well as others.
–
http://twitter.com/franswaa
Mike Nichols
January 10th, 2009 1:00 am
These are good tips, and not just for the beginning blogger!
Having posts in draft and a good list of topics is essential to maintaining a good writing schedule, whatever the age of the blog.
I usually have at least 10 posts in various stages of completion, and maintain a file that currently has over 100 blog ideas, some with partial research. This helps me get through harried days and the inevitable “dry ” times!
Great post, Darren!
Dominique Goh
January 10th, 2009 1:01 am
That’s a great plan.. will implement it for my new travel blogs which are linked to my travel sites :)
Great strategy Darren,
Amanda
January 10th, 2009 1:01 am
This is timely advice for me as I am preparing to “re-launch” one of my blogs which has been dormant for almost a year with no fresh posts.
Rather than rely on my old (year old) posts for existing content, I think it will be wiser for me to launch using your suggestions with fresh more recent content, drafts ready to publish and a notebook of ideas.
I’m also relaunching with a fresh new look and some goodies to encourage new subscribers in the hope this second launch will prove more favorable than my previous one ;)
Thank you for this sage and useful advice Darren!
Tim Otis
January 10th, 2009 1:02 am
When creating initial content for our blog, we thought as publishers would, not as editors. You have to think of what will drive sales a.k.a. comments on a blog, in addition to developing the fan base. What appeals to readers in the niche I address? If you step outside that niche, say “sayonara” to your subscribers. You can, however, do this once in a blue moon.
Thanks for these insights; we are now just learning the importance of scheduling posts and reserving drafts.
TechMata
January 10th, 2009 1:02 am
How I wish I have all the time just blogging -_-
Alex
January 10th, 2009 1:05 am
Darren,
As always, your tips are great, I would add to stick with a single niche in the beginning, and stay with it for ever, unless ofcourse planned otherwise, when you have loyal readers, then you can start blogging in other niches, kind of what I did with my blog, in the beginning I had articles about blogging, then I joined 5 other niches all into one blog, but it was too soon to do so, that my RSS number went down over 4000 less subscribers within 2 weeks from doing so.
What do you think? Will sticking with one niche be better for the launch?
With regards,
Alex,
http://www.GuruOfSales.com
http://www.WAHOL.com
Diogo Shimizu Lima
January 10th, 2009 1:09 am
Hey Darren. I’ll launch a blog next month and I’m currently working on a glossary with common words in my industry.
Plus, I came up with a category for “people”: you’d be surprised to realize that it’s hard to find information even regarding government officials.
I’ll do lots of linkbaiting as well. I’ll review one blog a week and do some contest of the top blogs in my niche. I’ll just come up with 10 items, check which blogs have which items and do a grading system. Just to generate some buzz!
Been lurking around your files and I like your one-question interview. I’ll do that as well.
This is what I’ve been doing, some of it is from watching other but the vast majority of tips is from Problogger. It’s really not hard to come up with ideas and quality content if you take the time to plan your blogging activity. Thanks a bunch!
Cheers, D.
Simon
January 10th, 2009 1:15 am
Well, planning is a good thing but as for my technical blogs, it is impossible to write a very deep article each day, the day is not long enough. So I help myself writing much shorter articles usually about something that I’ve found on other sites with links to those, and of course I sometimes write something bigger but it depends on the time needed for preparation, testing code listings etc.
Stephen Brown
January 10th, 2009 1:18 am
Thank you so much for this information.
I am in the process of creating a blog to accompany my website and this has been a great affirmation of the planning and work that I thought I would have to make.
Thanks again,
Stephen
djchuang
January 10th, 2009 1:24 am
this strategic tip works great for most blogs; bloggers who write about current events, in the world or in personal life, would still need to blog daily. then the tactic there would be to blog about what happened that day ;)
@jakrose
January 10th, 2009 1:39 am
Great tips, I would go one step further and have at least 2 other contributors lined up to help in some way (weekly, monthly, etc.). I would also line up guest posts from at least five people for the first couple months prior to launch (you may have to get some content up first to convince people it is legit). One thing I have come to put more focus on the more blogs I create, is that having multiple perspectives, authors, etc. creates a higher quality and quantity of content. And it just makes it easier on all involved. Not perfect for every situation, but most people can bring in outside help or find someone else in their company/friends to help.
Kim, Ordinary Recipes Made Gourmet
January 10th, 2009 1:48 am
Very good tip. Before I started my cooking blog, I made sure my recipes were all typed up beforehand. Then I organized them together in my recipe box so now every week when I get ready to post, I go to my recipe box and I can pick/choose which recipes to post. I usually add my intake but that never takes me a lot of time to write. It just helps to have the content done ahead of time then posting doesn’t become a pain. In fact, that’s the most exciting part for me because the content is done in advance. Can’t stress how important enough is to be prepared ahead of time, makes the job much easier to do!
WP Cult
January 10th, 2009 1:57 am
That’s a really good starting list. It’s also makes for a good blogging business plan.
Blog Guide
January 10th, 2009 2:03 am
It is always a good idea to have fresh content already written so that people have the opportunity to see what kind of content you’ll give them. Do not want people coming to your new blog and then seeing that you only have one post them. I highly doubt that they will ever subscribe to your blog then. So have plenty of content already posted and you’ll have a much better launch.
Adam Bshero
January 10th, 2009 2:15 am
Good advice… planning ahead really does save time day to day when you cannot think of what to write about!
Smart Boy
January 10th, 2009 2:15 am
Being prepared for launching a blog is important – and you’ve laid out some great tips for setting groundwork; before a blog is launched.
Jared O'Toole
January 10th, 2009 2:19 am
Launching the blog I feel was the easy part. Topics were everywhere and I always had more to say. After about 3months is when it started to become work and I had to start thinking of new ways to keep it fresh and fun.
But I think when launching the best thing to do is to get 5-10posts up so there’s some content there for people to see. Don’t waste time promoting it until there is a bunch of stuff there because you risk losing those viewers forever if they only have 1 article to judge you on.
Elizabeth Kaylene
January 10th, 2009 2:25 am
I like the idea of making a physical list to refer to, rather than just picking topics out of my head. I think we’ve all had our moments of staring at the screen trying to come up with something.
Sometimes if I get hit with an idea, I’ll write it as a draft and save it as a scheduled post for the next day. That little feature has helped me out many times, especially when things were so crazy that I wasn’t sure if I’d be able to blog daily.
@Alex: I think it’s always important to stick with a niche — unless you’re blogging about your own personal life. When you try to go outside of that niche, your readers — who are used to your content the way it is — get a sense of disorganization. If you want to write for several niches, you can always set up multiple websites.
Steve Thornton
January 10th, 2009 2:34 am
Great post Darren, thanks for the ideas. Another good idea I have learned indirectly from observing you is the way you’ve used guest articles to help rapidly give twitip.com momentum. While this strategy won’t work as well for somebody without a lot of existing contacts and notoriety from an existing blog like yourself, it sure seems like a strategy that has worked well for you.
Erwin Chua
January 10th, 2009 2:55 am
Hi!
Great suggestions on how to keep your blogs coming regularly and fresh. I am in the process of focusing my blog and one of my ideas was to make lists of topics. That way, I don’t have to dig deep each time to come up with a good idea. :)
Please let me know if you need anything. I figured that the fastest way to learn how to go about things is to be available to people. :)
All the Best!
Regards,
Erwin Chua
http://winning2win.com
Edina
January 10th, 2009 2:59 am
Having a backup plan is always helpful. The Running List is a MUST! I have a notebook on me at all times to write down anything that comes to mind. I love my tech gadgets, but after I sank my cell in the great white bowl several times, I stick with traditional ways.
Having a LARGE pool of ideas is a must and I agree with previous comments that if you don’t have it, consider writing about another topic. What you enjoy learning about is a good place to start in picking a topic WHEN it is paired with marketability.
My Top 5 Picks to focus on when you are doing a pre-launch would be:
1.Research at least 6 months
2.Social Networking
3.Getting a Focused Topic
4.Planning your Strategy and Tactics for the blog
5.Implementing a good record keeping for yourself
…All your login names and paswords in one place
…A Media Management File: when you posted advertising, where, when does it expire, ect
… A consistently visible schedule of things to do WITH a deadline
robert
January 10th, 2009 2:59 am
thanks this will help me out for sure :D
Bakis
January 10th, 2009 3:05 am
Great tips :)
Thanks for sharing
One of my mistakes was to launch my blog with just 1 post there :(
I am gonan be a lot more careful to my next blog though since i’ve learned a lot since then
Thanks again!!1
Tracy
January 10th, 2009 3:17 am
Have unique features in store that you can pull when you can’t find anything to blog about.
For example, a top ten list, photo caption contests or article reviews. Something that is a regular feature and can fall back on. Then when you do write good creative content, it’ll balance everything out.
Stacy
January 10th, 2009 3:18 am
I have a notebook full of ideas, and my RSS feeds also give me up-to-date topic ideas.
For my blog, personal experiences are playing a large part…and 15 years’ worth of those could probably keep me talking for at least one year, maybe two. ;)
When I officially launched, I only had a couple of posts. But, the vast majority of my new readers also came from my previous blog. As I promote more and more, and post more and more…the content will naturally expand.
I hung out my shingle this past Monday, and while I understand it’s important to be strong from the get-go…I do think a lot of bloggers don’t find their “true voice” until they have at least a few weeks (or months) under their belts. It isn’t really until then that you find your true niche, based on responses to posts, comments, etc. That’s how it was for me with my previous blog, anyway. Plus, it takes about that long to vet out those who have the endurance to keep up a blog.
Artseejodee
January 10th, 2009 3:20 am
Thanks for the great tips! Wish I could have read them before starting up my blog! Will definitely keep this in mind should I start up another blog.
Stuart Thursby
January 10th, 2009 3:21 am
Some very good advice here – certainly for moving forwards! I tend to keep some ideas bouncing around in my head for awhile and then they crystallize into a notepad document. I’m certainly nowhere to close to as prepared as you, so the advice and ‘how-to’ is much appreciated!
http://www.sthursby.com
http://sthursby.wordpress.com/
http://www.twitter.com/sthursby
Melissa Miller
January 10th, 2009 3:27 am
I only have one blog that I’m truly passionate about and that’s mymymochamoney.com blog. I started with two posts but I write an article every day (just about every day). If I have an idea for a headline, I put it in my draft section on my blog. I have ten in reserve right now. Or, if I think of an idea in the car, etc. I’ll write it down right away. I also spend time commenting on other blogs (like this one:), doing some social bookmarking, and some tweets. I think consistency of writing is so important and looking for fresh ideas is top priority!
Very Evolved
January 10th, 2009 3:33 am
The timing of this article is just perfect – I just launched my site yesterday.
I’m feeling confidant now because it seems I have followed most of the steps that you’ve highlighted here. I think the reason I’ve already implemented these ideas is because I’ve been reading your blog for awhile now and these step have naturally suggested themselves after reading 100’s of your articles.
So this immediately suggests to me an answer your question of what to do when starting a blog, i would add this:
4. Make sure your list of 20 ideas displays a consistent theme or thread over time. If it doesn’t perhaps you need to separate it over two blogs or ditch the off topic ones and come up with on topic ideas.
Patrick
BenSpark
January 10th, 2009 3:36 am
Those are good ideas when starting a blog. For a couple of my blogs that would not work. One blog is a chronicle of my Photo-A-Day project and the other a chronicle of my attempt to teach myself Chinese in 15 minutes a day for a year. For those blogs a buffer of posts is not going to work. However if I wanted to intersperse articles within either of those blogs then I would have drafts ready. I do that from time to time. For my more stagnant blogs I do need to sit down and get a buffer of articles written.
GeekMBA360
January 10th, 2009 3:47 am
For my blog (www.GeekMBA360.com), I set up the blog infrastructure (e.g. installing wordpress, registering domain name, installing various plug-ins.) Then, I spent a month writing posts and made all of them private. So, when I officially launched my blog, I had about 50 posts ready.
I highly recommended this approach because
1) it helps me establish a rhythm to write blogs consistently
2) when I launched the blog, I could spend most of my time on marketing my blog, which takes a lot of time. Having an inventory of posts really helped.
3) it’s very important to post frequently right after you launch the blog in order to establish and maintain momentum with your reader. Again, the 50+ posts really helped.
GeekMBA360
Alison
January 10th, 2009 3:48 am
Ideally I’d have read these suggestions before starting! I’ve always tried to post every day. I read a lot and I always have many ideas swimming around in my head to post about. If I was ever to be short of ideas I’d check my INBOX – I can never keep up with all the possibilities.
To keep it all manageable I’ve started making lists with some ideas for very short posts, which I can use on days when I have less time and energy to write. Some of these are quotations that express something about the topics I write about and the way I think about the world.
At one point I tried to get more organized and post on certain themes. I notice a lot of people do this, you know, Tuesday is such and such. But then several of my readers told me that the thing they like about my blog is that they don’t know what is coming next. I prefer to just write about whatever catches my imagination and interest – it was nice to have permission to do that – so I dropped the idea of being more focused and predictable :-)
Junius Fullard
January 10th, 2009 4:01 am
Whichever niche I decide to start a blog in, I spend time looking at the top rated blogs in technorati. This will give you a good scope of what you should be blogging about. I also join their list so I get an email when ever they post. Once I start my blog, I use 3-5 post. once these post are up, I go and comment on all of these other blogs (relevant comments). I network with other bloggers in the niche to build readership.
Sticker Boy
January 10th, 2009 4:05 am
I have an Excel spreadsheet with a schedule of posts I have, and the date I plan to post them. It is fairly flexible as sometimes a news story/current topic can crop up.
It gives me an idea of what’s to come, and I can see if there are any ‘holes’ or subject ares that may need more posts in the near future.That helps concentrate my mind when thinking up new posts!
Jennifer G
January 10th, 2009 4:15 am
I wrote 52 “tip posts” of 50-100 words and set them to all publish on Tuesdays for an entire year.
Then I made it a goal to publish at least one current topic a week, more if good stuff was happening on the webz.
That way, no matter what, I’d have a post a week so the blog did not completely fall off the radar.
My next blog? I’d probably write double the tips so there would be no less than two evergreen tip posts a week.
Sarah Bray
January 10th, 2009 4:42 am
I think it depends on what KIND of blog you are starting, too. I just launched a blog that features great tweeps, and I really wanted to make sure that each of them were spotlighted. I only launched with two (even though I had 7 others in reserve), because I didn’t want to take away from the individuals.
Kayla
January 10th, 2009 4:43 am
Thats just about exactly what I did, and my blog is three months old and off to a great start. The only thing I did not do, however, was make a list of the 20 blog ideas. I ended up doing this later, and realized that it should have been done in the initial planning stages.
Great post, well thought out.
Jade Craven
January 10th, 2009 5:12 am
This is a really timely post.
I launched my blog this week and my planning process was a little bit different.
I had about 10 posts published – but also have about 50+ drafts. In my google docs file, I have about 200 posts titles organized into a couple of key ’sneeze page’ concepts. I also notes on who I eventually wanted to guest post for and the concept i’d use for each post.
I can vouch for the tip to have great content before you launch. I had two killer articles that I was really proud of. Those two are responsible for over 1300 page views in 3 days because people took their story back to their blog, and voted using social media.
Jeff Chandler had a great post on performaning about launching a blog recently. In it, he said that spending a good 6-12 months networking before the blog launch can benefit you. By the time it comes to launch, you have established friendships and people genuinely want to help you out. I would agree – any success I’ve had with my blog is due to my good online friends. Jeffs article is here if anyones interested: http://performancing.com/planning-launch-new-blog.
Thanks again for the great post. Its always nice to know when your doing something right in the blogosphere :)
Gary Lee
January 10th, 2009 5:33 am
First off, I create buckets (my categories) that are relevant to what my blog is about (along with keyword research to make sure i name the categories correctly), then I try to fill up the buckets with at least 5 topics each. Then after I’m done, I try to write down a schedule of when I would like to post these articles. Once I have a routine down, the monotony of blogging becomes do-able :)
V.I.V
January 10th, 2009 5:46 am
Thanks very much for the tips. I had to relaunch my blog using WordPress because of some blogger fustrations and wanted this lauch to go smoother than the pervious one. I’ll use this as a reference as I’m contructing it.
Carrie
January 10th, 2009 5:54 am
Thanks so much, this is really helpful advice – from you and your readers.
Harry Chittenden
January 10th, 2009 6:18 am
Many thanks for a great post, Darren. I just love having my head banged with solid, principled advice like this.
Luca
January 10th, 2009 6:26 am
i started my last blog with just 1 post, because it’s still in an early phase and I’m busy at the moment but I have at least 20 posts in mind, ready to be “deployed in production”.
Interesting tips anyway, thanks!
John Wang
January 10th, 2009 6:36 am
Great advice Darren. I would also recommend using a Launchpad type of page as well if you’re having stuff prepared. Such as the Launchpad Theme ( http://themeshaper.com/blog/wordpress-domain-parking-theme ) for Wordpress.
I believe Silverback did something similar. You can always customize the look and feel appropriately.
George Gonzalez
January 10th, 2009 7:31 am
That is so amazing. Since I have wanted to start a Blog I have been writing Topic after Topic on paper, titles just flowing in my head at all times of the day, I carry a notebook around with me everywhere (even to the shower, i know its crazy) because I never know when I am going to get a title or topic. And I have so much content now within the first few days. I dont promote my blog for the very reason that there is nothing on there yet. Now if I could figure out how to put it all together on a blog and launch it I will be all set. Thanks for the info Darren
Demian Farnworth
January 10th, 2009 7:39 am
Great advice. I spent a year working on articles before I launched. I spent that time planning and writing and building up. Probably a little excessive, but I wanted to make sure I really wanted to do this. I thought–if I can wait a year and churn out articles during that time and still have the desire to launch the blog–then at that end of the year, go for it.
FXDaddy
January 10th, 2009 8:45 am
Great info, thanks! I wish I read this before I started my first blog. I usually keep 5 or 6 ideas in my notebook for future posts and I try to shedule weekend articles two weeks out. During the week I usually stick to trade posts so nothing scheduled. The notebook is key because I get my best ideas away from the computer.
Gini
January 10th, 2009 9:22 am
Great suggestions, and all true. When I launched my first blog I had no idea what I was doing. I launched with nothing but one post and an “about me” section. Thankfully, I know better now.
jessi
January 10th, 2009 10:01 am
I always have blog posts prepared ahead. I launched my blog with a lot of posts – and now i keep notes on ideas for the future. Although a lot of my posts depend on the photos I can get…so they can be very spontaneous too.
Andy Li
January 10th, 2009 10:09 am
I’m just really starting to shape my blog, so good advice here. If you’re stuck in a blogger’s block, here’s an article from Chris Brogan on 100 blog topics you can just write about: http://www.chrisbrogan.com/100-blog-topics-i-hope-you-write/
Brad
January 10th, 2009 11:16 am
Great advice, Darren!
When I started my blog about 2 years ago, I just did one post at a time. Probably not ideal, but I didn’t know any better. However, I was worried about being able to come up with posting ideas, and it hasn’t been a problem because I’m pretty passionate about my topic (literature & writing).
Thanks for the great tips!
Rahul
January 10th, 2009 12:03 pm
Thanks Darren, this will surely help me out for me. Hope to make a good year ahead for my blog.
Denise
January 10th, 2009 12:06 pm
This sounds like pretty good advice, once again. I’m in the process of putting together a schedule. But I was thinking the number of articles would have been much higher than the 5 you suggested. Your archives also have been a great source of help for numerous questions I’ve had; something I often come back to. Thanks again Darren.
James
January 10th, 2009 12:13 pm
lol, Darren, what a way to make me sound like an illiterate!
“Hey Darren, I just thought of a blogging question so I’ve come all the way over to problogger to ask you. My question is, when starting a new blog, do you write a list of all your blog topics first, then plan to write one of them per day, or do you write it all as fast as possible to build your archives, and then try and think of a fresh new blog topic every day?” – myfitnessguide.NET
Don’t worry, apology accepted.
DFL
January 10th, 2009 12:18 pm
I keep a notepad nearby and whenever I think of an idea for a post, I write it down. Then, when I need something to blog about, I just look at my notepad of ideas and flesh something out from there.
Shaan
January 10th, 2009 2:07 pm
As you said to keep some reserved posts, i am always having topics to write about. But i am a student and do not get much time to write on my blog. . .
LisaNewton
January 10th, 2009 2:25 pm
I just launched my blog. I have a plan, which I’m sure I’ll tweek at time goes by. I launched with only 3 posts, and have a couple in reserve. Maybe due to my personality or subject matter or just the fact that I love photography and writing, I don’t like to write too much in advance.
I have many places and topics in mind. My goal is to post about 4-5 posts per week.
Darren Rowse
January 10th, 2009 2:32 pm
James – so sorry, I cut and paste the wrong part of the question into the post – really sorry about that. Fixed now I hope!
Steven-Sanders
January 10th, 2009 2:57 pm
Absolutely great advice for bloggers who are just starting out.
I didn’t begin with a stockpile of posts and ideas when I started, but I new enough about my niche and was so passionate as well that I found it really easy to be inspired for my next post.
I found the best way to develop post topics is to read blogs in your niche. Maybe an even more important way is to read the comments on other blogs in your niche.
Usually the comments will tell you what visitors are interested in reading.
uwak
January 10th, 2009 4:18 pm
prefaring is the important point, right from the first…thanks
J.D. Meier
January 10th, 2009 4:36 pm
I like the practicality of your plan.
I like the 10 posts done and 5 drafts handy approach.
stephentrepreneur
January 10th, 2009 6:00 pm
Great article Darren. You’ve reminded me to get stuck into the dozen articles I have in progress, plus the few Apple-related articles I have started in the last few days.
I also find that writing about the moment or the days-activities are a good place from which to find inspiration. A person’s day usually involves Good Eating, Exercise, Computer Problems, Saving Money and lots more related subjects. Thus, all subjects generated from just getting out of bed each morning!
Ravi Ahuja
January 10th, 2009 7:37 pm
A very good article for starting a new blog. This strategy can be follow to your existing blogs too. Very good advice and must be followed.
Jade Craven
January 10th, 2009 7:51 pm
John Wang – I actually used that theme for a while to hide my blog while I was working on it. It is somewhat flawed because you can’t capture the email addresses, and if you upload any content it is delivered via RSS prior to the official launch.
It was pointed out to me that its more of a squeeze page. If used, you should give a date thats relatively close and also provide an incentive, like a free report.
Jeff Chandler is using a maintanance plugin on his new project http://www.wptavern.com as he prepares for that launch. You guys have read his posts on here a fair bit and it would be worth watching how he launches his blog
On a different note, I love the subject of blog launches and would love to read further posts on the matter. It seems to be a really hot topic around the blogosphere. Perhaps something to do with all the new years resolutions, lol?
Suevey Seeker
January 10th, 2009 8:51 pm
I just started a blog yesterday an started with one post but have put 4 more up today. My blog is about a rather specific topic and I am waiting for quite a few companies to get back to with with some information I need before making posts about them. Drop on by and take a look if you like.
margaret chaidez
January 10th, 2009 9:42 pm
Always look forward to your posts. For beginners it is important to remember that brief posts work just as well as longer ones.
I used to struggle with posts until I read Zoe Westhof series on Focus: http://tinyurl.com/79z7at. I sat down and wrote out 30 ideas in an hour. Now my goal is to post daily or at least 3x/week.
I also found creating a separate folder for interesting posts or using de.li.cious is a big help. So many times I recall a quote or article but can’t remember where I found it. I also have a file on my desk for articles I find in print.
Write about what you know best but also look at what other bloggers in your space are writing about.
Keep the discussion and comments going. Some great ideas.
Laurence Flynn
January 11th, 2009 12:15 am
Nice timing. We are just starting a company blog so I’m busy working on articles. It’s hard work!
Awesome links posted in this comment thread too. Thank you all. :)
Ryan
January 11th, 2009 1:30 am
This is quite informative I think I will start using this strategy in the future because I often find myself at a wall wondering what I will blog about. Thanks!
Dave Pumfrey
January 11th, 2009 1:37 am
Hi,
Thanks for all tips on creating a blog post.
I think that when writing any blog posts it is important to make sure that whatever you are saying is of useful value to the people that are subsequently going to read it.
It needs to be either entertaining, stimulating or informative and provide some form of benefit to the reader.
For example, if you have learnt something new you can explain how you learnt to do it. Or if you made a mistake, how you made the mistake and how you turned it around. This then provides useful information to other people, helping them to avoid making the same mistake in the future.
Start a journal and document the things that you do the things that you learn so you may then use this information as the basis of your blog posts.
Another thing you can do is tie in your blog posts to a current media story or trend to make to more relevant.
I have discovered a very easy way to speed up the time it takes to create any blog posts using a very useful piece of software. I can now create blog posts in a fraction of the time he used to take me!
http://www.davepumfrey.com/category/increase-productivity/
Dave
Cachando Chile
January 11th, 2009 2:34 am
My blog deals with reflections on Chilean culture and I like to use a lot of photos, so I carry a small but good quality digital camera in my purse at all times to take shots of interesting things that I will write about later. I often carry it in my hand as I walk around town doing my daily routine. This gives me graphic material AND ideas.
EasyInternetBusiness
January 11th, 2009 6:57 am
These ideas are really good. I started my blog with a single introductory post but I filled up the space quickly with a post every other day. Topics for my blog are easy to come up with so I do not really have a problem there. For more details feel free to visit my blog at: http://www.eznetbusiness.com
purti
January 11th, 2009 8:13 am
great post…as usual your post is so helpful and you really gave me a heads up from this post….I have started drafting for my blog so that I could launch it once it has substantial content. Your approach towards starting a blog is really good…thanks again..!!
John R. Sedivy
January 11th, 2009 9:02 am
You certainly provide some great advice which I wish I would have had about a month and a half ago when I started my blog! My approach was really “ready, fire, aim” where I just posted one article on day one and pushed to publish 3 -5 a week thereafter. The content from my articles are really a combination of life experience, books, and current events which all converge to form my topics. For this reason I generally like to write my articles on the day of publishing, however I have found value in building a backlog for when I have writer’s fatigue.
In month one I had great results with closing stats of over 3,100 a day and 20,000 for the month. I have had trouble finding benchmarks on what to expect, however what I have found and what I have heard from others suggest that these are good stats for just starting out. Thank you for the great advice and I look forward to reading future articles!
adsense alternative
January 11th, 2009 10:55 am
for me, i just post what i think that time. but of course i already do some draft in my mind. if not, its hard to make a good post.
Kumara
January 11th, 2009 12:45 pm
Good advice especially for bloggers who write their posts at the eleventh hour. To keep readers coming back to your blog, you need to fulfill reader expectation. Most readers, once they get interested in your blog, would want to see something fresh every day.
At my blog
http://www.contentcreationsecrets.today.com
I have made a resolution to make daily posts. I have three to four post ideas in advance and in this way I can fulfill the resolution of making daily posts.
The way I prepare for my posts is to write down titles of the posts in a notebook. I take a lot of time to get the titles right. They are usually the final titles I will use in the posts. Once I get the titles right, the writing part is easy for me. I write the post in longhand in an exercise book a day before the post is scheduled. In this way, when I start typing it into the blog text box, I can refine the content further.
If you’re new to the game, it’s advisable to carry a notebook with you and make notes when you read other blogs, books, magazines or when an idea strikes you
Edward Brown
January 11th, 2009 6:40 pm
Great article, I’m not STARTING my blog, but it helped me a little. :)
Have a great day!
Sincerely,
Edward Brown
http://www.edwardsmoneyblog.tk
uwak
January 11th, 2009 6:53 pm
well…..sometimes very difficult getting fresh and good idea….., I would like to ask……good source for getting idea or inspiration? thanks b4
Spin Ready Articles
January 11th, 2009 10:15 pm
Seriously, blogging should be for those that really like writing. For good writers, writing is like an addiction. If they don’t write several times a day, they feel like something is missing. So, I don’t think anyone should start a blog unless he or she loves to write, or he or she is sure to get good content from other sources.
Book Marketing Buzz
January 11th, 2009 11:47 pm
Fantastic blog post as usual. I’m signed up for your feed so I don’t miss a beat, but I’m usually running around all over the place to stop by and comment. But I had to stop by and say this was another great one. I’m afraid I didn’t do the things you listed above and I found myself at several writer’s blocks so I didn’t post regularly. Of course, rankings were terrible. I decided to blog everyday and boy am I seeing hits soar…like 500% or more, so there’s a lot of truth in what you say…had I written up blog posts or even ideas ahead of time, I might even be in a better position with my blog. Can’t wait for your next feed to come through my email box. ;o)
Mary
January 12th, 2009 8:57 am
Great ideas! If I’m anywhere near my computer when I get an idea for a new post, I start it as a draft simply entering the idea as a title with the word “idea” at the beginning. I jot a few notes in the body and save it. Not all my ideas occur near my laptop, but I’m less likely to forget about them if I enter them there.
Maarten
January 12th, 2009 9:43 am
I just launched two blogs. One blog is just an old travel blog where i use to write travel stories. I revived old posts that were still relevant. So there was already more then 8-10 posts.
For the new site I am building with a friend, we started with about 12 posts. We are now promoting the blog but we want have 2 posts a week and we are aiming for more.
The blog is not aimed to be as our main source of income. We ( the authors) have both full time jobs. If I was working full time on it, then I would advice more updates in the week. Every time after a post we see a traffic drop, and a little spike when we post stuff.
David King
January 12th, 2009 10:46 am
cool..
great post! I think i need to have some draft posts ready in case i get busy… or if i want to publish more content @ hot traffic times!
thanks for the insight darren!
David King
Joe - Retired Early in Ajijic Mexico
January 12th, 2009 1:03 pm
Your post about staring a blog was spot on.
IMHO, the most important statement was, “If you can’t think of 20-30 post titles/topics pretty easily before starting a blog it could be a signal that you’ve chosen the wrong topic.”
Blogging is a marathon nnot a sprint
Silicon Valley Refugee Retired Early in Ajijic Mexico and Lovin it!
Joe Chapala
Casa Preciosa Ajijic, Mexico
Pawel Brodzinski
January 12th, 2009 6:46 pm
As I read your advice I’m not a good example how to start a blog. I’ve started in a niche I felt comfortable in and I considered myself as a rather knowledgeable person. I’ve had just a couple of ideas for posts and two pre-written posts: one already published and one ready for publication. With planned frequency of 2-3 posts per week I had no real buffer.
Fortuantely I blog a lot about thing which happen to me at work, so on the beginning I had no problems with creating new content and I was able to keep planned posting frequency.
One thing I screwed however – for me all promotional and networking stuff took the back seat so somehow it was easier to focus on content. This by the way I consider as my biggest mistake – because of lack of time I dropped promotion and networking struggling to keep posting frequency. I should probably have dropped frequency a bit. How do you think?
Team Nirvana
January 13th, 2009 5:40 am
I had thought about this and implemented it. Not in the scale which is mentioned in the post, but in a minimal manner.
I started my blog in June 2008 and was pretty much excited about it and tried to come up with techie stuff in a more humane way and I would say that if I look back now, I have done what I could and in a way, am happy, but not content.
Thanks for this awesome post.
Tanya Bennett
January 13th, 2009 6:40 am
I wish I had thought about this stuff before I launched my most second blog. My current blog is all about me and grew very organically so I didn’t think about preparing posts in advance for my second blog, which is more about sharing information… I guess it’s still not to late to build up those posts and just start from here…
Barock
January 13th, 2009 7:42 am
Good Tips, I Had Thought about this Before, but yet to implement it, i i ever thought that there is no one do it, so unexpected that Darren Do it…
Ok I’ll Try It Darrens Thanks,
Frank Higgins
January 13th, 2009 8:53 am
Could not agree more.
I recently took over the blog for oDesk.com. I not only did not go with my gut and do an immediate blog redesign but on my second entry on “most in demand web technologies”, It hit Digg FP. Nice exposure and links but I felt that it was for the most part wasted since there was no other content to inspire people to stick around. Social media can be a lot of work so it is a shame to waste it with minimal content to inspire future readership.
Wendy Merritt
January 13th, 2009 2:31 pm
I keep a spiral for each blog and jot down a checklist of great post ideas that pop into my head. I use this checklist to create a mapped monthly plan of attack for my blogs. I also keep a pad by my bed because I frequently wake up in the morning with several fantastic post ideas that I will soon forget if not written down :)
As I’m browsing the internet I get article ideas and so I write post right then using the Firefox add-on ScribeFire and post-date it so that I have a couple of days cushioning for publishing.
Thanks for some of your great ideas to add to my collection.
blessings,
Wendy
Twitter: WendyMerritt
BLOGBOOZE
January 13th, 2009 2:44 pm
After reading this post i was so happy because, as a new comer i’ve been already following your steps.
my site http://blogbooze.blogspot.com started with about 4 posts. even though i published it on the net i didn’t gave it much publicity because it’s just started. But now i have started my publicity campaign very slowly and hopes to improve it in coming days…
Kevin Styles
January 13th, 2009 4:09 pm
Our blog is relatively new, however to the blogging scene we’ve been around for quite some time. We recently launched this new blog beginning November last year only because we finally found a host for the blog.
And I had a few topics and articles in mind waiting to be publish so the launch was relatively easy. It is now though going back to work and managing this is proving to be only slightly difficult but it is getting there, we currently already have 18 subscribers and has had some good reviews which we are yet to add to a dedicated page just for testimonials.
work at home dad
January 14th, 2009 3:24 pm
I totally agree with the suggestions in this article. I think having just one or two posts in there when you launch a blog will just create a not so good first impression.
I often do a minimum of 5 and then I might even do a couple of future dated posts just to ensure that content flows consistently during the early stages of the blog.
joels
January 14th, 2009 7:57 pm
im wondering, writing a post and save as draft first or writing a post and post with schedule ? with this 2 method we still posting daily update right ?
Charles L.
January 15th, 2009 12:06 pm
I concur with the idea that quality writing is critical for blog success during the early stages. I would also advice bloggers to not forget to target search engine traffic in their efforts to develop a reader base.
Tebogo
January 22nd, 2009 4:48 pm
I believe a blog site is like a magazine online, whether a business mag, fashion and style mag, life style mag or general.
The point is to draft your copy in full before you put it on shelves for the market to have access to,
You can’t have one topic on your mag then release it, it has to be professionally well done for your market to like it and
Be able to compare from other mag’s.
So my conclusion will be, you fully give you blog style and color, you add very nice topic’s according to the
Market your blog is focusing on.
Then you put online.
Next step “Marketing”
You then send your link to your business contacts data base via email to market it, if people
Like it they will respond with good comments and suggestion. The twist is when people don’t like
Your blog site they might not respond at all, which you won’t be able to understand and see/find
The problem instead you’ll lose hits and never have business.
I was watching Opra last night and they were going through book titled “A Good Design CAN CHANGE YOUR” OR SOMETHING LIKE THAT.
Which I truly respect see this blog site
http://www.urbanbrew.co.za
tell me what you’ll think
priya
January 23rd, 2009 12:54 am
Its very useful idea.
I glad to do the same
Thanks for good information
Miguel Wickert
January 25th, 2009 3:12 am
Ye yes, helpful advice indeed. How the crap does writer dad pull it off? I swear I’ve seem his name as the first commenter on multiple posts here at PB. He is a beast! :)
-Mig
Kevin Jacobson
January 30th, 2009 1:42 am
Some great ideas–thanks. I generally post three times a week (my blog is part of my job and I do have other responsibilities, as I sometimes have to remind myself!). I have a lengthy file of ideas I keep sorted by topic and at least a couple draft posts going at any time. Having a lot of ideas on deck means that I can quickly put a post together if I hear about something that’s time sensitive, e.g., a grant announcement, new report on a rural health topic or something in the news, like the current rural broadband proposal.
Rick Answer Analyst
January 31st, 2009 4:14 pm
Great Ideas. I currently have 22 unfinished posts on my blog. I often get the idea to start a new post as I am commenting on another blog. Getting back links and ideas and learning by commenting is my three way payoff from commenting.
Rick
Max Answer Analyst Video
February 3rd, 2009 10:41 am
Preparation is something I have always been good at when it comes to recreation. I plan pretty well. Sometimes when it comes to working on projects it seems just too easy to just start and go without preparing.
I like the idea of having a dozen articles up and going as the Blog starts.
Max
Dean
April 16th, 2009 6:55 am
fighting off writers block has been tough – these are great tips to see through it
got on craigslist and found some great content writers
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