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What’s Holding You Back from Blogging?

written by Gary Jones on September 3rd, 2007

We all have outside influences that pull us from blogging on a daily basis. I previously posted about the lies that are holding your blog back. I know posting once a day can be a difficult task when you are just starting to blog. Have you ever stopped to ask yourself though what is holding you back from blogging?

Experts say that if you do something for 20 days straight you will then form a new habit into your daily routine. I know this is true for myself and have seen it work well for people around me. If your not posting daily then today take out a fresh sheet of paper and a pen and write the following down in big letters…

I will post in my blog daily for 20 days straight

Now put that paper beside your computer where you will see it every day. I guarantee if you post once a day, you will see an improvement in traffic, an increase in revenue and an improvement in your own writing skills. I know everyone here can commit to 20 days of posting and I challenge you to do so.

To kick off your new commitment we are going to hold a group writing project. Go to your blog and write a short explanation as to what is holding you back from blogging. Share your post in a comment or link back and I will follow up with a compilation of the posts written in a future post on John Chow dot Com.

This post was guest blogged by Gary Jones from BlueFur.com. BlueFur provides Dedicated Servers in Canada like the one that runs John Chow’s site.

Jacob said on September 3rd, 2007 at 12:03 pm

I think you made a good point in the post and that’s that anyone can create a new habit if they try. I remember when I first started blogging, I had a really hard time getting that daily post in. I would almost groan in frustration when I sat down to work because I really had to rack my brain for an idea. It can still be difficult, but I think that it is becoming easier none the less. If you try, you will succeed.

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Steven said on September 3rd, 2007 at 2:32 pm

Never heard of the 20 day rule but I believe if someone wants to achieve something, they must have the mentality to stick with it. If they don’t then they need to work on developing that mentality. I guess the 20 day rule is definitely one of many good starting points

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SEO Optimization said on September 3rd, 2007 at 3:06 pm

I agree about the habit thing. Indeed if you keep on regularly doing something for a while it will become a habit. It’s the same like when you start going to gym, the first few days are tough but than everything becomes like normal, or like when you haven’t read a book for awhile and you start a new book, the first days gets tough but than it’s like a habit and once you get a free time you open the book and start reading.

Good post, much appreciated.

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will said on September 3rd, 2007 at 4:31 pm

I totally agree with the gym thing. Then again it could aslo be because of intimidation from other huge guys lol.

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Steven said on September 3rd, 2007 at 10:20 pm

Haha yeah, it seems majority of the people at the gym are super fit lol.

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Poker Sharks said on September 3rd, 2007 at 12:08 pm

nice link bait :wink:

Reply to this comment
Gary Jones said on September 3rd, 2007 at 12:13 pm

Actually you don’t need to link to the post if you don’t want to.

Just post a link to your comment or send a ping from your blog after you write it.

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Blogs For Money said on September 4th, 2007 at 1:44 pm
Jorge said on September 3rd, 2007 at 12:11 pm

Great idea for those that are out of the honeymoon blogging phase such as I. That first month or so is great. You have the energy and vigor of a young pup. I’ve heard it’s that 2nd to 3rd month that’s the worst. Once you’ve past the 3rd month, you’re fairly established and blogging becomes almost second hat. Good luck!

Reply to this comment
Terra Andersen said on September 3rd, 2007 at 4:53 pm

Agreed! Once it gets past the 3rd month, it’s much smoother sailing.

Great article! Keep up the good work! :mrgreen:

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Steven said on September 3rd, 2007 at 10:21 pm

I think it’s past the 5th or 6th month in some cases too.

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TheDirectoryDude.com said on September 3rd, 2007 at 10:42 pm

Yeah, I think it gets really tough to stay motivated around the 6 month mark. Especially if you are still struggling to make inroads by this stage.

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Geedos said on September 3rd, 2007 at 8:36 pm

Yeah I agree - for a blog (largely because of monthly archives) I look at everything on a month by month basis. The first month is fairly easy and the second is where the slump can kick in.

If you can crack 3 months then I think you’ve made it but habits can be easily fallen out of as well. It’s much easier to accompish something you enjoy - that should be the main message of blogging - talk about something you like and are interested in - it’s much easier.

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Making The Money said on September 3rd, 2007 at 12:19 pm

It’s funny but I find myself feeling guilty if I don’t blog everyday now. It was a struggle for the first week but once you forma habit it’s hard to kick.

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Steven said on September 3rd, 2007 at 2:33 pm

Doing once a day gets easy once you’ve done it for awhile. It’s updating multiple times a day that becomes difficult to juggle with your regular life, particularly if you don’t generate all your income online.

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SEO Optimization said on September 3rd, 2007 at 3:09 pm

I feel the same, but the weird thing is like if I distract myself from writing (like two days ago when i wrote 2 posts because i needed time to get me working with the new design), when i got back…umh, it was so emm i was kinda lost where i stopped, where should i start from..but than again everything gets back in order.

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Steven said on September 3rd, 2007 at 3:18 pm

LOL I don’t think I’ve ever had the problem of losing my place when I haven’t blogged for two days, probably because my topics are so out of this world (totally random) haha

Reply to this comment
Terra Andersen said on September 3rd, 2007 at 4:53 pm

Same here, but my blog is about business.. there is ALWAYS something happening in business. *=)

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dcr said on September 3rd, 2007 at 12:20 pm

45 days and counting for me. Only missed a couple days during that period and that’s usually because I blog at night, so sometimes the post wasn’t finished before the clock struck midnight. ;-)

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Steven said on September 3rd, 2007 at 2:34 pm

LOL me too! :lol:

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Click Input said on September 3rd, 2007 at 9:51 pm

Dang, that’s solid man!

Hope the blog is going well!

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TheDirectoryDude.com said on September 3rd, 2007 at 10:43 pm

Wow, congrats man. That is excellent. Do you pre-write a few for the days you just don’t feel like writing something?

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Kenric said on September 3rd, 2007 at 11:38 pm

You can always back date your post a few hours.

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DeboHobo said on September 3rd, 2007 at 12:28 pm

I blog everyday. And I have enjoyed a visit from John Chow twice in two days. I am such a lucky gal. :twisted:

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Steven said on September 3rd, 2007 at 2:41 pm

Damn, I wish John would visit my blog, guess I need to work on improving it some more haha

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Kenny said on September 3rd, 2007 at 3:57 pm

Just blog as a female! :lol:

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Geedos said on September 3rd, 2007 at 8:37 pm

Haha! Are you suggesting John is sexist?!?

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Steven said on September 3rd, 2007 at 10:22 pm

LOL I wonder if John’s nobody blog is male or female :wink:

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Simon's Money Notes said on September 3rd, 2007 at 10:26 pm

I hope not, since he’s been by my blog a couple of times in the last month. :evil:

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The Cookie said on September 3rd, 2007 at 12:29 pm

I’ve posted a contribution to this group writing project:

http://www.aclevercookie.com/staying-in-the-habit-of-blogging-regularly/

Reply to this comment
VaaSU said on September 3rd, 2007 at 12:44 pm

i Just Love the Way You Write John, im Really Inspired by you. Anyway i`ve started Blogging few days back (13th of Aug ) i got 1,80,000 Hits from 700 Unique IP`s, in the Month of August. Am i going good ? and the silly thing is im a bad writer. i dunno how to write properly. i just write whatever i want to say the world. :wink:

i dunno !! whether it`s the correct place to ask you !
i wanna Make Money with My Blog. i want to Signup Kontera From Your Referal. Can You Help me out with the initials. i don`t understand what that initials all about ?

i`m sorry if it is a wrong place to ask you these Questions.

–VaaSU–

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Steven said on September 3rd, 2007 at 2:45 pm

Wow, you’re right, you don’t know how to write properly but you must be doing something right if you have 700 unique visitors (assuming this is true)… :shock:

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SEO Optimization said on September 3rd, 2007 at 3:42 pm

Well..this wasn’t John post…but anyway i believe John appreciates your kind words :twisted:

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GettyCash said on September 3rd, 2007 at 1:00 pm

I sometimes don’t know what I should blog. :???:
Blogging is hard work! lol

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Jacob said on September 3rd, 2007 at 1:19 pm

Blogging can be hard, but there are other ways. One thing I have found that works is that everyone has their own opinion. John here may have one opinion on how something works and then Darren Rowse might have another. If you have an opinion about something, voila, you’ve got a blog post.

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Terra Andersen said on September 3rd, 2007 at 4:54 pm

:mrgreen: It really is rather easy if you pick a good topic.

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TheDirectoryDude.com said on September 3rd, 2007 at 10:46 pm

I think if you pick a topic you are actually interested in it is a lot easier. If you are trying to write about something just because of the keyword competitiveness or adsense payouts it gets tougher.

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Word Hugger said on September 3rd, 2007 at 1:03 pm

I have always heard it takes 30 days for repetition, but I bet it’s the same effect ;)

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Chris Jacobson said on September 3rd, 2007 at 1:12 pm

I find myself lagging sometimes when writing my blog… I need to get out of the house more to get inspired. :cool:

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TheDirectoryDude.com said on September 3rd, 2007 at 10:48 pm

haha:)
Just like a song writer how breaks up with girlfriends to get inspiration:)

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krillz said on September 3rd, 2007 at 1:19 pm

I have had a pic of Bugatti Veyron and a text saying this is mine.
Well nothing! I suppose my brain has to think the paper is mine or something hahah.

Anyway recently I have experienced your site to load extremely slow, which shouldn’t be happening when I’m sitting on a 100/100 mbits pipe. Seems you have to compress the images more to load quicker.

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Matthew said on September 3rd, 2007 at 1:29 pm

I just read tonight that Bugatti wont even consider you to buy a Veyron unless you have a net worth of $100 Million + ;) Better get posting at 100 times the rate ;)

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Steven said on September 3rd, 2007 at 2:46 pm

As Krillz said, I noticed that when I comment, it takes awhile for the comment to post, on average anywhere between 10-15 seconds.

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Sly from Slyvisions.com said on September 3rd, 2007 at 1:22 pm

The only thing holding me back is school. It’s very hard to do all these things in less than 24 hours. That’s why I have set a schedule for myself so that I can write a new post every day or two.

Sly from Slyvisions.com

Reply to this comment
sikabayan said on September 3rd, 2007 at 1:25 pm

:smile:
yes, I feel so difficult to post article every day, but I try it…tnks

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Matthew said on September 3rd, 2007 at 1:30 pm

I heard it takes 20 - 30 days to form a habbit (I forget the exact amount). I wonder how quick it takes to stop a habbit such as blogging. Maybe 4 days?

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KingJacob said on September 3rd, 2007 at 1:36 pm

I had a little difficulty thinking up good things to post but 3-4 months into it things just come to you. It also helps when you have 2 bloggers working for you to :wink:

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Geedos said on September 3rd, 2007 at 8:40 pm

True. Plus after 3-4 months worth of posts you’ve got more inspiration if you’re struggling for content.

It’s easier to go back and explore older posts and revisit topics if you’ve got more of them to explore in the first place. It definitely gets easier.

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Steven said on September 3rd, 2007 at 10:24 pm

I don’t know about easier in finding topics to post but I do believe it gets easier to post on a regular schedule.

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Marco said on September 3rd, 2007 at 1:41 pm

Hi John,
great Project. I would like to participate in this with my post: Committing to blog regularly and hope for many, many more bloggers to be part of it.

Cheers,
Marco

Reply to this comment
Terra Andersen said on September 3rd, 2007 at 4:55 pm

Great project! Blogs are like television.. when you expect new posts to be up… and there isn’t one… it’s kinda heartbreaking! (especially if it’s one of your favorite blogs!)

Reply to this comment
Karol Krizka said on September 3rd, 2007 at 1:44 pm

Heh, I was just gonna write a topic on that topic. How I’m gonna be a bit more busy since school is starting again, so I might not write long tutorials. However I do want to do at least two posts a day, a short one in the morning, and a longer one in the evening.

Reply to this comment
Karol Krizka said on September 3rd, 2007 at 1:56 pm
MyBlogCotest said on September 3rd, 2007 at 2:05 pm

To find all blog contests on the Net :mrgreen:

Reply to this comment
Joshua said on September 3rd, 2007 at 3:18 pm

Is your named typo’d on purpose? I’ve seen you do it twice now…just checking!

I do like your site! :mrgreen:

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Steven said on September 3rd, 2007 at 10:24 pm

LOL I noticed that too.

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TheDirectoryDude.com said on September 3rd, 2007 at 10:51 pm

Maybe trying to rank for a misspelling?

Dunno :shock:

Reply to this comment
Jason Likert said on September 3rd, 2007 at 2:29 pm
Tyson Williams said on September 3rd, 2007 at 2:29 pm

Totally agree with you, I have been blogging 2-3 posts for 2 years - once you start, it is easy and becomes a daily routine. Last month I had to wipe clean and start over again with a new blog platform, but but after couple of days straggle with scripts, I am back as usual. The only time I may be not sticking to it when I travel overseas (it is hard to find Internet access while somewhere on camel in south parts of Egypt). Surely I do make up for it when I am back at home - LOL

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chtanxw said on September 3rd, 2007 at 2:57 pm

Some people have the opportunity cost to spend on TV (average 4 hours per day) but find it difficult to make a single blog. I think it is a time management problem.

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Geedos said on September 3rd, 2007 at 8:39 pm

For time management problems you should just ask John for a copy of the 4 hour work week - that should help!

Reply to this comment
Steven said on September 3rd, 2007 at 10:25 pm

It’s faster to buy a copy yourself at your local bookstore.

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Rhys said on September 3rd, 2007 at 3:01 pm

Simple. Some days I write three posts. Some days I write zero. I only post once a day though.

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OneDollarAds said on September 3rd, 2007 at 3:23 pm

I think I will actually take up this blogging challenge. I’ve been putting off starting up a blog for quite sometime now, simply because I’m pre occupied with my advertising network. But if I could blog for 20 days straight, I would feel I have accomplished something. Maybe not much…but something

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Suzie Cheel said on September 3rd, 2007 at 3:46 pm

I have discovered today after posting 3 times , even on a Sunday in the US and a holiday weekend my Technorati ranking jumped 7 points
So 20 days straight- so I need to have several in reserve as I will be away for a couple of days. this is also a good practice..

Reply to this comment
Terra Andersen said on September 3rd, 2007 at 4:56 pm

Congrats on the technorati points! It definitely helps your overall seo rankings to post consistently as well.

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Geedos said on September 3rd, 2007 at 8:42 pm

I agree - I often store several up in advance and plan when they will be posted. Also by doing that you can enjoy a life away from your computer from time to time!

Reply to this comment
Tomos said on September 3rd, 2007 at 4:07 pm

http://tomoswyn.com/?p=10

My reason(s) about whats holding me back from blogging

Reply to this comment
Matt Arnold said on September 3rd, 2007 at 4:08 pm

Hmm… 20 days in a row? That actually seems like quite a challenge. I will give it a go! Let’s see how this works out.. lol :)

Reply to this comment
will said on September 3rd, 2007 at 4:29 pm

College is holding me back from blogging… :oops:

Reply to this comment
Bloddard said on September 3rd, 2007 at 4:36 pm
Nick said on September 3rd, 2007 at 5:39 pm

I definitely agree that blogging can be habit forming. Why doesn’t WordPress come with at warning?

Reply to this comment
Usman said on September 3rd, 2007 at 5:54 pm
Vick Is A Dick Dot Com said on September 3rd, 2007 at 5:55 pm

Keep On Blogging On!

—————————-
vick is a dick (dot) com
http://www.vickisadick.com

Reply to this comment
Webmaster Money said on September 3rd, 2007 at 6:19 pm

I just cannot write anything much longer than some comment. I could write few lines but long posts like this or Johns are impossible. What I want to write is usualy maximum 4 lines and that is not enough long. for blog or is it?

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Joel Rivera said on September 3rd, 2007 at 7:49 pm

I guess writing a good and long post is a little hard, I been trying to attract visitors to my blog while I keep writing but I don’t get visitors.
My blog is new and I know is to soon to get a lot of traffic but I hope I get enough to make some decent money.

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Geedos said on September 3rd, 2007 at 8:43 pm

Keep at it and good luck. Remember your posts don’t have to be huge either - as long as the content is good don’t stress about having to come up with huge amounts of copy.

And if you’re in a creative mood write a few articles at once - that way you can make up for the days when you can’t think of anything to post.

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Stephen said on September 3rd, 2007 at 8:31 pm

I recall that what held me back in the first place was the fact that finding a topic to write each day seemed to be a daunting task especially when you are actively involved in sports and working. But if you schedule your time accordingly, think of topics in advance and get people to guest blog for you…the tasks becomes more manageable.

Reply to this comment
steven gallay said on September 3rd, 2007 at 8:40 pm

Now if I can only go to the gym 20 times in a row!!!

steven-movieworld.blogspot.com/

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MT Herald Dot Com said on September 3rd, 2007 at 9:24 pm

Great! You are coming out with grant new ideas everyday. Where do you get all these? Do you dream a lot daily? Lol….

Reply to this comment
Click Input said on September 3rd, 2007 at 9:48 pm

“Experts say that if you do something for 20 days straight you will then form a new habit into your daily routine.”

Didn’t know that, but I do struggle to get a routine going at times… will try it!

Reply to this comment
Fatih said on September 3rd, 2007 at 10:01 pm

Making a new habit particularly blogging that is writing is not easy to some. It needs a strong determination of some sort. While many can easily have a new idea and a bit talent of writing, not all have the luxury. Traffics are also one problem. Many bloggers just impatience to have good traffic just by writing. If it’s the case, i think they should learn from you: writing regularly and advertise aggressively. :)

Reply to this comment
Angel said on September 3rd, 2007 at 10:58 pm

Are we supposed to link here or to Blue Fur?

Reply to this comment
Gary Jones said on September 4th, 2007 at 7:29 am

You don’t need to link to either. Just use the ping back feature in your blog or post a link to your post in the comments.

Reply to this comment
Anraiki said on September 3rd, 2007 at 11:21 pm

Hey John, I finally got to say something for this blog, I hope its a good read for ya. And I did like how you advise on focusing.

Reply to this comment
Alopecia said on September 3rd, 2007 at 11:26 pm

I like the way you have given the whole step by step procedure to remember to post in blogs, John. I guess i’ll start doing this right away.

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Wahlau.NET said on September 3rd, 2007 at 11:31 pm

it is hard to start….and even harder to stop

Reply to this comment
Will Buckley said on September 3rd, 2007 at 11:37 pm

I am reading your free ebook and love it. I am also a stay at home dad and becoming addicted to blogging. It started as just another tool to get visitors to my site. Now I look at something and I think hmmm how can I write about that in my blog.

Now I will have more time to do so because :cry: :cry: My son is starting preschool today…. Good thing I get paid to stay at home, I may just end up making more money. Especially after reading John’s ebook.

Reply to this comment
Tatraplan said on September 4th, 2007 at 12:29 am
Ucuk said on September 4th, 2007 at 12:58 am

CONSISTENCY & PERSISTENCY have their own roles to make habit as a habit…. Again, this evil John Chow putting up a smart ideas to create an activities between his loyal readers like me. Other than that, he is actually got a “free-post” by only compiling all of our comments here…. Evil John Chow possessing us again! :)

Reply to this comment
Tech For Novices said on September 4th, 2007 at 5:10 am

nothing. I am blogging as fast as i can

Reply to this comment
Richard Miller said on September 4th, 2007 at 7:40 am

sounds like a good idea! Is there gonna be a prize for the winner post?

Reply to this comment
Free PHP eBook said on September 4th, 2007 at 10:10 am

I think the biggest thing that has held me back is the thoughts of “I don’t have anything to blog about” - I spend most of my day working, and then don’t have any great hobbies going at the moment, so I would start a blog and then forget about it 3 days later.

I finally just started my new site, and I’m just going to keep writing and see where it takes me.

Reply to this comment
BigMeep Joe said on September 4th, 2007 at 10:55 am

I’m just in the beginning stages of launching my video blog and podcast, and I’m finding that I have too many things I want to talk about and write about, and even harder is forcing myself to just post it. I want the quality to be high, but I also need to get the posts out there. I had to force myself to just do it and shoot the first video and not try and get everything perfect, otherwise it would never get out there. Hopefully the quality will incrementally improve over time. I’ve got lots of ideas and experience in other areas, but none in the “internet show production” department…

Maybe an approach for solving writer’s block or time constraints is to build up a small inventory of posts in reserve that can be pulled out and posted quick to keep the content fresh when the time isn’t there to research and write a post.

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Shaun said on September 4th, 2007 at 11:47 am

::pulls out the old marker::

Hehe, yep, I need to do that. I’m going to do it, actually. :P

Reply to this comment
Johan Cyprich said on September 4th, 2007 at 12:16 pm

One of the problems in forcing a daily blogging habit is that you may wind up posting garbage just to have your post for the day. I’ve seen things like people posting a photo of their snowed in car, or talking about subjects completely unrelated to their blog theme. While its acceptable to deviate once in a while from your blog subject, when it happens to the point that less than 1/3 of your posts are on topic, you have a problem.

I think its better to do 3 useful posts per week instead of publishing daily irrelevance.

Reply to this comment
Gary Jones said on September 4th, 2007 at 12:20 pm

Well I guess that depends on your niche for your blog. I know I can watch the daily news and come up with 4-5 good posts based on the current events in my local area.

I do agree quantity over quantity but there is no reason you couldn’t make a quality post on a daily basis.

Reply to this comment
Johan Cyprich said on September 4th, 2007 at 2:27 pm

This is easy to do if your full-time job is your business. It takes me about an hour to put together a blog post after I decide what I’ll be writing about. When you consider that most people have full-time jobs and families, it doesn’t leave you with much time for blogging. I could easily do one or more posts a day if I was self-employed. An hour would be allocated for this in your 12 hour work day. :)

Reply to this comment
Blogs For Money said on September 4th, 2007 at 12:34 pm

I set myself a goal of posting once per day, but sometimes I struggle to come up with content that’s on topic and won’t send my visitors away. Any tips?

Reply to this comment
Max said on September 4th, 2007 at 1:16 pm

Well, how about “I will write 30 posts a day??”

Reply to this comment
Blogs For Money said on September 4th, 2007 at 1:29 pm

If that’s a reply to me - I’m not sure how that’d help :P

Reply to this comment
Blogs For Money said on September 4th, 2007 at 1:42 pm