After thinking about this for a while, I've decided I need to cut back on blogging for several reasons:
1. It seems like my posts aren't getting as many views as they used to. (I'm basing this on what Blogger reports.) Something may have changed in an online algorithm somewhere. There might be a decline in blogging in general (I see this mentioned in other places, though usually without sources). It might be more effective for me to put more marketing effort into other social media outlets or my newsletter. Reason #3 may be a factor too.
2. With all the other daily responsibilities and projects I constantly juggle, I feel really time-pressed for writing. Cutting back on my posts, at least temporarily, should help.
3. I'll be honest--lately, I've been having difficulty coming up with topics. I started this blog over a decade ago (I think it was shortly after I got married), so that's a lot of posts! I've written over 2,200 of them, and sometimes I wonder if I'm repeating topics. Maybe slowing things down for a while will give me a fresh perspective.
I'm not planning to give up blogging completely. For now, I think I might cut back to once a week on Wednesdays, so I can continue to participate in the monthly Insecure Writer's Support Group posts. This means that unfortunately I'll be giving up on the Science of the Week posts on Fridays. I enjoy researching those posts, but they do take up most of my blogging time. I have to read the science news articles daily (or read a lot at once) and decide which ones to link. If I have news, I might create an extra post for it.
Since it's late October, I'll try this schedule for the rest of the year and see how it works, both for me and for you, my readers. After that, I'll decide if I want to change my frequency. I hope no one's too disappointed by this announcement, but maybe I'll be able to engage more with comments. Feel free to leave one below.
3 comments:
Once a week sounds good. I cut back to that a couple years ago and it really helped. Views may have declined some, but I'm still connecting with others and people are reading, so that's what matters.
I'm thinking about going once a week for next year for different reasons.
Don't put too much stock on views though. I read your blog religiously on my blog feeder which won't count as a view. I'm sure others do too.
The other reason for less views is seasonal. The holidays are beginning to gear up and people have other things on their minds.
You might also try a blog topic generator. Just Google.
Thanks, Alex!
Maria, that's a good point.
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