Slow Blogging – Or just another useless blogging advice?

There is a new trend in the blogging scene. So it’s not that new, it’s been around for so long that it’s even been reported in the media. But I have the feeling lately more and more bloggers are joining the movement and are blogging about it as well. What am I talking about? Slow Blogging! 

To put it simply, this only means that it is trendy to blog less, to publish fewer blog posts. In other words, quality comes before quantity!

For the longest time, I thought I had to write and publish a post every day until I didn’t want to do it anymore. There are days when I have nothing to share, nothing to say.

WHY BLOG MORE OFTEN AT ALL?

Do you blog more often because you think you get more readers?

The idea behind daily blogging seems logical at first. The more often you blog, the more readers usually come to your blog. But this can be quite deceptive because on average no more readers come to a blog article.

Nevertheless, daily blogging and immediate feedback are great for the ego and quickly you get into a vortex. Maybe one more blog article per week, how about two a day? The result, however, is often that the quality of the blog articles goes downhill.

WHAT DOES “SLOW BLOGGING” MEAN?

Slow blogging means that quality comes before quantity. Not the excessive blogging, in which you have to publish several blog articles every day, is in the foreground, but the added value for the reader. In slow blogging, quality comes before quantity, in other words, you only blog when you have something to say and share.

If you don’t have anything to say, don’t blog! Bloggers who belong to the Slow Blogging Movement usually write articles with more substance that are better researched, have better storytelling, and have nicer photos (depending on which genre they belong to). That’s because there is no time pressure that forces them to finish blog articles in hush-rush actions.

Does this mean that slow blogging doesn’t require an editorial calendar or regular schedule?
Yes and no. There are bloggers who really only post now and then and don’t have a fixed rhythm. However, these bloggers usually already have a (large) community behind them.

In addition, we humans are habituated creatures. This means that we prefer it when articles from blogs we read always go online at the same time.

And I personally find the danger too great to forget about blogging completely if I only write an article once a month or even less often. If you want to try slow blogging, then I suggest that you reduce the number of blog articles per week in the beginning.

SHOULD I BLOG LESS?

If you’ve blogged (several times) a day or several times a week, then the prospect of reducing blog articles can be scary. Here are a few questions to ask yourself when you’re thinking about it:

• Do you feel like your creativity is suffering because you have to blog all the time?
• Do you have the feeling that your readers no longer follow to read your articles but follow because they are loyal?
• Do you often spend hours looking for new ideas for blog posts?
• Do you insert gap fillers with only 1-2 sentences and a link or image between “normal” postings?
• Do you want to have more time to read other blogs yourself and get inspired?
• Do you think that the quality of your posts suffers because you are constantly under time pressure?

If you answered “yes” to these questions, then the Slow Blogging Movement is for you! But don’t worry: you don’t have to do it excessively and only blog 1 time a month, but can slowly reduce the number of blog articles.

BENEFITS OF SLOW BLOGGING

Less blogging usually means less stress. However, it doesn’t automatically mean that less traffic will come to your blog, actually, it seems to be quite the opposite.

How do I know? Because I have without knowing about the movement, somehow joined the Slow Blogging Movement a while back.

There are a number of ingenious and compelling benefits that slow blogging and the fact that you don’t have to produce content all the time:

1. You have more time to work on future your blog posts or enjoy life
   Suppose you have written 4 blog articles per week so far and needed an average of 2 hours for each. If you now reduce to 2 blog articles, then you will have 4 hours left to write, live, party, or do whatever makes your life more beautiful.
2. More time = better quality = happier readers
   Of course, you can invest the time you gain in creating new blog articles. This allows you to write blog posts with better quality –whether that means you invest more time in photography or research depends on you and the topic of your blog. All in all, however, it will make your readers happier and prefer to share your blog articles and recommend you to their friends.
3. You have time for other projects
   If you’re constantly spending time creating content for your blog, you don’t have time to think outside the box and discover what else is out there outside of your blog universe.
4. You prevent Blogger’s Block or Burnout
   “Blogger’s Block” is a buzzword that you hear more and more often. It means nothing more than being burned out, having no ideas, and staring at a white computer screen for hours because you don’t know what or how to write. If you’ve had the experience before or are doing so, celebrate slow blogging, and don’t force yourself to produce content!

The simple truth: My blog is part of my headspace, it often reveals what’s on my mind. Sometimes, or quite often, it’s just not that interesting.

HOW TO JOIN THE SLOW BLOGGING MOVEMENT

• Step 1:
  Reduce the number of blog articles so that you have enough time to prepare each one properly.
• Step 2:
  If you’ve blogged 5 times a week and now only blog 2 times, then your readers will wonder what’s going on. So explain to them why you publish blog articles less often now!
• Step 3:
  Avoid articles in your blog planning that are “gap fillers” and only post when you have something to say.
• Step 4:
  Use the extra time you have available for one of the benefits I’ve listed above – or enjoy your free time and be inspired by your everyday life! Go offline!

Well, this is what has been on my mind today, after I read another blogger’s advice telling new bloggers that they should blog every day. It’s Horse hockey! Blog when and how you want to and disregard all blogging advice, including mine. 🙂

Blogging should never be a task, but fun and you should enjoy it. If it becomes a chore, then something is wrong.

Oh, and in case you didn’t know: