If you’re like me, you’re a committed writer: maybe you keep to a rigorous writing schedule, or maybe you have actually written a full-length book or books. Chances are good that if you’re reading this, you’re also a blogger. Maybe you even have a blog like this one.
I still remember when blogging started to really come to my attention. It was around 2007, and the word was that everyone should have a blog. I thought, What the heck is it?
Well, those days are gone forever, but now that we’re all furiously blogging, we have to remember to set aside time to actually get these blog posts done. It’s easy to get analysis paralysis when it comes to blogging – especially with the running Content Analysis feature at the bottom of WordPress SEO telling me, “The text contains 117 words. This is below the 300 word recommended minimum. Add more useful content on this topic for readers.” Okay, okay, I’m working on it!
In my case, I made a commitment to do a blog post every Monday, since that seemed like a nice day at the time. Who wants to work on Monday? Better to go read someone else’s blog. And I started off great: I blogged on 5/31, and 6/6, and 6/13, and then…oh, snap, 6/20 came and went and I was busy doing actual paid work for a client. That work extended through the week, and now it’s almost 6/27! Good gravy, I gotta get this thing done.
I understand, there are popular bloggers whose readers tune in once a week expecting to get their weekly fix…but then there are the rest of us. (By the way, I just read something really good on expectations: it said, “The greatest cause of anxiety is endless expectations,” and it was credited to Radhanath Swami. Not bad, eh?)
If you’re still with me, I want to give you some encouragement. It’s okay. If you’re late with your blog post, and it’s not a paid gig with a deadline attached to it, don’t worry about it. Just get it done when you can. Keep an editorial calendar and try to stick to it, but if you miss sometimes…it’s not the end of the world. Promote the heck out of your post, and your readers will be glad you did. Just remember: when you get popular, you won’t have this “tardy” luxury anymore. So enjoy it while you can. And keep on blogging!
