Quality vs quantity – the blogging dilemma

When I write, I want to write quality articles; articles which interest, amaze and inspire. Mediocre content annoy me. If ever I write something which I consider of low quality, I never publish it – I will either review it or scrap it.

A Wordle of blogging wordsI want to make a difference in the world, be it a small or big difference (I would prefer big) I have to start on a personal scale. If I can improve your life by changing the way you think and feel (for the better), and enriching your knowledge and understanding, then I am doing my job.

I love reading Jonny’s posts every week, they always interest me and many have inspired me to make (usually small) changes in my life and have often caused me to write something myself. Jonny posts once a week, on a Thursday – with the odd exception. Would he be able to post such great content if he posted twice a week? What about three times? I don’t know.

I am not meaning to pick on Jonny, once a week is just great and very appreciated. One day Jonny will stop writing as often, and one day he will stop writing all together. I hope that day is a long way off, and by that time I have no doubt that we will have other writers writing the quality and quantity of content that he writes.

The same goes for me. I get a lot from blogging at the moment, I love the researching and crafting process that goes into making an article, and I also love the responses. But one day I shall probably stop too.

Think about your favourite TV show, how often does it air? Usually (with exceptions) the best shows/series take months to produce and don’t launch every day/week of the year.

Blogging is the same. I want us to post 6 great articles a week. Jonny gives us one of those posts. I am usually able to provide another, and we often get the third from another writer – like Steve, Ron, Alan or another writer. Usually we only post 4 or 5 articles a week, and that’s fine. I would like to post 6, but would rather post 4 quality articles than 6 mediocre ones.

Blogs that post less often, usually don’t have such a great readership. It’s a fact. There are exceptions of course. What would a news site be, if it only published once a week?

If I was able to monetise Technology Bloggers so that I could run it as a business, then I could dedicate more time to it, as it would become a job, not just a hobby. Don’t get me wrong, sometimes we do host the odd bit of sponsored content, to help pay the hosting bills, and fund competitions, but this site is never going to make millions. I am not sure I would still want to blog, if it was solely for money though, so I don’t want to monetise the site.

So, here is the dilemma I have: produce okay content, daily; or produce quality content, less often.

I want to post 6 articles a week, only 3 are provided, who plugs the gap? Usually me. If I don’t I feel bad, as I don’t feel I have fulfilled my duty to the site. If I post the extra posts needed, but they aren’t quite as good as content I have produced before, I am angry that I let the posts go live.

There is a very fine balance which needs to be struck, and I am not sure I am there just yet.

Would you prefer to read 5 star articles once a week, 4 star articles twice a week, or 2 star articles daily?

The reason I am writing this is because I feel we had a great 2012, I had a great 2012 as a blogger, especially in the last few weeks. That said, I know my diary for 2013 is already looking pretty full. Friends, family, education, work and recreation all take a lot of our time, and rightly so. However other commitments I have, do mean that I will have less time to write in 2013.

Rest assured, I am not throwing in the towel and am going to continue to do my best to keep us up and running at full capacity, but there is a lot to do.

If you want to help, I am more than happy to accept suggestions. I would love to promote more users to author status, and give everyone more control.

8 thoughts on “Quality vs quantity – the blogging dilemma

  1. Hi Christopher,

    I understand your dilemma here. I must say I’ve also had these concerns. I feel if I must publish any post it should be something that is not just of quality but that which is helpful to my readers. When I opened up the blog for guest posting I thought that will help ugment my personal content. But I must say most of what I receive are not just worth. Sometimes I have to re-write the articles before publishing.

    I really wanted to publish more often but then because of other commitments I cannot. I know some bloggers boast they can write 3 – 4 articles in a day but I must say because of the work I put into my articles they sometimes take 2days for me to know I have done something worth it. After I discovered I cannot make it every day, I decided on 3 times a week but right now, I have settled for 2 times, Mondays and Thursdays!

    I think what you just need to do is settle on the schedule that is convenient for you. In fact, less posting will also give you more time to promote your blog.

    • Christopher Roberts

      An interesting view Chadrack…

      A schedule doesn’t really work for me, as my life outside blogging is so changeable.

      Some months I manage 15 posts, others just 5! I had 11 in December 2012, in contrast to 6 in November 2012.

      I can see that for many bloggers a schedule is a good way of making sure you post content, but then it does tie you down a little, and I would feel bad if I missed a personal deadline.

      Thanks for the comment Chadrack 🙂

  2. Hi Christopher,

    I think it is important to go for quality and then try to write as many blogs as you are comfortable with. If you just try to churn out as many blogs as you can you will end up diluting the overall quality of the site

    If your outside life is changeable in terms of workload then maybe you should stockpile a few blogs during the slow times and then publish them during the busy times.

    Cheers
    Neil

  3. I think quality is more important. Unless you have a news site it’s hard to find out things to write about everyday as well. But as long as search engines and people prefer sites that update daily I think you will face this dilemma.

  4. I think it depends on why you are writing. I have built a strong online social network and those folks are interested in reading what I write, whether it’s once a day or once a month. My loyal followers are subscribed to my blog, so it doesn’t matter if I go on vacation or take a break. I reward their following with good content that is meaningful to them. I’m not blogging for money, but for relationships and knowledge sharing.

    Will I get tired of it and quit? Maybe someday. But until then, I’ll keep sharing my thoughts and opinions and (hopefully) keep increasing my following.

    Just my $.02…

    –Sean

    • Christopher Roberts

      I suppose it depends what your niche is Sean. Technology blogs are generally seen as fast paced sites which are always being updated, hence the issue! I think we defy the trend though. We have loads of great bloggers on-board and a strong, loyal community (of both readers and writers) and when we post, you can be assured it is something that is worth reading!

      Anyhow, thanks for the comment Sean, interesting to see your view 🙂
      Christopher – Admin Team

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