Write and promote, write and promote. I am insanely passionate about this site and the people who take the time to read it. I have always said that I will strive to deliver the best quality of content I could provide. I won’t compromise on quality just to produce a post that will keep my post numbers up.
I spent the last hour writing a post about how to get comments from a problogger. Initially I had a stack of ideas I wanted to include in the post. Off to a great start, but half way through it didn’t feel right, didn’t feel as fluid as all the other 92 posts on this site. I decided to edit it and add new ideas, by the end of the hour I decided enough was enough and deleted the whole thing. If I didn’t like it, it was no way near good enough for my readers.
In my plan for December I said I wanted to produce 60 posts by the end of the month, but I also said I wouldn’t compromise on the quality of my work.
- Filler
It drives me mad when I see filler posts on websites, just to get another fresh bit of content on the site to try and draw in new traffic for the day. Filler posts are a massive waste of time. If your not happy with the post, or thinking that’ll do, someone will like it. Then you should never ever publish it. In my post 4 questions you need to ask before you publish I talk about important steps to take before you hit that publish button.
Filler posts are absolutely crazy, I have seen posts that are 5 or 6 lines long. It’s not the length of what you have to say its the quality.
- Better Not Than Do
Have nothing to say, then don’t say anything. No matter what commitment you have given yourself or your readers to post a set amount of times a week, you should never post for the sake of postings sake. In a post I did the other day called why you need to step back, I talk about why doing nothing is sometimes the best solution.
Important note here is ’sometimes’ the best solution. Doing nothing just to get your thoughts together can be dangerous if that’s all you do, nothing.
- Breathing Space
Take a deep breath and count to 10. You can sometimes be too involved in something to see anything else. No matter how motivated you are, things can get on top of you. Once you at that stage it is extremely difficult to come back, so take a time out, forget that drivel you have just written. Live to fight another day, if you traffic dips for a day or two, so what! It doesn’t matter in the grand scheme of things, and your website will actually be better off for not producing some crap you never wanted to publish in the first place.
photo credit: russelljsmith
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{ 22 comments… read them below or add one }
Twitter: professorbeej
December 17, 2009 at 20:55
I never delete anything. Even if I don’t use it, I keep a backup so I can cannibalize the text later. To me, that’s destroying legitimate work, and even though it may never see the light of day, I think there’s always a chance at salvaging text by reworking it through a new angle.
Professor Beej´s last blog ..Thoughts on World of Warcraft’s Random Dungeon Finder
Twitter: theinfopreneur
December 17, 2009 at 21:00
True you can sometimes salvage work, but I’m not a hoarder I’m an InfoPreneur, if it wasn’t good enough then it never will be.
I would rather re-write the whole post again from the start with a fresh head. That way I don’t have any of the old content trying to influence my new post.
Maybe it’s your proffesional writer in you that says you can always salvage the post, but for me it would distract me too much.
Thanks for the input though, it would be interesting if others are like you…
Twitter: leonaldrich
April 26, 2010 at 01:28
Worse case you save it as a draft; it might still be of use. There is no return from delete-ville.
Leon Aldrich´s last blog ..Twitter Suspends Account for Tnavres64
Twitter: theinfopreneur
April 26, 2010 at 08:25
yeah I find it better for me just to start over
Twitter: benlumley6
December 17, 2009 at 21:14
I’ve been know to completely delete a post in the past when I’m not happy with it. No point in putting up crap on your site!
Ben Lumley´s last blog ..Why I took a night off to Crush It! and why you should to.
Twitter: jeffadcock
December 17, 2009 at 21:29
CRAP!
. Well it wasn’t much of a parade rather just trying to understand how to get enough content to be relevant on a few sites I would like to start.
Here I am in the middle of researching PLR (Public License Rights) and you go and rain on my parade
Which now leaves me still wondering the proper way to leverage my strengths (ideas, analogies, business growth) and not get held back by my weakness which is writing\grammar. I can speak for hours and keep an audience, getting it down on paper in a way that it flows for a reader is a huge hole for me.
I am also exploring copywriters. I saw your post on getting better grammar, but I have gone that route and it just seems to stunt the process.
I was leary of PLR and was leaning toward copywriters, curious what your and others experiences have been.
Kind Regards,
Jeff
Jeff´s last blog ..Is your Company committing Brand Suicide?
Twitter: benlumley6
December 17, 2009 at 21:42
Jeff – big tip
Write just as your talk. Don’t worry about if it sounds right as writing – just imagine you were actually saying it. You’ll be surprised how effective that writing technique is
Ben Lumley´s last blog ..Why I took a night off to Crush It! and why you should to.
Twitter: theinfopreneur
December 17, 2009 at 21:57
Good advice Ben, something that both of us do, I think it adds that little bit of personality too
Great article. I’ve bookmarked it to include in a list I’m preparing on my blog!
I agree that it’s important to post quality content on your blog, but, genuinely, I’ll avoid missing my schedule at almost any cost, including posting an only “half good” article on my blog. OK, it doesn’t sound good on me, but sometimes I do feel that it’s better to just get something up on your blog to keep it ticking over. It lets people know that you’re still there, and it means you don’t miss out on schedule. In previous times, I’ve missed the post slot for my blog (post every 2 days), and I found that everything fell…
My traffic fell.
My comments fell.
The amount of people @replying me on Twitter fell.
The amounts of retweets fell.
Trackbacks to my blog fell.
It took me 4 days to recover from 1 missed schedule.
Like I said, I agree that where ever possible, post quality content. Budget your time effectively and you’ll always have time to post something quality, but if you don’t, then it’s always good to just put something up (maybe some site news or something – it doesn’t need to be 100% quality, it doesn’t need a load of work, and it keeps your blog working).
Still, really really cool article, nice work!
Simon | Teenius´s last blog ..The Advantages Of A Unique Design
Twitter: KiwiGordie
December 18, 2009 at 03:04
I agree with Professor Beej,
I have about a dozen “given up on” posts. But like he said, I may have the inspiration in future to turn them into usable posts, or I can take bits from them and incorporate them into other blogs.
I agree with you about not putting up content for the sake of content.
Gordie´s last blog ..How To Slice And Dice Your Way To Success.
Twitter: mikezilla14
December 18, 2009 at 12:12
I’m a big fan of writing in one sitting I have a collection of post ideas I keep adding to in Evernote and pull one out and try and form a post if it’s not working I’ll normally trash it and pull that idea out again sometime in the future. The way I see it’s the idea that counts some days the writing happens some days it doesn’t as long as I can keep coming up with fresh ideas I’ve got no problem trashing posts.
Michael Fletcher´s last blog ..Why meditate and what is meditation?
I too have deleted a whole post after spending time on it. Sometimes I write because I am angry or frustrated about something happening in my industry, and once the post is written, I will sit back, re-read the post, and make the decision that it is too biased and/or would not help my community. If I write a post, and am not feeling necessarily interested in my own subject matter, I will delete that, too. I keep in mind that this is going up on my web site forever.
Well, yes. I too have posts that I don’t publish, but I don’t delete them… at least not from my computer. Instead I keep them in draft form for awhile. Often I find there is the gem of a real post in them… in fact, often the real problem is that there are two or three posts that I was trying to combine without realizing it.
Oh sure, some of ‘em go eventually, but there’s often gold in those unpublished posts.
Anne Wayman´s last blog ..Dealing With Money – A New Category
Twitter: bohemianshooter
December 29, 2009 at 11:51
I’m a little of both of what was mentioned above. I don’t necessarily stock pile on things that don’t work, but sometimes it helps to let an idea “ferment” a little before using it. Something I’ve continually employed with my fiction writing. If nothing pans out after that then it was meant to be trashed.
Twitter: theinfopreneur
December 29, 2009 at 12:22
I think professional writers such as your self as so much better at re-inventing the wheel. You obviously have a real talent for writing.
theinfopreneur´s last blog ..Never Expect Anything From Your Readers
Twitter: MrCyberSmartSEO
January 2, 2010 at 15:04
“filler posts on websites,”
I would say that a utility post can be quality. If the information is actually of value, then utility posting is fine. I do utility posts. Some times I am just too busy to post my own content. As long as the utility post contains good info with good links, rather than just slapped together, all’s well. “-)
I usually hang on to my writing. I may not post it, but sometimes I can use a part of something for some other project. WATCH OUT FOR BURN OUT BROTHER! Peace “-)
MrCyberSmart´s last blog ..Rush Limbaugh Press Conference in Hawaii
Twitter: theinfopreneur
January 2, 2010 at 15:41
Hey Chuck,
The sort of posts that add value (any other sort should never be published) are the sort of posts you are talking about.
I think opinion is divided here, the more professional experienced writers keep onto content and re-invent it.
For me though if it wasn’t good enough then it never will be. I would rather burn it and start again.
As for burn out, ha ha no chance, I’m an InfoPreneur!
theinfopreneur´s last blog ..Can You Ever Run Out Of Content Ideas?
You are very prolific! Our twitter box is groaning under the heaps of tweets! You have beat out Mr. Mashable! Congratulations & Cheers!
Twitter: theinfopreneur
January 6, 2010 at 00:02
Hey Kari,
Thanks for the support
Twitter: ryanhanzel
January 15, 2010 at 12:15
An enjoyable and educational read, nicely done!
Twitter: theinfopreneur
January 15, 2010 at 16:43
Thanks brother
Twitter: debtrotter
February 11, 2010 at 06:26
Talk about a resonating post! I am constantly torn – to post something not quite right, or not to post at all? Also, since I’m an artist, pictures or photos are essential to my posts, & I’ll admit that one may prevent the other from happening. I don’t like to post a picture without copy, or copy without a picture. Duh! Any advice on this?
By the way, your post rocks, as always.
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