This guest post is by Aman Basanti of ageofmarketing.com.
If you have not yet started a blog, stop. Write 20 to 30 posts before you launch.
It may sound counter-intuitive, but this strategy may just be the thing to help you succeed as a blogger.
Why?
It stops you from quitting
Here is the number one reason most bloggers fail: they lose the will to continue.
Anyone who has ever started a blog will tell you that it is downright demoralizing to start a blog. When no one visits your blog, no one accepts your guest posts, and advertising proves too expensive to make a viable traffic generation strategy, you feel lost and destroyed.
Unfortunately for most people, that is the end of their blogging journey. Within months, if not weeks the blog is abandoned and another number is added to the failed blogs hall of fame.
But the very mind that loses hope can be made to maintain it if you invest a lot of effort into your blog upfront. It is human tendency to try harder at and stick longer to something that you have already devoted effort to.
It helps you build and maintain momentum on your blog
Guest posting is one of the most powerful ways to build your blog. It allows you to get your name on established blogs, and gives you a taste of what it would be like to have a popular blog—not to mention attracting high-converting traffic to your own blog.
The thing with guest blogging is that you need to do it often to make it a viable brand building and traffic generation strategy. You cannot do that when you barely have enough posts to keep your own blog going. Having 20 posts in reserve can help keep your blog going while you are concentrating on pitching and writing guest posts.
Plus, once you get a few guest posts on big blogs you will get requests to write guest posts on even more blogs. And you need to be able to maintain the momentum. So the post reserves will come in handy.
It helps you get paying gigs
Finally, posting on your blog and writing guest posts for other blogs may even bring you paying gigs.
When someone is paying you good money to write posts, you need to able to deliver high quality content under tight deadlines. This means you need a lot of practise before you start. Writing 20 or 30 posts helps you build your writing ability.
This means that when you get a request for guest post or get a paying gig you can deliver high quality content quickly.
This is what happened to me. Impressed with the quality and originality of my guest posts and the posts on my blog, a company contacted me to write for them. The only catch was they needed content quickly. Luckily, I had a few posts in reserve, some of which they liked. That weekend I earned my first ever pay-check from blogging, netting around $2,000 for several posts. It was such a thrill.
So if you have not yet started blogging, wait till you have 20 to 30 posts before you launch.
Aman Basanti writes about the psychology of buying and teaches you how you can use the principles of consumer psychology to boost your sales. Visit www.Ageofmarketing.com/free-ebook to get his new e-book – Marketing to the Pre-Historic Mind: How the Hot New Science of Behavioural Economics Can Help You Boost Your Sales – for FREE.
Sorry, I did not get the most important part. Do you write them and keep as a backup plan in drafts for days you are out of creative, or do you publish them upon launch?
I should have clarified this Mario. You publish about 5-10 when you launch your blog – so there is enough content for site visitors to read – and you publish the other 10-15 over the next few weeks. Hope that helps :)
This is a unique piece of advice and I wonder why not many people follow it. I think it can definitely work.
Faizan, most people don’t follow it because most people don’t realise that they will lose their will to continue their blogging journey. Bit like dieting, most people don’t think they will fall off their diet train.
I stopped writing in my blog due lack of motivation and Topics , hmm this post inspired me a lot,Thank you
Glad you were inspired by this Rahul :)
What excellent advice. I started my commercial and investment real estate blog about 2 years ago and have only started to post to it religiously. Had I written a backup supply of posts, as you suggest, before starting, I would have been much further along the blogging path. Thank you for the good advice!
David, as long as you’ve started again, that’s the most important thing. Better late than never.
I just started my blog with 3 posts — but now that I look back, I should have probably done what you suggested. The reasons you give make sense.
Cole, well, that’s done and dusted. As long as you are working hard now, that’s the most important thing.
I won’t agree. Google might think them(posting 20 or 30 posts at a time) as copy pasted posts.
Publishing daily one or couple of posts can help you to index gradually.
I agree with you Kishore. I should have added this in the post but you should not post them all at once. Should post 5-10 upon launch and the remaining 10-15 over the next few weeks and months.
That’s a good idea. So did you keep the posts for a day with writer’s block and/or frustration or did you create them for the express purpose of having others post them as guest posts?
Chris, I kept some for a slow day or when I was away on holidays or couldn’t be bothered writing, I published some on my blog and posted the others as guest posts.
Would be nice to have that many posts “in reserve” but I think getting 5-6 ready to publish before you launch is more realistic. You also want to make sure when striving to deliver high quality content that you check your spelling carefully (hint hint).
Thanks for picking that up – I try to edit my work thoroughly but often miss a couple of mistakes.
Solid advices – especially on that quitting part.
My salvation was changing my state of mind from “what I can get from writing a blog” to “what I can give to others by writing a blog”. It also helps to maintain target audience centric vision of blog development.
“…from ‘what I can get from writing a blog’ to ‘what I can give to others by writing a blog’”
That is a great way to look at it. Most of us only ever think about what the blog can do for us. Thanks for sharing.
I immediately announced my blog that has been made to my friends even though I had just finished making. this I do because I think I can overcome problems that might come up with the principle of learning by doing
If that style works for you then that is a great strategy. Most people though are not that committed, so putting in a lot of effort up front can help them get through the ‘quitting window’.
Yes i agree with you,
I more thing,
If you have 20 post prepared before launching a Blog it will help to write new blog without any tension.
Key point is :
* Dont Post all the Article in One day
* Post them after a Certain period then search Engine bots can find your site more active
* You will get more chance to rank well in Search Engine
Thanks for the post @Aman Basanti
Thanks for adding that in Sayed. I should have stated that in the post but just did not think to do so. I assumed that people would know that – my bad.
Interesting information on becoming a blogger and writing good blog posts.
Keep up the good work!
Thanks Mike.
i find that writing a lot of “practice” articles keeps the creative juices flowing. once you get one idea out, you have 2 more jumping out of your head.
I agree totally. Often I start writing an article only to abandon it (temporarily) because another, more compelling, idea came to me while writing.
In todays world 20 post is very much compulsory inorder to say smorthing that you content.
Agreed :)
I have always had 10-15 posts as my “starting number” but that is quibbling over specifics, the concept is the same. I think that it is very important to have this “base” for traffic. I also like this because these articles can form a “wiki” type of interface where you can link to these articles and begin internal linking from day one.
Steve the ‘wiki’ idea is great. It gives you a chance to create content quickly without doing a lot of work. Also adds value for readers as it connects the dots for them. Thanks for sharing.
it also help in establishing your reputation in the blogosphere before you enter with a bang
It certainly helps in that department Tushar.
I understand the logic behind what you are saying. However in my opinion, 20 posts will not make much difference. If you are a quitter, you can still quit after 20 posts. I feel you should just go ahead with the blog. It may give you more motivation to see that your blog is up and live. Just different ways of looking at it I guess.
For some people, whether they write 20 posts beforehand or not, they will quit. But for many people, just investing that much effort upfront will be enough to keep them going through the dangerous first few months where most people quit.
I just launched my new site today. I actually only have 5 articles posted but I agree with your post. I just got impatient myself.
Is 20 the magic number? I don’t know, but it really is good to have several posts published. One thing that I didn’t see you mention is that it provides more content for people to browse around. If you only have 1 or 2 articles then people will quickly exit your site and may never return even though you have good content.
The more articles you have people reading then the more authority you can create.
There is a lot of truth to what you say – I know I have moved from a blog that had a small amount of articles (especially if I could see they were posted at a slow pace) – those sites simply felt empty and unwelcoming.
I agree with you both. I should have added that in but forgot to. Glad you were able to add that in – thanks :)
Aman – Another nice post from you. I should say I enjoy reading your articles. I agree with you on the minimum posts before making your blog public, i did that for mine and kept me going at the same momentum even after.
Praveen, thank you for your kind words. Am glad you enjoy my articles.
I’ve noticed that your blog has really picked up in the last few months. Good work! Anything special you doing to grow it?
I realize the validity of being able to have some blog posts already posted before going live. For me, quitting on a blog was when I realized after a period of 2 to 3 weeks, if not more, where nothing I did mattered. Usually in most of my blogs, in a week or two I see at least a few hits where I can have the momentum to keep going forward.
Thanks for sharing your experience Mike.
It is true that to keep on going is actually the most difficult part. Not everyone like to write. It is a good idea though to have 20 in reserve but i think, we should just keep the momentum going. As long as we got ideas to write, just continue writing.
Everyone works differently. If you have something that works for you then adopt it. This is just a suggested method, and is likely to work for most people.
Nice post.
Totally agree with these, most start a blog site with 20 post, so you cant quit. Usually launching a blog makes you quit after doing it because you stop blogging & your not committed. Avoid quitting & you entirely put your self in a position where you just cant say no, build momentum & get paid.
Thanks for adding to the coversation Janjan.
Hi there – I don’t altogether agree with this. I think it’s sometimes good to dive in and start ‘doing’ – you can be paralysed by over-preparing and you may still end up disappointed by the initial reaction (or lack of!) when you eventually launch your blog. It’s good to get feedback as soon as possible, too – even a tiny bit of positive feedback from friends can give you the boost you need to persevere, and negative/constructive feedback can make sure you start putting things right sooner rather than later.
Sue, I see what you are saying and I think you have a good argument. This method is not for everyone. Certainly some people will do better starting as soon as possible. But I think a lot of people would be better off waiting and investing a bit of effort before launching. Courses for horses. Pick whats best for you :)
No doubt you are right in what you say. Luckily for me, perseverance is my best quality. Or, like I tell my readers, the most important trait that a writer can have is perseverance.
Guy you are lucky to have the one attribute that most people don’t – perseverance. Enjoy it!
I don’t completely agree with you on this one Aman. Postponing the launch of a blog due to lack of content just doesn’t make any sense. I agree with your point on guest blogging, that it’s a great way to generate followers for your own blog, and it must be done regularly to be effective, and I agree that blogging can lead to a paying gigs. I just don’t see the advantage in delaying the launch of your blog until you have 20 or 30 articles prepared, which could take a month or two to complete. Thanks for posting this, while I don’t completely agree, it’s definitely given me a different perspective and food for thought. Keep up the great work.
Andrew I welcome your constructive criticism.
“I just don’t see the advantage in delaying the launch of your blog until you have 20 or 30 articles prepared, which could take a month or two to complete.”
The fact that you have to wait a month or two is exactly the point. You would have invested a lot of effort into it and therefore are less likely to abandon the blog without giving it a serious go. Hope that clarifies.
I wish I knew this before I start blogging. Having lots of post in advance really helps. It saves you from getting writer’s block.
Thanks for adding to the conversation Citra.
Never thought that I need that much before the launch :-) Great advice on this. thanks
Well you look like you are doing pretty well on your blog, so I guess its not too much of an issue.
Yes, this is a great strategy! Not to mention that if you schedule them carefully (you should never post 20 blog posts from the start though, that would be a complete waste of content!), Google will like your site even more and actually help you rank better.
A tip I’d like to add here would be that of posting your best articles after publishing 3-4 on your site for maximum exposure.
“you should never post 20 blog posts from the start though, that would be a complete waste of content!”
Thanks for adding that in – I should have made that clear. I just assumed people knew – my bad :(
Guest blogging is a cool way to assert your claim of being the blogger to watch out for. Not only before the start of the blog, but during the entire course of social media marketing, one can really increase the network of influence by keeping up with the guest posts.
Agreed! Guest posting in my most effective traffic generation and brand building method.
You are right about the bank of posts. I too have a reserve of posts and it comes in handy especially on deadlines. I have an assignment that is to be delivered tomorrow. The only bad part is it something that I’ve never written or thought about so I’m searching every where for some leads.
Am glad you have had success with the ‘reserve post bank’ idea too :) Good luck with the article tomorrow. What’s the topic? Maybe I could help.
I wish I had done this when I started my blog. I had a real problem being consistent, even though I got encouraging feedback. Realistically, I didn’t have the time to really work on it like I needed to. Now that I’ve reorganized my life and am getting back into it, I’m spending extra time on the blog each day until I’m at least 10-15 posts ahead of schedule. If I decide to post more often than twice a week, I’ll increase it to 20. I’ve been approached to write guest posts, and I want to make sure I can get those done without interrupting my own blog’s schedule. Besides, I’ve noticed my writing improve just in the short time I’ve been writing more!
Christina, you seemed to have really picked up your activity levels. Great to hear. Hope it works out for you :)
I find that many setup their blog, create a few posts and sign up for adsense only to find google closing their account due to lack of traffic and content. Too many bloggers rush into things for quick results. Running a blog is a long term process if one wants results.
Couldn’t agree more Enzo. Such a simple concept, yet so hard to get people to understand that!
Talk about perfect timing. Well, no not really. This post came a couple months late for me. haha But I have a new project, not launching it yet, but it will have awesome, epic stuff once it does.
Glad it came at the right time for you Josh. Good luck with the project.
Great advice,Good comprehensive points.
I just started my blog in December 2008 and it was a struggle. I love the idea of starting off with 20 or so blog posts ready prior to launch. Although I kept moving forward, having the blog posts ready prior would have helped me stay more on track or quite possibly stick with one niche. Although I write about various things, my main focus point is a positive attitude on my blog and sharing that with others. Guest posting is a great idea too – I haven’t done many guest posts but plan to as part of my efforts in 2012. I am writing a whole plan of attack for 2012 to send my impressions and views up higher.
Thanks for sharing your experiences Brandy. Appreciate it.
If you have 10-15 posts ready to be posted ,you can post them rather than waiting for some days before posting, because it brings in traffic during that period. . Your advice is good for those new to the clogging arena, who are less motivated and those who are more prone to quitting. .
If you have 10-15 posts ready to be posted ,you can post them rather than waiting for some days before posting, because it brings in traffic during that period. . Your advice is good for those new to the blogging arena, who are less motivated and those who are more prone to quitting. .
While what you makes sense, the big problem is staying motivated and committed. If you spend a lot of effort up front you are more likely to stick out the tough times than if you had not spent that time. Hope that clarifies.
This is very good advice especially for those who have a drive problem. When I started blogging and didn’t know what was going on, I was driven to post daily. It was often stressful to get something up on the same day and posting times were inconsistent. But I was driven enought to make sure it happened. When I discovered you could save written posts and schedule them to go online automatically it was such a relief.
Now I keep 30 to 40 posts on tap with most of them pre-scheduled to post when I want them to. It frees me up to do other things without feeling stressed out or to continue to write new blog ideas for the reserve file.
Now I need to look into doing more guest posting.
Lee
Nicole from Madlab Post offers blogging tips at
Tossing It Out
“It frees me up to do other things without feeling stressed”
That is such a great point. Being a blogger is kind of stressful enough. So anything that helps with that is always good.
Anan that is terrific advice. When I first launched three years ago I kept some posts in reserve but I wish I would’ve had more. When your business gets busy it’s easy to stray from regular blogging to handle business for clients or create products but then when things start slowing down you realize you haven’t blogged in a while and it’s a contact juggle. Having that reserve helps.
“When your business gets busy it’s easy to stray from regular blogging to handle business for clients”
So true. Or holidays come up or you get sick, worse yet just lose the will to write for a week or two. It helps to have a reserve. Glad you are doing the same thing.
Yes, I’m doing this in preparation for my blog!
Good work! …and good luck!
Thank you for confirming my hunch. I have 20 post in draft mode. All I need to do is cleaning them up for posting whenever I am running out of creative juice. It holds me during the dry times. Then when creativity flows again, I start building up those 20 posts reserve to where they are. After reading your post, maybe I should increase to 30…. Interesting idea to consider.
You’re clearly a better blogger than me – at least when it comes to reserve posts! Good luck with your blog!
Good work Chanuka. It can be a bit effortful to clean up a batch of posts in one hit but it is worth the effort. Hope the idea works out for you.
I can’t wait to write 20-30 blogs before posting. Even though I agree this sounds like logical advice, posting to my blog is like keeping a secret – unless there’s a compelling reason (like a birthday, Christmas or confidentiality issue) it’s hard for me to hold it in. I just HAVE to share it with the world, no matter how few people there are in it at the time. Thanks for the topic – and EXCELLENT discussion!
Great advice. I’m doing the exact same thing right now for one of my new blogs. I’ve heard many people say that this is a bad thing to do but and that you should always just “get the thing online”, but I disagree with them and agree with you entirely.
It also looks good from a new readers viewpoint so if something comes up and you don’t have time to write a new post for a week or so, you’ve already got the posts written and you can just publish them as and when you need to deliver some fresh content to your new readers.
i feel this is a good strategy, not because it can turn quitters into stayers, but because this back-up means that you can keep the search engines busy, even when you dont feel like writing new stuff.
this backup means that you can wait for the inspiration to come for your next posts, rather than write something new just for the sake of writing.
thanks for the article.
Yeh that is another great reason to take this approach. Thanks for sharing that Abhijit.
I’ve been into starting a blog but never sustained before. Until finally I decided I had to do something. I dragged myself for the first post with a night prayer by my daughter. Then it started the ball rolling. Good thing, in WordPress, they have this daily post and postaweek program where bloggers are given motivation to get into something with some post ideas. I’m aiming to get into the next level in 2012 :)
I’m a dedicated blogger/content creator. I can’t leave. The game needs me! :-)
LOL
It can also serve to get you into the mindset of writing blogs. When you start out it can be really tricky to find enough different topics to write about interestingly, and I’m told even experienced bloggers can have difficult days from time to time.
I put my blog on maintenance mode two days ago for one month so that I can create atleast 15 blog posts before I relaunch it on 1st Jan 2012. Guess I read this post at the right time which makes me feel that I am on the right track :)
I so agree with this! I just started my blog and I have 19 already written and waiting to be published. It allows me some breathing room to write when I want to write and not because I’m pressed for time.
i totally agree, only this is just a temporary solution because if you want to maintain a good blog you got to keep in mind that google panda is out on the loose, meaning that you wanna keep it fresh, interesting, original and attractive.
another important thing to remember is that google changes it’s ranking for content according to social activity around it. this means that it’s better to write one really good post than writing four medium quality post…