Starting in April, the number of “I haven’t blogged in ages, sorry omg” kind of posts seem to increase on most personal blog sites. In May, they climb so much in frequency until it’s often harder to find a decent post among the masses of apologies. In June it seems to even out a little, but there is still a fair rate of emo to be noticed for lack of updates. Note that I’m targeting personal blogs here, not paid blogging, etc.
So you actually have a life “offline”, ooh la la! No one is going to hate you for it. :P Please, for the love of all things Interwebs, stop apologizing for not blogging!! Do you want your blog to be filled with whiny-sounding posts made up of nothing but excuses? I certainly wouldn’t want to subscribe to something like that.
Either create a posting schedule and stick with it, or decide to write when you feel like it and do that. But don’t go into the land of wishy-washy and spend the first paragraph of each post apologizing for not writing in days. No one cares all that much. Just write the post. An apology says, “I’ve already messed up bad. Your readers rely on you to entertain them in some way. Don’t wimp out on them! ~ Christine Kane
Exactly! Nobody cares. Why are you apologizing for your own busy life? You have exams, you get married, you have a baby, you’re reading a book, you just don’t feel like blogging for some reason, etc. Do you honestly think that everyone simply must be hating you and your site during that “limbo” time between posts?
Stop it. X( No one hates you. It’s not wrong to do something else for a change. If you were constantly blogging you would either a) run out of things to blog about or b) become redundant. Sort of like those mashup-like posts that are useful once in a while but become an old concept if it’s overused. Your visitors will get bored quickly if all you do is post stuff like “25 Ways to Cook Bacon” or “40000+ Web 2.0 Resources That You’ve Probably Seen Linked Somewhere Else Already”…you get what I mean. ;)
The whole point of having a personal blog to begin with is to share your experiences and other thoughts, opinions, etc. There’s no set time or day that you must blog or die. Also, you can’t expect to have much material to write about if all you’re doing is moaning about how you never blog anymore. That itself will drive people away from your blog more than you only updating a couple times a month. It sure drives me away. :P
If you tend to apologize often (or even only once in a while) for not blogging more frequently, I challenge you to STOP. If two weeks go by then so what? If months go by then whatever! Update when you feel like it next time and write like you meant to wait that long! ;)
With blogging, quality over quantity is what counts.
OMG I’m right there with you haha. It drives me nuts when people try to justify not blogging. I will occasionally acknowledge that I haven’t blogged in ages but I don’t think I’ve ever actually apologized. I have other things to do, too :)
I notice a lot of times posts start with the whole "I’m sorry it has been forever but whatever I don’t care" or something similar. I kinda just scratch my head and wonder, "If they don’t care then why apologize?" 8|
Haha, yes, they must care at least a teeny bit if they apologize. XD
Hmmm….I don’t think I ever apologize for the length of time between posts. I blog when I want & when I have something to blog about. I don’t have a life & I am online most every day, but I don’t feel like blogging every day. I am usually stitching or reading other blogs.
Ehehe, whenever someone does something like that, I think "the end is near (for that blog)". Following that post is another month-long period of absence, followed by another "Sorry, I haven’t blogged in a while" type post. Maybe followed by another post about their daily life, followed by…
… *silence* X(
When I stopped blogging, I wrote an explanatory post, but… yeah. If I have a long stretch where I don’t blog, I don’t start off with "OMG I’M LIKE SOOO SORRY". I just blog.
I am guilty :3 I usually still blog but will have a "sorry I haven’t be updating for reasons x y and z" it’s hard not to say it xD! I think it’s so funny when people get very into and have a 5 page posts on how sorrryyyyyy theyyyy areeeeeee.
I used to do that, but the hilarious part was that I’d skip A DAY and then apologize, as though my 12 readers were anxiously biting their nails waiting for my next installment of "Here is what I did yesterday at school."
I’ve started blatantly ignoring my extended absences from my site. My posting schedule is all over the map, but I’m too busy or apathetic to care, I suppose. :D
OMG I would have been visitor #13 dying to know!!!! :D Heehee! But yeah, my “schedule” is all over as well. I just post when I wanna post and I think it works best that way.
i’ll usually preface the post with "sorry it’s been so long :P" then jump right in, because usually the reason i’m finally updating is to show off what i’ve done in the extended absence. Eh, i agree though… And usually skip over long-winded apologetic posts.
by the by, your site looks FANTASTIC mobile version. I’m going to have to steal this plugin when i get home :)
I couldn’t agree more. I gave up caring about gaps between posts a while ago. Because thats exactly it, no one cares! We have RSS feeds for a reason!
If you’re a good blogger, you should be able to turn these things into an interesting post anyway! It’s not like blogging takes FOREVER. An average entry for me takes less than 30 minutes. XD
I don’t really care if people apologize for not blogging. I just skip that part, and most blogs that get to that point I don’t read!
Agreed! I don’t think people realize where they can get inspiration from half the time. :P
What bugs me the most is when people go "sorry for not blogging, I actually have a life" insinuating that those who do blog have no life. I feel a good blogger is one who can manage both their online and offline lives. I feel most of those who apologize for not blogging are just simply lazy. It doesn’t take long to update your blog with a simple post. And for those who visit your site regularly, that’s all they want. Don’t make excuses as to why you aren’t blogging jeez, just be like "I didn’t feel like it". xD
YES. I hate that too, about people who insinuate the rest of us are pathetic for blogging more often. What a way to turn people away! I’d feel insulted and never return. :P
Nice post, as usual. :)
Nobody reads my blog anymore, so the posts are becoming far and between.
I’d quite like to see that "25 ways to cook bacon" post…
Psh, write it yourself then! ;)
Ah, I so agree with this. A lot of blogs I go to start out with "I’m so sorry for not blogging…exmas, blah blah" it gets annoying after a while, honestly. =/ I get tired of commenting about how someone is busy with exams and what not, it’s like ok…I get the point, blog about something else or just not at all, like seriously.
p.s your layout is nice! XD
Thanks, Shellz! :D Yeah I know what you mean, I get tired of reading those types of blog posts as well. Booo!
The worst part about reading an apology in a blog post is when the rest of that entry is like, "Today I had Coco Pops for breakfast, and then I watched two hours of TV and then did the dishes.." No one cares, and if you’re going to write entries like that, don’t bother writing them at all!
LOL, I totally agree. The only time I actually can stand to read posts like that is when the blogger is a closer friend of mine. Then I find myself going something like “ZOMG you ate coco pops?! Like whoa!” haha! :D
I had a craving for Coco Pops today but I’ve run out :(
Funnily enough, I had coco pops today :) I have also done the rest of that list, but I’m not too boring and I don’t blog about it. If you have something dumb like that to say, then tweet it! :P
omg i know. I hate when people do that, and I see it a lot because I spend one day a week stalking bloggers. Isn’t there a clique for people who don’t post ALL THE TIME?
Haha, I’m with you on that one. If I blog, I blog. If I don’t I don’t. I think the only time I did that was the last time I failed NaBloPoMo.
I agree, Jem. I want to see that entry. I can think of two or three way, lol.
This post woke me up, I think this will change my blogging life forever :’)
Haha! When I read that quote I mentioned above, it sure changed my perspective as well. You’d be surprised how much better quality your posts will be and how much more you enjoy blogging too! :D
I think I’m probably guilty of an apologetic post once or twice. But then again I doubt that my 4 readers are that worried if I disappear for a while, hehe.
woohoo, I can’t wait to get my site back up again now! hahaha
Great entry! I think anyone who is a blogger should read this. :D
This post made me feel better :) LOL. I think I’ll plug this in Twiter.
Haha, I’m glad, Monica! XD Thanks for the plug too!
I do agree with you. However I think some insistence allow for an exception. Such as if the owner promises to update the site with some kind of content, resources, or promises something else and doesn’t come through. But that would be the fault of the owner and I’m sure visitors don’t care either way. I know I skip over whiny posts like that. Good post. :)
Agreed, but I wasn’t saying that bloggers should never apologize for lack of content, just that they need to stop being so repetitive about it. XD But yeah, whiny posts are so skip-over-worthy. Lately, no matter what kind of site/blog it is, I always click right off the site quickly if I see consistent whining across blog entries. Not worth it.
You realize that I must now rethink my entire blogging inspiration… I mean I just lost half of my post when agreeing to this D:
Heh, but yeah… constantly apologizing is not really a good idea. After all, it’s not like anyone’s holding a gun to your head :P
I took your advice, I blogged and I didn’t apologize for not blogging haha.
In the past I’ve definitely made a (bad) habit of doing apologizing for not blogging. Not that I have a lot of readers, I feel like I’m betraying the website in general. I don’t know, it’s silly.
Additionally I wanted to thank you for creating your great free theme. I’ve been using it at my site, (slightly edited of course) and I adore it!
You’re welcome, I’m glad you like the theme. :) I need to update them for 2.8 soon!
Ah, I have a tendency to do that even though I know it’s silly. I will definitely try to keep this in mind the next time I come back from a long hiatus.
*guilty* :S
It’s about time I find an article like this one! One of my favs for sure! It’s funny cause I wouldn’t apologize for weeks and people didn’t seem to care, I really like this article and I’ll definitely be coming back to read more. Great stuff!
I’m glad you liked it! :)
You’re right, I tend to apologize, but when I think about it, I don’t wanna read other peoples aplogies for not blogging, so from now on I will stop apologizing! :D
I know what you mean. I hate it when people say they’re sorry for not blogging for a while. People should blog because they want to, not because they feel like they have to.
I leave posts like that sometimes, not because I feel bad about not blogging though, mostly it gives me something to blog about because I’m too big of a dork these days to think of something better. So sad, yet so true *sniffles* I have lost my blog mojo methinks!
I completely get what you mean! I don’t get why people apologize for not doing this or that for their site when they have a life. I didn’t realize it was such a bother to have a life. :P I mean, everytime I see a blog with "sorry I haven’t been blogging/updating", I have to comment them with "You shouldn’t apologize for having a life." Yet, of course, people keep doing it. Ah, I’ll never understand it. x)
I should probably break the habit then. :|
Didn’t realize how annoying that is…
Thanks for posting this :)
i love your last sentence. the belief that any normal blog reader cares that someone didn’t blog for 1000 years seemingly is preposterous. and besides, most of the time when everyone is bogged down by major exams or revising for the Europeans or last minute school stuff, a majority of the internet is right there with them lol.
I think you should apologise, Melly! You haven’t blogged in 25 days *pulls shocked face*.
Nevarrrr! ;) For me, it is always intentional. Muah ha ha.
hmm… i thought i posted on here before…. dunno may have thought about it and ran along with my day. lol
been a while since you posted this. lol there better be NO apologizing in your next blog. ^_^ None!
Anyways, check out wave.google.com. it’s an hour and a half long video of their new open source project, and I still wanted to watch more!
Omg, Google Wave! *stares at video entranced*
I love you for this post and I don’t even know you!
I just got back into blogging on the 25th but I used to blog about 5 years ago and I HATED those "sorry for not blogging in a while" posts. Some people will use that as their entire subject. Post some LOLcats instead. xD
Good idea! My next post will be a LOLcat, muah ha ha! XD