Blogging: Content Is King

~ beetleypete

This post is mainly for the information of new bloggers. The rest of us already know about it.

I have recently reduced the amount of time I spend blogging. Going from 4-5 posts a day down to 1 or 2 has given me lots more time to do other things that were being neglected in favour of writing and blogging.

Reaching a peak of over 800 views some days, my own blog was tying up a great deal of the day, mainly spent replying to comments on posts. Then I had to read and comment on the posts of bloggers that I follow.

Many new bloggers ask questions about why so few people read a post on their blogs. They write something, put it out there, and they are then disappointed when hardly anyone reads it, or engages with it.

My answer to them has always been that they have to keep providing content for people to read. I have often used the phrase ‘content is king’.

Now my recent experiment offers solid evidence of this theory.

After cutting back on posts, I saw daily views drop considerably. As that was my intention, it wasn’t an issue. Views were averaging less than 200 a day, with a peak ten days ago of 450, for two posts. This Monday, I was very late posting.

With nothing new to offer the readers, my views dropped to a dramatic low of just 47. After posting late, that jumped to 210 views by midnight.

There you have it, proof positive. Content is king.

85 thoughts on “Blogging: Content Is King”

  1. Thank you. I do wonder, however, what you mean by content. What if you have nothing to offer a following, you just like to journal? Does that mean it is impossible to get a following? Must you always offer information, motivation, inspiration, or something useful like How-To or DIY or recipes? I just wonder if only that sells a blog.

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    1. Not at all. ‘Content’ is a blogging buzz-word for whatever you want to post. Many of the most popular blogs are just everyday diaries/jpournals about people and their day to day lives. Some are just one or two photos, memories of the past, or their struggles with a physical or mental health condition. My main point is that you should keep posting, if you want to have a following and be part of an active community.
      If you don’t care about that, and are just blogging for the purpose of keeping a record of your life and times, then this post was not really aimed at you.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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    1. That’s very sensible, Olivia, and life should always come before blogging. This post was mainly addressing the issues for those bloggers who post very little content, then complain that they have few followers, and no interaction.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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      1. Thanks so much Pete. Really helpful and realistic! I bet you’ve seen abs experienced a lot whilst blogging lol would you mind if I uploaded it to my Pinterest account? It’s the most helpful advice I’ve found yet and would be great on my board 😊

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  5. Sometimes it is difficult to come up with content, then it becomes a task. I’ve missed days that I just don’t have anything entertaining or informative to share. But there are some who need views to stroke their egos.

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    1. I am far too old to need my ego stroked. 🙂
      Many new bloggers wonder why they get few followers, and little interaction. My advice here is for those bloggers who do not post enough content to attract a readership.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  10. Sometimes it is difficult to come up with content, then it becomes a task. I’ve missed days that I just don’t have anything entertaining or informative to share. But there are some who need views to stroke their egos.

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    1. Yes, I agree that it is not always possible to think of things to write about. I usually have a serial on the go though, or write something about my dog. 🙂
      Having less views makes life easier for me, to be honest.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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    1. Yes, ‘content’ is something of a catch-all description to include the things you mention too. Not a word I enjoy using, but it seems to be the ‘thing’ in the blogging world, and saves a lot of typing. 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  14. Great advice Pete! You are the King of Content! I always enjoy your posts, especially if they involve Ollie or a new series! I think your generous engagement has a lot to do with the devotion of your followers. Grateful you didn’t let the crazy WP changes deter you! Warmly, C

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  17. Terrific point Pete…as for that blogger who was disappointed, they need to remember that it takes time – lots of time – and lots of posting to build up a following, or to get someone to share your post and expose it to more people…many give up, but if their only goal is to have a lot of people follow them, then they are probably blogging for the wrong reason, right?

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    1. Very true, John. I didn’t even feel like much of a blogger until after three years had passed. Sadly, a lot of new bloggers seem to be disappointed after a matter of weeks.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  18. A friend of mine drove me in his 1977 Chevy Nova to Mt. Charleston Village last night (we stayed until well after midnight), where we played catch (I own two baseball gloves) for a couple of hours under a parking lot light. Elevation: 7,510 ft (2,289 m). It was a very nice escape from the hot Las Vegas Valley, and a nice break from routine!

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  19. Post at regular times (As a geek I even publish at the same time of the day); keep the word count down to 500-600 words; write about the same subject (if you post about butterflies, don’t start talking about favourite meals!); and engage with anyone who’s taken the time to comment. Over to you Pete!

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    1. The novelty hasn’t worn off for me, Stevie. But I was aware that it was all I was doing. I’ve just been outside in the summertime, walking Ollie. We got soaked by torrential rain! 🙂 🙂
      Best wishes, Pete.

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      1. I’ve been to work, been out on my bike, and cut the grass today. I don’t do much writing in the summer, lol. Back at the van the week after next. Interest will pick up again around November when we close the van for the winter.

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          1. I’ve come to the conclusion that it doesn’t matter if I don’t post anything for a few days. I find it’s BookFunnel that sells books, not my WordPress blog, Twitter, Facebook (I gave that one up), Instagram (gave that up as well), or any other social media site. I tend to concentrate on Book Funnel now and have over 1000 readers on my mailing list.

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  22. It’s been one year since I started blogging.
    Found 2 things mandatory- 1- engaging with other’s posts. 2- don’t post boring content that is too long.
    It helped me.
    However, my views too have decreased in past 2 weeks.
    Don’t know what’s happening.

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    1. Over here (and in America and Europe) it is the start of holiday season. Also better summer weather makes people spend less time inside looking at screens. That might be why your views have decreased. Your two mandatory things are ideal, and everyone should copy them.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  23. You are right. I don’t worry about how many views I get. I keep writing because people seem to like it even though they don’t often comment. Writing is what I enjoy and a few people out there like it, it makes me happy. I love the idea that people around the world have read my words.

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    1. Dead right, Pam. Without engagement, there is no real experience of blogging. You first get the contacts and community with good content, then you have to engage constantly to keep all that.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  25. As I read this, I can’t help but think of how I used to follow 700 blogs but never got around to reading most of them. (I use READER more now) And I follow blogs on blogger too. Too much time at this machine makes my head hurt. But content is king FOR SURE!

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  26. That’s true! Content is king, but also consistency in my case for sure. I certainly don’t have as many followers (in fact, a fraction really lol) but since I’ve been able to put myself on a regular schedule, my loyal readers have come to expect my weekly posts on the same day, generally around the same time. And every week they know I’ll pop out something new to discuss! That has helped me immensely to jump over that writing wall that I used to get stuck behind so often! Great advice, Pete!

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    1. You have discovered one of the best ways to keep a following, and to retain your place in a blogging community. Consistency of posting is very important, though when I know I will not be posting for some reason, I put up a post explaining my absence. That helps to keep people interested, as they know I will be back.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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  27. Thank you so much for this post. I’m an on and off again blogger. Tried blogging around 2013.. stopped and started again in 2019.. stopped and started again either Thursday or Friday… literally started new because of the long gaps, so all my old content was deleted.

    Before I was posting maybe 2 times a week? Now I’m trying to post daily.. but a lot of the followers I’ve had since way back are also less active now. Like even they stopped blogging.. so now I’m trying to get even more views/followers.

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    1. Followers come and go, and many followers don’t really follow in the first place. If you try to be consistent with posting, even if it is only on the same day every week, readers will anticipate your posts and look forward to reading them. If they don’t appear, they may unfollow you, or read something else instead.

      It is important to try to become part of a regular community. That way, the others in that community are more likey to forgive your absences, and still be there when you return. To do that, you have to follow others of course, and more importantly, you have to comment on their posts,and engage with other followers there.

      I have stuck with my blog since 2012, even though for the first year or so, I was lucky to get 25-30 views a day. By the end of 2020, I was getting 500-750 views a day, sometimes over 800. It takes a long time.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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      1. Thank you so much for your advice. I’ll definitely work on becoming more of a regular. I’ve already been trying to find more blogs I’d be interested in following and been commenting/like more posts from other people. So I’m stepping in the right direction.

        Do you ever pre-schedule your posts? Or post immediately?

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  28. Your posts are always great quality Pete and that is key.. Once a day is excellent when you also have a lot of things going on in your life, especially in the summer months. I find scheduling my first post of the day for just after midnight seems to catch the US market overnight especially if it is a book promotion for a US author. xxx

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    1. Many of us find it hard to keep up, but I think for new bloggers more posts will eventually equal more views and more interaction. If they can cope with that of course. 🙂
      Thanks, Robbie.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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    1. Because I have so many followers from America, I do notice that some posts pick up the next day after posting, or at weekends when they have free time. At the moment, I am still trying to stay to one post, though when winter returns with longer evenings, I may go back to posting more. I just enjoy writing the stuff, and if someone reads it, that’s a bonus. 🙂
      Thanks, Jack.
      Best wishes, Pete.

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