Avoid Useless Posts
Everyone gets blogger’s block (also known as writer’s block) and sometimes you can’t help it no matter what you do. You can think and think for hours, but not come up with anything. Some days are just like that and it is best if you don’t use “filler posts”. Filler posts are useless posts, which your readers probably won’t find useful. They are just what their name suggests: a post created to fill in an empty spot. Filler posts can actually harm your blog’s reputation because most probably readers won’t want to be reading about whatever it is you are pointlessly rambling on about. Having several filler posts in a short period of time can be even more devastating to a blog and may even lead to the loss of previously daily visitors.
So what do you do when those days come where you can’t think of anything? Well, the best solution would be being prepared in advance. What I mean is it is always a good idea to write up some extra posts on those days where your creative energy is high. Most bloggers have these days too, it is the days when you have 10 different ideas for good blog posts. If you have time try to write some extra posts and save them for your rough patches. If you don’t feel like writing the whole article, atleast try to start a post with a title and maybe a few notes that will help you write the post later on (and save it), so that you don’t forget the great idea when you really need it.
Another viable option is to write about something which may be a little off topic, but your readers may still be interested in. For example, if you have a site about creating and running websites, it is likely that your visitors are internet savvy, so writing a post about a new internet service may still interest them. When you do write an off-topic post try to still think of whether your audience will be attracted by the new topic. Writing off topic posts may work sometimes, but don’t overuse it or your readers may leave because they are probably coming for information on your main topic, not your off topic ramblings.
Filed under: Blogging tips
there is usually something worth writing about in Google trends top 100.
Very good points. I like the fact that you mentioned having material prepared in advance. Exploiting your most creative days, when your blogging energy is high is definitely key to make up for days that you just don’t have the focus or motivation.
Throwing down some useless content in a post can definitely damage your integrity as a blogger. What I try to do when I’m out of creative juices is keep a post simple, yet still of high-quality.
Very nice article Stefan, you included some great tips
Draft mode is your friend. Its a great idea to take a Saturday afternoon and put together some “evergreen” posts for when you’re not in the mood, or sick, or what have you.
Think about Lists that reflect your most popular posts. Lists of your favorite resources. Or simply challenge your readers to a random question. My favorite random of the moment is: You have 200 to spend at Best Buy (electronics/media store) what are you going to buy!
intresting way at look at this.
You can also share links that you may help accumulated during the past few days just like some bloggers do with del.icio.us. I have personally never used this del.icio.us feature but I have seen it many times on various blogs.
Recently I’ve started posting smaller posts; they just contain one tip of something to be solved or achieved. Just think that you will write one paragraph and sometimes you end up writing 4 to 5 paragraphs, that is, a complete post.
I posted this on your other similar post. Just in-case there are different people reading…
I used to take a long drive to nowhere and back. Just to ponder thoughts, clear my head, etc…
I really like the “inspiration†idea above, whether you get it from another blogger, a PLR article or whatever, it can make for a handy post in a pinch. As stated tho, be sure to change it up good and plenty.
I also really like what bloggers such as Andy Beard do - he almost always has a ton of outgoing links in each post, referencing other bloggers on a particular topic. This is good for a host of reasons which I won’t blabber on about here
If you’re really in a bind, why not grab an article in your niche off of a directory…just be sure to leave the resource box in-tact an give credit where it’s due.
Excellent topic!
I still don’t know why my comments are coming up un-spaced, can someone explain please….this doesn’t happen on other blogs.
Another method that will works for some blogs depending on content is to give a review post of what you have done for the week. That really only works Friday through Monday, but still that is better than half the week. If it is a more personal you can always have a midweek day off to overcome your writers blocks and tell people what you are off to do, especially if you can tie it into your niche.
What works for long running blogs is to give a post of what you were doing a month or year ago and either make it relevant or discuss how things are different. I also belong read an Author’s blog solely through the RSS feed and get Sunday and Wednesday random post from years back. This way he has give everyone something sort of new to read, and still gets days off.
I’ve noticed this too Dennis. I don’t particularly like how it looks, but I think it has something to do with the theme being used!
I always like to do a weekly wrap-up section each Sunday and have found it helpful. It isn’t really a break from blogging, but it doesn’t require as much effort. If you don’t like doing a weekly wrap-up, you could consider doing a monthly wrap-up!
nice method.. interesting.. I’ve just checked your site and it looks very good.. simple and good. I like it. Btw.. what social bookmarking plugin are you using?
I agree.Quality is more important than quantity.
I agree with your information. Useless blog is same as waste materials. It has one destination. Throw in a basket. And we should do this.
Comments with informative thoughts will be appreciated..
yeah id rather see a blank post then have someone write about something boring, like sewing.
I appreciate with this article. Its very painful to see an useless blog and suggest to all to avoid useless blog.
i agree no matter when your writer block happen you need to write with a open mind to be effective dun you agree too
Alex wong
you can write about your ‘block’ and ask your commentators for suggestions
Content is always what a blog means, not seo, not marketing. Therefore it is reasonable taking a breath when you feel no energy to write a fresh post.
Another non useless post you can make is a simple reminder that you have the no follow removed from your blog. So what if that post gets spammed to hell with useless comments you are drawing traffic and increasing exposure. If all you get is one new reader who subscribes to the feed it you have accomplished something positive with an otherwise wasted opportunity.
For the record both of the blogs I have listed in my user are do follow blogs.
Even though my website http://ww2db.com is rather niche, I still find enough stuff to write about every day. I can always review a book I have read, or find a general I previously missed. If I am truly out of ideas, there are always historical documents I can transcribe and post. So, I agree with the number of commenters before me who said there should never be a need for filler posts. Google Trends, for example, is a good research tool to avoid writing useless things.
All in all, his blog entry is a nice one. Good job.
Interesting site Pete. I’ll send it to my father.
heh
nice site indeed!
Thanks guys
Useless post aren’t necessarily ‘useless’, the do add more pages to your site…
I’d agree, at least it ups your pages in google.
What good is that if visitors come to find garbage and never return?
Good point.
And you can see some serious search traffic from them.
What a lot of you seem to have trouble defining is the meaning of the words worthless and garbage. Any post you make can be made worth posting with a little bit of effort and with a little bit of effort a worthwhile post can be thought of. It doesn’t have to be a long winded post full of BS. If your topic is current events a quick commentary on what ever pops up as the headlines on your favorite news sites and get a discussion going. It doesn’t even have to be the primary focus of your blog, it just needs to hit touch an aspect of it to be worth writing about.
The problem with niche blogs is niche bloggers get to full of themselves thinking nothing outside of their main focus should ever be blogged on. If you blog on woodturning, which is about as narrow as you could get and still have a decent craft blog, it would be perfectly fine to have a post once in a while that talks the wider range of tools each of you use for non turning activities. If your blog is hi-fi stereo equipment there is no reason you can’t write pieces over time that deal with nostalgia equipment or the environmental effects of new crap being disposed of and just keep them as drafts until you have nothing else to say.
There is a difference between being off topic or skewing a few tangents every now and then and writing a crap post. Even done right most crap posts could be turned profitable as sources of future posts. If you don’t know what to blog on write a couple of quick polls to find out what people enjoyed you blogging on before, what they want to see in the future, or hell just leave a post open for a topical round robin discussion. A little thought makes anything worth posting.
Cool strategy Cynthia… It really depends what type of blog you’ve got. When asking questions like your 200 @ BB example, if they aren’t relevant to your niche, readers might get annoyed…
Thanks for sharing your experience Pete. I’ve heard good things about “google trends” but haven’t ever tried it out. I may give it a test run sometime
Exactly Dennis, nobody will want to return if they can’t find any good content.
I’m just not a fan of providing my readers with a “crap post.” No matter how long or short the post, you can always try to make it look good and include some great info.
To your regular reader it may not be a big deal, but it can show a bad first impression and turn first time visitors off immediately. I know it does for me.
I haven’t used del.icio.us before either. I know some bloggers that have had good results w/ it though. Smaller posts can be better for SEO, but whether they are short or long, IMHO, they should be quality.
It all depends on your posting frequency. Say you post 4 times a week. Then 25% of your posts are links. In this case it would be better to do a monthly round-up.