The internet is not going to die if you feed it less frequently. There’s a lot to be said for developing good writing habits. However, you don’t need to publish everything you write in order to experience the creative benefits of putting your thoughts into writing.
I know that’s blasphemy to many of you blogging pharisees. How could I possibly imagine writing an article for public consumption then be so selfish as to keep it to myself? It’s not so much about keeping things to myself as it is about trying not to waste your time with articles that offer little value.
How do I navigate the brambles and choose which articles to publish and which to send back into the mill? I ask myself these questions:
1. What does this article do?
Does it share a story, ask a question, present a resource, or promote something? Knowing what you want an article to do simplifies editing for clarity while creating a benchmark you can compare response to.
2. What part of this article will be most easily misunderstood?
For every point, there is a counterpoint. For every positive, a negative. I believe we are responsible for the messages others derive from our writing. We can’t cover every base, but we can often address obvious counterpoints to the messages we share. Have you ever run across an author response to feedback that involved the author expressing frustration that the reader didn’t seem to have actually read the article? 9/10ths of the time, the author is mostly to blame for not writing with clarity. Readers are doing you a favor by spending time with your thoughts. Don’t disrespect them with frustrating drivel spun as elegant verbosity. For instance, this entire section could be compressed into: strive for clarity and don’t expect readers to know things you haven’t plainly stated.
3. If I wait to publish this article for a day, or perhaps even a week, will it still be relevant?
Unless you specialize in reblogging or have access to breaking news, is there any reason why you MUST publish articles immediately? I think not. Write for lasting relevance and you’ll end up with a blog you’re not embarrassed about three years from now. A lot of bloggers confused conversation with progression and discussion with contribution. You don’t need to be one of those. If you won’t care about your content a week from now, why should we? Just like a watermelon on a hot day, you get the most refreshment if you put it in the fridge for a few hours before eating. Delicious!
4. Do I give credit where credit is due?
This one is simple. Tell us where you find your inspiration. It doesn’t make you look like less of an expert. In fact, it makes you more trustworthy and seem more intelligent when you give others credit for inspiring your thoughts. Be humble and give credit where it’s due. We’ll respect you more for it and become loyal readers because we trust you not to mess with us. (Please, let me know if you see one of my posts and wonder if I’ve skipped a mention of some inspiration. At worst, you’ve reminded me of something I prefer to do. At best, you’ve shown me another resource that I can add as additional reading. It’s a win both ways!)
5. Did I push myself in some way with this article?
Write for you. I’m serious. If you get caught up in SEO and maximizing some vague niche market, chances are good that you’ll burn out and your writing will suffer. Find different ways to challenge yourself. Try a new format, play around with images or video, or write a post with relevant links to every member of your blog roll. Make a point to write about things that interest you and let us readers do our thing. We’re a fickle bunch and can’t be trusted most of the time anyway!
What questions do you wish more people asked themselves before publishing articles?
Note: Comment moderation is turned on. Once you’ve had a comment approved, you’ll be able to post at will. Please be respectful of others. At the same time, I hope you’ll feel free to challenge ideas and try words on for size. You’re probably smarter than me. Please demonstrate that intelligence in your comments. If we respect each other while refusing to tolerate weak arguments or personal attacks, I think we’ll have a solid chance at making good things happen. Does that sound good? Let me know!
Thank you!
Seth
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Good post mate and an excellent set of benchmarks for us all. Thanks for keeping it real!
[...] this week (social media and mindful infotention) to ignite my revisiting of personal learning. Seth Simonds in his post encouraged me to think about and clarify why to post (”The internet is not going [...]
It depends on the reason the person wants to blog, Seth, no?
If it’s just a way of writing a personal journal, as opposed to a pen and paper version, then does it really matter what’s published? It’s valuable to that person – any other eyes are just a bonus.
Good point, Danny.
I’ve got a hunch, and it’s just a hunch, that the people who are writing their blogs for the joy of personal writing don’t read this blog.
I know a bunch that read some of my other blogs, but not this one. =)
I’m not trying to be all things to all people. I’m trying to be at least half something to a few who really care!
Good food for thought.
I have not blogged recently for the simple fact that I don’t have much to say at this particular moment. And I refuse to post content for content’s sake.
I’ve always approached my blog as an expression of myself, never being interested in how high it ranks or how many readers I’ve had. I know this goes again the blogger holy grail mentality, but writing for me is personal expression. True you should write for your audience, but I feel there is a greater responsibility to write for oneself as you mentioned.
Do you feel there is a happy medium that must be met. Or hell with it?
If you don’t write for yourself you run into the “life cycle” issue that niche bloggers run into constantly. As soon as they run out of “original” content they keep posting out of duty and the spark that made their blog special to begin with dies.
Props to you for refusing to post for its own sake. Just don’t abuse that argument and let it keep you from writing when you DO have something to say but don’t feel like putting in the effort to say it! =)
[...] 5 Questions To Ask Before You Click “Publish” | seth simonds [...]
Great set of questions. I just used them while getting ready to publish a post. One question I always ask myself is “what difference do I want to make with this post?” Could be a sub question to your #1 What does this article do?. One of the things that I appreciate about this particular blog of yours is you push your readers to be personally responsible for how they communicate, what they communicate and the impact they have through their behavior.
In particular I loved the question “Did I push myself in some way?” Perhaps to my detriment I never write thinking about SEO. I have quite a few posts written that I haven’t published because they aren’t there yet and I won’t post something that isn’t ready yet. My commitment is to quality over quantity yet I also don’t want to let myself off the hook for not at least posting weekly. It is a discipline I have yet to develop and I also have to get a lot better/faster at writing. Been at this for 6 months and I have so much to learn. Posts like this help so thanks!
i am so following your blog now. you are a writing coach! hallelujah! with a sense of humor. thanks for the reality check. i am a fan of editing and you give good tools for doing it better. heading back into your site to see what all else i can garner.
Crap…I just hit publish
If only you could see my “drafts” section. I have something like 56 half written or “sitting on it” posts in there just because I didn’t feel that they met the mark. Most for reasons you’ve listed above.
Thanks for writing this post, it made me feel like being professional about the writing quality in my blog — even if it meant missing posts for a day or two — wasn’t such a huge blogging sin.
I think the most powerful comment in this article is “write for you.” The truth is that the vast majority of bloggers don’t make a living from what they do, and never will. And that’s fine with us, I would suspect. But if that’s the case, stop worrying so much about niche marketing and SEO and all that . . . just write from the heart and be yourself. You’ll definitely be happier, and you may even be more successful.
Good points all in this one, Seth.
Amen about clarity! When I write a post, the question I ask is “So what?” Why will my reader care about what I’m saying or will they learn or gain anything from the post?
I also agree that it is better to focus on quality/substance over quantity of posts. But again, it also depends on what kind of blogger you want to be and how much monetization is important. Being someone who wants to make a living online, I find that it is a balancing act between creating quality content & monetizing. It can get tempting to go SEO crazy
Thanks Stephanie for linking this post!
Deb
fantastic post.
I like to think I still ask myself all these each night before I hit PUBLISH.
I like to think that youd let me know if I were kidding my mizself.
Thanks for this post- It’s very helpful to get tips like this early on, as I just started my blog a few weeks ago. I can see how one can run out of ideas and something internal needs to propel them forward.
I am now trying to find the right balance with how often to post. An extra day or so in the “saved” file won’t end the world!! Thanks.
Deb
Before I read this article I tried to guess what would be on the list. Check Spelling. Be myself. List my sources. It was all I got. I am new at this so I wasn’t surprised that I only got 2 answers close to what you wrote. In fact checking for spelling should be damn near obvious. The ones I didn’t guess are very insightful and I will be referring back to this post time and time again as a checklist. You listed very vital things that I didn’t consider before, but will be very helpful for future posts. Thank you for sharing.