4 Blogging Myths that Need to Just Die Already

If you’re brand new to something, you feel unsure of yourself. You look to the example of others for what to do. That’s natural.

The problem is that you can’t keep doing that if you really want to succeed. Doing what everyone else does has never been a formula for success.

Also, a sort of collective wisdom has arisen that is nothing more than myth. And I’m not the first person to bust these myths, either. By this point, you probably could say that debunking these is, itself, getting a bit old.

But there’s always new people learning to blog and market their business online and it’s new to them. So let’s take a look at four bits of advice originally designed to help you learn how to blog, but which are no longer true (if they even ever were true).

You should blog every day

For every successful blog that publishes every day (or even more than once per day), there is a successful blog that does not. Seth Godin publishes every day, sure. So what. Glen Allsop, Jon Morrow, and Derek Halpern do not.

I don’t.

You should include a picture with each post

I like having pictures in my posts. Many do. But that doesn’t make it a fact of life that all blog posts should have pictures. Svbtle doesn’t. Hacker News doesn’t. Jade Craven doesn’t.

Why might you not want to have pictures? Two reasons: design and time. If you want the typographical design of your blog to be the star of the show, you may not want to make heavy use of images. But time would be the biggest reason of all to not use images. It takes a lot of time to find the right image for a post.

Your posts should be short

Seth Godin is famous for his short blog posts. It works well for him. I once wrote a blog post that was over 4,000 words (1,200 words is my average). Glen Allsop of Viperchill has written his share of very long posts.

Nobody pays attention to how long a blog post is when they love what they’re reading. You’re trying to accomplish something with your post and it needs to be long enough to do that.

Unless you’re really good at putting your thoughts into as few words as possible, the only way to get shorter blog posts is to edit down your messy, wordy writing. And that takes time, which you probably feel you don’t have.

Your posts should be optimized for search

Not everything you write is going to be an SEO wonder. Nor should it be. When you want to rank for a keyword, it’s very satisfactory to accomplish that.

But, sometimes maybe you just want to have a heart-to-heart talk with your readers and customers.

What’s the keyword for that?

Maybe there isn’t one, and that’s okay. You’ve got subscribers who will read anything you write.

Think

Think about why you’re doing what you do. Don’t follow blindly.

photo credit: Leo Reynolds via photopin cc

Filed Under: Blogging

terryjett

Excellent advice! Thank you for sharing Michael.

On another note concerning your email and complaint: It blows me away that someone would take the time to subscribe and then turn around and file complaint. Silly as hell. But you know, have had the same thing happen to me. Beats me and only answer I could come up with: jealousy

Terry
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  It’s a head-scratcher for sure. There is another explanation: alcohol. We all know people can do some pretty weird things after a few drinks. Drunk “internetting” is quite common.
  - terryjett
    
    Great point. Been in this business for little over 20 years and must admit in my younger days, may have been guilty of “drunk internetting” myself. I did learn one thing: do not press send – wait…
    
    These days a few drinks put me to sleep so never have to worry about that any longer, lol
    - http://www.facebook.com/people/Cecilia-Power/100000743047484 Cecilia Power
      
      Hi Michael,
      
      I’m still here! It was not me, if I don’t have time or energy to read your posts, I store them if they look like something I can use, or just make them go “poof” if they are a not a good fit for me. I feel it would not be serving my best interest to unsubscribe!
      
      I always come away from your posts with something I can use. It is not often that I offer comment, as my energy is a premium commodity, and try not to ramble on as I could so easily do. I like writing conversationally, myself. I really don’t have a good grasp on being formal. So, when I find a person, such as yourself that seems to embody the “real” and communicates so much of the ‘hows ‘n whys ‘n wherefores’ that can clear some fog for me, I hang out.
      Thanks Michael for being you, and my thanks to all the folks that also ‘hang out’ from time to time and share their bits ‘o savvy!
sespring

Thanks for the advice and for permission to break these, and some of the other rules of blogging. I have learned a lot from you, and others who are willing to help those of us who are new at this. My blog has already improved, and my content will be much better soon because of your advise.
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  Awesome to hear that, keep going!
Erin

Completely agree with everything you said. Some of my longest blogs for clients have been my most successful ones. I often refuse to do the 300-400 word blogs for any less than I would charge for longer blogs – the simple fact being that to cut down words takes just as long! And you’re right – not every post has to be SEO perfect. SEO optimized posts are often boring.
The biggest tool I have used with clients if they ever have doubts is the google analytics site. I recently had a client’s investor call me up and say, “you need to shorten the blogs…no one’s reading them.” I basically said, “Oh really? Then why does Google analytics say that they’re spending on average 2 minutes on the blog site? No one stares at a photo for that long.” That shut her up. Sometimes people want to take their own opinions on a blog and project that on to everyone else. I try to stick to the facts, and that’s why that analytics tool is so precious.
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  Yep, that’s how you know for sure you’re doing the right thing… or not. I can’t believe anyone would’ve said that to you in the first place without data to back it up.
Jean Gogolin

I’m almost incapable of writing long, partly because I started out as a newspaper reporter and partly because I just like writing, and reading, a few well-chosen words. That’s me. But some of the writers and bloggers i love write long most of the time – you and Jon being two of them. As for SEO . . . . worrying about it is a pain in the ass. There. I’ve said it.
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  Being too economical with words can make your writing harder to read, not easier. I write conversationally and so end up using more words than are absolutely necessary. But it flows and reads easily, so, hopefully the word count isn’t a big deal. And don’t infer anything about your writing from this, Jean. I’m speaking generally.
  
  SEO is a pain in the ass when you’re trying retrofit it into a post that wasn’t conceived with a goal of ranking for a keyword. I have found the best posts for ranking are the ones where from the very beginning, my goal was to rank for a keyword. The entire post was built around that goal. It’s not such a pain in that case.
http://www.dweb3d.com/ www.dweb3d.com

The community constructions and conversion rate could be more important than seo, but seo is important for rank well and have good traffic
http://www.facebook.com/people/Ed-Wait/644808676 Ed Wait

It wasn’t me! Really! If I want to unsubscribe from a blog, and there have been several that I’ve done just that with, I’ll just hit the unsubscribe ling and be on my merry way.

Unfortunately, there will always be uptight people – haters. When you put out true & valuable content (you are’ then the best way to deal with “those” people is to not deal with them at all. Maybe just give them a mental slap on the forehead, smile a little smile, and forget about that brief moment in time.
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  I don’t offer feedback when I unsubscribe, either. If they don’t know why people leave or stay on their lists, my comments are a waste of my time and theirs.
http://twitter.com/alisonjgolden Alison Golden

Ooh, I’m going to that next time I email my list. I get a complaint every time and once I got three!

Love your myths. I am incapable of writing short. And my longest, ~3500 words, was on Downton Abbey and it got shared at at least twice the rate of my usual posts.
- http://twitter.com/alisonjgolden Alison Golden
  
  And I may have to pinch the title…
  - http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
    
    Be my guest. Glad you enjoyed it.
http://twitter.com/write_clever Sue Neal

Strongly agree with all of these, Michael – as for the last one, I try to optimize my posts but always prioritise readability and natural flow over SEO if there’s a contest.
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  As you should!
http://www.faughnfamily.com/ Adam Faughn

Thank you for listing the length of the post. I try to keep mine short, but some of my most visited posts have been 800+ words. As long as there is something useful, length just does not matter.
William Cato

Micheal, I agree with everything you have posted. There are so many blogging myths out in the blog-o-sphere (that is the last time I will use that word ever), there is one that I heard from a guru, I won’t mention his name but, he said that commenting on blogs was a waste of time. His statement about floored me.

I spend at least 30 minutes a day on other blogs leaving as good of a comment as possible and try my best to keep the conversation on going. This is one of my better traffic generators to get eye balls on my blog postings.
I have no idea where this guy got his info, but it is wrong, wrong, wrong.
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  You can’t make a blanket statement about commenting because it depends on too many factors. For him, it works. If you go about it the right way and you have a very close community, commenting could work wonders.
  
  But if you try to use commenting the way most people do as a traffic-generating strategy, it’s a waste of time. In fact I just deleted a comment on this post by such a person.
Christina Maria

I appreciate this point “SHOULD BLOG EVERY DAY” this is really true daily blogging is better than other ways. I have a blog & I daily update or give reply on my blog.
http://www.2ultra.com/ William Cato

Thanks Micheal, I wasn’t trying to make a blanket statement. Commenting works for me as a traffic generator because I do it with the intention of not getting traffic back to my site or postings.Instead I comment because I really enjoy the post and if I can add to the conversation that is when I post a comment.

In your opinion, what is the right and wrong why to use comments as a traffic generator?
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  It’s really difficult to use comments to get traffic. When was the last time someone’s comment had such effect on you that you just had to check out their website?
  
  Instead, it’s been my experience that comments are how you build relationships with the author and the community.
http://www.2ultra.com/ William Cato

Yes, building a relationship with the blog author and the community is the number#1 reason anyone should comment.

I am naturally curious. So when I see a really good comment from the community, which for me is a rarity, I do click on their Icon and check out their site. I think that because good commenting etiquette is rare, It ‘s totally refreshing to see.

Is comment traffic a myth?
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  Maybe it could have been the fifth myth.
http://blogsnewsreviews.com/ Astro Gremlin

I write once a month and get the same traffic. I’m a purple cow, though, so don’t emulate.
http://twitter.com/AuthorPatFrayne Pat Frayne

Thanks for the tips. I want to be a successful blogger, but can’t seem to stay motivated. It seems to be a lot like witting letters; I’m just not good at it. Yet I enjoy writing books.
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  You can plan out your posts like the chapters in a book. What it “seems like” is all in your head.
Pingback: Five Blogging Myths and Half-Truths
Dee Green

Thanks for this posting!! I’m a noobie to the blog thing (bout 4 months old…… Waaaa!!!) and I had so many misconceptions about what blogging is and how it should be done. After reading some others that appeal to me, getting a feel for what I like to read, its given me the confidence to just roll with it. I’ve learned that its not like getting a 4 page essay done on time for English Lit. It’s more like the free flowing Beatnik poetry of the 60′s. Let it ride, just do what it do. Don’t sweat it!
- http://remarkablogger.com Michael Martine
  
  Hi, Dee, welcome to the fray.
  
  One thing to remember about the beats: they knew who they were speaking to and what their audience wanted.
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Nice post, its useful for me thanks for the post..
pushpendra

Create an editorial calendar for your blog. By determining topics in advance you dramatically shorten writing times because your subconscious has already been writing the post while you were doing other things.
http://twitter.com/RCONNOR111 ROBERT CONNOR III

Down to earth advice – we are glad you shared! Have a great day on purpose…