Article by Wendy McCance
A few days back, I wrote an article about blogging experts. I mentioned that not all advice is going to fit your own blog. Well, I had an experience I would like to share with you.
In the article I wrote the other day, I mentioned getting an email for a post on why you shouldn’t post articles during the holiday. The idea was that people don’t read blogs this time of year and that you are better off using your energy to do maintenance of the blog or plan the articles you will write next year.
When I read the advice I was stunned. I have taken so much of this blogger’s ideas to heart. The blogger is very successful and seems to really know their stuff. Even so, I decided that I would continue to blog through the holidays. It just didn’t feel right for me to take time off from writing posts.
Boy was I surprised when on December 21, I had my 3rd busiest traffic day since I started this blog. I hadn’t done anything radical, I just posted an article. It wasn’t even the most popular article. The advice I had received about little traffic during the holidays was absolutely not what I experienced.
I have also noticed that my comments have picked up tremendously this entire week. I am getting the same amount of traffic as usual (except for the 21st) but I have connected with so many more people this month. My December experience has been just wonderful.
So just to restate what I had stated in the other article, blogging experts aren’t always right. There is not one size fits all solutions. Take any advice and really decide if you think the advice given will work well for your own blog. Whatever you do, don’t mindlessly just accept an “experts” advice as golden. It might not be the best advice for you personally.
Wendy McCance
To contact Wendy McCance about a writing or social media assignment, interview or speaking engagement, please email her at: [email protected]
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It’s so true that there is no one size fits all advice. I agree Wendy and personally I find I receive more traffic during the holidays when everyone has more time to browse the Internet.
Yep, that’s how it turned out for me too!
Hi Wendy
First off, Merry Christmas. I read your original article and loved it (though I never commented), so when I saw this follow up in my feed reader I had to, naturally, click through.
I think a lot of the “long-term” bloggers are basing their own opinion on past behaviour, without taking into account how much has changed with Internet usage, particularly in the past year. Smartphones and tablets mean we can browse, read and carry on as normal no matter where we are - even visiting family. We are no longer bound by the limits of our own WiFi connection, or having to work on a computer or laptop.
Whenever my parents visit I don’t work on my computer too much, but I always have my iPad close by. I can occasionally take a break from speaking with my parents to check on a few things, post an update if necessary, and then return my attention to them - all without leaving the room.
Additionally, everyone’s audience differs, and your own experience shows how important it is to understand your own audience before taking advice from others.
Hi Chris, Thanks so much for your comment. You raise such a good point. I hadn’t thought about how technology is changing, but you are so right. It did get me thinking about how society is these days. In some ways it makes me sad that even when visiting with family, technology is calling us away from the experience right in front of us. It really is a different world we live in these days. Hope you have a wonderful holiday!
I think it is an individual decision. I do mostly photo posts at the holidays but you are right, there isn’t one answer for everyone!
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts on the subject. Photo posts sound wonderful for this time of year!