As the world embraces slow living, slow fashion, and slow cooking, it’s time to talk about slow blogging as well.
Slow blogging is a movement that prioritizes quality over everything else. It acknowledges that great value, be it a series of beautiful photographs, an in-depth tutorial, or a well thought-out and well-written post takes time.
Producing content can be a huge pressure. Especially if we feel like we need to do it as often as humanly possible in order to keep up with the rapidly changing online world and the incredibly decreasing attention span.
Unfortunately, more often than not, it’s not a sustainable method.
It leads to stress, writer’s block, a panic of “what am I going to post tomorrow”, a sharp drop in quality, and, eventually, a burnout.
While I applaud and respect everyone who is able to produce daily quality content, I had to realize and accept that it’s currently not for me.
I started blogging to explore new sides of my creativity AND to provide some valuable, evergreen content to other like-minded people.
And if that takes me more time, I’m fine with that.
What is slow blogging?
+ Quality over quantity
With all the noise in the blogosphere and the Internet generally, it’s hard to stand out. I firmly believe that on the long run quality will be the deciding and dividing factor. Of course, I’m aware that my blogposts will never be candidates for the literature Nobel prize. Still, I aim to do my absolute best with each and every one of them.
Probably 1 month into blogging, I had to give up my ambitious (delusional?) plan of posting 4-5 times a week. I tried, but it soon became clear that it was not going to happen. The thought itself of how many posts I still had to write a week to reach this goal simply paralyzed me. Now I post 2 or 3 times a week, I’m able to work ahead, and also enjoy blogging at the same time.
If you’re able to produce quality content 5 times a week, by all means, go for it. But never sacrifice quality for the sake of quantity.
+ Take your time – research, think, create
Understand and accept that producing quality is often a slower process. It takes time to research a topic, to write a coherent, flowing post, to take and edit good images. Creativity unfortunately cannot be rushed.
Blog to reflect, Tweet to connect Barbara Ganley, slow blogger
+ Accept that success doesn’t happen overnight
One of my biggest problems with this media crazy world we live in is that we are bombarded by false illusions 24/7. We see the 25-year old with the billion dollars worth startup. The influencer with the free trips and free designer bags. The”10 awesome tips to become successful in a month” articles on the Internet. What we don’t get is the reality and the behind the scenes truth. That 90% of startups fail. That the influencer who seems has “made it so easily and fast” might have been working on this business for 7-8 years with no income in the beginning.
Success usually takes time. Work hard, be patient and be positive that it will work out at the end.
The journey, after all, is half the fun.
+ Stay in your own lane
Don’t feel pressured to do things you’re not comfortable with. You don’t have to follow trends just to keep up with the crowd. Even if everyone else is posting everyday, if you’re unable to do that, or you can only do that at a cost of bad quality, just simply don’t.
Do not care what everyone else is doing.
Maybe the key to success is to do what no one else is doing.
+ Follow your stats but do not obsess over them
Yes, it’s a useful marketing skill to be able to analyze stats and draw conclusions from them. But when it becomes a simple obsession with numbers, it stops being useful. I regularly forget to look at Google Analytics and you know what? I’m actually happy with that. Going over stats once or twice a month is probably more than enough. It enables me to focus strictly on content creation and my creativity is not fucked up by agonizing over and overanalyzing page views and bounce rates.
+ Create with purpose and create unique value
Know why you’re blogging. If you’re contemplating starting a blog, this is one of the most important things to think about. Why are you doing this? What are your goals? What would you like to achieve or learn? What would you consider success? Think about these questions and do not ever forget your real purpose.
+ Don’t let blogging take over your life
Yes, promotion is important. It’s probably just as important as creating good content. However, this is also one area where it’s incredibly easy to lose control. Try to limit your time on social media, be strategic about it, and take time to disconnect and enjoy your life – away from the digital world.
+ Don’t be busy – be strategic
For me, busy is not a positive word. It’s an unhealthy obsession with looking important all the time. Instead of being busy, be strategic. Be efficient, organize your time, and plan your blogging career strategically. No need to be all over the place all the time.
+ Take a break once in a while
Since we’re not robots, we are not able to function at 100% all the time. It’s okay to take a break once in a while, to step away to gain some perspective, to find new inspiration and recharge your creative batteries.
These are probably the most important ideas of slow blogging.
Do I miss out on traffic or will my journey be a slower one? Maybe. But I also avoid a quick burnout, an unhealthy obsession with statistics, and losing my creativity as well as my love for blogging.
For me, it’s worth it. I’m in it for the long run.
What do you think about this approach to blogging? How do You blog?
I absolutely love this post of yours. It is the epitome of thoughtful and high quality blogging. Keep up the excellent work!
Blushing:) Thank you very much!
100% agree with everything you’ve mentioned. When I’m at uni, blogging becomes a sideline project for me, so slow-blogging is how I manage to carry on putting out what I want after careful contemplation. Summer allows me to be more regular with my content but I know come September time it’s going to be a struggle so I’ll definitely bear this post in mind!
Rachel | kyvbey.blogspot.com
Yes, it’s not a sprint, but a marathon for me:) I can imagine that it’s more difficult with uni work, because the workload can become unpredictable or change often. I also try to work ahead sometimes if I’m in a really inspired mood. Gotta grab that moment:)
Keep up the good work! xx
Awesome post. According to the experts, I think I do everything backwards: spending hours writing posts and barely any promoting.
I’ve never been someone who’s been able to just bust out a blog post in an hour or two, and I’ve had to come to terms with that. It takes me several hours more than my peers because I care. A lot. I care about whether or not I’m adding value, I care about adding and editing my own images. Sometimes it bums me out when I see others posting 3 times a week and getting tons of traffic, but I physically can’t write more than two a week without sacrificing my quality of life.
Also, THIS: “Maybe the key to success is to do what no one else is doing.” I was deliberately slow with social media. I figured I’d start with one, instead of all at once. I like Twitter and Instagram in real life so I do those. I don’t like Facebook at all, so I don’t use it. I pin the stuff I like (instead of the 50-100 they say to pin a day—what???), and I follow people on social media who I think will really like my stuff. Sometimes it feels like a huge numbers game. But I’d rather have fewer, super engaged folks, than like, a million eyeballs who don’t care about my posts.
It gets hard to go your own path, but I honestly do think, staying genuine to who you are is where it’s at. I might not get to where I’m going as quickly as other people, but at least it will be on my own terms.
Thank you for your input! I agree a 100% with what you’re saying and it’s also really refreshing to see the same mentality in other bloggers.
The concept of adding value may be overused nowadays, but it’s literally the most important thing I care about with my blogging. Whether it’s tips, some research, motivation, or even visual inspiration, if people take the time to read my post, I’d really like them to gain something from it. Besides needing a creative outlet, that was one of the main reasons I started blogging. I gained so much knowledge and inspiration from others, I wanted to do the same. And yes, it takes time.
I go back and forth on the social media thing. On one hand, I take it slow as well, focusing on engagement rather than numbers. On the other, I know it’s one of my weaknesses (never even had an active FB profile before), so I also feel I need to push myself a little more out of my comfort zone. And I also admit, the numbers game can be a little disheartening.
I’ve always believed that hard work pays off at the end; so I’m curious to see whether that’s true for the blogosphere as well:)
This is such a beautifully written post. As a new blogger, it is hard to know what the “right” way is, and I’m glad to know there is no “right” way. I definitely feel the pressure of putting things out there just because too much time has passed since my last post, and it’s extremely relieving to read your thoughts on the matter. Thank you!
Thank YOU for reading and commenting. Yes, I think it’s especially confusing for new bloggers, or at least it was for me with the myriad “this is what you have to do to make it in the blogosphere” type of advice and posts. It was so overwhelming, at the end, I just decided to go with my guts. Maybe try to constantly promote older posts until a new one is ready. At least this is what I’m experimenting with now 🙂 xx
Really enjoyed this post. As a new blogger I definitely feel the pressure to pump out multiple posts a week. So far, I have not been anywhere close to that. And that is OK.
This is a reminder that success is not achieved through a single path, but rather your own. Keep on sticking to your own schedule!
Thank you so much and hello fellow new blogger:) I agree, the pressure is real and especially for new bloggers it’s more difficult, as there are so many new things to learn and experiment with. At least this is the case for me. And yes, the journey so personal and we have to rely on our instincts. Hope you enjoy the blogging journey so far!
Excellent post! Very encouraging!💛
This is such a good post!
I sometimes find myself obsessing over why my numbers aren’t growing, but than I remember why I started blogging in the first place – because I love writing!
I agree with slow blogging, I know that if I try and produce good content too quickly, it all becomes a mess and it’s not worth writing! I’m definitely going to take these tips on board
xo
Thank you so much!! I know it’s hard not to obsess sometimes, I think it’s natural to need external reassurance that what we’re doing is good, but I think an internal one is just as important.Checked out your blog, keep going, you write really well! xx
Absolutely agreed! Was getting super tired of reading so many posts directing us to do more more more. There’s just no way to provide quality that way. Thanks for posting this!
And what do you think about writing super long posts? It seems like this is one of the tips for blogging that always reappears. But as a minimalist, and someone who believes in quality over quantity, I just don’t see the point in saying in 100 sentences what I can say in half of that. Just to get SEO… And I feel like purposely keeping posts longer is a lot like stealing the time of our readers..
Thank you for reading! Length of posts? That’s such a good question, and I’m quite undecided about it myself. On one hand, I’m a big fan of keeping it short and simple. And in my opinion, the length of a post is not necessarily a good indicator of quality (sometimes, just the opposite). And we really have to be mindful of our readers’ time and attention span, I agree. On the other hand, sometimes you cannot tackle a topic in 200 words. I guess it really depends on the topic you’re writing about. I can enjoy long posts, if they are not boring and every word is there for a reason. But I also like shorter content with only pictures or a couple of thoughts, if they are inspiring and creative. As I said, depends on the topic.
And I definitely do not do anything for SEO anymore. I tried the keyword game, but often it is impossible to optimize a post without sacrificing the quality (especially with lifestyle posts). And I’m not willing to do that:)
Hello Viktoria, I’ve just stumbled across on of your posts on Pinterest and it led me to this post. Thank you for affirming what I’ve been thinking about for the past year. I started a blog because I love to write and didn’t have another outlet I enjoyed. Somewhere along the line my vision got blurry (metaphorically) and I started to throw stuff into my blog that didn’t make sense. I also started to buy into the idea that a blog must be monetized, must have at least 100% new followers every month, must be promoted on every possible platform, or some other such nonsense. In frustration I stopped posting. Your post encourages me to return and to write the content I want to, when and how I want to. Thank you. Now I will go and read more of your blog; your writing is beautiful and your posts are so thoughtful.
Hi Sophia,
Thank you so much for the nice words – you cannot even imagine how happy it makes me if this inspired you to go back to blogging. It’s so easy to lose sight of the things that should really matter, and it’s true for blogging as well. We must remain in our own lane and shut out all the unwanted advice and pressure – I really believe this is the only way to keep blogging as a happy, creative outlet, and, for that matter, hitting success as well. Authenticity always shines through.
Please send me your blog as well, I’d love to take a look.
Thank you so much once again! xx
I just opened up my blog for the first time in ….what?! Can it really be almost two years?
Never mind. I would say again what I said then so if you’d like to take a look, I call it Gift of Less (giftofless.com). It began to feel like Gift of Too Much. Too steep a learning curve for the time I had available. SEO, cross-posting, guest posting, guests posting, widgets … no wonder I put it aside and took up knitting instead.
Well, I’m sorry you got overwhelmed, because I really like your writing, it has the right balance of personal and informative (this is something I very much struggle with to be honest). But yeah, it can be frustrating and it took me some time to let go of the pressure. For example I know I wanna do a newsletter and guest posting at one point, but so far I simply didn’t have the time to work on those. And I can somehow live with that. I also routinely ignore my SEO plugin, because content is more important to me than keywords.
Catch this. I went to log into my blog and I’ve forgotten my password. So I tried to reset it via my email but I’ve forgotten the password for the blog-specific e-mail too. (Shakes head in frustration.) So ever re-posting may be a moot point. Sigh.
You know what that means – you just gotta make a new one:) Fresh start and everything!