3 Traditional Blogging Rules I Broke for Good

Rules are everywhere and to everything. Blogging is no exception. Once upon a time when it all started new and fresh there were no strict rules; no- there were rules actually but I didn’t know them. But as time moved and as I was reading to learn about stuff in the blogosphere I thought that there are some rules that run the blogosphere.

Those rules were not mentioned to me by some A lister blogger or any other friend. The fact is that as I observed successful blogs I tried to follow their pattern. So I thought those were the rules that I need to follow if I want my blog to become as successful as the A lister blogger I was looking at.

I followed those rules strict and tight with my blog Find All Answers. Time went on but then I found that I just couldn’t cope up with those ‘rules’. Why? It is because they aren’t for me! I just can’t follow them. And if I do, I am not being ‘me’ and I am imitating some one else.

Well before you get lost, I will tell you 3 traditional blogging rules that I once followed but then stopped following. And, I found that it was good that I did so. The main reason I am writing this post is to tell all those newbies and established bloggers who still think that there are rules in the blogosphere: “There are no rules”. Now on to bullet points-

1. Post Daily

I am more than happy to publish once everyday or even more than once everyday, spontaneously. Yes, but only when I have got something useful, to the depth, to entice my readers with some new technique or a tip to try out. But if posting everyday happens to be a blogging rule, I am sorry I can’t follow it. This wasn’t my mindset right from the beginning, sadly.

When I saw big blogs like Mashable, Problogger etc. I wrote rule #1 inside my head: Update blog once or multiple times a day to be successful.

How I used it:

When I started out Find All Answers I did post everyday. Do I sound ironical? Quite not. OK you know I was a newbie and so was my blog. I had to have enough content to please the readers as well as the search engine bots. So even before I launched the blog I had about 50 articles on the topic ready to go for about a month and a half after the launch.

So the everyday posting was not squeezing my little brain for ideas, neither did it squeeze my time. The articles I wrote at those times were quite about 500 words or so, to the point, giving out tips and tricks and of course, original.

But then there came a time when I had quite enough content and my blog had a good number of pages indexed by the bots. So then was the time to make a transition.

I planned to write three articles per week. The articles are longer, explanatory and had more indepth analysis of the theme. My writing has improved a lot. So you see I broke the rule.

Takeaway:

There is no “right” or “wrong” frequency to update your blog. It is what suits you. Of course it is very important that you commit yourself to a particular frequency to show your commitment and passion towards blogging. But don’t try to follow a rule to set this frequency.

The bottom line:

If you think that you can only make one good post per week that is fine. However, stick to it whatever happens.

2. Blog about one topic

I know I know. I might be contradicting many of the established bloggers when I say this. But it works for me. So I don’t think that there is anything wrong with saying it.

I completely agree that choosing a narrow niche and one niche for a blog makes it easier for you to brand your blog, rank higher for target keywords, make good conversion of the list you have built and so on. It also

makes it easy for you to choose domain names with appropriate keywords so that you brand your blog AND make it rank well at the same time.

But Find All Answers is a multi niche blog. I blog about Blogging Tips, Relationships and Self Improvement over there.

These niches are not just different narrow niches of one broad niche; rather these are themselves widely varied broad niches.

How I made it to work:

I have found that things work great when I recently decided to make one post per category per week. I also have decided to give away one freebie per niche for my subscribers. Two are out and one is on the way.

And, for choosing the domain name for Find All Answers, which is a multi niche blog, I adopted this strategy.

Takeaway:

There are no boundaries as to what you should blog about and what you shouldn’t in one particular blog. But don’t get me wrong. Don’t name your blog “Blogging Tips” and write reviews on bicycles.

The bottom line:

Ya you can be successful in running a multi-niche blog provided your blog gives equal weight to all the niches in terms of content, treatment, freebies and services.

3. Post length about 500 words

I don’t know where I learned it first, but this is one of the worst rules I had followed for quite a while. It is said by many people (I don’t want to refer anyone here) that an ideal blog post should be around 500 words. Anything more than that will make people lose interest in reading your post till the end. Anything less will not deliver what you intend to.

This is totally wrong. A blog post with much less than 500 words? You think that you can’t believe this? Then you should read Seth Godin’s blog.

A blog post with more than 1000 words? You can’t believe? Read Celestine Chua’s blog.

How I used it:

Ya I was ignorant. I used to have an eye on the word count while I am writing a post. So even when I am not done yet but if the word count goes beyond 500, I usually stop (ya I did that; hard to believe na?). Similarly when I have finished with what I have got to say in about 400 words, I used to wonder if I should publish that post. Well those were the days I think of now and laugh at myself.

Takeaway:

Never put your eyes on that little word count while you are writing a blog post. Just go with the flow. Choose a comfortable voice, add some humour (if you have that nerve), add the necessary details, let your post have a good intro, and most importantly let your blog post be complete. Do not trade the quality of the blog post for length.

The bottom line:

Write as much as you want or as little as you want as long as you stick to the point. There is no such thing as an ideal blog post length.

To sum up, ya I am doing great by breaking these three rules. I can see a big difference in my blogging journey after I broke these rules. Rules are constraints, and with blogging, these kind of rules kill your creativity and freedom. Furthermore, knowingly or unknowingly, you lose your originality by following these rules while at the same time trading the quality of your blog. So stay away from rules when it comes to blogging.

What have you got to say? Please comment.

Jane is the founder and author of Find All Answers which is a multi-niche blog featuring high quality and useful articles on Blogging Tips, Relationships and Self Improvement. Don’t forget to grab her two free ebooks Pro Blogging for Newbies and Your Guide to Better Time Management.