Daily regularity is essential to blogs

I once told a newspaper conference, where I was a panelist, that the most important part of blogging was being consistent. I recommended blogging daily on whatever topic so that readers would have fresh posts to read whenever they returned to the site.

I tried to follow that rule when I was blogging for a newspaper, and I followed it pretty consistently while unemployed. The posts might not have been profound or noteworthy, but they were delivered fresh daily. Since rejoining the ranks of the productively employed, however, I've slacked off on blogging. Getting to the office on time has taken precedence over researching a topic for a blog post.

The hit counter I checked today confirmed my suspicions. Visits to this blog slowed down in October, when I returned to work full-time. The drop-off was not precipitous, but it was dramatic enough to be easily noticed.

Although losing a few readers of this blog is disappointing, it does appear to prove my earlier point: The most important element of successful blogging is daily consistency. I should take my own advice.