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Here’s a common blogging dilemma: should you focus on just a single blog or spread your time across multiple blogs? As with many decisions, the answer rests inside you. However, I’ll do my best to help you weigh your options quickly.
First, let’s reflect a little:
- Are you an experienced internet user?
- Are you a good writer?
- Are you able to multitask well?
If you answered YES to all of the questions, then you can consider running more than one blog site. On the flip side, if you even answered NO to any of the questions, I would start with just one and revisit this decision on a future date.
Here’s why…
Get some experience on the internet
If you are not an experienced internet user, you will struggle with basic concepts. I have met many wannabe bloggers who need help creating a Facebook account. That’s not a lie! My assumption is if you can’t figure out a way to do something that is intuitive to a twelve-year old, then you should probably take baby steps when starting a new venture like this. Otherwise, it will be incredibly overwhelming and you will eventually look for “opportunities” to give up.
Learn to write well, and fast
If you are not a good writer, then you’re going to be spending too much time creating content. Sure, you can buy content or aggregate it from another site but that’s not really the best way to run your first blog site. The best method is still creating your own original content and doing it regularly. Ideally, for someone with a full-time job, a realistic number is 4-7 posts per week (once a day is perfect if your schedule allows). How are you going to do that for two, three, or more sites if you can’t quickly decide on your topic, write an interesting blurb, and get your point across in a very efficient manner?
Learn to spin those plates!
If you are not a good multitasker, then you will find running multiple blog sites very difficult to manage. Even though I am only actively focused on two right now, I have several blog sites on auto-pilot that I mildly pay attention to. Every day, I know how my sites are doing, look at variances in their performance, and evaluate options. I can tell you firsthand that it is not hard to confuse what you do on one site vs. another.
Running multiple blogs can be done
For me, as I stated earlier, I run multiple blogs. I started several blogs years ago but my main focus right now are on two blogs, Free Blog Help dot Com being one of them. This is a niche I know well since I have created strategies and tactics for websites for some of the largest companies in the world. I am computer and internet savvy and I feel that anything I don’t know, I can learn quickly.
I am also very efficient at getting my ideas across and even in high school I recall writing fifty-page papers in less than a day while my peers were spending weeks at a time creating much shorter works. Finally, I am wired to multitask. For example, as I’m writing this post, I have several screens up monitoring other things, I’m watching TV, and am on the phone with one of my partners.
Could I handle ten blog sites?
Probably.
However, there’s only so much time in a day and my goal is to be smart about my businesses.
That includes getting the biggest bang for the buck. I choose to stick with my niches and focus on harvesting what I have. That doesn’t mean I won’t start another blog site tomorrow but the point I’m trying to make is just because you can, doesn’t mean you always should.
If you look around, I’m sure you could find very successful bloggers with many sites and struggling bloggers with just one site. My suggestion is to start with one and use that as your playground. Remember, although writing fresh content is a key ingredient, there are a lot of other things you must think about such as: designing and evaluating features, increasing traffic, earning income, creating partners, leveraging affiliates, just to name a few!
Gabe Young is a business professional with
an entrepreneurial spirit. Gabe has an MBA and managed IT departments in the Fortune
500, creating strategies and tactics for some of the most popular websites. Visit
Gabe at Free Blog Help dot Com.
Sure, we can handle multiple blog. However, we should limit it into several (not too much) blog in same time.
Dana @ Blogging Tips Blog´s last post ..HostGator June 2010 Coupon Code: 20% Off
I think you need to be careful about having too many blogs or they all just become mediocre. If you can devote your time to 1 or 2 then you really have the opportunity to take them to the next level.
Mike Roosa´s last post ..Hitting The Snooze Button
From my initial experience, you have it about right: 1 main blog, the others for different purposes which do not require a lot of attention.
I hope Anne Moss will stop by. Anne Moss Anne Moss Anne Moss let’s see if she’s watching her Google Alerts.
Anne runs a lot of blogs. Many. Dozens if I recall correctly. She’s real smart and she’s been doing it a long time.
So has Yolanda, the Flippa Chick. Daggone, I need to go visit some folks.
You’re right. Just running a single blog successfully can easily be a full time job in the beginning!
Gabe Young´s last post ..5 Best Plugins for SEO in WordPress
For people who are just starting out with blogging, it is better to learn what you are doing with one blog before you start stretching yourself. I recommend picking just a few topics to build your blog around. Once you have been doing it for a few months, then you can launch a second one about some other topic that interests you.
I can’t imagine managing more than a handful though, unless you only write posts for each one once every couple weeks.
Kathy´s last post ..What is article marketing and how do you use it properly
I’m currently running several sites, obviously some consuming more time than others.
That said, I agree that new bloggers should stick with a single site to learn and build.
Gabe Young´s last post ..5 Best Plugins for SEO in WordPress
The thought of having more than one blog makes my head hurt. I know there are a lot of folks who pull it off and do well, but I’ve accepted I’m not one of them.
Jean Sarauer´s last post ..6 Things That Get Easier About Blogging if You Just Keep Going
Multiple blogs gets easier… once you have the fundamental skill set mastered… couldn’t resist.
Dave Doolin´s last post ..Silence is Golden? Not according to Heather
Gabe, I just have to thank you for these individually!
This article really sums up it very nicely for a beginner, and you have covered a “hole” in my content on Website In A Weekend. I recall covering this topic on a different website, poorly. I made it too complicated.
Dave Doolin´s last post ..Hacked. I Feel So Violated, Again!
You’re so welcome. The feeling is mutual (and so are the benefits!).
One of these days, I have to get your content up on freebloghelp.com regularly.
Gabe Young´s last post ..5 Best Plugins for SEO in WordPress
Gabe, that’s a good idea, and I also want to send you a case study, but the “case” isn’t quite finished. Client is dragging feet!
I write for five of my own blogs and one blog for the Mount Shasta Trail Association, a nonprofit.
One caveat about multiple blogs (and life): if you try to do too many things, you don’t do anything well.
I have my main focus on two of my blogs, a secondary focus on a third (my personal hiking blog) that gets a fair amount of traffic, and minimal focus on two other blogs that feature products I’ve created.
Unless you have a lot of time and are a good writer with excellent organization skills, stick to one blog.
John Soares´s last post ..Second Twitter Account? Your Help Needed…
For almost all bloggers, I would say stick with one blog and harvest the heck out of it. If it flops, move on to another project, perhaps another blog.
Personally, I’ve always been a juggler. I love being extremely busy. I do focus on where I make the most money so I do prioritize my tasks.
Gabe Young´s last post ..5 Best Plugins for SEO in WordPress
Gabe, you and I have a lot in common. I like to have several projects going at once.
John Soares´s last post ..Second Twitter Account? Your Help Needed…
I just have one question would you say that the blogs you have on auto pilot is doing well? I mean the blogs you barely focus on would you say that they are getting any attention?
Fred, I shouldn’t speak for Gabe, but I will anyway (he is enjoying a new child at the moment): I know for a fact Gabe earns money from at least one blog which cruises on autopilot. The details are his story to tell.
Part of the reason I feel so fortunate to have convince/coerced/kidnapped Gabe into a regular beginning blogging column here on Website In A Weekend is because he makes money blogging. He doesn’t advertise it, he doesn’t hang out with the “cool kids,” he just quietly cashes his checks every month. I like that.
Gabe is the real deal.
He’ll drop by shortly I’m sure. He’s a busy guy, but he takes care of his readers. Make to visit Free Blog Help too.
Thanks, Dave. You’re right about the family gig, having 3 kids under 3 takes up a chunk of my time but I love it!
Anyway, all my sites earn me money. I have several streams of income, some of which are on autopilot.
The one Dave is referring to is an exam bank for a professional certification. I post a single question a day and since I wrote all of my questions already, I have the site posting daily for me.
I also sell a digital study kit in the same niche on eBay. I list 10 of them at a time and that’s all I do. As each buyer pays, Paypal confirms the payment and eBay provides them with a link. That link leads the buyer to a site where they download the file. The whole thing is automated! All I do is relist when it runs out and watch my Paypal numbers climb.
Gabe Young´s last post ..5 Best Plugins for SEO in WordPress
The multitasking thing is where I go exceptionally wrong. I have about 5 blogs I *could* focus on, but only 1 that I *do* focus on. I just can’t seem to swing multiple blogs.
Sean *Deacon* Neprud´s last post ..Dispatch: Screw this, I’m going to the desert
But then, heck! If you are striking out with one blog, why not add another.
Ralph´s last post ..How to keep your health in balance as you age.
Batter up!
It’s possible that the niche your blog is in isn’t ideal. If that’s the case, you could focus on another blog since you’ve already learned a lot from building the first one.
For instance, one of my regulars has a blog about Farmville. He gets 10x more visitors than I do and he admits he had no idea how he was doing it. He found a perfect topic at the perfect time!
Gabe Young´s last post ..5 Best Plugins for SEO in WordPress
I think topic and enthusiasm does more than “formal” promotion, though it may not work as fast (but it just might too, occasionally).
As an example I offer ThePioneerWoman.com, a blog started May 1, 2007 I believe. It’s by a bored OK ranchwife with 4 kids she homeschools, it covers “confessions”, a stream of thought section on ranch life, and cooking, home and garden, photography, and homeschooling. She started the blog on either Blogger or BlogSpot as a way to stay connected to family and friends.
She now gets 4 million hits a month, has a bestselling cookbook out, and in one month earlier this year was a guest on FOX News “FOX and Friends”, “Good Morning America”, and “The View”.
Sure…she does all the “right stuff” now, but it all started with topics in the right niche and some enthusiasm.
Bob
Its more than just being good with those three list items. Running one blog where you post daily and marketing it is a huge amount of work. Now, if you had a lot of time on your hands, then multiple blogs are good. At first though, regardless of your skills you should start with one.
Brandon Connell | Make Money Blogging´s last post ..Piracy can make you money!
Without a doubt, promotion is often an after-thought for new bloggers. The truth is, without marketing, it’d be tough to build traction.
However, I disagree with mandatory daily posting. It really all depends. On freebloghelp.com, I post only twice a week these days!
Gabe Young´s last post ..5 Best Plugins for SEO in WordPress
Nobody said mandatory… It is something I do though so I have less time to manage many blogs. I dedicate my time to provide quality to the one I care about most. Daily is however your best bet if you want to become an authority a lot quicker. At one point, I was posting 7 articles per day. I slowed it to one or two now.
Brandon Connell | Make Money Blogging´s last post ..Piracy can make you money!
Time management is big factor when I want to think about this. Also a proper planning can give us big boost. I want to start a blog purely on blogging because I fear my current user base will not accept it if I put those content in WorthyTips. People advising me to concentrate on single blog. That’s why I’m trying to balance my work. Let’s hope I can balance it.
Arafat Hossain Piyada´s last post ..5 Tips To Stay Focused On Your Blogging Effectively
I manage two blogs (my personal blog and my company blog). Ultimately I’ve decided that it’s best to create all of my new media (posts, etc.) on my personal blog and then do cross-marketing with my company blog. The reason is that the company blog really sells itself in terms of service/product.
In the end, the more you write the easier it gets. And if you have the right goals set in place to begin with, it’s easier to adjust and rework your strategy along the way.
Ricardo Bueno´s last post ..Repetitive Awareness Marketing
Good stuff! I can’t bring myself to run multiple blogs. I have a deep love affair with the my main blog which is the 3rd one I started. I started a few after that but I didn’t have the passion to continue to operate them. Plus, my offline business takes up the time I would use to start a new blog.