Mindful Blogging: Prioritizing Quality Over Quantity

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I produce a fair amount of content every month.

In addition to publishing a minimum of two blog posts here on this website, I also post exclusive content for my readers and fans on Patreon, put together a free newsletter that goes out on the first Monday of each month, stay active on my professional social media pages, publish articles on a nature/spiritual website I founded, and I recently added a new Substack subscription into the mix where I write posts about being a creative solopreneur.

And, of course, all of that gets piled on top of writing and editing the fourth book in my award-winning fantasy series while also working on my first nonfiction book and an art/poetry/photography book. I also periodically participate in a local writing workshop.

Staying on top of all my writing projects can be a challenge, and I’m not immune to writer’s block. While I was thinking about what my next blog post should be, I found myself turning to Google for topic ideas. But as I scrolled through the first few articles, I found myself getting frustrated by the generic lists of blogging ideas. Which, ironically, triggered the inspiration for this post.

I want to talk about why quality is so much more important than quantity.

Your Blog Should Provide Value

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When I saw unimaginative suggestions to write a post filled with gifs, compile a list of jokes, describe your dream vacation, list the foods you don’t like, talk about your favorite _____ (movie, season, celebrity, song, musician, etc.), I couldn’t help but roll my eyes. And yes, these were blog post suggestions specifically for fiction writers.

Readers expect (and deserve) value. We live in a society where attention spans are short, competition is high, and time is valuable. Gifs and jokes are fine for social media, but a blog post needs to be a step above. And while writing about aspects of your personal life can be interesting… most people aren’t going to care about your favorite food or dream vacation unless you’re famous or able to share abnormally unique experiences.

Churning out poor-quality content just for the sake of posting something is not going to boost your organic traffic, improve your website ranking with search engines, or entertain your readers. It’s just noise, and there’s already PLENTY of that on the internet.

Basically, if I’m going to spend my valuable time writing a blog post, it needs to be worth a reader’s time to consume that content.

Write for Your Audience

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If you’re an author, artist, creative entrepreneur, or otherwise representing your brand, then your blog needs to be more than an online diary or collection of meaningless articles. That sounds harsh, but it’s the truth. It’s not about publishing just for the sake of filling your website with a lot of posts; it’s about creating genuinely valuable content that your audience actually wants to read.

So, who is your audience?

It’s okay to have more than one target audience. My blog posts are intended for:

• Fans of my book series looking for news, sneak peeks, and behind-the-scenes content
• Followers getting updates about my writing, art, and photography
• Writers who are interested in tips about writing, editing, and/or publishing a book
• Indie authors searching for publishing and marketing advice
• Creative entrepreneurs and solopreneurs seeking general business and vending tips
• Professional artists and authors looking for reviews about relevant products, services, and companies

This blog originally started in 2016 as a personal resume website. At the time, I hadn’t published any books, and I was feeling discouraged as a young writer and artist. I wasn’t sure if I would ever be published, so I wanted to share my work and make it accessible for those who might appreciate it rather than hoarding it where nobody would ever enjoy it.

But by the end of 2023, my website traffic had exploded compared to the number of visitors I had in the first four years.

Why? Because I changed my strategy. In 2020, I found Wealthy Affiliate and learned how to refine my content strategy to target micro-niches. Basically, I figured out that the “write to market” advice given regularly to authors applies to website content too, not just novels. I had just released my second book, and after struggling through the self-publishing process by myself, I realized that I could share my experiences with other writers to help them navigate the challenges of publishing.

Shortly after joining Wealthy Affiliate, I quit my office job and ended up working for Julia McCoy, an industry-leading content strategist and entrepreneur. Her methods doubled down on the importance of how high-quality content drives website traffic, builds authority, and converts organic visitors into loyal followers/customers (while Wealthy Affiliate’s lessons encouraged tapping into this traffic to earn passive revenue with ads and affiliate partnerships woven into the articles rather than becoming a sales pitch).

Benefits of Prioritizing High Value Over High Quantity

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I realized there was immense value in publishing articles that targeted demographics that would find my posts interesting, entertaining, and/or informative. When the quality of my content increased, search engine algorithms took notice. My posts were populating on the first pages of relevant search results, making it easier for the right people to find my website. I started building my online authority.

This opened the door to not only help me get the word out about my books and reach new readers, but also to network with other creative professionals.

There are many reasons why driving organic traffic to your website is better than paying for advertisements to achieve the same goal:

• The most obvious benefit: you aren’t wasting your money on paid ads. If you’re a solopreneur like me, you know that every penny counts when it comes to business finances.
• People who discover your website after searching a topic online are more likely to be interested in your article if you took the time to provide thorough, meaningful content that benefits the reader.
• High-quality content is a great way to establish your authority as a knowledgeable, trustworthy industry leader. You aren’t paying for ads to convince someone that you know what you’re talking about; you’re putting your money where your mouth is and demonstrating your worth firsthand.
• Genuine, organic traffic is more likely to take additional actions on your website if they like your content. Maybe they’ll explore other web pages, sign up for your newsletter, subscribe to a service you offer, make a purchase, donate to your business, or check out your book.
• You have a better chance of building up a base of followers who will be interested in your future blog posts.

On the other hand, if you’re half-heartedly pushing out drivel that nobody will be interested in reading simply for the sake of churning out posts to fill your blog, then what’s the point? Why waste your time creating and publishing something that has no value and is doomed to get lost in cyberspace? Regularly pumping out low-quality content at a high volume has a negative impact on your credibility when visitors browse your website.

I’m not saying that every single article you publish has to be targeting a focus keyword and ranking on the first page of Google’s search results. The posts I write about my books aren’t going to appeal to entrepreneurs or even a general audience that isn’t already familiar with my series, nor are they likely to be discovered in a search engine. And my posts about marketing, publishing, and business topics probably won’t interest the fantasy fans who are more interested in details about my next book. I have different audiences who appreciate different types of content. But each post that I write is tailored to suit at least one of these niches and provide value in some way.

Ultimately, that is the lesson I hope will inspire bloggers. It’s better to write a few meaningful posts than a flood of low-quality content nobody wants to read, if they even find it.