Disappearing & Other Stuff

June 30, 2009

Do you need to update your blog regularly, to survive online? Or is it ok to disappear for a while if you really need to? And what about social networks – will Twitter still be your friend when you return, or will all your followers fly away?

This year, I’ve been “partially disappeared” for a few months. I had some health issues to fix and a couple of projects to work on, so I’ve been updating my blog about once a month, instead of daily. And I’ve fluttered into Twitter now and again.

Yes, your blog traffic suffers if you’re away for a while. I’m grateful to folk who showed their support on the days I did turn up. But people can’t read stuff you haven’t written, so your traffic has to take a dive. And some people do unfollow you if you’re not active on Twitter. But if you check out Friend or Follow, you’ll see that most of those people use software to follow thousands, then dump them, to inflate their own perceived popularity.

It would be irresponsible of me to encourage you to take six months off from your blog. Only you can decide if it’s worthwhile for you.

Have you taken time off from blogging before? Would you stop reading a favourite blog if the writer went AWOL for a significant amount of time?

Posted by cathlawson | Filed Under Misc

Comments

31 Responses to “Disappearing & Other Stuff”

Robin on June 30th, 2009 4:11 am

Hi Cath – funnily enough I am just reappearing myself after quite a break (2 posts in the past 2 months). At first I just simply couldn’t handle so much time on the computer and I had to step away from it so I could change the way I approached things. Then we had a few personal dramas.

Of course my number of comments will be down, but my daily traffic is only a little lesss, apart from Stumbleupon, and my subscribers have gone up! I think blogging is like anything else in life – we need to find the approach that supports us best, for things to work out well. I’ve been following goings-on on Facebook – I much prefer it to Twitter, which I find full of one-sided conversations I can’t relate to. Glad to see you again, Cath! – R

Robin’s last blog post..Sondra Ray – Rebirthing And Physical Immortality
Davina on June 30th, 2009 5:03 am

Hi Cath. The most time I took away from blogging in the last year was about two weeks. It was hard to break away, but I felt better for it. Traffic of course stalled, and I expected that. What’s neat is that my first blog still has steady traffic and I haven’t posted there for over 6 months. Loving Pulse still has a pulse

If a favourite blogger stops posting it would take many months before I would unsubscribe. That hasn’t happened so far. I’m glad to see your posting more often these days Cath.
Lance on June 30th, 2009 9:36 am

Hi Cath,
If a favorite blog went AWOL, I would likely follow up with the writer of that blog, in email, to see what was going on. In fact, I’ve done this on several occasions. If it’s a favorite blog, while I may not be reading any of their older stuff regularly – I’m not about to drop them off my radar completely because they’re gone.

I’ve taken very limited breaks so far…and have had some other writers fill in when I’ve been taking a break from it all.

It’s good to see you here again, Cath…

Lance’s last blog post..Money Does Grow On Trees
Brad Shorr on June 30th, 2009 11:46 am

Hi Cath, You’re one of my favorite bloggers and … here I am. There’s no reason to put self-imposed minimums on the number of posts we publish. Whenever someone I respect has something to say, I’m listening.

Brad Shorr’s last blog post..How to Design a Leaflet
Betsy Wuebker on June 30th, 2009 12:43 pm

Hi Cath – This is the beauty of RSS. I might clean up the feed if a blogger hasn’t posted in a few months, but most of my regular reads (pretty much the regular commenters here) stay. Like Lance, I might follow up with the person, but if I see them posting on FB then we can interact there, too. And I love what Brad said, “Whenever someone (with whom I have a valued relationship) has something to say, I’m listening.”

Betsy Wuebker’s last blog post..THINK LIKE A BLACK BELT AND BE SAFE
Kim Woodbridge on June 30th, 2009 1:14 pm

I would wonder if the person was ok and would continue to check in from time to time to see if there was a new post. If it’s a blog I’ve visited regularly and I’ve interacted with the author, I wouldn’t unsubscribe.

Kim Woodbridge’s last blog post..What is a Browser?
John Hoff - WpBlogHost on June 30th, 2009 4:00 pm

If it was a blog I read all the time, I’d stick around for awhile. I think here we all kind of understood you had a few issues with your health and we stuck around to support you when we could.

I haven’t posted to my old blog for quite some time. I gave people plenty of notice I was moving and what the new address was. I think one person made the switch.

It’s been somewhere around 8 or 9 months now and that blog still has a decent number of subscribers. I’m not sure if they are still waiting for me to return or if they just have so many blogs in their reader they don’t even bother to clean it out?

John Hoff – WpBlogHost’s last blog post..New Regulations For USA Bloggers May Be Around The Corner
Akemi - Yes to Me on June 30th, 2009 4:12 pm

Hi,
I keep the RSS feed of my favorite blogs even when the blog hasn’t updated for months. Same with Twitter. Quality is more important than quantity.

Akemi – Yes to Me’s last blog post..Starseeds: Alpha Centauri
Vered - MomGrind on June 30th, 2009 5:42 pm

I’ve never taken a long blogging break. But I only post once a week now. It’s manageable enough that I don’t need to take breaks.

I stick with blogs that I like, even if the blogger takes a long break. On Twitter, however, I use http://untweeps.com/ to periodically unfollow people who have stopped updating for 3 months or more. (unless I actually know them, in which case I am more patient.)

Vered – MomGrind’s last blog post..40+ Activities For Kids That Do Not Involve TV, Computer, Wii, Or Any Other Screen
J.D. Meier on June 30th, 2009 5:59 pm

You hit a point I’ve been thinking about lately.

While I’m in growth mode, I blog more frequently (mostly M-F, weekends off.) I’m also trying to have enough depth, timeless posts so that they will be useful, with or without me. I do have some timely things and some short, more conversational posts, but I try to keep the mix healthy for the long run. I want to build a durable, evolvable catalog of insight and action for work and life.

Lately, I realized that I need to think of my blog as more of a catalog of insight. I need to flesh it out by adding articles, videos and potentially a forum. This will create a more durable knowledge base that is less dependent on the blog. I originally planned to call my posts “articles”, but I think I’ll just use pages to write some in-depth articles.

Lastly, I need to put up some billboards in other places outside of my blog so that I can create some well-worn paths that survive beyond me. For example, if you search for “productivity quotes” or “motivation quotes” I’m on the first page of Google. I think that’s important for sustainability. SEO is key, as is raving fans and word of mouth marketing. At work, we call this timeless value – Evergreen.

I want to decouple from time and create a body of knowledge that survives well beyond just me. I’m working on building a robust set of principles, patterns, and practices.

J.D. Meier’s last blog post..Six Sources of Influence
Kathy | Virtual Impax on June 30th, 2009 8:16 pm

One of the things I ADORE about blogging is that when you take a break – it doesn’t mean instant blog “death” if you’ve created blog posts with the search engines in mind.

See, your old posts will continue to move up in the rankings as they “age” if you’ve created the posts with the search engines in mind. I have a blog that I created solely with the search engines in mind – and so when I “take a posting break” it doesn’t seem to hurt the blog’s momentum at all.

So while I’ve missed reading your words of wisdom here – I also was confident that when you were able – you’d be back. I also know that your “been there – done that” words of wisdom will continue to gain credibility with the search engines because you are the real deal!

Kathy | Virtual Impax’s last blog post..Trust: Essential Element in Word Of Mouth Marketing
Marelisa on July 1st, 2009 12:10 pm

Hi Cath: I’ve been posting once or twice a week for the past couple of months, instead of the religious three posts a week I published when I first got started. I haven’t really seen much of an impact from that. What I have noticed is that when I was publishing guest posts on other blogs my subscriber count was going up a lot faster than it is now, so I need to start doing that again.

I only subscribe to blogs I enjoy so I stick around even if the blogger takes a hiatus. If someone hasn’t posted in six months or so I would unsubscribe, unless it’s a friend.

Marelisa’s last blog post..Happiness Tip: Practice Random Acts of Kindness
Jannie Funster on July 1st, 2009 4:19 pm

I was away from my blog for 3 hours once — I almost died.

Just kidding, of course.

I don’t plan on being AWOL for more than a day or so, but you never know what life has in store — like your health issues.

I, as Lance will contact a blogging friend by e-mail if they have gone long past their usual time to post. I worry ’bout my buds.

Jannie Funster’s last blog post..Five Little Lightbulbs
Barbara Swafford on July 2nd, 2009 2:51 am

Hi Catherine,

I’ve never taken a long break, but if I had do, I’d hope my readers would stick around…for awhile, at least.

I haven’t used my RSS feed reader in so long, I don’t even know who’s in there now. I currently rely on Twitter and the comment sections of blogs to find new posts.

As for you taking a break, I’d never unfollow you. You were my very first blogging buddy so unless you said you quit, I’d keep following you/checking your blog. Thank goodness we have email and we can still keep in touch.

I pray all is well in your world.

Hugs .

Barbara Swafford’s last blog post..Finding Pleasure In Ordinary Things
Avani Mehta on July 2nd, 2009 3:03 am

Hi Cath,

If I like the blog, I wouldn’t unsubscribe.

I took one month off last year and slowed down for a month as well. It didn’t affect much.

This year the break is longer. Feels as if I started with a vacation which is just not ending. Every time I am set to start blogging again, something happens and I have to step back. So far 6 months of almost not blogging has not affected number of subscribers. Traffic has reduced (not nil thanks to google, stumble and blog links).

I am guessing that number of comments will have reduced drastically when I do post. But that’s something which will bounce back once I start become active and interact with other bloggers.

Avani Mehta’s last blog post..Following My Heart
Patricia on July 2nd, 2009 3:25 am

Cath,
I am about to take a 3 week trip and my IT person wants no computer time – so I cut down to 2 times a week to post – have them written ahead and right now 4 guest posters, who will respond to comments.

I have very few subscribers but about 400 readers a week and that is good I am making slow progress….I don’t want to go backwards. I have one or two pieces stumbled and that is very helpful.

I am so slow at climbing I don’t want a fall …
I was watching Robin’s blog while she was not posting but hoping I would see some action and was about to email to see what was up…I appreciate when others tell us about blogging breaks…I don’t unsubscribe but I do have a reader page where I put the blogs that are not posting and only check it 2 times a week. I read many more blogs than I comment on.

It seems a tricky business to me – I am working on the positive and persistent approach – step by step

Thank you for sharing this with me and us…it is a new kind but very powerful friendship circle

Patricia’s last blog post..The Magic WANT!
Jochen on July 2nd, 2009 9:51 am

Hi, it is really OK to disappear from blogging sometimes if you really need to attend something far more important than blogging, Your reader will understand if you need to do it, I only hope that your OK now and love reading your post…have a nice day…
wilhb81 on July 3rd, 2009 6:41 am

Cath, this is the cruelty of real world, where the consistency is the main factor of blogging. Once you’ve lost it, you might need to gve off twice or thrice efforts to gain it back…

wilhb81’s last blog post..The Useful Business Tips 36: The 5 Great Tips On How to Set Priorities in Your Office!
Lin Burress on July 3rd, 2009 12:30 pm

Hi Cath,

It seems lots of bloggers are asking the same question right now in my reader on how often to post to blogs. I personally feel it has a lot to do with whether your blog readers come primarily from search engines or social traffic.

Social blog readers want and expect to see fresh content pretty regularly, with some “experts” saying once a day and others say every other day is best.

The great majority of readers to my blog is from search engines, with a small amount being social readers from social networking sites like Twitter etc.

Personally, I don’t worry about it. I write when I can and when I have something to say. Usually that turns out to be a couple times a week, sometimes more and sometimes less. Sometimes I have a post up once a week, and other times it’s a couple/few post a week.

Some of us bloggers have full-time jobs and families to care for, and we have to find the balance between family and blogging, otherwise we’d all end up in divorce court. Do what works for you.

Lin Burress’s last blog post..OK Magazine Michael Jackson Cover Picture of Michael Jackson’s Death Photo
Natural on July 3rd, 2009 5:17 pm

i’m sure i commented on facebook, but i do disappear online, for various reasons. i guess people can be understanding and either check back or unsubscribe. if they liked you before, a few days or weeks away shouldn’t matter. now a few months and one might start to wonder if the person has not said anything. i need to go update mine.

Natural’s last blog post..Why Wait, Buy Now!
Debbie Yost on July 5th, 2009 3:43 am

Hi Cath,
I recently took about 2 months off from my blog (and reading other’s blogs) due to my father’s hospitilization and eventual passing. I did try to stay a little active on Twitter during that time and I think that helped some. I have been trying to get back into blogging, and many of my readers have returned, but things have definitly been slower around my place. I am also struggling with getting back into the swing of things. I find it hard to write at times. It’s not just the lack of being seen, it’s the lack of writing and staying in practice. I feel sometimes my posts since returning are lacking. I just hope people stick around until I can get my act together again.

Debbie Yost’s last blog post..Band-Aids
cathlawson on July 5th, 2009 9:20 am

Sorry people – I already relied to many of you and nasty old wordpress ate it.

Robin – it’s brilliant that your subscriber numbers have gone up. I am also enjoying facebook – as it seems easier to have a conversation. Twitter is best for spreading important news quickly.

Hi Davina – It seemed longer than two weeks. It’s brilliant that you’re still getting visitors to Loving Pulse. I liked that blog as well as your new one but I know that it would be almost impossible to keep updating the two.

Hi Lance – Getting other writers to feel in for you sounds like a smart idea.

Thank you Brad – that makes me feel heaps better about not posting sometimes.

Hi Betsy – RSS is great I guess, because even if someone is away for months, you will know, as soon as they write something.

Hi Kim – That’s what I do. If someone hasn’t posted in a while, I check, just incase there’s something wrong with their RSS feed or something.

Thanks John – I didn’t realise it was that long since you moved blogs. Time has gone super quick.

Hi Akemi – I’m glad you do the same on Twitter also. Some people dump you on Twitter if you haven’t updated for a couple of weeks.

Hi Vered – I never knew about Untweeps. I suppose that’s useful, because some people will start using Twitter then abandon the account after a little while.

Hi JD – It sounds like you have a lot of plans. That’s a thing I love about the blog platform. You don’t need to have just blog pages – you can add static pages, forums and anything else you might want to put on there.

Thanks Kathy – that’s very kind. I think I did screw up a bit with the search engines by switching from /blog to .com but I guess that will fix itself in time.

Hi Mare – Now that’s an interesting thing – taking the time to write posts for other bloggers actually increased your number of subscribers. It sounds like it has been really worthwhile for you then.

LOL Jannie – exactly, you don’t know what’s going to come up.
Steve Errey - The Confidence Guy on July 5th, 2009 2:03 pm

I’ve been sick as a dog and haven’t written a word on my blog for around 6 weeks now, and I’d originally planned to take just a week out.

I’m continuing to prioritise my health which means there’s no space fro blogging right now, but it feels like I’ll be back soon, even if it’s just one post every week or so.

Interestingly, I’ve seen visitors and subscribers steadily increasing in this time, so it doesn’t seem to have done the damage I was expecting!

Hope your health’s improving Cath.

Steve Errey – The Confidence Guy’s last blog post..Taking a Break
cathlawson on July 6th, 2009 9:26 am

Hi Barbara – Thank you. I know you still haven’ taken a proper break – it would do you good though. I hope you’ll be able to have one soon.

Hi Avani – I noticed you hadn’t been blogging much this year either. I’m glad you’re still around though.

Hi Patricia – I bet you’re looking forward to your trip. Setting up guest posters was a great idea.

Hi Jochen – Thank you for your support.

Hi Wilson – that is the problem. And the 2 or 3 times harder is probably pretty accurate. I think I’m going to have to come up with another idea

Hi Lin – That is a point. I try to get as much search traffic as I can, as it’s more reliable when you’re not updating.

As you say – people have too many other responsibilities to be able to afford to write every day.

Hi Valerie – I think you maybe did – I’m not sure. I noticed you hadn’t updated for a little while.

Hi Debbie – I hear you. Once you have time off from writing, it does suffer, until you get back into the swing of things. I hope you manage to get through it.

Hi Steve – Thank you. I’m sorry you’ve been so ill and I hope you’re well soon. It’s great that you’re getting more visitors and subscribers though.
Stacey / Createa Balance on July 6th, 2009 12:05 pm

Hi Cath. I have disappeared across the blogosphere this summer. I’m still blogging (and working on a re-design), but for my sense of balance in my life I have not been commenting on other people’s blogs. I have seen a significant decrease in traffic and comments on my blog, but it is something I need to do this summer to spend more time outside and with my children. I miss connecting w/ my blogging peeps but believe it is the right move for me right now. I miss the connection and value my extra time all at once.

Stacey / Createa Balance’s last blog post..Revive Your Life!
Paul Maurice Martin on July 6th, 2009 3:54 pm

If it’s a blog I follow and they let post that they’re taking a break and give an idea of when they’ll be back, that helps a lot. Otherwise, it doesn’t take many visits of seeing the same post that I tend to forget about them unless they remind me that they’re back with a comment to my own blog.
Links for July - Blogger For Hire on July 31st, 2009 8:02 am

[...] Disappearing & Other Stuff – Cath Lawson asks, “Do you need to update your blog regularly, to survive online?” [...]
Carla on July 31st, 2009 5:15 pm

I never taken more than maybe two weeks away from blogging before, but I may have to do that when I relocate. I am trying to have some provisions in places, but I don’t have the popularity that many other bloggers have so it may not really make much of a difference. That might be a good experiment for me.

Carla’s last blog post..Giveaway: Win SIX Clean+Green Eco-Friendly Pet Cleaning Products
Dominique on August 1st, 2009 7:31 am

The longest I have let my blog is about 2 weeks. I think I am quite addicted to it. Am still trying to work out a schedule so that it doesn’t interfere with my full time work.
Nicole on August 2nd, 2009 3:36 pm

What about you Cath, did you see a huge change? What’s your opinion.

I think it all depends on audience and what you offer them. There are many variables to consider, and each community can be different.

Nicole’s last blog post..It’s not how it’s done. It’s how you do it.
The problem with breaks « satisfiction on August 4th, 2009 12:42 am

[...] odd timing fun things, I came across an article yesterday that was weirdly relevant to me, called Disappearing and Other Stuff by Cath Lawson on her site. I really enjoyed reading it because it reminded me that I’m not [...]