Whether you tune in to watch a TV show live, you record it to watch later, or you watch it online a day or two after broadcast, many of us just have to know what happens next.

The sheer enjoyment and entertainment of a show like Modern Family makes people watch it every single week from the first episode to the twenty-fourth.

The mystery of Lost and the sheer thrill of 24 kept viewers glued to their screens not just for an entire season, but for subsequent seasons, too. Even if you felt those shows had their highs and lows, it’s hard to miss an episode once you’ve been reeled in.

Scarcity

Whether a season runs for 6 episodes, 12 episodes or 24 episodes, the very fact that it has a limited run creates a sense of scarcity: the feeling that this won’t be around forever. That creates excitement – and a need to soak up every moment of the show before it’s gone.

In contrast, I’m not a huge fan of soaps that run and run for decades. Just as one major storyline ends, so another begins. This didn’t push me to keep viewing: it made me turn off.

Beat the Blogging Grind

Right now, if you’re running your blog on a never-ending cycle of X posts per week, every week, you’ll probably get sick of it after a while. The reason so few bloggers stick around is because it’s a grind. Not because Blogging sucks – but because when there’s no end in sight, the vast majority of us will drop out somewhere along the way.

I’ve felt like quitting, too. Every weekend I battle with the same issues:

• What topics do I write?
• Do I have any good post ideas on the table?
• Will anyone mind if I post crappy content, so long as I post something?
• Will anyone notice if I don’t blog?
• Should I just take a week off?
• Would anyone care if I quit?

Nobody seems to have solved the problem of how to keep blogging potentially forever – unless it’s actually your full-time job.

Unique Theme

For Christ’s sake stop using the generic wordpress template that kills the very purpose of serving unique content to the readers. The readers want to experience something different and something unique and therefore, your blog needs to have a unique theme. Don’t go overboard with the design. Just try to keep it simple and makes sure that the blog theme scores high on the readability front.

The Lack of Scarcity

If you’re going to blog once, twice or three times a week, every week, from today onward, you’re basically giving readers an easy excuse not to bother reading your posts.

You’ll be there every week. So why would they check in every week? You’ve become a bit like a talk show. People will check in occasionally, if they see something that interests them. They probably won’t check in all the time.

Yes, some loyal readers will check in often. But even the most loyal readers will probably get tired of your blog after a period of time. (Maybe it’s just me.)

You need to create scarcity with your blog posts.

How to Plan Your First Season

First, throw everything out the window regarding schedules. Forget how many times you post per week. We’re going to publish ONE post per week.

Next, pick a start date. You don’t have to Write 100 posts by this date. Just pick the next day you want to publish a post on. I picked Monday 5th November, and I’m writing this post on Sunday 4th November.

Now, count from that day onward until you reach a milestone. It can be a week before you go on holiday. Or a week before Christmas. Or it might simply be the day when you will have been posting for 10 weeks straight.

You should now be able to write something like this:

Season 1

• 1.01 – 5th Nov
• 1.02 – 12th Nov
• 1.03 – 19th Nov
• 1.04 – 26th Nov
• 1.05 – 3rd Dec
• 1.06 – 10th Dec
• 1.07 – 17th Dec
• 1.08 – 24th Dec

That’s actually the plan I have for QBT Season 1.

You now have a plan to write a set number of posts and publish them on certain days.

Will You Have a Theme?

A decision you should make next is whether you want to tie your posts into a single area of your niche, or if each post will be different. I think that a theme is good, if you can find one.

You now need to choose your episode titles (post titles). The sequence is important. Which topic would be a good start? What would be a good way to end your season? How will you link your posts together?

You can now set out to write your posts whenever you have time, so long as you get them finished before the publication date.

The Benefits of Seasons

This approach is really very different to what you’re probably used to, and it may take some time before you’re ready to give it a try.

In the meantime, here are a few benefits for you to consider.

You can put greater effort into one post per week 

Instead of trying to keep up with two to five new posts a week, every week, you can give one post a decent amount of attention and then step away from it. Surely it’s better to publish one great post each week than three posts ranging from mildly interesting to throwaway, filler content?

You’re planning a block of content in advance

Whether you like to plan or not, thinking of a group of posts in a single session can open up a whole range of new content ideas. Simply writing one post after the other is a lot harder to sustain in the long run.

You’ll stay motivated

Giving yourself a clear goal and an end date allows you to focus on putting out the best content you possibly can, and then you’ll have time to recharge your batteries before moving along.

Promotion is easier

I often struggle to promote three posts per week. Just as one post is picking up momentum, it’s time for the next one to go up. I then have to start all over again. With one post to promote each week, you could promote it on a different social media site each day of the week.

When you’re trying to cram in a crazy amount of promotion into a day or two, and blogging isn’t what you do full-time, it’s no wonder that people get lazy. Imagine promoting five posts per week. A good rule to remember is that if you’re posting too often to give each post the promotion it deserves, you’re probably posting too quickly.

Multiple blogs becomes a real option

I have several interests, and I get bored if I stick to just one thing all of the time. Starting a new blog is a struggle for me – I always want to branch out and write about other topics, but it’s hard to find the time to dedicate to another blog when I’m already stretched with the ones I have already.

But sticking to one blog will drive me crazy. With seasons, if I run my blog for the next eight weeks, what do I do after that? I could kick off season 2 straight away, but maybe I’d rather plan a season for another blog. Then when I’ve done that, I’ll come back to the 1st one.

This May Not Work For Your Blog

Not every tip will work for your blog. I cannot stress that enough. If this strategy doesn’t sound like it’ll work for your blog, don’t do it.

I think this could work best for bloggers who write just for fun, rather than for a living. It could also work well for blogs that follow TV shows – you post when the show’s on, and when the show’s on a break, you either break from posting or you feature other shows.

I don’t think it’d work for most business blogs, or for a personal blog. But let’s face it – how many tips would work for all blogs?

Something to Remember…

Blogging tips have been done to death. That’s something I hear a lot.

The reason why blogging tips are so dull is because most of the posts fall into one of the following categories:

• They’re written for other bloggers who blog about blogging.
• They’re so bland, generic and obvious, that they could apply to any type of blog.

If you’re going to write blogging tips, at least choose a particular type of blog. I’m planning to launch another blog specifically aimed at music bloggers, for instance.

Now, perhaps this post is something that nobody else will ever do. But I believe it’s truly different.

Perhaps someone else has thought of this idea before – but on the hundreds upon hundreds of blogs I’ve seen online, they pretty much all do the same thing. Post ’til you drop.

And it sucks.

If you’re sick of posting on an endless cycle and you worry that someday you’ll burn out, join me and start writing your blog in seasons.

I’m not done yet – there’s another seven weeks of this to come. I hope you’ll stick with me to the end of this season, and see why seasonal blogging is potentially such an interesting idea.

 Discussion

Let’s talk about seasonal blogging – what do you think? Am I crazy? Will you keep reading to see how it unfolds over the next eight weeks? Will you give it a try?

Note: The opinions expressed in this article are the views of the author, and not necessarily the views of Caphyon, its staff, or its partners.

The post Scarcity & Quality Equal Value for Your Blog appeared first on AWR.