RSS Feeds: Producing Quality Versus Quantity
I wasn't exactly sure whether I wanted to write "quality versus quantity", "quality over quantity" or "quality not quantity" as the title of this article, but I had to pick one. All three phrases mean almost the same thing, but there are subtle differences. If I want to compare products, then "quality versus quantity" would be the appropriate choice. If I want to emphasize the better product, then "quality over quantity" would be the better choice. If I want to choose only quality, then "quality not quantity" would be the only choice.
Let's examine quality and quantity in the context of blog writing.
Quality Versus Quantity
When I make a choice as to how long an article is going to be, I'm concentrating on quality and quantity at the same time. How many words does an article have to contain until the amount of words causes the article to be more about quantity than quality?
When I decide how often I want to publish articles, I'm also concentrating on quality and quantity at the same time. How often is too often and how often is not enough?
Quality Over Quantity
I've read advice from many sources concerning the quality of an individual article. Some say it should be no longer than two pages if printed out on paper. Others say it should be only long enough to explain the main points to the reader, regardless of length. How long does an article have to be before the quantity outweighs the quality?
Some people recommend publishing one article a day while others recommend 3 to 5 articles per week. Does adherence to a schedule force quantity over quality?
Quality Not Quantity
There are writers who write short and concise articles that get the main points across quickly and then there are writers that write long and rambling articles that take forever to get to any points at all. Which one is more effective? Which article would contain more quality?
There are writers who publish frequently in an attempt to use quantity to replace quality. There are also writers who produce very few articles per week or month which are high in quality, but the quantity is lacking. Which way works the best?
The Target Audience
Who are you writing for? Are you writing for your regular readers, including your feed subscribers, or are you writing for people who'll find your articles through the search engines? Different methods work better for each segment.
When you're writing for your regular readers, you're required to produce quality or they won't be regular readers for long. On the other hand, if your target audience finds your articles through the search engines, you're all but required to produce quantity or your work won't appear in the search engines very often and certainly not at the top of the results pages.
My Choices
I don't have any answers to the questions I asked, except for my own particular situation. In my case, there have been periods where I published frequently, up to six articles per day. There have also been periods where I didn't even publish one article per day. My website traffic numbers do not increase when I write more than once per day and they decline if I write less than once per day.
The length of each article doesn't seem to have any bearing on my numbers; therefore I shouldn't be worried about length. I am, however, going to reduce my publication schedule to once per day. I believe it will cause more quality than quantity to appear on this blog. It's a tough decision I've made because I really like to write.
If you read and think about the questions I asked, do you find that you have one or more tough decisions to make?
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I can't answer those questions RT but I think it's safe to assume you will find yourself ranked rather well for all three title options – no need to repeat them here as I'm quite sure the bot figured them out…
How are things RT? I hope all is well and that post had me laughing but not sure that was your intention!
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At least part of it was about you, so I wouldn't be surprised to get a chuckle or two.
I also agree that it depends on the situation… sometimes i am banging out a few posts and articles and stuff, and other times not.
I think focusing on quality, even if you're able to sit down and write a lot is the key… Also, having a passion for the subject helps you to write at a higher caliber.
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I neglected to mention passion. Thanks.
I recycle mostly, but I know it's important to post something every day. I try to do that too. Some folks post too many posts and I would guess that many aren't seen. I find most of this stuff rather difficult to figure out, but you already know that. Have a great day RT.
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You're doing a great job, Sandee. I can always find a chuckle at ComedyPlus.
I like to take the approach of quantity plus quality. What I mean by that is some blog posts will be of high quality but those will be less often of course (as it takes time and energy to write a high quality blog post) while others will be more filler.
I do this because I operate way too many blogs and I'm responsible for almost all of the content. I've started too many blogs. This is a mistake by the way – I advise everyone against it.
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Being relatively new at blogging I struggle with all those questions when I decide to write a post. I've tried to make a balance between both quality and quantity but as a beginner I often find myself producing less than quality posts, something I've tried to work on.
I thought maybe you had a Unified Theory of Quanlity in store for us
Then you just leave us in the dark.
Although sometimes I am forced to publish some quantity because I can't find any quality in me, I have thrown away a couple pieces of complete crap for my main blogs. I would have felt guilty if anyone would have seen it.
Vic would say that some low quality in the form of grammar and spelling mistakes is more important than high quality, at least for certain SEO purposes.
I don't personally believe that there is just one "right" answer to the question of quality vs. quantity, as there are many factors to consider.
Stay-at-home mom's, or people who work from home, are likely able to post every day (and even several times a day), but those that work outside the home may not be able to post daily.
I've found it impossible to post every day, especially since I don't want my posts to be what I refer to as, "bubble gum" posts. If I don't have something meaningful (quality) to say, then I won't say anything at all.
Everyone just has to find what works best for them and their lives (I mean, we ARE allowed to HAVE lives, right?
)and continue with that.
There isn't one answer. And no, you're not allowed to have a life.
Hi RT
Create a few post, with good quality and a lot of backlinks, thats the key to sucesso.
Cumps
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I think one post per day is fine, you can always write up other articles and save them for later to get you through dry periods or should you possibly decide to give some extra energy to another vitally important project. You know, like another blog.
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