< The personality of an online writer : Collecting posts for a weekly round-up >
Every Sunday for the last five weeks, I've published a weekly round-up of events on my blog. I'm happy with how well it has been received, and in fact I really enjoy writing it. Here are some reason why you should consider doing one too.1. It's a good starting point for new readers.
A new reader comes to your site, sees loads of posts, doesn't know where to begin... what do they do? They might dive in, but they might leave - especially if you give them a message saying "you're new, please subscribe!". That's just too forward.Why not give new readers a chance to find out what's been going on at your site recently - give them a link to your latest weekly round-up.
2. It provides an easy way to catch up.
We can't all read every site daily - life can get busy. It's not much fun coming back to find hundreds of new posts to read.A weekly round-up allows busy readers to catch up quickly and get straight to the best content of the week. If a reader only reads one post this week, it's better to give them your best work than potentially letting them loose on the post that flopped.
3. There's no need for a separate link love post.
I'm not a big fan of publishing posts that are nothing but link love. Rolling it up into a weekly round-up keeps everyone happy. Those who want it get it, those who don't can just skip that section instead of skipping an entire post.Also, by including link love in a post that serves many purposes besides linking out, it pushes you to include fewer, better links. The links will have more value, so the sites you link to will thank you, as will your readers. It's a win-win.
4. It has the potential to be a comment magnet.
Think about it: how many different things could you include in a weekly round-up? Potentially loads. Don't feel like you have to include a lot of sections, though - three or four should be fine.Link love is a particularly good way to get comments. Also, you could encourage people to post general feedback on your blog or website in the round-up posts. All those things you never knew where to place now have a place.
5. You can publish site news and off-topic news.
Sometimes I see people writing about events in their personal life or changes to their blog or website, but in a new post. Why not wait for your round-up and include the news there? The round-up will then become more interesting and you'll reduce the number of miscellaneous posts on your site.6. You can experiment.
You can try different sections in your round-up to keep it interesting. You don't have to use the same ones every week. You could ask questions for upcoming posts or ask for people to be interviewed. The post is your oyster.7. You can highlight upcoming posts.
I did this for the first time in my latest round-up. Don't give too much away - just leave a hint of something to expect in the next week. It may get a few new subscribers!8. It's easy!
Writing a weekly round-up is easy to do. In its simplest form, it's a summary of things you've already done, so it shouldn't take long to do. It's also easy for people to read - some people may only read part of it, and this is fine because it's a post with a few short sections. But it's still worth reading, so it's not a worthless post.9. It gets you into a routine.
Doing the same post every week gives you a routine to stick to. You know it's coming, your readers know it's coming, and therefore everyone has their expectations set.Regular posts are good to keep people reading your site as they wait for the next post. I really wouldn't mind if a reader only looked at the round-up, so long as they clicked a link or two. It's my week in a nutshell.
10. It establishes an ongoing dialogue.
With so many things to share, you might end up inviting others to share their news with you. Or you could ask your readers to link to their best post in a comment.Even if you don't do this, writing a regular "what's going on" post is a really good way to show that you're around - regardless of your posting frequency. Well, unless you post less than once a week.
What do you think?
Do you publish a weekly round-up?If so, what do your readers think of it?
If not, will you try one?
Tags: weekly round-up, 10 things, link love, routine, dialogue, upcoming posts, site news, comment magnet, new readers, subscribers
Posted by Ben on March 31, 2008 21:09 / Edited: March 31, 2008 22:02
Comments
Great Post with wonderful ideas! I think as I get more involved with blogging that the weekly roundup is something I will definitely do.
I love your site and the insight you give your readers, thank you.
I do like the idea of the routine of a round-up, but haven't got round to it!
You always have a section of interesting posts from other sites. Do you take a note of these as you read them? I suspect I'd have to do a lot of trawling to find things again. Either that or a list as long as my arm, and still have to go visit again to decide.
Hi! Ben,
After reading your Weekly round up i was thinking of doing this aswell (Inspired by your post, ;D).
I agree with your 1-10, all of your idea's are simply helping us grow together with our readers. Thanks for sharing.
This is an idea I've been toying with for a while but haven't yet acted on - you make a good case for a round-up, and that may be the impetus I need!
The weekly roundup looks like a great idea. It's definitely different which is great.
I only do three posts a week on my blog, so I'm not sure what kind of a roundup mine would have. I'll leave the roundups to you.
I'll definitely be visiting more.
I've been thinking of adding a regular round-up/link love type post, and you make a good case for a scheduled weekly one. Up to now, I usually only do that type of post when I have blogger's block LOL
Lots more food for thought there Ben. I do sort of a "posts I've liked" round up but hadn't thought about including other stuff. It might be a way for me to do a bit of a summary of all my blogs too - kind of point people around the place a little bit.
GeekMom - thanks. Yes, I heard that too - if you can work a post into a list, it can make it a lot more accessible.
Mamaflo - thanks. Good luck with your round-up. Glad you like the site.
Atms - I use Google Reader to keep track. I'll explain more in a future post.
Iris - glad you found it useful. I'm all about win-win situations!
Jen - glad to hear it, the round-up has really helped me!
TechieGuy - thanks. You could always do a round-up every two weeks or every month if you don't write enough posts for a weekly one.
Debt Free Revolution - I think if you plan them, they can be that much better. Especially when it comes to linking to good posts.
Lightening - cross-site promotion is a great idea. The round-up can be a "test bed" for things you're not 100% sure about yet, but that you'd like to run by your readers.
Thanks for all the comments. :)
I have been thinking about this since I saw the first one on your site. You have convinced me, I will give it a try soon.
Glad it helped, Arnold. I'll look forward to it. :)
No.
After checking out what you have wrote, I might probably give it a go.
Thanks, Deimos. Hope it works out for you. :)
Ben, that's a great post. Besides having great information (I haven't incorporated a round up routine into my posting, and maybe I'll give it a try), you broke it into a nice, numbered list, with short blurbs for each item. I read that blog surfers like lists of things. :-) Nice job!