To post and re-post or just post once
It’s all to easy to think that when you have been doing something long enough that everyone else will share or know or think the same way as you do. A logo designer should know all about QuarkXPress, or a Web Developer should instinctively know about that CSS hack, you know, that other one, amongst the millions of others.
The reality of course is so not like that.
Facts that I take for granted are not facts for so many others. This is why blogging is so damn cool, there are always people wanting to be educated, always people coming in for the first time looking for advice and inspiration. There is a never ending thirst for information on the net, that will make repetition a thing of the past.
It’s easy to think that once you have said it once, then it’s not something you should repeat, ever, for fear of alienating the readers who caught it the first time. That finely crafted article on ‘white space‘ can only be posted once? I think not. Why should that be so? Why should it be shown the light of day only once, for it only to be consumed further and deeper into the recesses of your Database archive.
For sure, it’s still there, it’s still searchable and findable, but it’s not lit up. It’s given basement treatment, and often quite undeservedly so.
There is a unquenchable thirst for information from a unrelenting supply of old and new blood. Youngsters blogging for the first time in MySpace all the way to the grandparents discovering the joys of Shelfari.
The published, ’seen and read it once philosophy’ that is the Daily Newspaper is unfairly associated with blogging. Many believe that you post once and that’s it. Maybe some ‘would’ like to re-post their personal favorite, but fear their readers will leave because you yourself lack imagination and professionalism. All because you dared re-post a decent article. Nonsense. Utter poppycock.
Don’t assume no one will ever want to read that post again. Of course they will, why do you think Libraries are becoming popular again. The population as a whole is reading more and more, because we have greater access to this information. Our thirst for news, information, facts and opinions is as hearty as ever and is gaining momentum. Information is valuable, freely available quality information is priceless.
Be confident and proud of your own work to re-post and re-publish when you feel the need is right. If you are really self conscious about how people ‘may’ respond to a old post being reanimated, then tag it with a re post label. Easy.
Article Posted On: October 26, 2008 at 6.58 pm
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In Categories: Blogging
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15 Comments
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Well said Sir!
With my bad site navigation I may have to do some reposting of my own ;)
Indeed
I find it fascinating to look at my stats and find hits on blog entries from years ago. When I started my blog, one of the intents was to serve as a set of reference data that I could always look up, esp for activities that only come up once a year or even less frequently. Its worked out fairly well for me, but also others googling for info as well.
we all have different ways of working, so the learning never stops! great post :)
I was actually thinking about this same thing, that when you make a really good post its actually forgotten about a couple of weeks later because of new posts, yet people who are new to a blog will not see it, actaully thinking now a “featured section” and “popular articles” section could be a good thing to show articles that you want to keep at the top but obviously only so many can be shown or indeed a repost which i never thought of, good stuff
There are some blogs (including some hugely popular blogs) which rewrite an old post and publish it as a “new” post. Is that a bad thing? Not if you’re aiming to reach new readers.
There can be other good reasons to republish an old post. Perhaps you think it’s one of your best pieces but dates back to a time when your blog only had 12 subscribers. Or, maybe there are recent developments in something you wrote about a while ago, and you want to keep your readers up to date.
I particularly like this last reason for republishing a post: adding value to a past blog article works for both new and long-time readers – it pleases everyone and I’m all for that.
Great post I’ve always wondered about this.
Republishing old articles is just fine by me especially if you are updating a article to work with a newer version of software or aiming at new reader or you now have a better article.
Featured posts and Similar posts are two areas on my site that i try to draw readers to more articles with.
I agree but it also sucks that some of your friends unfollow because you reweet news too much.
I agree, reposting (with adequate time between the posts) isn’t something that needs to be automatically avoided.
I think there’s a good balance that can be struck between reposting information for new readers and keeping your old readers from getting bored. Such as not making reposting a habit and rewriting the post adding some new thoughts so that you aren’t posting identical articles.
I find it best, if you write a different article on similar topics, perhaps from a different angle. Then link back to your past articles that are relevant.
Re-Posting an old article is OK IMO, but depends on how long ago it was posted.
Jin> Very valid point, I guess I was talking about a longer period between re-posting a old post, say 6 months or longer.
Then less than that maybe create a new one as you say linking back. Good compromise
G
Styletime> It’s not bad, its just awful. :0) Seriously, what you have done with all 3 of your sites is amazing, so hats of to you.
Ron> I recently re submitted a post for BlogDesignBlog, he didn’t know, ended up becoming a bit of a hit again, went all over the world. It was a useful post on bad things to avoid in web design. So that really helped him with his stats and new readers with a great article.
Rob> 100% All different, all different methods. What’s right for some not right for others. WHich is sort of my motto, I like to buck trends also. I like to be different where I can.
Max> Never underestimate a good post that’s in the archives. Refeature it possibly maybe than reposting. Tweet about it. So doesn’t have to be re-posted or even modified. YOu can just talk about it and promote it to draw peoples attention to it again.
Pat> The featured posts and similar posts is definitely one of the answers to not having to re-post all the time, but there is a limit to how many featured posts you can have up, so in those cases, re-vitalising a older post may make sense.
Angie> You hit the nail on the head, enough time to not alienat existing readers, so either leave enough time in between, have a bloody good excuse, or re write it and update it. For example I am already planning on update to this article, featuring all the valid comments made by you lot, with credits of course. This new post will then be more authoritative and more balanced. Thanks Angie.
Tracey> I have seen regular blatant reposting of frankly crap articles. Which is cutting is close for me. And often weeks in between. I don’t revisit these sites again. But given all the comments made for this post, there are some valuable reasons to do it, with way’s to compromise if you don’t want to go as far as re-posting, re-feature, or just stir up some talk on it again, Tweet about it, retweet the link. That’s what i do on the odd time. I do it to a degree with the main Uber lists of Uber Lists. I created the Uber Uber list to house the single ones so I could just easily promote them all at the same time, not so annoying. These lists are fun and useful, so I feel it’s ok to do.
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