Chapter 4: Building Several Blogs

"The Person Who Chases Two Rabbits Catches Neither"

My mother always advised me not to "run after one rabbit at a time" because "you catch neither." I was too young to take her words thoughtfully and did things my way, always rushing while trying to multitask.

With the idea of making money fast running through my head, I wanted to create several blogs simultaneously to maximise my chances. I would build one blog enthusiastically at first, but after writing one or two blog posts, I would give up, fed up, and move to a fresh new one with the same zeal I had for the previous ones. Again, after writing a few blog posts, the enthusiasm disappeared, and soon, I was back to square one, starting another blog on a different topic. 

This has been ongoing for many years, and although I knew it was wrong, I kept doing it with the hope that it would eventually work. Unfortunately, it never worked, and it never amounted to anything excellent. 

What happens when you create multiple blogs at a time?

Rushing to complete a task too quickly causes one to lose focus because one's attention is divided. I failed to understand that I was sacrificing quality over quantity. When the effort is spread across multiple blogs, the quality of content suffers because one cannot give each blog the time and attention it deserves. High-quality content is crucial for attracting and retaining readers.

Managing multiple blogs can lead to irregular posting schedules for each one. Consistency is vital to building an audience, and if a regular posting schedule is not maintained, it harms the blogger and hinders growth.

Overwhelming Workload 

Running a single blog involves content creation, SEO, social media promotion, audience engagement, and technical maintenance. Doing this for multiple blogs can quickly become overwhelming, leading to burnout.  Managing numerous blogs requires even more resources—time, energy, and sometimes money. This can spread your resources thin, making managing and growing each blog difficult.

Slower Progress: 

Dividing your attention across multiple blogs often means slower growth for each one. Building a loyal audience takes consistent effort, quality content, and time. When your focus is split, gaining traction, reaching important milestones, or establishing a strong presence in any space is more challenging.

Confused Audience: 

If you are writing to share your life experiences and inspire people (as is my case), creating blogs and leaving them unfinished does not help achieve this goal. A confused or unsatisfied audience will leave. They stumbled on your post and possibly found it interesting and engaging, and came back, expecting to find something, but found nothing except a random, lifeless post written; they would notice the lack of passion and leave. Each blog needs a clear focus and target audience, which can be hard to maintain when we juggle multiple platforms.

SEO Challenges: 

Blogging requires good SEO to gain visibility on the Internet. It demands a clear, focused strategy - consistent keyword research, quality backlinks, and well-optimised content. When efforts are spread across multiple blogs, that focus gets diluted. As a result, it becomes harder for any blog to build authority or rank well in search engines.

A Sense of Unaccomplishment and A loss of Passion

Each time I abandoned a blog or blog post half-written to chase a new idea on a different blog, I repeated the same cycle of frustration. Eventually, I'd give up altogether and start aimlessly browsing the Internet. Nothing took shape, and the sense of failure grew stronger with each attempt. 

Managing multiple blogs can quickly turn into a burdensome chore. The joy and motivation that sparked your blogging journey can fade when you constantly juggle platforms and struggle to keep up. Over time, this can lead to burnout or total abandonment of the blog you once cared about. 

Conclusion:

While covering multiple niches or ideas through different blogs might seem appealing, focusing on one blog at a time is generally more effective. This allows you to build a strong brand, grow your audience, and produce high-quality content without spreading yourself too thin. Once a blog is well-established and running smoothly, consider branching out if it aligns with your goals and resources.