Starting a second blog ... ???

[Deranged Princess]

Wow - I give credit to those who can manage more than one blog at a time. If you feel you have the time (and energy), go for it. Otherwise, like others said before - work the one you have and branch out later.

[petercasier]

I have about 10 different blogs and sites. Each of them has a different content, purpose and audience.

- I have my main blog.
- I have one where I published an Ebook and used the blogplatform as an easy way to publish contents. This one does not change. The book is just 'there' for anyone to read. With pictures and all. No maintenance.
- I have two automatic aggregators which collect humanitarian news at each refresh (one in English, and one in Dutch). Does not need any maintenance.
- I have one Dutch blog where I just post some stuff when i feel it... this one became a drag to maintain... But it gets a lot of hits for one reason or the other (75,000 in 18 months). I keep it for that reason, otherwise I would have dumped it. Too much time to maintain.
- Then there is a tumblr blog I use to clip stuff on, stuff i find as I browse the web. nothing more nothing less. Takes very little maintenance, is simple and a great way to publish contents at a snap.
- And I have 3 tumblr sites where I publish feeds of about 100 different sources, sorted between the 3 blogs dependent on subject. I use it mainly for work. Requires hardly any maintenance.
- apart from that, i run two sites on newsvine, where I clip/discuss press articles
- Oh, and i have a blog for a work project also.
- Oh, i have two sites on wordpress which i hide, and only use to backup my main blogger sites... If anything would happen with my blogger sites, I can point my domain to the wordpress sites.

I spend about 4-5 hours on these sites every day. Mixed with browsing for contents, looking up stuff for work, experimenting with new stuff etc...

My experience in the 2 years in the blogging world concerning starting off a 2nd site:
Do it if:
- you have a different contents and target a different audience than for the first blog.
- be 100% sure you have the time to maintain both, or take a blog platform that publishes very very quickly/easy. Better one good blog than two so-so blogs.

On the latter, I can tell you, even with the 4-5 hours per day spent on blogging per day, i would not have the time to maintain two blogs with the same attention and effort (and quality - I hope-) as I maintain my prime blog.

Hope this helps.

P.

[ianpeatey]

Peter. Yes it helps .. though now feeling very small and insignificant in the face of 10 blogs!!!!! And I assume the 4-5 hours is in total and not per site (I mean 40 -50 hours per day would be pretty crazy!).

For sure one good blog is better than two so-so blogs and I would only embark on the second if I was sure that I could keep quality high. Thanks for taking the time for such an extensive reply! Ian

[petercasier]

Originally Posted by ianpeatey

though now feeling very small and insignificant in the face of 10 blogs!!!!! (..)

Sorry.. was not the intention of my post, Ian.. Quality, not quantity is the main thing.. !
I also have more than average time, as I live/work abroad, away from my family, and this stuff, keeps me out of trouble.

Apart from that, a lot of those blogs are actually also tools we use at work (e.g. some of the blogs are automatic aggregators, which are information sources we use daily, to keep track of humanitarian, development and aid issues...). So from time to time, I can allocate some work-time to it.. (although in the type of work we have, there is no 9-5 rule.. Yesterday was more like 7 to 4. And that was 7 am to 4 am.. haha

And I assume the 4-5 hours is in total and not per site

yes indeed. in total.. Not per site.. gosh..! I wish I could do this full time hahaha

P.

[skleiner]

I think if you have the content for the sites it's great to write, it becomes an addiction.

I struggle with the sites I set up for my husband, because buried in his head is the content, and getting it out of the cobwebs is tough, so they have both sat a little stagnent, when I know they could do well.

Wow Peter - 10 sites that is impressive - I was working on 3 during the day for business, and with the effort and time allowed, I did see significant growth in traffic and popularity.

[petercasier]

Wow Peter - 10 sites that is impressive

Don't forget that some of those are automatic aggregators... (I would not be able to maintain 10 interactive blogs where I need to post myself..)
so apart from making sure the machinery behind the aggregators continues to work, and to ensure the sources of the aggregators remains updated, there is not much daily work on 8 out of the 10 blogs..