Should bloggers date their blog posts?

by "Get it Done Girl" on July 29, 2011 · 6 comments

in Social Media

I’ve been writing on average one blog post a week since I started my business in November 2009. To me, that’s a lot of blog posts.

No, I’m not churning out content like Jay Baer, Chris Brogan or Seth Godin; nor do I aspire to. That’s not my goal.

What I would like to know is:

How important is it for you, as a consumer of blogs, to know when the article was published?

When you read a blogger’s post, do you take into consideration how recently they’ve posted an article as a basis for their credibility? If it’s been a couple weeks since their last post, do you judge the author and accuse them of having “fallen off the blog-wagon”?

Sometimes, the date puts the content into context. If you’re looking for time-sensitive information, you will want to know how current it is to know whether it is applicable or not. Right?

If you write a blog, do you include the date stamp on your blog posts? Why or why not?

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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }

Ben Stone July 29, 2011 at 2:48 pm

I have given this topic a lot of thought and I think there is even bigger question behind your question Suzanne: “Should you even call your content Blog Posts”? There is a large segment of the world who don’t consider themselves Blog readers. They just don’t “get it” when it comes to blogs and so they shy away from anything bloggy (bloggish?). If your potential audience includes anyone likely to be in this category, you’re best served by de-blogging your material. I would say that most small business owners I talk to fall into the blog-resistant camp.

If you take the same content and put it into a newsletter and send it to them as a pdf file, they would read it and enjoy. Even if you posted that same material to your website under the heading “Tips” or “News” they would read it. But if it smells like one of those new-fangled Blogs; game off. So my answer is to not only kill the date posted line, kill all of the blog trappings and call it something other than a Blog Post.

If your Blog is aimed at people who traditionally read blogs and are comfortable with the platform, I would keep the dates in there and work like heck to stay active with my posts. The blog readers of the world know the game and will sniff out a stale blog in a second.

"Get it Done Girl" July 30, 2011 at 5:22 am

You’re right. I work with all types of business owners, and with some of them, the minute I mention “blog”, I know they’ve got a bad taste in their mouth! Once we rename the content and they understand the importance of creating new and fresh content, they begin to come around…but you’re right. Dating your content depends on your audience. Thanks!

Claire Celsi August 1, 2011 at 3:28 pm

I will date my blog posts if they promise to take me somewhere nice.

"Get it Done Girl" August 1, 2011 at 5:54 pm

Claire – I was wondering if someone was going to pick up and comment on the double-meaning 😛 Thanks for reading!

Lindsey August 5, 2011 at 11:53 am

As someone who hasn’t blogged since April 2011 (whoops), I probably should favor date-less posts. But when I am looking for information online, whether it’s for work or play, I like to know when the content was created. Newsletters have dates, magazines have dates and even newscasts have dates attached to them — it’s only natural that blog posts should have dates, too.

As for “dating” your blog posts: if you’re planning to date them, then you had darn well better know how old your posts are! 😀

"Get it Done Girl" August 5, 2011 at 12:11 pm

Lindsey – hilarious – thanks for your thoughts!

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