Q vs. Q: Quality Vs. Quantity

Recently I have been a sign to write blogs for company X. They wanted me to write blogs about their services, as fast as the wind could bring. I was baffled, I must admit: It's true what they say, that content is king: but why would you want to tell everyone about your company - in poorly-written content? And then, they come back and ask why are there inconsistencies or grammar mistakes in the blog, email or newsletter. What, mistakes when you're being rushed? shocking...

Another company asked that part of their content strategy is to release daily newsletters (!). Daily newsletters? Who has time today to read daily newsletters? Not only does it lessen the value of the content they are trying to deliver (and cheapen their own brand's value, by-the-by), as time goes by, the end user will more likely to bypass this newsletter entirely, without giving it a glance. Why? because he's seen too much of it. Because he knows they'll be another one the next day. And the next day. And the next. It's also taxing on the content creators themselves, as they need to continuously dig up into their resources to come up with something fresh, day after day after day. Is it any wonder many get burned out?

Too much content will be forgotten with the wind.

There is a huge difference between providing users with content and assaulting them with content. And users don't like to be assaulted. Even if is quality content...how much do you think they can take? how much time do you think they have? they get content from other sources, you know. And so, not only does the content itself goes to waste, but also the time and effort invested in it. Isn't it a shame?

That's why my preference is for quality over quantity. If your content is good, solves their problems in some way and leaves them eager for more, they'll be waiting for the next installment. If the blog, email or newsletter is more cohesive, more insightful, less rushed, the feeling will be more enriching for the reader. Why burn in out right away?

Rare occasions can warrant more emails or newsletters, such as holidays, special event promotions, etc. But on a regular basis? Better to keep it consistent - but not keep tacking it on...and on...and on.

Some content formats, such as social media platforms, are great for, basically, "on-the-fly" content creation; however, trying to apply that approach on long-form content, such as blogs, will, as a general rule, yield unsatisfactory results.