Don’t you hate questions with no definitive answer? Well, “How often should you post to your blog?” is one of them.
If you’ve done any research on this question, you know that the answers run the gamut, from, “You should be blogging every single day” to “You really only need to blog once a month.”
A glut of contradictory answers though, doesn’t mean you should give up on figuring this out. It just means you’ll have to do a little more work to find the right answer—the one that works for you. I may not be able to give you the answer, either, but after seven years of blogging I can certainly provide some guidelines and help you discover your answer to the sometimes vexing question of how often to update your blog.
First, it’s important to remember the triumvirate of blogging success:
The Triumvirate of Blogging Success
1. Quality
Whatever you write should be high-quality and reader-focused. Instead of writing mostly about what you provide and how great your services are, focus on providing value to the people who visit your site. Whether you’re answering questions, providing entertainment, or offering tips, make sure your work is as good as you can make it and totally centered on your readers.
2. Consistency
Even if you write epic blog posts, they’re not likely to perform well unless you post on a consistent schedule. This doesn’t have to be super strict (i.e. every Tuesday and Friday), but it does mean that you should stick to a schedule (like twice a week), space out your blog posts fairly evenly, and not fall off the face off the web for weeks or months at a time.
3. Frequency
Finally, how often you post matters. More frequent blogging does tend to lead to better results.
The key is to find your own sweet spot. Where does this elements-of-blogging-success trio overlap for you? How often do you feel like you can post quality content on a consistent schedule?
Looking at these three elements and listening to your gut should have you well on your way to an answer! Now that you have a rough idea of what a doable blogging schedule looks like for you, here are a couple of other things you can ask that will help you answer the question of how often you should post to your blog.
Other Considerations to Help You Determine How Often You Should Post to Your Blog
What is your writing style?
Some people are all about short and sweet. If this is you, you might find it easier to break down a bigger subject into several smaller topics and write a series of bite-sized blog posts that you can post on a more frequent schedule.
On the other hand, you may be someone who loves diving into a topic and providing a comprehensive, detailed guide for your readers. Writing long-form content like this can be a bigger time commitment, so you may decide that spacing your blog posts out a little further apart is a better fit for you.
What types of blog posts do you write?
I work primarily with photographers. For many of my clients, most of their blog posts serve to showcase their work and highlight a recent session. Other clients host a lot of events, model calls, and competitions, and use their blog as a way to make announcements and provide a fun recap of events. These types of blog posts don’t need to go on forever. They’re just a quick update. (Three hundred words is a good rule of thumb.)
These types of posts are great, but I also advise my clients to use their blog to full advantage by interspersing these kinds of posts with more detailed, informative posts (aim for at least one thousand words). Long-form content tends to perform better in search engine results, and although it can be more work to write, it lasts longer and provides real value to your readers.
Do you feel like this frequency is sufficient?
Here Come the Numbers
Now that you’ve answered these questions, you have a better idea of how often you realistically can post to your blog. But what if how often you can post doesn’t align with how often you’d like to post or how often you think you should post?
Okay, I’ve avoided sharing a specific number up until now, because I really believe that there’s no hard and fast rule for how often you should blog in order to achieve success. That said, there are patterns that seem to work better.
Blogging Pattern 1
Long-form content performs better, as long as it’s quality content. (Aim for somewhere between 1,000 and 2,500 words).
Blogging Pattern 2
More frequent posting produces better results. (Here it is, the number you’ve been waiting for: I recommend posting 1-3 times per week.)
How to Find a Blogging Schedule that Works for You
Now, before you panic, I am NOT saying you have to post a couple of thousand words three times a week. Here’s the good news:
The ideal length of a blog post is however many words it takes to get your message across. So if you’ve written five hundred words and you feel like you’ve covered the subject and given your readers valuable material, that’s great. Five hundred words is perfect for that blog post.
Also, a mix of short and long-form content works really well. Every blog post does not have to be a thousand words. If your goal is to post once a week, then maybe three of your blog posts for the month can be quickies, and the last one can be a longer piece that really dives into a subject your readers would love to hear about.
Okay, I hear you saying. That’s great. But that still doesn’t answer my question: What if I can’t post to my blog as often as I think I should?
When Blogging Feels Overwhelming
If blogging just feels overwhelming in general, consider bringing in some help. Maybe you feel like you can blog once a week, but you’d really love to do more. Get creative! Could you set aside a day or two to batch extra content? Would using some of your business dollars to outsource your blogging make sense? Do you have an archive of past blog posts that you can update and reuse? What about your social media posts—is there anything you’ve posted that could be tweaked or expanded just a bit to provide you with more blog content?
And finally, take a look at that number I recommended. 1-3 times a week. If you’re feeling like you should blog more than this, or if you think that unless you’re blogging at the high end of that range there’s no point blogging at all, let me assure you that that’s not the case. Please don’t put needless pressure on yourself.
Remember, something is better than nothing. Most people can set aside enough time to write a short blog post once a week, and if you can do that, you’re doing great! Even if that’s too much, even if all you think you can manage is once a month, that’s better than not blogging at all. Give yourself credit for whatever you’re able to do. Start where you’re at.
Be patient with yourself, don’t be afraid to get creative and think outside the box, and trust your problem-solving abilities. You’ve got this! And if you need more help figuring out how often you should post to your blog, please feel free to get in touch. I want to support you, and am happy to help ease your blogging burden and help you work out a blogging schedule that takes both your budget and your busy life into account.
A big part of the challenge of blogging is simply coming up with topics, so be sure to also check out How to Plan a Year of Blog Content in One Afternoon for more ideas and inspiration to easily increase your blogging output if that’s what you feel you need.
