ProBlogger: How Many Posts Should a Blogger Post? [Pros and Cons of Daily Posting] |  |
| How Many Posts Should a Blogger Post? [Pros and Cons of Daily Posting] Posted: 13 May 2013 08:46 AM PDT Almost every time I do a Q&A at a conference I’m asked this question – How many posts should I post? The frequency of blog posts is something that gets talked about a lot and there is no perfect answer for all blogs – but here are a few thoughts on the topic. The Pros of Daily PostingI’ve heard many people answer the ‘how many posts’ question with the suggestion that you should aim for a daily post. While I will name some reasons why this may not be ideal below there are certainly some benefits of posting on a daily level including: Daily Posts Can Help You Get into the GrooveI’ve had a variety of approaches to blogging frequency over the years and I have to say that getting into a daily blogging frequency has helped ME, as a blogger, make writing part of my daily workflow. I find that if I post less often than ‘daily’, writing begins to slip off my radar as I fill my day with other tasks – and once I stop, I find it hard to get going again. The more you practice as a writer the better you get (hopefully)! Daily Posts Help with Reader Expectations and EngagementIt is amazing how readers will adapt to your posting frequency and will even look for your content to be published at certain times. I find that the less you post – the less engaged your readers will become. Of course this also depends on how and where else you’re engaging with your readers. For example if you’re tweeting every day, answering comments every day and answering emails every day then this will certainly increase engagement. I guess more regular content builds your brand also (if the content is good content). More Posts mean More Doorways into Your BlogI’ve spoken about this over the years many times on ProBlogger. The more posts you publish over time, the more doorways you present readers with to enter your blog. 1 post a week means you’ve got 52 doorways at the end of the year – daily posts means 365 doorways at the end of the year. This means people are more likely to see your content in RSS readers, in search engines, on social media etc. Over time this adds up. For example, here on ProBlogger today I’m publishing our 7001st post! That’s a lot of doorways! The Negatives of Daily PostingThere are definitely some positives with daily (or at least a higher frequency of) posting. However there are also some costs including: Blogger BurnoutPerhaps the biggest danger with setting your posting frequency levels too high is that you run the risk of burning out as a blogger. Posting something new, engaging, compelling and helpful every day over several years can, over time, begin to feel like a chore – particularly if you have competing pressures of life (family, work, social life etc). Reader BurnoutThere is a fine line between giving your readers too little content to be engaged and overwhelming them with too much content to be able to digest it all. I subscribed to a blog recently that I thought would be great to follow but they posted so many posts per week that it was too much and so I ended up reading none of it. Some topics and styles of blog will sustain a higher frequency of posts than others. For example, some technology blogs have been posting 10-20 posts a day for several years – but their posts are usually short, sharp and easy to consume (and they are read by content hungry, tech savvy readers). Decreases Reader EngagementRelated to this, I’ve noticed when I slow my posting frequency down that comment numbers often go up. Fewer posts means that your most recent post sits on the front page of your blog longer which increases the chance of people seeing, engaging with and even sharing it. Traffic might be lower overall to your blog – but hopefully each post will be read more! Advice on Posting FrequencyUltimately you need to decide what is right for you as a blogger. Your blog posting frequency should come out of a variety of factors including:
Keep in mind that over time your posting frequency may change. For example, here on ProBlogger I have been as high as 18 posts a week but these days we’ve slowed to 5-6 (with a change in the length and focus of the posts). Slowing our blogging frequency down has led to a higher engagement, higher quality of posts (at least that’s our intent) and steady (if not slightly higher) traffic. Also remember that YOU as a blogger are probably a lot more worried about your posting frequency than your reader. We tend to put a lot of pressure on ourselves as bloggers. Slowing down to increase quality of your posts and to look after yourself won’t be the end fo the world! The last piece of advice I offer is to aim for regularity rather than daily. Readers will adapt to your posting rhythm and they will begin to expect that what you do one week is not too far different from what you do the next. So be consistent. Here on ProBlogger we never switched from 18 posts in a week one week to 5 the next – it’s ebbed and flowed very gradually over time. How often Do You Post?I’m interested to hear how many posts you do per week on your blog? Is that the same amount of posts each week or does it change? Has that frequency changed over time? What factors come into play for you in deciding how many posts per week is right for you? Originally at: Blog Tips at ProBlogger How Many Posts Should a Blogger Post? [Pros and Cons of Daily Posting]     |
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