How Often to Post on a Blog

Creating new blog updates and blog post scheduling seems to worry new bloggers more than anything else.

It's something I've experimented with a lot, and you'll probably need to experiment with it too, because we're all different with varying time constraints and writing abilities.

But if you're a small business owner or writer like me at least once a week is my short answer. Any less and it will be hard for you and your readers to keep up interest.

If you want to tap into the power of blogging to grow your business or prove yourself as a writer set yourself a goal and stick to it.

First decide on a posting schedule of once a week (or twice, three times, daily or however often you can realistically manage it) and then make time for it.

(NOTE: There is a free bonus of more blog writing guidelines for you at the bottom of the post. Make sure to check it out!)

Sticking to a Blog Posting Schedule

Many bloggers tell me they can't stick to their posting schedule.

If that's your problem then cut the number of post you write but remember, if you update your blog less than weekly, it will be hard to build up a good body of work and keep up momentum.

So at the very least pick one day when you're going to post and stick with it.

Set yourself a challenge and reward yourself for following through. Let's say you can't manage to update your blog once a week.

Can you commit to posting once a fortnight? Decide what will work for you and stick to it.

Blogging Motivation

If you update your blog once a week and write 1,000 words per post after a year you'll have written a small book.

That's impressive. It really does make you an expert in your niche and the very act of that writing will have helped you learn a lot about yourself, your goals and your business.

Three more benefits of updating your blog regularly:

• You'll get more visitors with more posts to attract new readers and loyal readers will come back more often the more your blog's updated.
• You'll grow the volume of content on your blog faster which the search engines will notice. In time that should help improve your search engine ranking.
• You'll increase your chances of people sharing your content with other people or linking to it from their blogs and grow your readership faster.

Blogging Commitment

To make yourself commit to a regular posting schedule stating your intentions helps.

On my blog I keep my readers updated on how often I'm going to post and when.

It's like a contract between us where I promise them I'll have something good for them to read on a set day every week no matter what, and they know when they need to check in for new updates.

When I started my first blog I committed to writing new posts three times a week on Monday, Wednesdays and Fridays.

With a brand new blog it's important to build up a body of work fast so your blog looks established and there's plenty of content to keep readers engaged.

So to begin, with I worked hard until I'd built up a good body of work and could cut my time investment. Then I told my blog readers I'd be updating my blog twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays and that's what I did for the rest of the year.

Choose a Realistic Blog Posting Schedule

Over Christmas and January I decided to cut my posting schedule again and update weekly so I could have a break. If you're in North America or Europe you might want to cut yourself some slack and post less often over the summer.

Even the Copyblogger team reduced their posting schedule last summer so us solo operators don't need to feel bad if we do too.

Everyone needs a break and after a decent holiday I was looking forward to getting back to blogging and even ready to start a second blog which you're reading now.

Over the vacation, I scheduled one post a week every Tuesday for six weeks and logged off my computer. It was a well-earned rest but I didn't break my commitment to blogging or my readers.

Now I have two blogs and I update them each weekly on different days which leaves me time to manage other work for clients or write guest posts.

Three Thoughts on Blog Updating For Real People

1. Updating your blog once a week or more often (or even less) is fine but just do what's manageable for you.

2. State your intention of how often you're going to update your blog to yourself and the world and stick to it.

Just like brushing your teeth, going to the gym or calling your mum every Sunday it will become a habit. If you use WordPress the blog editorial calendar plug-in will help you.

3. Don't feel ashamed if you can't write a great new post now and then. It happens but don't miss your schedule – post something else like a round-up of great blog posts on a related topic on your blog or other blogs.

Just make sure all your blog posts are useful and relevant to your readers so they look forward to coming back again next week to see what you have in store for them next time.

So don't be confused about how often to post on your blog. Give yourself time to work out a posting schedule that works for you, be creative and have fun with it because that's what blogging's all about.

How often do you post on your blog and do you have a set day for publishing new posts? Leave a comment below because we'd love to hear from you.