Is Your Posting Frequency Working For You Or Are You Working For It?

Posting schedule is a topic that is often debated among bloggers. It’s not always easy to post on a schedule, especially when family and offline work calls, so let's talk about why you should consider posting schedule and what frequency you should post.

Before we get too far, we should also remember that a posting schedule does not mean you have to post 5 times a week. Posting one time per week on the same day is still a schedule.

Should You Have A Posting Schedule?

One of the main arguments for not having a posting schedule is genuinely inspired posts. Being on a strict schedule can force you to publish posts that aren’t entirely polished; by only posting when you feel like posting, you ensure that your content is always inspired.

The downfall of not having a schedule is you can easily never make time to post, and your blog and readership will die. Some also argue that unpredictable posting can hurt your following. To counter that just encourage readers to subscribe to your RSS, then they’ll know when to check your site.

Posting on a schedule is great for building a reputation for being reliable and consistent. Your readers will know when to check your site, and people who stumble upon your site will know when to expect new work.

When you start running short on ideas, inspiration, or time, the deadline of a schedule can make your post articles that aren’t your best. One way Daniel Scocco mentions in his free ebook on how to combat this is filler posts. Instead of going for the fences with every article, try writing several good posts building up to one killer post.

Extra tip: Thurs/Friday after 3 pm have the highest CTR and number of retweets.

What is the Best Posting Frequency?

Posting frequency also plays a huge role in how fast your blog will grow. I’ve noticed on Steps To Become that posting 4 or more times per week causing my traffic to increase faster than only posting 2 or 3 times. Posting less than once every 10 days will stunt your growth.

One of the main advantages of posting 4 or more times per week is the content is almost always fresh for new readers. Most people aren’t interested in reading an old dead blog so several week gaps between posts can kill your readership unless you're already established.

The major disadvantage to a high post frequency is similar to a posting schedule; it’s easy to run out of ideas, run out of time, or get burned out. It is also frustrating having a bunch of posts that don’t get very many views because of a high post frequency. If that’s being a problem, consider submitting some of your articles for guest posts on a more extensive blog (just be sure not to publish on both blogs).

It all comes down to the goals and purpose of your blog. For building a passive following, infrequent/unscheduled posts are probably excellent. If you’re trying to grow fast, frequent posts are a must, and a schedule is probably a good idea.