Featured Image for the whole post by Werner Moser from Pixabay
I bet I’m not the only one who decided on 31st December 2019 that they were going to make changes, improvements and commitments. As usual, one of mine was to improve my blog posting in both content and regularity. And yet—here it is, 15th January 2020, and I am just getting my first post of the year out to you all.
Other than the obvious dilemma many bloggers have about just what to blog about, my biggest quandary is how often to post. Should it be weekly? Twice a week? Fortnightly? Once a month? When the mood takes me? And after asking many people, the common response seems to be:
As often as you are comfortable with—as long as it is regularly—and preferably on a recognisable schedule
The relief at getting a consensus was quickly replaced with doubt. Was suiting myself good enough? Shouldn’t I be doing what was best? So back to my usual ‘go-to’: research.
The first source I looked at was 5 Simple Steps That’ll Help You Determine How Often You Need to Blog by Neil Patel. I must admit, I got a bit excited. The excitement was soon replaced by confusion: graphs, statistics and companies I hadn’t heard of turned the information into mud for my technically challenged brain. But I was determined to get to the promised five simple steps. Sadly, once I found them, I was confronted by yet more graphs and statistics—which some people would lap up—just not me. One element I did pick up was:
Guest blogs are good for driving traffic to your blog
Not the information I was looking for, but useful all the same. (It’s gone on the list of tasks).
The next source I looked at was posted by Ali Luke of Aliventures—a guest post, as it turns out, on Problogger. I found this blog much more accessible for the likes of me, explaining in simple language the positive aspects of posting several times a week through to longer intervals. Elements such as good content and finding a perfect blogging routine are also dealt with. Ali also suggests creating a content calendar—another great hint that has gone on my list.
The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) has a great blog on writing frequency that is
well worth reading. It discusses posting frequency rather than advise, but it aims squarely at authors, making it easy to relate to the content. It also addresses the very valid point that, as authors, we don’t want to get bogged down in blogging and finding that we have no time to write our author works. It also reminds us, however, that writing a blog is writing and fosters writing discipline.
Here are a couple of other interesting blogs I found specific to the schedule for an author blog:
- How Often Should Authors Blog? on the Smart Author Sites page
- How Often Should I Post? by Yaasha Moriah (I particularly like her dot points at the end—particularly the advice to post less than you think you can manage).
Long story short, most advice is to find a regular time pattern that suits you and your lifestyle. The important thing is that your blogs are constant enough to develop a following and far enough apart for you to write interesting blogs.
So [drum roll]
I have decided to blog once per month initially, building to once per fortnight after mid-May
(two weddings between now and then)
I’ll see you guys in a month (if not before—hehehe)
Kerry
Categories: blogging blogging guide starting to blog
Kerry A Waight - Author
A writer of historical fiction and paranormal stories.
Kerry A Waight - Author 
Great list of resources! I’m also someone who turns to the internet and books to find answers for these kinds of questions. I used to fret a lot more about the frequency of my blog, video and social media posts. I was working my butt off to post more frequently, believing that my audience would grow that much faster. When I realized that more frequent posting didn’t necessary boost my growth, I began to back off quite a bit.
It sounds like what you ended up deciding is what suits your life and schedule the best. Personally, I feel that I have more time to breathe now that I’m not trying to hit unrealistic goals for myself.
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Makes a big difference when you’re not stressing about when to do a blog, doesn’t it? For me, it also means I’m not scrapping for blog topics either.
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I needed this post. My blogging schedule was interfering with my actual writing time. I have had to prioritise this year, and that means 1 main post a month with some book reviews dotted in as and when.
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So glad it was helpful. I think we could all use some linking back to the real world from time to time.
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Very helpful post, especially considering I’ve been struggling with this same question myself! Guest posts are something I’d really like to explore this year. I think they could be really useful. Personally, I’ve decided to commit to at least one blog post per month, two depending on whether or not I choose to continue participating in the other blog hop group I’m part of – it’s much bigger than this one and I’m finding it extremely time consuming to go through all the posts. This one is far more manageable and the people are great. 🙂 Loved this post!
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Thanks for the feedback. It’s amazing how many of us authors struggle with the same issues. Glad my thoughts helped.
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The most important thing is that it works for you. 🙂
Anna from elements of emaginette
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Exactly!
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It’s an important question. Once a week is probably ideal, but it’s much better to set a schedule of once a month and achieve the schedule than say you’re going to blog weekly and run out of steam after a month.
For myself, I often batch-write posts (e.g. write one megapost, then turn it into a series). I find the ability to schedule post in advance is essential. It means I’m rarely worrying about this week’s post, as I know it’s done. Instead, I’m focusing on the future.
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That is my ultimate goal. I hadn’t thought about a series – that is a great idea! Thanks.
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For the longest time, I was blogging twice a month, and I’d like to go back to that at some point, but I’m having a difficult time doing one post a month right now! As evidenced by how late it is that I’m still reading and commenting on all the hoppers in this blog hop. And that might be part of it, that running a blog hop is time consuming, too. I try to make sure I’m visiting everyone every month, etc. Great post and linked resources. Thanks, Kerry!
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Thank YOU Raimey. It must be a lot of work you put in to keep #AuthorToolboxBlogHop going. I don’t think I could do it. But it has certainly kept me focussed on improving my blog post frequency. Glad you enjoyed my post.
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