What is My Ideal Blog Posting Frequency?

It may seem like finding an ideal publishing schedule for your blog posts is a problem that only new bloggers have. In fact, many seasoned bloggers still struggle with balancing their posting schedules. Often bloggers will attempt to hold themselves to an impossible goal, then find themselves feeling burned out and guilty when they can’t keep up with their own high standards.

So how do you find that posting sweet spot? How often you post will depend on your niche, your audience, your schedule, and your abilities.

Think About Yourself

Bloggers who first start out have tons of ideas for topics to write about. That’s great! But eventually, your ideas will come less smoothly. You might find yourself fighting writer’s block. Even if you’re churning out tons of great posts, pace yourself!

Many bloggers think that they should post every day. In fact, unless you are a news source, there is no reason why you should have to post daily. Think about it – do your readers even have time to read your blog every single day? Probably not. Even if you have the time to write and publish posts daily now, will you have the time in the future? Experienced bloggers generally say that they feel burned out if they try to post daily.

So if you are able to write posts every day right now, save some of those posts for later. Concentrate instead on promoting old posts rather than creating new content.

Think About Your Audience

We’ve already said that it’s unlikely that your readers will be able to visit your blog daily. Try to predict how often they might return. Ask the people you know personally when they are able to read your posts – do they read them as soon as you notify your fans on social media that you published something new? Do they save the post for their morning commute, lunch break, or the quiet time before bed? Do they randomly check in with your blog when they realize that they haven’t heard from you in a while?

Checking your blog’s analytics and when you receive comments could also give you some insight on when your readers visit your blog, how long they stay, and how many posts they read at once. For instance, if you know readers visit multiple pages in one sitting, you probably don’t need to post more frequently than you are currently. If readers come from social media and only read one post, it is unlikely you will overwhelm them with content, though you should also concentrate on making each post as engaging as possible.

This may also depend on the kinds of posts you’re publishing. Recipes, for example, can be posted more frequently than a how-to tutorial on creating something more complicated. A long, serious post that makes your reader think on a deeper level should be posted more sparingly than short, light-hearted posts. You can definitely burn out yourself trying to write too many posts, but you can also exhaust your reader.

What posting methods have brought you the best response from your readers?