The answer to this question is not an easy one. Unfortunately, there is just no cookie-cutter strategy for how frequently you should blog.
However, there are several points to keep in mind when seeking success with your blog…
You Have to Build a Reader Base
As a new blog, you will have to put some time into the content. Blogging is not a “build it and they will come” type of industry.
The internet is saturated with content, and you have to work to get your voice heard and noticed. Presence is key– let the internet know you are here and you have something of value to offer.
If you are starting out, you can post anywhere from once per month to a few times per month. This way, you are committed to getting your blog out there but not stressing yourself out.
If you’re running a more established blog, you have more flexibility. You can post once a day, a few times a week, once a week, or occasionally.
In any case, you will want to stay consistent with your output. The more content you put up, the easier it is for you to be discovered and for people to engage with you. Consistency helps hold people’s focus.
It’s About Quality, Not Quantity
What matters more than how much content you put out is the quality of content you put out.
Why do people come to read your blog in the first place? Because they are seeking some sort of value. It’s not of any concern to your readers how much content you’re publishing if it doesn’t offer something of substance.
Quality content is what generates engagement. Quality content is what generates leads.
Remember that the purpose of content marketing is to offer value and demonstrate expertise to your target market. This can only be accomplished if your content is delivering that purpose.
Blog Strategically, Not Just Frequently
Sure, blogging with some sort of frequency is important. If you consider that your content is your product, you will want to keep offering it so you keep people coming back. The success of content is measured in views, engagement, shares, and links. You need to keep this in mind as you dedicate time to your blog. It’s not always about creating a new product– or content –it’s about driving up those metrics.
One in ten blog posts is compounding, meaning that organic searches increase its traffic over time (HubSpot, 2016). And over its lifetime, one compounding blog post creates as much traffic as six decaying posts (HubSpot, 2016). Because of this, HubSpot dedicates time to update their old posts to capitalize on this traffic trend. So blog success isn’t necessarily dependent on your posting frequency, but more so the strategy you use to drive traffic.
Also keep in mind that the more content you publish, the more search engines will notice and the more you will have to work with. But at the same time, you don’t want to publish so much that you burn your readers or yourself out. The strategy is key in blogging.
Pro tip: Make use of guest bloggers, who can provide great content for you on your blog and freshen things up for your readers.
What is the Major Source for Your Blog Traffic?
Search engines, social media, or direct traffic? What source gets you the most traffic?
Search engines favor longer-form, quality articles. If they’re really good pieces they will continue to rank in search engines. If you get the majority of traffic from search engines, you can get away with posting less.
Social media, on the other hand, is far more demanding. If you get most of your traffic from social networks, you will need to be posting at a higher frequency. And that content is typically better if it’s short-form, in listicle format.
If you get most of your traffic from email subscribers, your frequency will fall in between posting to please search engines and posting to please social.
Experiment!
All of the most successful blogs have experimented with the frequency of their posting at one time or another in order to understand what schedule best suits their audience.
We strongly encourage you to do the same. Every blog is unique and what will work best for each blog is unique as well.
Summary
Every blog is different, but every blog must produce quality content if it has any hope at succeeding. Quality will always win over quantity. The strategy is more important than just frequency.
Bear in mind the source of your traffic when considering the frequency, but embrace that the internet is a fickle being and experimentation is the best approach to learning what works best for your blog.
Looking for more assistance with your blog? Reach out to CommCore Marketing with questions.
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