wow, it’s been a minute since i’ve written a post trying to give advice about absolutely anything. and in a way, this isn’t even going to be an advice post. in fact, by the time y’all read this post, there’s a chance that it’ll just have turned into a discussion on whether or not you should blog consistently (edit: i added pros and cons to the end to make it seem less decisive). But at any rate, hopefully you glean something interesting from this post.
PRO: Gain a Bigger Following
i found that when i was consistently blogging 3x a week, i gained a following far faster than when i was posting on random days, although i was still posting the same amount in a months time. Laying out a schedule of MWF (or something similar) was huge for having people want to follow my blog, because they knew they could rely on my for content.
PRO: You know how much you have to do
this was a huge pro for me. i knew how much i had to blog and then, even if i wasn’t particularly in the mood, i was able to force myself to sit down and type up a piece. When i had no consistency, i only blogged when i was “in the mood” to do so, and then sometimes i would go a full week without posting and then post 3 on the same day. you can still type out 3 posts all at once (all the power to ya) but you should then schedule them, so that they’re spread out over time.
PRO: Views increase
this goes along with the first one, but in a slightly different vein. when you are posting on the same date and time every week, your followers know when to check for your content (this is ironic since i’m currently posting this wayyyy late ha ha ha) then, even if you aren’t necessarily gaining followers, the ones that you do have will be more likely to read your posts, and so your views per post will most certainly shoot up. exhibit A: i’m willing to bet i will have significantly fewer views on this post than i would have if it was posted 6 hours ago when it was supposed to go up.
CON: Added Stress
and now to the cons! blogging consistently can cause a LOT of added stress. i mean, you’re no longer only blogging for you, you’re also blogging for a calendar. that means that even if you’re super busy, don’t want to write that day, or just can’t think of what to write, you still HAVE to get a post out there. for me, i’m able to avoid a lot of this by scheduling in advance, but i still sometimes fall behind, and then i feel like blogging is a chore that i have to keep up with rather than a fun activity, and that’s not really what i’m going for.
CON: Forcing Content
this goes along with the one before it. if you are pressed for time, don’t know what to write, but still have to get a post out there, what you write tends not to be your best. for me, when i was posting 3x a week i went through a phase where i was struggling for time and therefore only wrote tags and memes, rather than any discussion or advice posts, since the latter took far longer to write up. i felt like my quality of content was going down, and had to drop down on how many posts i uploaded per week in order to make my content a bit better.
CON: The Inspiration (TM) Happened TODAY
not sure what i’m doing with the title to this con. i thought i was funny but now i’m starting to regret it but oh well hopefully someone understands my humor. anyways… i should probably say what i mean. basically, sometimes you come up with a really super good post to write and you can’t wait to share it with the world– but according to your schedule you don’t post again for another 4 days. that feeling kind of sucks. and it makes doing blog tours or other time sensitive media infinitely more difficult. i know some bloggers stick to a schedule for their “good” posts, and then upload blog tours, or random inspired bits at other times to supplement. that can be good too, and a nice way around this con, but i still feel like you’ll lose some of the benefits (such as added views) of posting on a schedule when you do this.
so there it is! my advice! which isn’t really advice! more like a discussion! i guess if i were to turn this into a preachy “do this” post, i would say that y’all should for sure post on a schedule, if you are able to. i think the benefits far outweigh the cons as long as you aren’t too aggressive with how much you think you can write in a week/month/whatever time period works for you.
but anyways, i’m for sure not the expert, so
How do you feel about posting on a schedule? when do you think is the best day of the week to post? best time?
Check out my Social Media:
Twitter | Bloglovin’ | Email | Goodreads |
~ Now Venture out and Change the World ~
I think that was a fantastic list, but for me the cons have just outweighed lately. Sometimes life just doesn’t allow the consistency and the motivation/inspiration to happen because your mind is so occupied with other things. It sucks, because I want to blog consistently and offer great content, but it just doesn’t happen. This was a great post though!!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
thank you! yeah life can certainly get in the way sometimes, that’s something that’s always super frustrated me. In the end though it’s important to do what works best for you mentally and physically above all.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very true! I am trying not to push it too hard, but also not forget about it altogether.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think you covered pretty much all my opinions on the topic. Consistency is good to get a following, but someone could probably be flexible with it as long as “I’m not going to worry about posting this Thursday” doesn’t suddenly turn into “I haven’t posted for four weeks.” 😛
I think the “stated” schedule of my blog is that Krysta and I were going to post three times a week, but we’ve actually been posting every day recently so…oops?
LikeLiked by 1 person
haha yes the slippery slope where skipping one day means missing every day 🙂
it’s awesome that you’ve actually been able to post more often than you thought! i’m jealous haha
LikeLiked by 1 person
I found that for me personally having a set schedule (T/Th/Sat/Sun for me) actually alleviated stress! I work well with deadlines, so it makes sense that I went this route after a couple of months posting “when I was inspired.” I also find that I am able to be less stressed out about my ARCs and posting schedule, because I am able to prioritize my reading based on release dates and align the reviews with my posting schedule. And lastly, I get a lot of inspiration now for one-off posts or discussions that I am able to write up a quick draft (so I don’t forget the idea), plug it into the schedule where it will fit, and flesh the post out.
I have noticed my views and followers increase a bit since I implemented this schedule at the start of May, but honestly the stress relief is 1000% worth it for me! I know the converse may be true for others, so I am interested to see what other bloggers have to say.
LikeLiked by 1 person
that’s so awesome that you’ve figured out a system that works so well for you!! It seems like you have it all down 🙂
a posting schedule definitely seems nice the way you do it, and i totally agree about writing a quick draft whenever you have inspiration. and if you’re good at planning ahead (which it seems like you are) it could totally help with the ARCs… i’m super unorganized so that was probably why it caused stress for me!
LikeLike
I’m following so many blogs that while i’m fairly certain they post consistently on set days, i never know what those days actually are 😀
Sometimes i check their blogs and notice i missed like 2-3 post…
LikeLiked by 2 people
hahaha that happens to me too
there’s a couple people that i check on the days they post, but everyone else is just like “let’s check my reader today!”
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’ve been wrestling with the same issue lately as I’ve come off of hiatus. Half of me wants to post consistently and grow my following/views, but the other half wants to write only when I feel like writing. I guess it comes down to quantity over quality. I’m really glad that this is something that bloggers are discussing now, great post!!
LikeLiked by 1 person
thank you!! yeah the quantity or quality debate is definitely always there in my head i think haha… i think in the end though quality will pay off more 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
totally agree!!
LikeLiked by 1 person