How often do you really need to be updating your blog with fresh content? The short answer: regularly. The longer answer is that it depends on your niche, audience, and goals. Here’s how to come up with a publishing rhythm that works for you.

Factors to Consider When Blogging

First, consider what you’re blogging about. Not all blogs need to be updated with the same frequency. For instance, a news blogs should be updated every day to keep up with breaking stories. A specialized industry blog, on the other hand, may only need to be updated once a week. Think about your readers’ expectations and how many new posts they’ll realistically want on a weekly basis. Try looking at your competitors’ blogs to get an idea for the average publishing frequency in your industry or niche.

Next, consider how often you can realistically write new posts. Good writing takes time, so don’t rush yourself — the average blog post published in 2017 took well over three hours to write. If you’re new to blogging, don’t bite off more than you can chew at first. Blogging involves a lot of behind-the-scenes work like keyword research and formatting, and you’ll have a smoother start if you give yourself time to learn the ropes.

On average, bloggers are spending an increasing amount of time on each post they write. Source

Finally, think about your personal goals for your blog. Is growing your blog rapidly important to you? Or are you happy with slow and steady progress that lets you devote more energy to other parts of your content marketing strategy? It’s a trade-off, so figure out how big a role blogging plays in your overall marketing efforts before you decide how frequently to publish.

Quality vs. Quantity: Which Matters More?

One question that constantly arises in the blogging world is whether the quality or quantity of your posts is more important. In years past, quantity might have won out — at least in terms of SEO. Today, though, quality is by far the more important factor. Search engines love high-quality, in-depth content. More importantly, so do readers. Quantity might help your blog’s visibility, but quality is what will earn you a regular audience.

Of course, quantity does matter, too. The faster you publish, the more quickly you’ll grow your following. Search engines also favor sites that are updated with fresh content frequently. The lesson here: post as often as you can without sacrificing quality.

How Often Is Too Often to Publish?

Is it a good idea to publish every day? If your blog is new or small, the answer might actually be no. For one thing, as noted above, it’s difficult to maintain writing quality when you’re posting every day. You’re more likely to rush your work, make typos that you don’t catch, and resort to uninspired topics when you’re under a self-imposed deadline every day. You’re also more likely to burn out, which won’t do your blog any favors in the long run.

If you don’t have a large readership yet, posting every day can also overwhelm your audience. Readers may have trouble keeping up with a new post every day. Spacing out your posts a little makes it more likely that you’ll retain readers and get more reader engagement.

The Sweet Spot for Publishing Frequency

If you want to know what works, look at what successful bloggers are already doing. Research shows that the majority of bloggers — around 62% — publish anywhere from several times a week to several times a month. This is a good ballpark for most businesses to aim for. Even publishing a few times a month will keep you on your audience’s radar and boost your site’s SEO, albeit slowly.

The average blogging frequency in 2017. Source

To maximize results from your blog, you’ll probably need to publish multiple posts per week. Data from HubSpot shows that businesses that publish four or more new posts every week get significantly more inbound traffic than businesses that publish less frequently.

How blogging frequency affects inbound traffic. Source

Frequent publishing will also bring you way more inbound leads, according to the data.

High-volume blogs bring in more than four times as many inbound leads as low-volume blogs. Source

If you can’t quite make it to four posts a week, that’s okay. Do what works best for your business. Just be aware that frequent, regular publishing does pay off.

The Last Word on How Often to Publish

If you want to grow your blog and your audience quickly, publish new content at least two or three times a week. If blogging isn’t your main marketing focus, then posting once a week will do the job, especially if your articles are in-depth and evergreen. What’s most important is to stick with your plan. Consistency in blogging pays big dividends, so come up with a publishing schedule that works for you long-term.

How often do you publish new content on your blog? Tell us in the comments!