Create another reel, do client work, check in with the accountant, ask for a testimonial, edit the latest newsletter, the list goes on. It can feel like adding even one more thing is enough to turn the bucket into a GD waterfall. When I’m asked how often should you blog, I know the question is usually slathered with a layer of please do not give me more shit to do.
Why blogging matters
I’ll start with a permission slip: you do not have to blog.
That’s the reality. You don’t have to do anything. I know very successful business owners that don’t blog, others that haven’t lost a minute of their year to social media + even more who don’t have an email list to sell to. So no, you don’t have to blog.
That being said, by creating new blog content, you are doing a few things:
- answering questions that your potential client has
- showcasing what you know + can help with
- letting search engines know that your site isn’t abandoned
WordPress was built as a blogging platform first, we just happen to be able to do some really cool stuff with it. Yet at it’s core, the tool wants you to use it for blogging.
So, how often should you blog?
Let’s stop shoulding all over ourselves first, yeah? Again, do whatever you want.
If you want to create blog content of any type (articles, posts, etc), the biggest question to ask is what can you do consistently? Because that’s the best answer for how often you should blog.
The most frequent content schedules that I see solopreneurs use are quarterly, monthly + weekly. When I see weekly, it’s because that client has a podcast + they create show notes within WordPress to link back to. Monthly is great for clients that have an easier time writing (or someone to write for them) + quarterly is a solid option to continue updating your site without overcommitting.
Don’t create too much content
If you’re worried about creating enough content, creating too much might feel like a non-issue, but hear me out. I’ve been blogging since 2013 + my collection of posts grew too large at one point. There absolutely is such a thing as “too much content” …but you can avoid it.
When you’re creating your blog schedule, focus more on quality content + less on quantity. Writing one really good post every 3 months is better for your business than writing some meh content each month. That one great piece is more likely to answer questions, build trust + be shared with others.
Come back to old content
You also don’t need to start with a blank page each time. Your blog schedule would benefit from containing time for rewrites + updates, especially as your archives grow. Once you have at least 10 pieces of content, go back to improve or rework content now + then. And if you rewrite something to make it new again, make sure you set up a redirect to avoid losing traffic.
One last thing to consider when deciding how often you should blog is the longevity of your site. If you blog every week for 10 years, that’s 520 pieces of content. I would bet cash money that your site isn’t benefiting from over 500 pieces of content a decade from now. Bake in content breaks on top of improving content instead of starting from scratch every time.
Don’t ask me how often you should blog. Ask yourself how often you can commit to brainstorming, researching + writing new content. Then work in breaks, post updates + audits along the way. Speaking of, here’s my exact blog audit checklist that you can follow.