When I first started out, I thought posting every single day was the only way to be taken seriously as a blogger, can you imagine!
How misguided I was with that mindset. needless to say, It didn’t last long. For the first twelve months of my blogging journey, I was beyond fanatical about having a schedule and getting my blog posts up and published before 8 am, and on weekdays only.
“I thought I could get as many page views in as humanly possible in one day by publishing early in the mornings, I was so strict with myself”.
Looking back at the pressure I put myself under I can’t help but ask why? I mean really, who even notices what time or day our latest post goes up? I’m not one of those “big bloggers” where their readers/viewers are more expectant. I Follow lots of smaller bloggers as well, but I’m not sitting here tapping my watch thinking – oh, their post is late, or, so and so hasn’t published today – shock, horror. I do actually have a life! Saying that, I believe it’s a good thing to have some kind of blog schedule but if you can’t stick to it for whatever reason, then it shouldn’t have to be a problem.
I used to see other bloggers posting at all kinds of random times or days and think to myself – oh wow, you’re doing it all wrong but, little did I know.
There’s only one situation where I’ll get a post up and published on a specific day or time and that’s when I’ve promised a brand/PR. Other than that, I’m taking a more realistic and relaxed approach to blogging and it’s making me a lot happier.
“I publish my posts at a time which fits with me, if that means no particular schedule, then so be it”.
If that happens to be before 8 am or after 8 pm so be it. I try to keep to a basic schedule of Fridays and Sundays because that works for me, however, If I miss a day, I won’t lose sleep over it. I experimented with posting on the weekend around lunchtime as a trial to see how views were affected – Newsflash – they weren’t affected at all and if anything, improved. This is mainly because as my blog grows, posts are showing up more and more in organic searches and so even on days when I’m not “on it” I’m still getting views. I’m not as heavily reliant on social media to drive traffic to my blog as I was in the early days.
I always allow around four weeks to try new products so that gives me plenty of time to get the photos done and the copy written. Having loosened the time-constraint shackles, I’m actually enjoying blogging much more than I did before when I felt under pressure. I’m finding a more relaxed approach to my blog schedule is better all round.
“I plan on making the most of summer”
I’ve already decided I’m going to spend more time outside this season, instead of sitting in the house tapping away on my keyboard as I was last summer. I intend to make the most of the warmer months with my family and keep things in perspective.
Do you stick to a strict blogging schedule? I’d love to know your thoughts. Why not have a read of another of my blog maintenance tips.
