How often should you update your blog?
You’ll know about blogging. You might even do it. But how often should you be posting to make a difference to your business? I’m going to take a practical look at that question for you in this post.
4.4 million.
That’s how many blogs were published each day in March 2019, according to Worldometers. Blogging is alive and well, believe me. The trick is to use this powerful tool in the right way for your business. And that might be different to how you initially think.
Why are you blogging?
It might seem like an obvious question, but it’s one to get clear from the start. You might be a large corporate, building (or protecting) your authority on the market. You might be an SME working to find your audience.
Products and services with a longer sales funnel can build trust through blogging. Customers need to learn more about their future purchases. Weigh up the pros and cons. Avoid costly pitfalls. Your blogs can help answer their questions and develop their knowledge. Your guidance can draw them to you when they’re ready to buy.
Should your offering have a short sales funnel, you might be blogging to bring them back, time and again. Your blogs might be part of your ongoing relationship with customers, keeping you front of mind.
Blogging could be a key part of your content marketing, providing quality articles and other assets to circulate.
And of course, you could be blogging with SEO in mind. Blogs bring traffic to your site. Or such is the belief.
So, be clear on who you’re blogging to and what you’re trying to achieve. It’ll sharpen your focus on how often you should update your blog, not to mention what you should blog about.
Blogging more frequently is better, right?
Not necessarily. You’ll be forgiven for believing that the more often you post, the better things will be. Your traffic will explode, and you’ll be inundated with enquires.
Back to the real world.
Granted, large companies and well-known bloggers post often. Daily in some cases. But that doesn’t mean you need to. And here’s a statistic to back that up:
In 2018, only 2% of bloggers posted daily.
Quality content is far more important than frequent content. Not just for Google, for your audience too.
If people read a hastily hashed together blog, they’ll be put off. If you bombard them with low-value content, they’ll be put off. If it’s thick with bad grammar and spelling mistakes, they’ll be put off. And so will Google.
Be devil’s advocate on every idea you have and every post you write. Will it cut through the noise? Does it deliver value or demonstrate your expertise? Is it engaging?
If you answer no to any of these questions, scrap it and think again. Quality over quantity is what builds trust and shortens sales funnels.
What can you handle?
You’ll have many tasks to achieve in your working day. Blogging is just one. There’s nothing worse for your audience than a blog that starts with gusto, only to wither and die in the following months. It can make them think your business has gone off the boil. Don’t be that company.
Is weekly achievable? Maybe fortnightly or monthly is better? It’s more important to develop a sustainable system that you can maintain, than reach for something that just won’t work (or risk poor quality blogs).
This is where outside help can work well. You’re left to run your business whilst someone else focuses on creating engaging content for you to post.
Personally, I’m busy running my business. My target is one or two posts per month. I’m not rigid as I don’t want to make a chore of this. I love writing my posts and I think it shows. With any luck, you enjoy reading them and get value from it. You’ll come back for more.
Experiment and review
The good news is your system can be flexible. If frequency has become an issue, change it. If your posts aren’t being read, consider fresh content or a different style.
You can even ask your audience what they’d like to read. You might be enlightened by the response.
A content plan is a smart idea. Plenty of evergreen content lets you create a bank for when things get busy. And Google Analytics is there to help you assess what’s working. Pageviews and time on page, for example.
Publicise each blog far and wide
Do you post your blog and wait for them to read it? You’ll be disappointed. Unless you’re a large business with a strong following. For most of us, we must promote each blog as much as possible. Generate traffic from every corner.
Highlight it across social media and tell your email subscribers about it. More than once, if you like. Ensure your sales team is talking about it too. It might just be the article that’ll help to clinch a deal.
Blogging is a tool in your marketing communications toolbox. It’s not compulsory. And there are many ways to do it. How often should you update your blog? The most important thing is to do it in a way that works with your overall marketing objectives.
Want to review your blogging strategy? Want me to help you? I’ve planned and written blogs on all manner of subjects. Ad hoc or ongoing.