It’s the million dollar question (well, probably). More importantly, it’s one of the number one reasons why people are put off writing a blog for their business. You probably already know about all of the benefits of blogging, like getting your customers to know, like and trust you, but somehow it keeps getting put to the bottom of the to do list.* If you’ve googled ‘how often should I blog?’ you may well have encountered articles that talk about putting a new blog post out once or twice a week. Yikes. The good news is, you don’t have to write a blog every week if you don’t want to. Here are some things to consider when you’re working out how often to blog.
*If your blog is at the bottom of the list because you don’t know where to start, click here to book your place on my last ever full day blogging workshop.
SEO
SEO is often one of the first things that gets mentioned in connection with blogging. It can also be a bit scary, so let’s get it out of the way early on. Blogging is great for boosting your search engine rankings because it gives you regular updates to your website. It encourages the Google spiders to index your site more frequently and helps it to be seen as relevant, so you’re more likely to turn up in a search. There isn’t a set definition about what ‘regular’ posting actually means, but the general consensus is about once a month.
It can help to give your blog posts some longevity too. If your blog turns up in searches people can still find it months or years after you wrote it. That means that you don’t have to post constantly to keep getting new visitors to your website.
Quality over quantity
One of the main objectives of blogging is to offer your audience something they’ll find useful so they see you as someone who knows what they’re talking about. You stand a much better chance of that happening if you give yourself the time to write a good quality post. If people read what you’ve written and enjoy it they’re much more likely to read the next one and the one after that. If you’ve churned out three or four posts without putting much thought into them, people won’t come back for more.
When you’re coming up with topics, think about the areas where you have something valuable to say. (If that sounds scary, read this blog or come along to my workshop.) If you write one blog post a month you only need 12 for the whole year.
Give yourself time
I sometimes feel as if marketing has taken over my life. Thankfully, I’ve now recognised that as a sign that I haven’t got myself organised. Winging it generally ends up with faffing and suddenly an afternoon’s gone with nothing to show for it. Planning ahead, whether it’s for the whole year, the next quarter or even a month at a time, gives you a focus. Then when you sit down to schedule your Facebook posts or write a blog you know exactly what you’re doing.
Only you will know how long it takes you to write a blog post. If you’re writing for the first time maybe block out an afternoon to focus on it. Then make it a regular thing. Put it in your diary once a month – if you’re busy and it’s too much you can reduce the frequency. Alternatively, if you have the funds you can always write a couple and outsource the rest.
If you’d like to learn more about blogging and develop some seriously good blogging skills of your own, join me for my full day workshop at Bawdon Lodge Farm on 4th June. It’s the last one I’m doing so book now if you’re even remotely curious. Tickets are available here.
