Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
I talk quite a bit about setting up a publishing schedule. It’s one of the ways that has helped me grow this website in leaps and bounds over the past year. But if you’re not convinced, perhaps I can break down the benefits to help you decide.
Because having a good flow of content published regularly does more than what you might realize.
When I refer to a publishing schedule, I’m including having posts pre-set to publish ahead of time. So, the content you write today could be scheduled to go live on Wednesday.
Although you can maintain your schedule on a day-to-day basis, there’s a lot that can happen that can throw a wrench in the works on any given day.
5 Reasons to Set Up a Publishing Schedule Ahead of Time
Having a pre-planned layout of when content is published can help you in several key ways. It’s all part of streamlining the process to make the work easier on yourself while keeping your target audience engaged.
1. Gives People a Set Time to Expect Content
When your website has a routine schedule, subscribers know when to expect a new post. This keeps them anticipating new content while being able to keep them engaged.
It’s like how certain television shows and some streaming services have a set schedule. It’s all about reliability and keeping people coming back for more.
In fact, some readers can be quite adamant about receiving updates at regular intervals. Miss a day or two, and they could easily unsubscribe.
2. Keeps the Blog Regularly Active
One of the things that both humans and search engine bots appreciate is an active blog. In fact, Google will start to lower the page rank of a site that appears abandoned or has too great of a gap between articles.
Ask yourself, would you trust a blog that had its most recent article published three years ago? Oddly enough, I’ve seen that happen while researching content.
At any rate, Google and human readers love fresh and routine content. The more current you are, the greater are your chances of meeting virtually any goal you set for yourself.
3. Eases Stress On Yourself
When you try to adhere to a publishing schedule, it can add a bit of stress on a day-to-day basis. Getting the content ready ahead of time can greatly reduce your stress.
For instance, what if you were sick on a day you needed to get a post published? Perhaps you have plans that day that are unavoidable and you skip on writing a new post.
A lot can happen on any given day. Emergencies, illnesses, or perhaps you just want a day off, setting up content ahead of time eases your burden.
Not to mention that stress can affect productivity over time, which will make it far more difficult to succeed with a blog.
4. Easier to Determine a Pattern of Behavior
One way to get a feel for your target audience is to identify patterns of behavior. Just because you post content at 10 am doesn’t mean the majority of your readers don’t come in at 7 pm.
A routine schedule can help you identify a good strategy for pushing posts when people are the most active. This is especially true if you use push notifications.
When you push out content at specific times, you can eliminate that as a factor when crunching data. How many visitors do you get when publishing a new piece compared to the rest of the day?
5. Helps Avoid Time Off from Being Sick
One of the best benefits of setting up a publishing schedule ahead of time is having content pushed out on days you are sick. I suppose this can kind of go along with reducing stress.
When you’re feeling under the weather, it’s far more difficult to create quality content. Your more likely to make mistakes, the writing process takes much longer, and it makes for a miserable recovery.
When I was writing for Textbroker, I discovered that I had far fewer revision requests when I stopped writing with a fever or other ailment.
Take right now, for example. I have an eye infection that is making it difficult to see what I’m typing. If I would have had a post ready to go, I wouldn’t have to stress about getting something published today.
And normally, I have content at the ready. But last week kind of pushed things back a bit. Hopefully, I can get back on schedule soon.
How Often Should You Publish Content?
When it comes to how often you should publish a new blog post, it depends on a variety of factors. No expert strategy will fit perfectly with everyone’s website.
That’s because every site and audience is going to be different.
It mostly comes down to what you provide and what readers want from your site. For instance, a news outlet would do well to publish every day, sometimes more, depending on the type of news.
When deciding how much you should publish, consider:
- The niche of your site. Does it make sense to publish every day?
- The type of audience you’re trying to attract. Your patrons are the biggest factor in creating a successful blog.
- How much quality content you can create. Not everyone is capable of cranking out a new high-quality blog post every day, and that’s not a bad thing. It’s better to take your time for something engaging than to just throw a post out there for the sake of publishing.
- Whether you have enough good ideas to sustain a regular publishing schedule. Spend time creating a list of posts you think your audience wants to read.
Just remember, the more content you have up and ready, the greater are the chances of someone searching for specific information to find your site. Well, as long as it’s something he or she is searching for.
If no one is looking for it, they’re not going to read it.
Do You Need a Content Calendar to Succeed?
A content calendar is just a way to streamline the process of maintaining your blog or website. It’s not absolutely necessary to have a calendar in order to be successful.
However, it does make the process of generating content and keeping the flow going a lot easier. By planning out the schedule and keeping up by being ahead, you can avoid a lot of pitfalls.
As I said earlier, I’m trying to write this while feeling 30 feet under the weather. I’d much rather be resting in bed.
Will my visitor traffic take a massive dump if I skip a day? Most likely not. But, I am dedicated to keeping the flow going when it comes to publishing content.
A Lot Can Happen Behind the Scenes
Having a publishing schedule set up ahead of time can do wonders to keep the flow of content going on your blog. And when you have dedicated readers, it’s best to keep that flow going.
It’s not about what’s convenient for you, but what’s more convenient for them. Because it’s your visitors that will dictate how much money you make this month or how dedicated they remain over the long haul.
Make sure you’re delivering what is expected.
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