12 Interesting Pros and Cons of Blogging Daily

At the beginning of October I wrote a post asking what your thoughts were about blogs that posted every day,

and whether it put you off reading them. The opinions varied enormously – from “Not at all” to “God no that’s far too much” – but the most common view was that as long as the content was still of a high standard you wouldn’t be put off.

I’ll be 100% honest and say I asked the question because I wanted to to increase my page views and visitor numbers (they’d been stagnant for a while, even going down) and thought that publishing a blog post every day was likely the answer.

It’s a known fact that because there are so many blogs around these days readership is stretched thin, plus with the increase in popularity of social media compared to five or more years ago people follow you in different ways, and often it doesn’t include visiting your blog at all.

Now that the month has ended, I’m writing a follow-up post as promised – read on for the results and my personal thoughts on attempting to write a blog post every day, and what effect it had on my stats…!

What were the results of the poll?

At the beginning of the month I asked the question: “Are you PUT OFF by a blog that posts daily?”

Out of 182 people who voted, the results were as follows:

37% – No, as long as the quality is still high

36% – No, I say the more the merrier if it’s a blog I love!

18% – Yes, it’s far too much to keep up with

8% – No, it makes no difference to me

Therefore with a total of 82% effectively saying they’re not put off by a blog that posts daily, I think it’s a good idea to post daily if you can. At least it is where my readers are concerned.

How many posts did I write in the month?

I had every intention of writing a post every day, and initially I said I would only write a post if a) it were possible time-wise, and b) if I had something interesting to say.

I ended up writing 21 out of a possible 31. Not as many as I wanted to write, but it goes to show that quite often life just gets in the way (mostly on a weekend, unsurprisingly). I don’t see it as a failure, just that it obviously wasn’t possible for me.

I certainly had no lack of inspiration – I have over 70 post drafts in my Blogger account (albeit some are just titles – or ideas waiting to be written), but it was time that was the problem. With everything else that a full-time blogger has to do – social media, photographing, accounting, emails, newsletters – it’s pretty hard to publish every day.

The posts I wrote (and the dates upon which I posted them) were:

2 Oct: Should Bloggers Post Every Day If They Can? (I Need Your Feedback!)
3 Oct: How to Style Sequins as Workwear + the #iwillwearwhatilike Link Up*
4 Oct: 4 Easy Ideas for Cheap, Homemade Halloween Costumes
6 Oct: Smart Casual Look for AW16 | Bold Print Blazer With Jeans, Over 40 Style
7 Oct: New: The Saturday Share Link Up (and New YouTube Videos!)*
9 Oct: What to Expect on the Body Coach 90 Day SSS Plan (Results So Far!) #notlambFIT*
10 Oct: What I Wore to an Informal Awards Ceremony + the #iwillwearwhatilike Link Up*
12 Oct: What to Wear With a Pink Coatigan | Head-to-Toe Black (Almost), Over 40 Style
13 Oct: Capsule Wardrobe Pieces That Suit All Body Shapes & Sizes | 4 Styles of Cashmere Sweaters to Shop*
15 Oct: The Saturday Share Link Up | Meeting Twiggy and Making a Spectacle of Myself*
17 Oct: How to Style a Camel Blazer For Autumn/Fall + the #iwillwearwhatilike Link Up*
18 Oct: Stuck in a Rut: The Importance of Updating Your Beauty Look and Routine Over 40
19 Oct: Capsule Wardrobe Pieces That Suit All Body Shapes & Sizes – 7 Classic Trench Coats to Shop*
20 Oct: Autumnal Layering | Styling a Camel Midi Skirt With Multi Textures and Warm Colours
21 Oct: The Saturday Share Link Up | A Star-Studded Event Vlog & Why Not Follow My Posts By Email?*
22 Oct: 12 Amazing Things to Buy From Marks & Spencer Right Now (Plus 20% Off Discount Code)
24 Oct: Cocktail Dress Code: A 1970s/80s Vintage Poppy Print Dress + the #iwillwearwhatilike Link Up*
26 Oct: The Best of the Blogosphere – 12 Unmissable Links (October 2016)*
27 Oct: 11 More Over 40 Fashion Bloggers With Amazing Style*
28 Oct: The Saturday Share Link Up | Sharing A Quiet Week Before Christmas Takes Over*
31 Oct: How to Wear Preppy Style in the Autumn / Fall + the #iwillwearwhatilike Link Up*

* These posts are all parts of series or regular posts (link ups, blogger round ups, styling series, etc).

14 posts out of 21 – exactly two thirds – are all regular features. Having regular posts like these makes it easier to plan content in advance and always have something to post.

How did it affect my stats?

I’m going to compare October’s stats to June’s – this was the last month that has “normal” stats on my blog (my Google Analytics stopped working for a week in July, August is always quiet, and I had a blogging break in September). June was no different to most other months, so it’s a fair comparison (and I have included 1st July so they are both stats for 31 days).

Good news – both page views and unique visitors increased:

Page views increased by 23%, from 71.6k in June to 88.3k for October.
Unique visitors increased by 22%, from 24.5k in June to 29.9k in October.
The bounce rate decreased marginally, and the pages per session and new sessions increased by a few percent (all good news).

How did I find it personally?

This is the interesting bit – although there were days when I thought I’m just not going to get this post finished and published in time, I’d usually written the bulk of the post by that point, so simply finished it and scheduled it for the next available slot. So in a way it made me much more productive: By trying to get it finished I stopped my usual online window shopping and spending an hour on the vicious cycle that is watching YouTube videos.

Case in point: This post. I’d planned for it to go out on Tuesday 1st, but was already an hour over my usual posting time of 3pm so simply moved it back to Thursday. Instead of rushing it and writing a sparse blog post just to get it out on the hour I took my time, but also didn’t waste my time on other things either.

To be honest I didn’t really notice that much difference in how much time it all took me – October seemed like a standard month no different to any other.

To summarise – the pros and cons of blogging daily

Pros:

1. It’s very good for SEO – the more you post, the higher in Google searches you’ll appear (Google favours more frequently-updated websites)
2. It gets you into a routine (especially if you post specific topics on specific days)
3. It increases page views and visitor numbers and therefore reach and visibility
4. It allows you to cover topics you may not otherwise have discussed
5. You will have plenty of posts to publicise on social media
6. It will keep your biggest fans happy
7. More posts can mean more earnings through more affiliate links
8. By aiming to post every day it can make you more productive

Cons:

1. It’s a lot of work and may be too much for some
2. It can be added pressure that you don’t need
3. Some readers may be put off by too many posts
4. You will (hopefully) have more comments to reply to – this can be time-consuming but is important

To summarise

In other words, you don’t have to post daily, but it certainly shows that increasing your output has huge benefits. If you want your blog to become more visible, have more of a presence on the internet, reach more people and ultimately make your earning increase, you do have to post more often.

I’ve decided to always keep Saturdays a no-post day – it’s my lowest day for traffic anyway. I’ll continue with Mondays, Wednesdays and Thursday as I was doing before, I’ve now got the new Saturday Share link up on a Friday night (always a quick post) and I’ll simply post on a Tuesday and Sunday only if I have time.

As mentioned earlier this last month didn’t seem any busier or stressier than any other month, but I produced 21 posts compared to my usual 15-17. I’d call that a result.

It’s not always possible for everyone, but I’m satisfied that the harder I work = the more I gain (and, hopefully, earn). I’m simply going to continue doing as much as I can without killing myself and without compromising quality.

And that’s the best we can all do…!