Should You Publish Every Day?
The challenge writers face every day
Seth Godin publishes a blog post every day.
They are typically short, sweet, but packed with such insight that people can’t wait for those little posts to drop into their inboxes. He is an example of consistently publishing quality content every day.
On the other hand, James Clear publishes two to three posts a week.
They are longer, more thought-through, and can take some time to implement into our daily lives. Yet, a lot of people can’t wait for those posts each week so they can begin changing their habits.
When a writer sits down to their computer knocks out an article's first draft they can choose to do something. They can decide to edit it that day. Or, they can pick to revisit it, update it, add reference material, and maybe publish it next week.
The problem is whether we should publish daily or publish less often.
After all, there are some writers who have published daily have grown tremendous followings. While others publish less often and have done the same. Many of us fall somewhere in the middle, but not because we have chosen to per se, but because we have gone with what our desires tell us at the moment.
Today, I want to analyze the benefits of publishing daily and of publishing less often. And maybe, just maybe, it will help you choose what works best for you.
Daily Writing Habits
One more thing before we get into those benefits for each publishing schedule, we also need to talk about daily writing habits vs. publishing daily. This is important because we need to understand something.
Just because we write an article daily, doesn’t mean we need to publish it.
It’s tempting to do it though. You get up in the morning, write out that one article and you are super excited about it. It’s hard to put it on the back burner so we just go ahead and hit publish.
It’s okay, I have done this plenty of times. Sometimes it works out well. Sometimes it doesn’t. But, it is important to remember that your daily writing habit doesn’t have to be your publishing schedule.
The Benefits of Publishing Daily
I have had seasons where I have published an article daily. It can be done even if you aren’t a full-time writer. In fact, I am a busy guy with a family, a day job, and other commitments. All that to say, I have been able to publish daily in seasons of my writing life.
During those times, I have discovered the benefits of publishing every day. These are the same benefits others have discovered on many platforms. This is why I don't think it's a terrible idea to publish daily.
Also, it is important to note that publishing daily works on certain platforms. While in other spaces, it doesn’t work as well and can fall flat. This is why a lot of people disagree with the practice.
3 Main Benefits of Publishing Daily
These are three main benefits I have found when I have published daily. They may be a little different from yours. And they may come at a cost. In the responses below, let me know what you think about these benefits.
- Increases your following. Writing daily on certain platforms can push that algorithm to share your content with more people that don’t follow you. Then, you will see an increase in following much more quickly.
- Creates a better routine and drive. In the seasons that I forced myself to publish daily, it forced me to open up my creativity and ideas. This force of writing and publishing habit helped provide me with a lot of content that I have updated and reused over the years.
- Increases likelihood of making money. Whether it's from making money on specific platforms, affiliate marketing, or selling your own products, publishing daily can help you make more money with increased exposure to those products in your writing.
2 Huge Liabilities of Publishing Daily
While there are some great rewards in publishing daily, there can also be things that hurt your writing and your growth. These are two things I have found to be true.
- You burn out. And then you don’t publish or write for a while. The first time I took to publishing daily led me to a three-week hiatus. Which then made it even more difficult to get started again. Some people never get started again.
- Lowers your content quality. We can only write so much quality content. If you are a side hustler like me, it is harder to write quality content and publish daily. For many of us, we don’t have the energy to do both.
1 Thing To Remember No Matter What
Publishing daily doesn’t mean you will have huge success. Sure, you can have huge growth. But it doesn't always equal success. If you are going to burn out and drop your content quality, it may not be a good idea for you.
The Benefits of Publishing Consistently
This is the publishing schedule many successful writers use. They publish consistently, but not daily. This is the James Clear, Jeff Goins, and Jon Acuff blogging style. They are putting out content daily, but not publishing blog posts every day.
For many of us, this is a really good fit. This is what I do most of the time. It’s how I got started blogging in the first place. Putting out one blog post every week for two straight years.
This can be a great tool for side hustlers and beginners because it takes the pressure off and increases the focus for many of us. But, it can take longer in other areas. So, let's dive into the benefits.
3 Benefits of Publishing Consistently, but not Daily
Again, these are things that have been true for me and have helped others on different platforms, blogs, and content sites. Share how this looks for you in the responses below!
- Creates space for better quality content. When you write a post over a couple of days or maybe have the first draft one day and then edit or rewrite over another few days, it can create higher quality content.
- Helps you pick better pieces to publish. You might write an article a day. Yet, when you don’t publish everything you write, you can curate the articles to have better articles as a whole. This helps you stay on point with your message and voice.
- Gives you space to enjoy writing. This is probably the most important for me. While I love to write every day, when I publish consistently but not daily, I can really enjoy what I write. Even if that article doesn’t get published, it was fun writing it.
2 Frustrating Liabilities of Publishing Consistently, but not Daily
These are the things that drive me crazy and have frustrated other writers who do not publish daily. Sometimes we need to grow out of these frustrations, but it is important to acknowledge them.
- Following and money don’t happen fast. Which can be a good thing. But it is frustrating. When we publish regularly, but not daily, we aren’t exposing our work to as many people as often. Which can slow down growth and earnings.
- Create spirits of perfectionism and procrastination in us. When we aren’t publishing every day, we can sometimes put off our daily writing habits. Then we don’t write for a few days and become frustrated or lazy.
1 Thing Tor Remember About Publishing Less
Most importantly it is about energy level and enjoyment. While you may be trying to build your writing career and if it isn’t fun or you start to hate writing you could actually be shortening your career. Don’t let the short-term gains outweigh the long-term ones.
Final Thoughts
Something I have to remember when it comes to the flow of my publishing schedule is what is sustainable and what will help me become a better writer. If I am exhausted and don’t keep up writing, then maybe publishing daily isn’t a good idea.
However, if I want to see some important gains, maybe I should carve out more time to write and publish daily. The thing is, it isn’t black and white. I think each publishing schedule has a time and a place.
What works best for you is important because it is you.
Don’t do what I do. Don’t simply do what other writers do because that's what they say they do. Do want works for you so you can actually grow as a writer, grow your following, and increase the length of your writing career.
All that to say, how often do you publish? Do you have a set schedule or do you publish irregularly? How have you seen this help or hurt you? Share in the responses below!