“Write online when you have something to say”

I heard that from more than one person. Do your research, spend time on writing, and only publish when it makes sense. I tried that and failed.

My blog was with two blog posts for more than six months, and I had zero motivation on writing again. So I set myself a goal to publish something every week. Why? Let me explain.

Benefits of publishing on a fixed cadence

  • It’s easier to convert into a habit. If you commit to publishing weekly/monthly is more likely that you form a writing habit. Also, you will think more actively when a new topic comes to your mind: «Should I write about this?»
  • Algorithms will love you. If you publish more frequently on your website, spiders track your website more frequently. The opposite is also true, as not publishing for a long time will affect negatively your SEO. In the case of social media, companies behind will promote people that want you to stay in the app. So if you publish more consistently and bring people to the platform, they are going to benefit your visibility as well.
  • People like a consistent flow of content. As consumers, we want more content from our favorite creators. When they stop delivering content we miss them or forget about them.
  • Easier to recommend: It’s more likely people share about a weekly newsletter than a blog that publishes once a year.
  • Compounds over time: This is more visible when we talk about passive income. But wait, how passive is it if you have to work on new content consistently? It is, as the work you put in five years will give you benefits today.

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But not all things are good, and with great power comes great responsibility. Putting yourself in that situation will also bring bad things. Let me list all of them here:

Problems of the fix cadence

  • Burnout: It’s easy to get burned out if you don’t enjoy what you are doing. If you write only to make the deadline you are going to feel burned out soon. Not to say that sometimes you will have more motivation than others. I experienced this in my travel blog, which I write with my wife. Sometimes one gets super motivated, and the other is doing less. Sometimes is the opposite.
  • Skipping will make you feel bad: As with any habit, the times that you skip what you set as an expectation will make you feel bad. That you are doing a bad job. This video is a clear example of somebody that was feeling this way, and I appreciate it when people get this sincere on camera because the struggle is real.
  • You may quit: As this is a difficult task it may tempt you to quit. Results of this kind of things tend to be long-term, and not seeing an impact while putting in the hard work is difficult.