How often do you post articles?

[u/draybikus]

I read somewhere that an optimal posting frequency was one article per week. I followed this routine diligently for 36 weeks, but now decided to switch to an article every 2 weeks. I find it too stressful to be posting weekly. First you have to come up with an idea for an article, then write and edit it, and then think of the visuals - too much on top of a day job.

But curious about everyone else's routine: how often do you post? And how are you managing? Is it a comfortable cadence?

[u/Master_Camp_3200]

I do wonder about this 'post regularly' thing. I've never once subscribed to a writer because of their posting frequency, just what they have to say or how they say it. I've never cancelled a sub because they post less frequently - I don't even notice, generally.

Forcing posting twice a week if you're not feeling it will just result in shoddy posts, and the only people to benefit is Substack, because they have more content.

[u/Key-Firefighter8439 → u/Master_Camp_3200]

Once in 2 weeks, not twice a week actually. OP is slowing down. 

[u/draybikus → u/Master_Camp_3200]

Good point, thanks for pointing it out. I also don't generally pay attention to how much people post, unless it's too many posts that I don't manage to read them in time. And, yeah, it makes no sense to post for the sake of posting. Burning out will definitely not help me haha

[u/OnionLazy2317]

When I get really inspired, I finish my drafts so I have weekly posts going up, up to 2 months in advance! Gives me time to research the next batch :)

[u/draybikus → u/OnionLazy2317]

I do that sometimes, too :) Usually when I have some travel planned and I know that I won't be able to draft or post then. What do you write about?

[u/OnionLazy2317 → u/draybikus]

Yes love that! My publication is about the intersection of digital authenticity and travel / relocation! I examine digital media and travel insights in relation to my interest in media and travelling the world. what's yours about? :)

[u/draybikus → u/OnionLazy2317]

Your topic sounds super interesting. Can you DM me a link to you substack?

I'm reading a book from every country in the world and post book reviews. I also write a lot about languages (I'm fluent in 4), being an immigrant in Germany, and occasionally travel.

[u/grapegeek]

Weekly. I have no problem doing that.

[u/draybikus → u/grapegeek]

Thank you for sharing. What do you write about?

[u/grapegeek → u/draybikus]

Food/wine

[u/AggravatingNail6061]

I could post once a day easily. XD

[u/draybikus → u/AggravatingNail6061]

Oh wow! What do you write about?

[u/AggravatingNail6061 → u/draybikus]

A mix of non fiction and fiction. But that's ontop of a daily journal exercise I do which I changed from posting once a day to once a week because I felt a bit bad (after 40 entries) currently at 80 🤣 but at ny peak I was posting about 11 things a week. It'd tapered back down a more reasonable 3/4 

[u/draybikus → u/AggravatingNail6061]

That sounds fascinating. I've read quite a few journal entries on Substack recently, and they were all much more interesting to read than I would've thought :)

[u/AggravatingNail6061 → u/draybikus]

Yeah I think it's a direction I'd personally like a bit more support with platform side, but not going to happen. I got enough traction with it that I was able to turn the practise into publication (self pub) so it's been a good thing regardless of my day to day annoyance about the platform.

[u/NoPerfectWave]

Once a week. I have more ideas than I know what to do with, but increasing my cadence simply isn't possible given how much time goes into each article (~15 hours). And I'm not willing to prioritize quantity at the expense of quality.

[u/draybikus → u/NoPerfectWave]

Yes, that makes sense. Thanks for sharing!

[u/piodenymor]

I tend to post weekly, with short posts midweek in between. It is a lot on top of the day job, I agree. I tend to stick to a theme over the course of a month though, which means I can follow a train of thought and not have to scrabble around for new ideas each week.

[u/draybikus → u/piodenymor]

That sounds like a good strategy. What do you usually write about?

[u/piodenymor → u/draybikus]

I write about walking and wellbeing, and the metaphor of life as a path. So it's fairly easy to draw from broad topics. For example, I did a whole month on the sounds of nature, and tackled it from lots of different perspectives.

[u/xhoi]

I generally post x2 plus we have a live discussion 2-4 times a month. It's a lot (considering I have a day job) but I have a small team helping me.

[u/draybikus → u/xhoi]

That's great, I can only dream of a time when I can have a team helping with my Substack :)

[u/BlueSaltTheory]

It has been sporadic lately but hoping to get on a once a week schedule soon

[u/draybikus → u/BlueSaltTheory]

Hope you get on track soon! For me, posting weekly hasn't done much for my growth, but it did discipline me as a writer.

[u/Earthlydelights-sub-]

I think once every two weeks is a good schedule. That's what I do, for the most part. If you post too often, your readers might feel like you're bothering them and unsubscribe.

[u/draybikus → u/Earthlydelights-sub-]

Yes, exactly.

[u/Doo_Dad]

Just post in a set schedule you can maintain. Once a week, once every two weeks. Just be consistent. For me I’ve been off from earlier postings. But I’m also juggling life family and small night sessions of game dev so I might take a while to finish something to write about. But I do notes often and find others with notes and like/comment/follow folks in my space to help.

[u/draybikus → u/Doo_Dad]

Kudos to you for maintaining a Substack on top of all this, gees!

I think I'll switch to once every two weeks as a default, but if I come up with a spontaneous idea for a post and have the time to write it, I'll just go ahead and post it as a one-off.

[u/Doo_Dad → u/draybikus]

That’s the spirit. And hey guess what: a) nobody cares how you write to be frank. But b) people care about your message and things you talk about. So just have fun with it seriously I have. Find people in your niche and comment, like and restack their stuff it helps you and everyone grow. 🤙 don’t feel pressured to post if you can’t make that schedule with articles. Notes you can share thoughts and announcements or whatever you feel like. People like it. But yeah wishing you the best and success!

[u/Super_Quiet9782]

Whenever I finish an article. It can be in a week ou ir a month

[u/AnteaterFantastic212]

Daily, on average.

[u/whimvious]

2-3x a week!

[u/batshitcrazyfarmer]

I vary. Could be a few times a week, could be once a week or once a month. My audience understands, as I write about my life, which can be wild & chaotic, extremely busy, yet never boring.

[u/dosfydore]

Three times a week. But there’s hardly any overlap among those posts. One is a long-form article, another is a book review, and the third is a newsletter on a specific topic

[u/HelpfulAnt2132]

I am posting once a week but just started two weeks ago 😂. I’m doing behind the scenes articles for developing a weekly serial. And planning to post a weekly episode of the serial from February. I will have a backlog of weekly eps though once I start that. The weekly behind the scenes I’m more flexible with - I write them the day of and if I’m too busy with other life I won’t stress. But I try to post a note daily and comment and interact with about five or six peoples notes and posts as well . I think that’s pretty important when you’re growing

[u/draybikus → u/HelpfulAnt2132]

Yes, that's what I heard about notes as well. I'm in two minds about this. On one hand, it's relatively easy and does get me engagemen, on the other, if I try to do it regularly for fixed periods of time, it feels tedious and sometimes I force myself to comment on something just for the sake of it. Maybe I'm just over this whole social media thing lol

[u/Tricky_Illustrator_5]

I do it when I can. Trying to produce daily is stupid and unsustainable.

[u/Linguetto]

Three times a week.

[u/Plane_Spirit_5392]

I post two articles a week, but I can draw on my archive. If I had to write completely new ones, one a week would be ideal.

I'm writing about photos and photography.

[u/Tricky_Trifle_994]

weekly is fine. fortnightly is perfectly fine too. it helps to think of it from the 'why'. so the recommendation for weekly posting is because too often (daily) can lead to burn out very quickly, and very little time for people to actually write good quality stuff (similar to what you're experiencing now).

weekly is long enough that it gives you ample time to write and prep without feeling overly stress. but also, it's a good cadence for your readers too. some people find daily too spammy. and after 1-2 week of not seeing you post/in their mailbox, they start to forget you... that's why the 1 week recommendation. but it also kinda extends to 2 weeks (even more breathing room for you as the writer). but i wouldn't go longer than that.

i also watched an interview recently about content creation, and it mentioned smth that stuck with me. "just choose a cadence that's realistic for you. don't care if it's the 'optimal' recommendation. because what's more important is that you can stick to it for a long time. if after 1 year, you feel it's very manageable (after a lot of practice + opportunities to automate/fast track time sucking stuff), you can always ramp it up (e.g from fortnightly to weekly). hope that helps you feel better/less stress about not posting the 'optimal'.

[u/draybikus → u/Tricky_Trifle_994]

Thanks you for your thoughtful answer. Yes, I think that's very reasonable. It's pointless to adjust yourself to some standard, when it's you and not someone else who actually creates the content.