A blog is one of the best ways to keep your website fresh, improve your SEO and give customers a reason to come back. But many businesses blog in fits and starts: a burst of posts one month, then nothing for the next three.
Scheduling your blog posts in advance can solve this. By planning what you’ll publish and setting posts to go live automatically on set days, you make blogging easier to manage and far more effective.
Most website platforms, including WordPress, let you write a post and schedule it to publish at a time you choose. Here are some of the biggest benefits of doing it.
1. Build a Loyal, Regular Readership
If you publish new posts on the same day and at the same time, such as every other Tuesday morning, your readers will learn when to expect new content from you.
Over time, this builds a loyal readership that keeps coming back. It also means you can predict when your website traffic is likely to rise, which is useful if you’re promoting company news, updates or special offers. You’ll know when the most people are likely to see them.
To get the most from each post, share it on social media and in your email newsletter at the same time it goes live.
2. Keep Visitors Moving Through Your Website
Every new blog post is a fresh way into your website. People who find your posts through Google, social media or your newsletter land on your blog, and from there they can go on to explore the rest of your site.
Regular posts give returning visitors something new to read each time they visit. Make the most of this by linking each post to relevant service or product pages and to other related blog posts, and by ending each one with a clear call to action, such as booking a consultation or browsing your latest products.
3. Create a Series That Keeps Readers Coming Back
Building anticipation is a great way to bring readers back to your website. Instead of covering a big topic in one long post, you could turn it into a series.
For example, if you write a post called “Five Examples of Effective Website Design”, you could follow it up the next week with “Five More Examples of Effective Website Design” and end the first post with “Check back next week for five more examples.”
Make sure each post in the series is complete and useful on its own, so readers who find it through Google aren’t left feeling short-changed. Link the posts together so readers can easily move through the whole series.
You can also plan updates to existing posts, such as “Check back next month to see the results of our new service”, giving readers a reason to return.
4. Save Time and Stay Consistent
Scheduling lets you write several posts in one sitting and set them to go live over the coming weeks. This is far more efficient than trying to write a new post every time one is due, and it means your blog keeps running even when you’re busy, unwell or on holiday.
It also takes the pressure off. When your posts are written and scheduled in advance, you’re never scrambling to publish something at the last minute.
5. Plan Around Key Dates
A content calendar makes it easy to plan posts around important dates in your business year, such as seasonal sales, Christmas, Black Friday, product launches or busy periods in your industry. Scheduling these posts in advance means they go live at exactly the right time, without you having to remember on the day.
Make Scheduling Work for You
Scheduling your blog posts helps you stay consistent, build a loyal readership, keep visitors engaged and save time. It turns your blog from something you do when you remember into a reliable part of your marketing.
If you’d like help planning and optimising your blog content, or you’re wondering if your website needs a refresh or a complete redesign, get in touch with Whelan Web Design. We’re a Waterford-based web design agency helping businesses across Ireland.
