How often should you update your blog? Best practices for fashion & lifestyle brands

So, you’re thinking about starting a blog for your fashion or lifestyle brand, but you’re not sure how often you should be posting.

Or maybe you’ve already published a few posts, but you need a little guidance when it comes to editorial planning. Whichever camp you fall into, you’re in the right place. I’ll be explaining the best practices for fashion and lifestyle brands so you can create a blogging schedule that truly works for you.

Consistency is key

One thing to remember about SEO blogging is that consistency is key. Search engines like fresh content, but they also like websites with a healthy archive of information.

Think of it this way … if you’re on the hunt for a new hair salon, which one would look more credible to you: a salon that has a website filled with up-to-date testimonials and client images alongside a social media profile with regular posts, or one whose website and social pages haven’t been updated in 5 years?

I’m guessing you’d choose the first option, because the second would likely make you question if the salon is even still in business.

The same principle applies to blogging. A website that’s regularly maintained is going to look more credible in the eyes of, well, everyone. That’s why if you’re going to start a blog, it’s best to truly commit to it. An odd post here or there probably won’t get you the results you’re looking for, even if the initial results look promising.

Find a schedule that works for you

This could mean once a month or once a week. You’ll have to do some of your own trial and error to figure out what works best for you, as it truly will depend on your own capacity for blogging.

You’ll need to figure out how much extra time you have on your plate to take on the task of blogging. Personally, I like to consider this on a monthly basis. Weekly can feel too tight, but quarterly can feel too stretched out. Figure out how many days or blocks you can set aside for blogging, and go from there.

If your schedule is already feeling super busy, you can start off with a monthly blog. If you have more free time, you can increase that to bi-monthly or weekly blogs. If you can do even more while maintaining quality, go for it!

Now, I know what you might be thinking … but how exactly can I figure out how much time I need for blogging? Here are a few things you can do:

• Write a trial blog to figure out how long the process will take you — this should also include formatting, image sourcing, and other back-end steps that aren’t just writing. You can absolutely publish this blog so the time spent writing feels productive.
• Take that block of time and apply it against your current schedule. Depending on the length of the blog and the amount of research that goes into it, this could take anywhere from a few hours to a full day.
• If you’re going to outsource, consider your budget and exactly how much you want to outsource before you create a package with a content writer. You might choose to get blog content only — meaning the content writer will provide you with articles that you’ll be responsible for uploading. Or, if you have a higher budget and really want to free up more of your time, you can also outsource the formatting, uploading, and posting. Some content writers (such as myself) can handle these tasks for an additional fee, or you can ask a website developer to do it for you. Figure out your budget and your bandwidth, and go from there.

Is there a specific amount of blog posts you should publish per month?

Now for the million dollar question.

I hate to sound vague, but there isn’t really a golden number for how many blog posts you should publish per month. You’ll see that the answers vary if you decide to read other articles about this topic. Some people may suggest as many as a few blog posts a week — it’s true that the more content you have, the faster your blog will be able to rank. However, having worked with dozens of clients in the fashion and lifestyle spheres, I know this isn’t always feasible when there are always so many other things going on.

Personally, I recommend at least 1-2 posts a month to maintain consistency. It’s kind of like deep cleaning your house … tending to your blog at some point on a monthly basis will keep it in decent shape. Plus, if you’re choosing strategic content and keywords that don’t have too much competition, you should still be able to rank even with just a few posts a month.

It’s what I’m doing, even as a content and copywriter that understands the benefits of regular posting. I’m also juggling client work, other projects, and having a healthy work-life balance. Maybe at some point I’ll be able to do more, but for now this is what works for me.

Tips for maintaining a consistent blogging schedule

Still feeling intimidated? Trust me, I understand. It took me literal years to get my own blog up and running on my website! There are always a million other things to do when you’re running a business, so adding a blog to your plate can feel overwhelming.

However, there are some ways to make it easier …

• Give yourself ideal posting dates. There’s a reason that deadlines exist in so many industries. Having a concrete date in mind will help you stay focused and consistent, as opposed to keeping the idea of blogging floating in the back of your mind. Maybe it’s the 1st and 15th of each month, or every Wednesday. Your deadlines will depend on your monthly blogging goal.
• Combine your content. Instead of thinking of blogging as a completely new marketing task (overwhelming), consider it an add-on to what you’re already doing (easy). It’s what I do for my retainer clients and for myself, and it honestly makes multi-channel content creation much less stressful. All you have to do is think of an umbrella content theme, then apply it to all your forms of marketing. For example, let’s say you want to do a feature on a material your fashion brand uses, like silk. You’d write a blog post, an email, and social media posts about silk. I like to start with the blog post because it’s the longest form of content. From there, you can transform and adapt the content for each platform. Sometimes, you don’t even have to change the content — you can pull direct quotes from your blog! It’s such a relief when you realize that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel every time.
• Don’t be afraid to repurpose content. On a similar note, you don’t always have to create fresh topics every month. If you have a well-established blog and you’re feeling a bit crunched for time, you can always give an older post a refresh.
• Focus on quality over quantity. You might be surprised that I advocate for as little as one blog post a month, but it’s because a single high quality blog post will be more beneficial than five low quality ones. Writing a bunch of short form blogs that don’t contain much valuable information or SEO boosters probably won’t help you rank or get the results you’re looking for. If you’re going to do it, do it right. Even if it means doing less.
• Give yourself grace. I’m actually publishing this post after somewhat of a sabbatical that I gave myself. I was doing really well with consistency since I started my own website blog in February. Then some personal things happened in May and I didn’t post at all because I was taking a break from work. Yes, consistency is important, but so is your mental health. You can always pick things back up when you’re ready.

And that’s it! By focusing on consistency and quality while keeping your own bandwidth in mind, you should be able to uphold a regular blogging schedule while building up your SEO rankings. I promise, launching and maintaining a blog doesn’t have to be intimidating or overwhelming.

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