Having our own little place online and being in control of what, when and how we post, means almost unlimited opportunities to experiment.
Back in May 2018 I tried a “week streak”, publishing a new post every day for a week. I ended up with an eight day streak, a five day streak, and 22 posts overall that month. The comments received for the month remain the highest by far I’ve had in a single month since 35hunter began.
As you may know, comments are really important to me.
A large part of the reason for having 35hunter is to provide a place to hang out and chat for those of us interested in similar things, like photography, camera collecting, walking, cycling and thinking. So that abundance of comments in May made me really happy.
In the last couple of months it seems I have had plenty to say!
My draft posts in WordPress have just topped 100, and I would estimate that whilst some are just a title, at least 25 just need very minor editing to be ready for publishing.
Whilst I use the scheduling tool to line up posts a few days ahead, I don’t like going too far into the future. I want any post you read to be something that I’ve been doing and thinking about very recently, not three weeks or three months ago.
So I’m going to try another experiment, similar to last time, but this time publishing every 36 hours.
I’ll publish around 7am on day one, then 7pm on day two, 7am day four, 7pm day five, and so on.
As well as increasing the frequency, this will give me a chance to see if the publishing time makes any difference to views and comments too. Given the majority of readers here are in the UK, US and Australia, with completely different time zones anyway, I’m not sure the publishing time will have any impact. But we’ll see.
How about you? As a reader, does the amount you read fluctuate? Do you generally read at a certain time of day, or as and when you have a slot of time?
As a blogger, how often do you vary your frequency of posts, what works for you, and what patterns have you noticed?
As always, please let us know in the comments below, we’re keen to hear your thoughts and experiences.
Thanks for looking. Please share this post with others you feel will enjoy it too. If you’re interested, this is what I’m into right now.
35hunter 
One reason I read a lot of blogs is that I have a lot of dead time thanks to a minor chronic health condition I live with. Nothing better to do then but to catch up on my feed reader. I email myself the posts I want to comment on, because commenting on the phone sucks. Also, I read in the middle of the night when insomnia gets me. So my reading happens whenever, really.
Yeh I agree about commenting in a phone, super frustrating! I do read a bit on my phone but only really comment once I’m on a device with an easier to use keyboard.
Dan, I read my emails at different times in the day. at the moment it is 6.26 pm and nearly dinner time. I do try to make a point of reading your posts and commenting as you know but if there are too many I comment as much as I am able. You also sometimes do really long posts which I find challenging to read xoxo susanJOY
Thanks Susan, yes I do tend to be rather wordy at times! There are posts that suggest a shorter form, but quite often I think what I write about needs longer exploration.
I think with this 36 hours experiment I’m more likely to have a few shorter posts punctuating the longer ones.
Thanks for reading!
Dan, I had to google “Dom” as wasn’t familiar with the word. still not sure what it really looks like in useage. Jim, I’m sorry you have a chronic illness that has you disabled in some way. I’m glad you can read to pass the time xoxox susanJOY
Susan that should have been “do”. Corrected now!
I personally seem to grab time whenever I can for reading, rather than any particular time in the day. Lately, with Christmas and family around etc I haven’t been able to read as much as I’d like. It’ll be interesting to see the outcome of this experiment.
Thanks Katie. Yes I don’t have a rigid reading schedule either. But I do like to do a minimum amount each week and get a bit tetchy if I can’t!
Yes, I’m away for a couple of days so I’ve rather lost my routine … it’s driving me potty!
I look into very few blogs, sites, etc. This experiment has been a bit of an …onslaught; seems like there’s been just time for a quick review with none for reflection or organizing thoughts, I can’t imagine what it must be like keeping up with comments replies,
Still, it’s been nice to have constantly refreshed material.
I do know what you mean, I have mixed feelings too. Onslaught is a good word!
On the plus side, I have no shortage of ideas for posts, and like getting them out while they’re fresh. I like the feeling of posting every 36 hours, keeping fresh content out there.
On the negative, I am concerned about overwhelming some readers. And I can definitely write and publish some shorter posts, too many end up over 1000 words of rambling!
Right now I still have 100 posts in draft and four scheduled, so I’m not struggling to “keep up”. The comments I’m managing ok with, I’d rather have a few comments a day than a few days without comments!
Compliments, Dan, on the consistently high quality of posts during the experimental period. Don’t think that i would have been able to keep that pace with any success.
There are many photo sites/blogs out there with a high churn rate. The desperation to always be putting something, anything new out shows in a wordy inflation beyond their substantive means of standing upright.
Topics here are neither too long or too short in presentation but are always meaty, always grounded in the practical yet reflexive to the art, and always allow for expansion. That shows an uncommon and imaginative depth of reflection prior to laying hands on keyboard. Would that more would.
Thank you William for your comments and encouragement, it is much appreciated. Yes I wouldn’t have tried a 36 hours experiment just for the sake of it. It came about from the fact that I had more posts coming to me than would fit in my previous 2-3 day schedule, and I didn’t want to have three weeks of new posts stacked up, that were then not “fresh” anymore by the time they saw the light of day. The content was there, and dictated the timetable.
So far, it doesn’t feel too much, so I’ll continue as long as that is the case. And I still have 100 posts in draft – I’ve long known that the more ideas you have, the more ideas you have…
Thank you again.
Of late, my time has been taken up with writing the book. It’s great to be doing this but of course there are only so many hours in a day and my blogging and reading has clearly suffered as a result. Generally I both read and write posts first thing in the morning. It works for me as my mind is fresh (also in truth, my husband would become slightly irritated if I spent the evening tapping away to my ‘online friends’ rather than giving him attention. This does need to be taken into account however tragic it may sound!). Katie
Katie, I think it is lovely you give your husband attention in the evening. I live alone and am always amazed at how couples sit in seperate rooms of the house in the evenings each watching TV or on their computers. I guess I have more your idea of partnership Katie. All the best with your book. I am a writer too. Lots of love from susanJOY
Yes, I’m with you. To be honest, I was on my own for so many years that I just love having company now. I hope your writing is going well? Katie
It’s hard writing a book when you’re already a blogger, as you feel you need to keep the blog thriving as that’s probably where many of your potential book readers will come from. But you also need to devote time to just the book to get it finished and out there! A balancing act!
Yes, for sure. I’m pretty sure that I’m getting better at not being quite so picky about the time and the place either. I just write. Thank goodness, it became rather expensive last year when I figured I could only write on the train …
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