Post a Lot of Content? It Might Not Matter

Practically forever, there have been writers who strongly advocate for posting something new online every day, whether the content is on social media, their author site, or a platform like Medium. You can find a ton of articles that detail the results writers got from trying to write as much as they can. These usually include some screenshots of follower numbers, earnings, or other metrics. The logic goes that, as AI churns out pieces and more people try to freelance, the only way to gain much of a following is to post a lot.

Post a lot, but don’t offer a crappy script

The rationale that it’s beneficial to post a lot has some merit. In her book, Reach, marketer and author Becky Robinson names consistency as a pillar for creating reach and influence. You do have to show up — and keep showing up — for people to start trusting and following you.

But it’s not as simple as simply throwing up a new blog or tweet every day. You can post for years with the patience of God’s servant Job. But if you lack quality, you’re likely not going to achieve much.

Think about it. Would you want to read a post with content like “Cat farts are weird.”? How about “This morning I brushed my teeth and it was underwhelming.”? Maybe once or twice, for novelty. But at some point, you’ll probably crave words that have a little more substance. Meaning. Purpose. You might want to learn something. At least, I do.

So, you can’t just check the “publish” box at exactly 5:43 p.m. each day. You also have to make sure that whatever you post has some evergreen value and authenticity. Doing that day after day is not easy.

Post when you have a message, not when the clock says you must

To be clear, I’m not saying your content has to sing with the poetry of Shakespeare to be valuable or authentic. It’s OK if some of it is not your best. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Even Babe Ruth didn’t hit every baseball, and especially when you’re first starting, you’ll put out some duds. That’s how we learn and get better at the craft. But the quality has to be high enough overall that it allows your readers to connect with you and feel understood in some way. Posting just to have words on the page won’t set you apart. Posting when you truly have something to say in a way that’s all your own — even if those posts aren’t as frequent — will.

So, if you just want to build a better writing habit, get in more practice, or see what posting more consistently feels like, go ahead and set yourself a schedule. But don’t post a lot just because you have FOMO, want to impress, or think quantity is the only way to make it.