We’re working through getting your blogging basics FAQs covered. In today’s post, we are answering the question, how long does it take to write a blog post?
If you are considering starting a blog of your own, or, are looking to double down on an existing blog to take it to the next level, I’m sure you want to know what type of time commitment you’re looking at.
While the most-asked question is how long it takes to write a post, there is actually a lot more that goes into running a successful blog, and a lot of hidden time-sucks that you might not be accounting for.
But don’t worry, in this post we’ll be covering all the things that you need to invest time in as a blogger.
*Some of the links included in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click on them and make a purchase, I will make a small commission at no additional cost to you.*
First, the question of the hour.
How long does it take to write a blog post?
Knowing how long it takes you to write an individual post will help you plan your days and set realistic expectations.
Blogging is more than just sitting down, pumping out a bunch of text and then clicking “Publish”. There are a lot of tasks that factor in to how long it takes to write a strong blog post.
Related: 5 Things to Do When You Feel Stuck on your Blog
According to a 2022 study by Orbit Media Studios, it takes bloggers 4 hours and 10 minutes on average to write a blog post.
The study shows that since 2014, how long it takes to write a blog post has dramatically increased.
This is likely because blog strategies have advanced since 2014, with people taking more time write longer posts with deeper SEO implementation.
What goes into writing a blog post:
If you want your blog posts to be valuable to your readers, and to even get readers in the first place, you’ll need to invest some time in the whole process. Here are the basics of the blog post itself:
Keyword research
I usually do keyword research to help me decide what to blog about. My keyword-researching program of choice is Keysearch.
If you already know what you’re blog post is about, I still strongly recommend investing time in some basic keyword research before you even begin. This will help you know how to frame it so people are more likely to find it on search engines.
Drafting and editing the blog post
I definitely recommend having a game plan before you write. Even if it isn’t a written outline, having an idea of where your blog post will go, and the points you will hit, will make writing them SO MUCH QUICKER.
And of course, don’t forget to edit. If grammar isn’t your strong-suit, I recommend signing up for Grammarly.
Sourcing or taking photos
I think people really underestimate the time-commitment of getting photos for blog posts. We know pictures are important. They add a great visual aspect to walls of text, and the meta-data can help us with our SEO.
The question is, are you going to take your own images? Or source stock ones? (I warn you, both take time, and each have their pros and cons). Personally, I do a bit of both.
Need help finding a good section of stock photos? Check out this list of diverse stock photo sites.
Implementing SEO (tweaking meta-data, etc.)
You want to give every blog post you write its best chance to get in front of the people who are most-interested in it.
This is where SEO comes into play. You’ll want to ensure you have fully optimized your blog post to rank as high as possible on Google and other search engines.
Time spent promoting your blog post
Okay, now that you have the blog post written and sorted, you’ll want to ensure it gets seen. Not just upon launch, but well-into the future. So you’ll have to invest time into your traffic-driving strategies.
This time spent isn’t necessarily captured in the average time it takes to write a blog post, but it is an important consuming task you can not avoid.
There are a lot of ways to drive traffic to your post, but here, I’m covering some of the main methods.
Pinterest Pins
I’m listing Pinterest first, because it’s one of my biggest-traffic drivers. You’ll definitely want to set time aside in your schedule to do Pinterest-focused keyword research, design pins, and post/schedule them.
If you’re looking to save time, Tailwind is a fantastic Pinterest Pin-scheduler, and Canva has what seems like endless Pinterest Pin templates.
Email-list building
Building up an email list ensures that you have a direct way of contacting your loyal readers. You can let them know when a new blog post has launched, or can tell them about about any products (digital or physical) you may be selling.
Time might be spent each week finding ways to build up your list, as well as sending out campaigns to drive people back to your website.
Promoting in Facebook groups
I find this one very underrated. Yes, overall, Facebook is pretty dead when it comes to driving traffic. You post on your page, and no one seems to see it unless you pay to get in front of them.
Still, I find Facebook groups to be a little pot of gold. Every time I launch a new blog post, I like to spend a bit of time posting them to the various groups I’m a part of.
Posting to Facebook groups can be effective because they are a hyper-focused community. The people there are usually already interested in your niche. Just make sure you are adding value and not spamming, and of course, are following the group rules.
Scheduling posts across social media platforms
In order to get your blog posts out in front of others, I recommend scheduling them across your different social media platforms.
I use RecurPost to share evergreen content to Twitter and Facebook, and Hootsuite to schedule more targeted/one-off posts.
The Gooey Extras you might spend time on
As you continue, you’ll want to invest time in further forms of monetization, and ways to build your brand.
While many of the best advisers consider these things vital, I consider them extra because they go above and beyond what most consider to be blogging.
But if you are looking to really up your income, and turn your brand into a business, you’ll want to create something. Courses, workshops, downloadable checklists, and e-books, etc.
And while your time investment in these will pay off in the long run, you will need to consider the time they take to create and implement.
Factors that affect how much time you spend on your blog:
As we’ve established, your mileage may vary when it comes to blogging. But there a few different considerations that will go into determining what your mileage even is to begin with.
To figure out how much time you’ll be spending on your blog, you’ll want to consider the following:
Growth goals
What are your blog goals? Do you have a traffic number or a dollar amount in mind? How quickly are you wanting to hit those numbers?
Note that fast growth is never guaranteed, but If you have very high goals, you will want to be posting as often and as consistently as possible.
The goal should still be quality over quantity, but a blog pumping out one good blog post a month is going to grow slower than a blog pumping out a good blog post a week.
How often you would like to (or are able to) post
Quite simply, how often do you envision yourself posting? (There is no right answer here.)
How much time do you even want to commit to your blog, and be realistic with how much you are able to post, considering your schedule, and your mental health.
The priority is not burning yourself out.
Remember, you can still grow while posting less. Just choose a frequency, and be consistent.
Traffic strategy
What is your traffic-driving strategy? Are you relying only on SEO? Or leveraging Pinterest? Are you building brand-awareness on social media? Maybe pitching others for features and guest posts?
There are so many ways to drive traffic to your website, but the reality is that each strategy takes time to implement. If you feel overwhelmed, or have limited time, start small and work your way up.
Social media presence
While social media presence is tied to your traffic strategy, building up your social media accounts is a beast of its own. Unfortunately, as many bloggers discover, you really aren’t getting the majority of your traffic from the big three: Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
That being said, I find it’s still a great place to engage with others, build up credibility, etc. And on top of that, it opens up the opportunity to do a lot of great paid collaborations.
So if that’s the direction you want to go, you’ll need to decide which platforms you’re going to be on, and commit time towards their growth.
How much time I spend on my blog
So there you have it. All the different considerations and tasks that go into running a blog. You don’t have to do all these things right off the bat, or at all. Especially if you are just dipping your toe into blogging, and want to feel it out.
If you’re reading all the above, and want to know how much time I spend on my blog, here we go:
I have a very obsessive personality, so when I’m feeling hyper-motivated, I am in the zone. I use to spend probably 75% of my time outside of work on blog-related activities. (But a key thing to remember here is that I really, really, enjoy it.)
I used to work 9-5 or more accurately, a 7:30-3:30. Almost every day, I would come home, have a snack, and sit my butt down to work on my blog. And I still wasn’t doing every single thing listed above!
The Importance of a Schedule
Weekdays, I dedicate to blog-post drafting, Instagram planning, and sometimes, Pinterest pin designing.
Weekends, I tend to reserve for taking photos and filming video content.
But some weeks… or months, I fall off the wagon. Because I get so hyper-focused, I tend to burn out quickly. Despite enjoying what I’m doing, sometimes by body says NOPE, you’re working too hard, and forces me to slow it down.
So that you don’t get burnt out like I do, my advice is to ensure your schedule is consistent, yet sustainable.
Final thoughts on how long it takes to write a blog post
While technically on average it takes just over 4 hours to write a blog post, we can’t forget all the other tasks that go into running a successful blog.
Here’s the thing, you’re going to get as much out of a blog as you put into it.
So really, there is no right answer, and the amount of time spent blogging will be different for everyone.
If you’ve been debating launching a blog, and have been wondering how much time you would need to spend on it, I hope this was helpful! (I also hope it wasn’t too daunting!)
And you might find yourself wondering next… how much does it cost to start a blog?
Thanks for reading and, until next time!
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