How Much Content Do I Publish Each Day? Here’s a Typical Day

Publish content on blogs

The Washington Post publishes 1,200 pieces of content per day.  That’s more than I publish in a whole year.

The NYTimes.com publishes 230 pieces of content per day.

Buzzfeed publishes about 222 pieces of content per day.

What about me?

On a regular day I publish 4 to 7 articles per day across all my sites.  If I publish a poll or quiz, that’s an additional piece of content.

On the plus side (very weak plus side) I’m not paying 1,300 editorial positions like the NYTimes.com does or 700 editorial staff like the Washington Post or 460 like Buzzfeed [source: How many stories do newspapers publish per day].  Let’s face, I’d be happy to pay a few hundred writers and editors to crank out content if the entire operation was profitable.

The 4 to 7 I publish is a lot more than I did 4 years ago, when on a very good day it was 2.

Here’s my workflow across a few niche sites for a regular day.

Daily Publishing and Promotion Schedule

Morning (first thing):

Scan emails.  I know this is a bad habit because it’s not as important publishing content and promoting content, but sometimes I’m waiting on requests that I want to deal with immediately.  I also like to review daily work output from VA’s so I know where content is in the publishing pipeline (I have all VA’s to send me a bullet list daily report of work they completed).

After email, it’s time to publish content.

Site #1 (B2C)

I start my day working on my biggest earning niche site (it ain’t Fat Stacks).  I usually have 30 to 40 articles ready to go as drafts.  I publish 2 to 4 on any given day.

Article lengths:  Usually one behemoth (2,000 to 3,000 words) and a one or two shorter articles (300 to 1,000 words).

I carefully review all articles before hitting the publish button.  I spend time fine-tuning them which is really inspecting the work making sure formatting is good such as proper heading tags used, image alt text is done… little things that can easily be forgotten.

For most articles, I add my own introduction.  I seldom pay writers to write intros because they usually don’t do a very good job.  Besides, I like to add something interesting.

Sometimes I get inspired to write an article entirely and so I spend a few hours doing so.

Otherwise, I tweak the 2 to 4 articles and get them published all at once.

Social Media

Once the batch of artices is published, I promote across social media channels.

Email newsletter

Most days I write a quick email announcing one or two of the new articles and add it to the automated email sequence.

Respond to guest post inquiries

I accept and publish a good number of guest posts over the course of a month.  The lion’s share of the work is replying to inquiries.  I do so fairly quickly with canned responses and relying on a long list of article topics I assign.

Brunch

I don’t eat breakfast. I eat an early lunch.

Niche Site #2 (B2B)

Usually my second site for the day is a B2B site – either Fatstacks or my other B2B.  I publish one post and set up an email newsletter.

Article length:  500 to 3,000 words.  Varies by topic and inspiration.

Niche Sites #3 and 4 (B2C)

I end the day adding 1 to 2 posts to my other B2C sites.  Most of the content is done by VA’s, writing services or guest posters.  Again, I write the intros and do some fine-tuning, but that’s about it.

Social media

One of the newer B2C sites has social media needs as well.  I promote across all channels, but take the most care on Pinterest.

Additional tasks I do throughout the day:

  • Email: I do continual email correspondence as emails come in.
  • Keyword research: I’m constantly tossing ideas into Ahrefs and Keywordshitter.com.  On any given day I find a few or a large batch that I add to my list.
  • Ad management:  Throughout the week I often do some ad tweaking whether tweaking current ads or testing new networks/offerings.
  • Plugin testing:  Once in a while I get sidetracked and muck around with new plugins or other software.
  • Assign tasks to VA’s.  That said, most VA’s work on the same parts of the operation week-in and week-out so it’s pretty streamlined once they’re trained.

Total number of articles published

I publish 4 to 7 articles on normal days.  Sometimes something comes up and it’s less.  Rarely is it more than 7.  That would be quite a feat.

I do have a lot of help.  Other than the B2B articles, much of the content is prepared for me.  I add intros, fine-tune everything and on occasion write something entirely for a B2C site (one article at most… it’s very time-consuming).

When I was starting out, I wrote everything.  On a good day, I could publish 2 articles, but most days it was one followed by promotion.  It’s time-consuming work to produce a decent article from start to finish.

I currently write most B2B content (99% of it).  Because I publish several niche sites aside from fatstacksblog.com, I have an endless supply of ideas and topics to write about.  I know the subjects so well that it doesn’t take me long to write content for this site or my other B2B site (which is  marketing info site for another industry).

I know I should be more careful with spelling mistakes and run-on sentences, but if I fell victim to perfectionism with Fatstacks, I’d never write anything.  I figure it’s better to publish imperfect content than nothing at all.  That’s my motto for everything I do.

FAQ

Do I schedule articles for the future?

Sometimes, but not usually.  I’ll schedule a few over a vacation, but otherwise, I don’t bother.  When an article is ready to publish, I like to get it published.

Do I publish articles on weekends?

Sometimes.  Maybe one on my largest niche site and once in a while on Fatstacks.  When I do so, both need to be pretty close to done because I don’t work much, if at all on weekends.  Often I have several Fatstacks articles in progress and if one is nearly completed, I’ll publish it on the weekend.

Do I send emails on weekends?

Sometimes, if I set it up previously in the email autoresponder.  Very occasionally I’ll write one on the weekend.

Do I write entire articles myself?

Yes.  I write almost everything here and my other B2B site.  I will sometimes write something for my B2C niche sites (the content hogs).  I write most article intros across all my sites.

Do I have a publishing schedule?

Other than number of articles per day, no.  I don’t have specific articles slated for specific days.  I wing it each day picking and choosing the ones I feel like doing.  I run a laissez-faire operation.  The exception is guest posts.  If I tell a guest poster something will be published by such and such date, I do my best to meet that deadline.

Do I ever get tired of it?

Yeah, I get tired of the constant drive to produce, but not often.  I enjoy being a publisher and doing most of what’s involved in building up successful niche sites.  I think it’s cool publishing content that tens or hundreds or thousands of people consume and to make money in the process. It’s very motivational for me.

If I’m not in the mood, I can always spend the day doing something different.  I might buy a course that looks good or tinker with some new software.  Today, for instance, I spent a few hours setting up Flipboard which I hope to delve into quite a bit for 2 niche sites.  There’s no shortage of alternative tasks to do when running a few sites.

Why did I publish this?  Does anyone care?

I’m asked quite a bit how much I publish each day on my various sites.  So it seems some people care.  I find personal articles like this interesting by other bloggers, especially details on how they go about getting things done. So maybe, just maybe, a small handful of people do care.  This article is for you.

Related: How to writer killer articles really fast (12 steps)

2 more articles in this series:

Part 2: My Chaotic Project Management System

Part 3: My Content Workflow (from keyword research to publish)

30 thoughts on “How Much Content Do I Publish Each Day? Here’s a Typical Day”

    1. Most content prepared by VA’s is also formatted to my requirements. I may make adjustments, but all outsourced content is then properly formatted.

      I very once in a while will use Thrive Architect to make a page look even better, but not too often.

  1. Interesting to see a “big boy” like you in the niche site business explaining the details your day.

    I’m recently caught a second wind and started writing all of the content myself, mostly because I can’t really afford hiring good writers atm.

    I’m trying to write a good article a day (750-1500+ words + great pinterest graphics), while studying, working a job and playing music.

    So far its been fun, I’m curious to how long I can hold this streak. If I pump one article a day, I’m a happy man.

    I really want to make my niche site work, but 1 year of stumbling around, I’m finally just sitting down and focusing on something specific.

    Thanks Jon, your knowledge that you share is great and you inspire me to do better.

    1. Hey Daniel,

      I think you give me too much credit, but thanks. I’m just a niche site publisher fortunate enough to grow a few sites over time.

      I remember back when I worked a full time job and worked on the side growing sites. It’s not easy. As for how long you can hold the streak… for me I just kept at it until I could do it full time. I was bound and determined to make it work. It was slow going but, I liked it from day one so I just kept plugging away. If you feel burnout coming on, take a couple weeks off, recharge and resume. Avoid burning out. Take vacations. Enjoy a night or two off the side hustle. But keep plugging away if this is what you really want to do.

  2. Hey Jon, I can’t help but notice the sheer amount of content you are putting out on this blog lately…which is great, however, I must admit, the quality has really suffered.

    I mean it seems like these are voice-to-text posts and they are really difficult to read. Words are missing and it makes it impossible to read.

    Lewis

    1. Hey Lewis,

      Yeah, I’ve been putting more time into this site now that my other sites are in maintenance mode for now. I’m not doing voice-to-text, but I agree with you that I certainly don’t put enough time into editing. I really appreciate the feedback.

      I will try to put more time into editing, which has never been my strong suit. I agree my site is filled with typos and missing words. It’s a failing of this site for sure.

      I publish multiple niche sites so time I have for this site is limited.

      I view this site as a personal business blog where I share ideas. I have an endless amount of content and ideas lined up, so some of it ends up pretty raw. It’s certainly not polished; I agree I could definitely put a bit more into refining things around here.

      On the flip side, if I start getting too worked up over perfection, I won’t bother publishing anything. If this were my only site, I’d have the time to make it shine. But if this were my only site (or main site), I wouldn’t have real-niche site experience, examples and data to share so the content would be useless (hypotheticals and theories at best).

      Thanks for the feedback.

      1. Hey Jon,

        I can see the catch-22 situation you’d be in for sure, there are only so many hours. in the day after all. I’ve had good (and bad) experiences in the past with hiring an editor for all of my niches sites and found SOP’s and checklists are key.

        Thanks,
        Lewis

        1. Hey Lewis, I could definitely use an editor around here. Perhaps one day. This site for now is all me. I invest my VA budget into my other niche sites to grow them as fast as possible.

          1. Hey Jon… Counter point to Lewis’s original criticism: I like these articles you’ve been putting out and think they have a lot of useful information in them.

            Not every post needs to be a 10k+ word guide on the next skyscraper technique or whatever. That type of blog has its place, sure, but as a reader of those types of sites you’re constantly being dissappointed with the lack of new content.

            Cheers and keep up the good work man

          2. Hey Brandon,

            thanks so much for weighing in. Your feedback is the precise reason I’m blogging as I am. While mega articles have their place, I too enjoy shorter articles online that make one or two points and leave it that. I visit sites that publish daily and it’s a part of my day I look forward to. While I can’t guarantee daily posts, I hope to be able to produce something interesting several times per week around here, even if it’s shorter than the other fare and may contain some typos.

            I have a list of a few articles that in order to treat them properly will run 4,000 to 6,000 words. They aren’t published because I’m not particularly interested, nor do I have the time to get them published. However, shorter 750 to 1,300 word articles that make a quick point or two I can put out more regularly.

      2. Hi Jon,

        I also disagree with Lewis’s feedback. I thought this article was super-detailed and gave me an insight into what’s required to reach the kind of numbers you achieve with niche sites.

        Also, I agree with Brandon’s point of not having to do 5-10k word blog posts. In fact, even though everybody in the space tends to rant and rave about how great Neil Patel and Brian Dean are, I’ve found myself reading them less-and-less lately. Sure, I save their articles to Pocket and Feedly and act like I’m going to get to them later when I have the time. But who has the time to digest (in the case of Neil Patel) 4,000 word articles on an almost daily basis and get other work done? On the other hand, I read every one of your posts and buy your products because you GET TO THE POINT and don’t waste my time just to get better search rankings.

        If I have one ask though, could you let me know what kind of task management or project management system you use to organise your tasks and get things done?

        1. Hey Rob,

          thanks a ton for the feedback. Several people have expressed appreciation for the shorter post format that makes one or a few points and leaves it at that. While I’m an SEO hound on my niche sites, I’m not much of one for this site. That said, since I’ve been publishing more frequently, organic traffic has grown so it must be the inadvertent long tail keywords I hit.

          Interestingly, I’ve done some keyword research for this site to come up with topics but they’re all too boring so I don’t bother. That’s not to say I won’t publish keyword stuff (reviews, etc.). I’m enjoying just hitting topics I think people might find helpful and letting word of mouth do the job. Perhaps it’s a bit naive on my part because it’s costing me traffic. I certainly don’t get 100K monthly visitors like more popular bloggers. But this site is a passion site so I publish stuff that I feel like publishing that I think people in our our industry will find useful.

          As for my project management system, it’s my brain, Google Sheets and Mac Notes. I’m a fly-by-the-seat-of-my-pants type of business owner. I loathe spending time organizing stuff. Sometimes my lack of organization and management costs me time looking for stuff, but I suspect I’m ahead time-wise because I spend hardly any time organizing in the first place. My office and desk is a big pile of messes, notes, gadgets, cords and junk. The only thing I care about doing each day is focusing on tasks that will make money and grow my sites. Organizing and managing stuff, at least on the face of it, doesn’t help me do that.

          Your question is a good one. It’s made me think about my productivity style, something I’ve never considered. It’s worth a blog post. I’ll start working on it… a follow up to my typical publishing day.

  3. Hey, Jon, thanks for making these posts, I really enjoy reading them. I actually appreciate shorter write ups even more than extra large posts which usually go to the “read later pile”. Keep ’em coming!

    On another note, I’ve noticed you haven’t updated your income reports in a while. Do you plan on doing them or are they out for good?

    1. Hey Saul,

      thanks for chiming in. I appreciate you like the shorter posts. The feedback on the shorter style has been great. As the writer, I prefer it too. The thought of a 5K word article on some mega topic is too much. Not that I won’t ever do it, but I must say the multi-post per week method works well for me and as long as people find it helpful, that’s great.

      As for income reports, I know I’m horribly behind. I got so wrapped up with a huge site restructuring in 2017 I didn’t touch Fatstacks for months. I will get to it, but I must admit it’s one of those tasks I keep procrastinating because it’s very boring pouring over charts and spreadsheets and reports. But I’ll get it update at some point and maybe, just maybe I’ll be more diligent.

  4. Love the short & get to the point articles – it shows respect for my time more than trying for every long tail keyword in a 6000 word blog. I just groan at the look of most of those articles – who has the time……..
    Also really enjoyed this personal information about your work day – even the messy desk in your comments :))

    1. Hi Alison,

      thanks for comment. I’m glad a few people like the shorter, personal blog style. And yes, my desk is still messy. I keep meaning to clean it up but always seem to have better things to do.

    1. Hey Emmett,

      Always good to hear from you. I’ll work on my writing… maybe. I guess that’s why I like visual-oriented niche sites.

  5. I totally agree that “get to the point” articles are great – both on your site and others. If I’m looking up “how to train my dog”, I groan when I see a mammoth article with the first subheading “What Is Dog Training”. That sort of overkill for SEO is just that, overkill. And it’s off putting.
    With my own site, I have more success with the straight to the point articles. Visitors prefer them. Those giant articles on Brian Dean’s site for example ARE thorough and have good points, but I never get around to using the info. I’m also willing to bet most people don’t either, the comment sections are full of “can’t wait to implement this”…..
    Hmmm this is a tangent, I just thought I’d add my bit. Your writing is great! I’m not too sure where the “mediocre” critique comes from, this is a useful, easy to read article. Exactly as it should be!

    1. Hey Finnigan,

      I’m glad you like shorter content too. It’s definitely not an either/or though. I see merit in both for sure. Some topics require extensive write-ups. But like you say, sometimes short, pointed posts serve a great purpose. Take Glenn Alsop’s Detailed.com site (while he was still publishing regularly). The posts are very short, but the content is about as good as it gets. I hope he fires it up again because I enjoyed going there daily. If you haven’t read that site, go check it out. He provides a ton of ideas.

  6. This article was very encouraging and inspiring! I want to increase my output, and this makes it seem doable. Thank you for being so detailed – very interesting to me. I am very part time at this point, but like you – I am bound and determined to make this work, so I push on.

    1. Hey Kay,

      It takes time to ramp up content output unless you’re very well funded. Keep reinvesting in your site as it earns money. Focus reinvestment in content and promotion.

    1. Hi Noline,

      I’ve just started using Flipboard. I’m proceeding slowly to see what works, but as soon as I see results or get no results, I’ll write a post on Flipboard. Thanks for asking.

  7. Thanks for some insight into your output process. I’ve tried posting multiple times per day and it’s the easiest way to boost traffic. Of course, if I stop posting, then traffic levels go back to normal.

    My niche is based on personal experience so I need to find writers that actually know what they are talking about. If I outsource to the writing services, I usually get content that shows the author hasn’t actually visited any of the places.

    Do you hire specific authors or just outsource to the content agencies/marketplaces?

  8. Great article! Hey Jon when you were starting out in this online thing how many months did it took before your income from your website start hitting the break even point of your employment? Do you have any guide or recommendations for finding an excellent VA?

  9. Best and helpfull Post, Hi Sir,Techno Prokash I am your regular website viewer and userjust as your other articles attracts us, your articles help us a lot.Thanks forpublishing this article.

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