How Much Time Does It Take to Manage a Blog?

Aug 12, 2010 by

How Much Time Does It Take to Manage a Blog?

Every business owner or entrepreneur wants to know, “If I start a blog, how much of my time is it going to take to keep it maintained?”

It’s a valid question and one that I’m asked on a regular basis by newbie bloggers as well as my clients. They want to know if they’re truly going to have time to write the articles as well as the additional time to post them online where they can be read and viewed by a hungry audience.

The truth of the matter is, most people can take the time to write something every once in a while. However, the busier we get, and the more our businesses grow, the harder it is to squeeze extra things into our schedules. Right?

So, how long does it take to write a blog post? Let’s break it down, looking at my own personal time clock.

Write a 400+ word post = 30 minutes (longer for more detailed posts)
Research for topic when needed = Between 15-30 minutes
Finding stock photos for post, crediting photographer = 15 minutes
Editing text and adding links = 5 minutes
Adding SEO keywords and description = 5 minutes
Publishing and promoting on major social sites = 10+ minutes

Total time = 1.5 hours, IF you do the minimal. What if it requires more research, or what if you want to publish an 800 word article? It would obviously take more time.

Maybe those of you reading are faster at writing than I am, though I’m a pretty speedy typist which makes up for some time. :) But I always know that when I’m putting a blog post up, I should plan for at least an hour…and that’s without finding stock photos or adding any extras. (Granted, if I’m just sharing a YouTube video, that’s quick. Then again, figure in my editing time…now that I think about it, it’s really no faster.)

I was chatting with a good friend this past week who is in process of creating a blog management system that would maintain a blog for clients on a monthly basis. For a monthly fee, a client’s blog would have 1 post shared per week, with the ability to do up to 3 posts per week. I liked the idea, so we got chatting about price points for such product.

Firstly, I know that to purchase a prewritten article that’s been put together by SEO specialists and skilled writers, it’s going to cost me at least $15-20 per article from most SEO companies. Figuring high, that would run around $80/month if I was ordering one article per week at $20 (and 4 weeks a month). My colleague is proposing his team do it for less, making it more affordable for new bloggers.

Based on what I’ve told you, what would you be willing to spend on a managed blog package that would post 1 article per week? I’m eager to here what you all have to say about this topic, and I’m even more eager to see my colleague release this great service.




Photo by Svilen Milev

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  • http://junipercurrie.com Juniper Currie

    I also find it challenging to manage my time spent on my blog. I think as time goes on you’ll be able to master the art of getting content out quickly and efficiently. Just a matter of proper time management and planning. I look forward to more of your posts.

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  • http://www.imjustsharing.com Mitch

    It’s an interesting question you posed, and I read what you had to say. For me, well, I guess I write fast, but when you know what you want to talk about, it’s not that difficult.

    That’s really the essence of beginning to blog, if you ask me. If you know your topic, it shouldn’t take all that long to write something about it. If you need editing help, well that might be a much different thing.

    Images aren’t imperative for beginners; matter of fact, I rarely put an image on my business or finance blogs, though I do add one on the blog I’m representing here.

    One last thing, if I may. Managing a blog overall isn’t only about adding posts to your own blog. After that, one has to figure out how to drive visitors to the blog, and what kind of time that might take. Some of the best content in the blogosphere goes unread because no one knows about the blog.

    Short hitters, but I didn’t want to take over in comments. :-)

    [Reply]

  • http://2gsm.biz/tools/ Mark ‘MKWeb’ Hultgren

    Mandee and Mitch,
    Both of you touched on some good points! The time to write varies from person to person and topic by topic. With all the advanced plugins available for WordPress, you can easily set up a blog to be pretty self-sufficient with a few articles that you write as you have time.
    The reason I am saying this is I currently run close to 240 different blogs and 95% of them have content added to them on a schedule that I set. I write the content when I get creative (or edit the Private Label Content that I use as a starting point) then when I get 20 or 30 articles written, upload them into my scripts and let automation take care of the rest.
    I have a CRON that will notify me when the content runs out, so I just need to upload another batch and let it do it’s work.
    So how do I create all the content? Sometimes I will set myself down and just write, since my blogs vary on topics, I can write about something for any of them when I am in a writing mood and bang out 10 or 20 articles in a few hours pretty easily. 20 Articles will keep a blog running for me for a couple months so it gives me plenty of time to schedule another writing session on those topics.

    [Reply]

  • http://youcanbuild.it Chuck Bartok

    Mandee, Mitch and Mark..(the THREE M’s??)

    Fantastic thought you have shared.
    I enjoy blogging, but find myself not being consistent with my posts which I feel are all GOOD ONES.

    This new program will be a boon to me. I find time spent Podcasting has yielded Highest ROI, but blogging is running Second.
    My three favorite Blog Niches have generated a nice following, but I need to keep my Followers happy with Quality content.

    A program, as suggested, will be a benefit and Capital well spent

    [Reply]

  • http://www.success-ladder.com/2010/08/09/pride-comes-before-a-fall-and-then-some/ the Success Ladder

    Thank you very much for sharing this. I have subscribed to your RSS feed. Please keep up the good work.

    [Reply]

  • http://www.yorindawanner.com Yorinda

    Hi Mandee,

    to me at this stage my blog posts are fun to write and I don’t mind writing them myself. This will mean that they are unique to me, my style.
    From the point of Law of Attraction I believe that I will attract what I am ready for and that is where I spend most of my energy, aligning myself mentally and emotionally.

    Thank you for your post.
    Have a great week
    Yorinda

    [Reply]

  • http://www.playingbiz.com Strategic Marketing Kris

    Great Post… I have never sat down and looked at the time I spent on my blog creation and setup… At an hour and a half, which by the way, I believe is about right, I might really look at outsourcing it for $30-$50 a month!

    I do think that it really depends on the purpose of the Blog. If you are marketing your business, outsourcing is a better use of your time. If you are a hobbyist, and this is really your passion, then outsourcing would be moot. You are blogging for the love of it…

    Thanks again, and keep up the great work!
    Kris Pauly

    [Reply]

  • Mary MacIntyre

    Mandee and everyone,
    Great ideas and suggestions. I will be setting up new blogs soon. I also write articles weekly. The time mentioned is about what I spend per post. After blogging and writing articles for two different companies during the last 3 years, I still love writing and researching my content.

    I also have enjoyed the connections with local organizations that these assignments have made. As I primarily have written for companies, and love writing, outsourching for now is not an issue. However I’d love to provide writing services for others who could use the help.

    Thanks for the ideas, and thanks Chuck for contacting me. Mary

    [Reply]

  • http://www.shermansmithblog.com/feed Sherman Smith

    Hi Mandee,

    This is a great question and it would be dependent on how much time an individual would put in. A lot of entrepreneurs are looking for ways to “kill two birds with one stone” when it comes to time management. So prewritten articles would work great, but if you’re a home business entrepreneur specifically, I feel the best thing to do is to make time to write your own articles and blog posts since you’re actually trying to brand yourself andhave your prospects and online peers to know you as an individual.

    Thanks for sharing

    Sherman

    [Reply]