Timing, they say, is everything. That is why many people who write, shoot videos, make artwork or other pieces of content have a strategy as to when specifically they will post on various platforms. Data has been mined on the topic, and across many platforms there is a clear incentive towards the 9am-1pm timeslot from Monday through Thursday. However, gunning for the optimal time is not something I’ll be spending much mental capital on.
There are a few reasons on why I refuse to wait for the allegedly perfect time to post my writing. Chief among them is that life is short and tomorrow is not guaranteed. Brainstorming, writing, quality checking an article followed by creating the artwork for the cover image is best posted as soon as the piece is done because of the simple fact that shelving it could mean the article never sees the light of day. The morbid thought of getting hit by a bus aside (a common 75-IQ quip when someone doesn’t want to quit a bad habit like smoking or unhealthy diets), that cooling period allows for second thoughts to creep in. If allowed to take hold, these thoughts could very well prevent an article from being posted. Mankind needs you to release your special sauce into the world, and ideas that would benefit society like this one for example are worthless if they never see the light of day. Besides, a fantastic author frequently mentions that even he gets nervous before posting an article. If one of the greats still gets a tinge of nerves before posting an article but then does it anyway, then let that serve as your permission to follow his example. Besides, odds are that simply sleeping on it will mean that you won’t actually post the article.
Another reason why I will not be playing the optimization game regarding the timing of my posts is that I don’t want to be a slave to algorithms. Truthfully, I’ve noticed that articles I’ve posted during normal business hours do tend to get more traction than off-hours articles. Likes and comments are more readily available during these hours (though it leads me to ask; what are you guys doing with your time at work?). While the metrics favor posting during this time window, the metrics cannot possibly capture the entire story. Likes and comments are easily quantified, though that doesn’t necessarily mean that a business-hour idea is any better or worse than an off-hour idea. Not everything can be quantified, sorry Zuck. Furthermore, Chris Williamson frequently discusses on his podcast the need to avoid audience capture, as in the creator gets caught into the habit of creating things solely because the algorithms will favor it. I don’t want to let the algorithmic tail wag the dog.
Speaking of having the tail wag the dog, another reason why I will not be waiting for the supposed perfect time to post an article is that my current readership isn’t large enough for that to have a major impact one way or another anyways. My website has been up for over a year, and I just reached my 50th follower. While I 100% stand behind my book (because I wrote the truth!), it didn’t exactly fly off the shelves either. Me worrying about the so-called perfect time to post an article is like the sedentary person concerning themselves over ideal set and rep-ranges in the gym. In other words, far more momentum needs to be built before that level of optimization is going to matter.
To expand upon that idea a little more, optimizing for engagement seems pretty unnatural. After all, I haven’t fully found my identity as a writer outside of being a citation-heavy nonfiction writer that says the quiet parts out loud. That hasn’t changed despite the fact that I’ve set a few long-term goals for myself as far as writing goes (like this and that). Essentially, I’m only writing what I’ve either felt needs to be said, or what I’m personally interested in. I haven’t been posting for engagement because I haven’t been writing for engagement. If I truly wanted to write to collect the most likes possible, then I can’t think of a worse way to do that than advocating for the legalization of landmines for private use or helping the big betting companies make more money. The fact that anyone else reads these is a bit flattering, even if the articles mostly just receive a passing glance.
Finally, the reason I won’t be gunning towards a perfect release time is that it carries the putrid stench of perfectionism. As the great Jon Acuff has written in the past, perfectionism is the enemy, and it needs to be ruthlessly squashed in order for progress to happen. If you’ve been reading my articles (or my book) for any length of time, you’ll find that I don’t hold back. Not holding back, along with my simplistic-yet-effective cover artwork and subjects that clearly show that my brain “works differently” are all part of my brand as a writer. Waiting for a perfect release time is akin to holding back.
Let’s step outside of my writing bubble for a second and look at the behavior as a whole. Is there a perfect time to work out? Many fitness forums since the dawn of the internet have devolved into ad hominem drivel while debating this topic, though the functional answer for most Americans is essentially anytime, just get your ass moving! What about the perfect time to start a diet? Hint: it isn’t January 1st, nor is it tomorrow or next week. What about the perfect time to quit your job? Or what about the perfect time to pitch someone way above your weight class? The correct answer to these questions is now.
Carpe Diem.
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