How to Create a Weekly Marketing Routine That Works for You: A breakdown for each weekday
Most authors don’t struggle because they’re bad at marketing—they struggle because they’re trying to fit themselves into routines that were never designed for them. The truth is, the “perfect” marketing routine doesn’t come from a template, an expert, or an algorithm.
It comes from you. Your energy, your writing seasons, your creative rhythms, and the kind of connection you want with readers.
A sustainable weekly marketing routine isn’t about doing everything.
It’s about doing the right things consistently.
Here’s how to create a weekly rhythm that supports your creativity, grows your audience, and actually feels doable.
1. Start With Your Author Identity (Not Tasks)
Most authors start their marketing routine by asking: “What should I post?”
But the better question is: “Who am I as an author, and how do I want to show up?”
Your tone, your themes, your personality, your readers—all of these are foundational. When you build your routine around your Author Identity, everything becomes simpler because your choices become clear.
Before you create your weekly rhythm, identify:
Your values
Your writing themes
The readers you serve
The tone you want to bring to your platform
This is the compass that guides the routine you build.
2. Choose a Posting Rhythm That Matches Your Life
Consistency matters more than volume.
Posting five times one week and zero the next doesn’t help you grow—but posting 2–3 times every week for the entire year absolutely does.
A sustainable posting rhythm is:
Light
Repeatable
Aligned with your energy
Easy to maintain even on stressful weeks
Ask yourself: “What can I do consistently even on my lowest-energy weeks?”
That should be the foundation of your routine.
3. Use Daily Themes to Make Planning Easier
Themes help you avoid decision fatigue. They keep your posts focused, cohesive, and on-brand.
Here’s a weekly structure that I suggest for many authors. It’s repeatable, low-prep, and sustainable. And it’s the routine I use for myself.
Monday - Introduce/Set the Scene: A peek into your story world. Share about the setting, society, and other worldbuilding concepts.
Tuesday - Character/Relationship Focus: Share a special look at your characters and how they interact with each other.
Wednesday - Story Snippet: Tease your story with quotes, reviews, and aesthetics.
Thursday - Behind-the-Scenes/Author Life: Share about your routines, struggles, joys, process.
Friday - Engagement/Community Question: Share a question, poll, or interactive moment.
And here’s a secret: you can change it up. While I have content ideas for five days of the week, I only post three times. This gives me the freedom to choose what works best in my season.
4. Batch Your Marketing (Just 30–60 Minutes)
You don’t need to spend hours every day creating content.
Here's a sustainable batching routine:
Brainstorm once a week (10 minutes)
Draft your posts in one session (20–30 minutes)
Schedule everything on Substack + Meta (10 minutes)
And you're done.
You get back your weekday mental space to write, live, and breathe. Seriously. It’s as easy as that.
5. Anchor Your Routine to Your Writing Seasons
Marketing should support your creativity, not compete with it.
Your marketing rhythm during drafting season will look different than:
Drafting season
Editing season
Publishing season
Resting season
Allow your routine to shift slightly depending on where you are. Sustainable does not mean rigid.
Ask weekly: “What season am I in, and what do I have the energy for?”
That simple reflection keeps you aligned.
6. Build Rituals, Not Rules
Rules break. Rituals become part of your life.
A ritual might be:
Sitting with coffee on Monday mornings to map your week
Doing a “Saturday Substack reset”
Using a dedicated notes app to capture ideas
Setting a timer for 10-minute writing sprints (immersive writing sprints are my favorite)
Scheduling posts right after a writing session
These rituals gently anchor your marketing to your life, making everything feel more natural and less forced.
7. Measure Consistency, Not Performance
Your worth is not tied to likes, shares, comments, or views. The true markers of sustainable marketing are:
You showed up
You stayed aligned to your identity
You created connection
You communicated clearly
You didn’t burn yourself out
Small, quiet consistency compounds more than any viral moment ever could.
The Routine That Works for You Already Exists
It’s not in a template. It’s not in a checklist. It’s not in an expert’s content calendar. (Though these things can definitely help.)
It’s in your life, your energy, your author identity.
Sustainable marketing honors your creativity instead of competing with it. It allows you to grow steadily, authentically, and confidently.
All you have to do is build a weekly rhythm that fits who you already are.
Learn more about how to build these weekly rhythms in my upcoming digital course: The Path to Sustainable Marketing for Authors.
