Now, on to the post.
So, how long should blog posts be? This is a tough question to answer and one that has no clear answer. However, there are bloggers on both sides of this issue that feel passionately about the subject. You can engage them in debate and both have clear, logical answers.
On one extreme, some say that you need to post bullets that are easily scanned and digested. On the other extreme, you have people that say exhaustive, quality instruction pays dividends for the readers as resource the can go to time and time again. I used to teach college classes in the early '90s, and for me, it's a constant battle not to be exhaustive when I share instructions with my readers. Here are the issues regarding length, both pro and con.
- Most blog readers scan blogs for content. If you have blocks of text, they may scan right through without getting much information. Too much unbroken text of paragraph after paragraph, and they just may stop scanning your blog altogether.
- Most blog readers look at multiple blogs. That means they only have a limited amount of time to read your blog before they move on to another in their RSS reader. If they can take in 10 blogs in the time it takes to read your one, then yours will probably move to the bottom of the list, if it's read at all.
- Shorter posts mean less (but not necessarily inferior) instruction. This is the downside of short posts. By limiting your post length, you will be forced to pick and choose what content stays and what content goes. Hopefully, you learn to write laser-focused blog posts so that you cut excess words and not useful content, but even if you have a tight post, you will still have to choose to leave some content out.
- Some long posts are better served as serial posts. If you are talking about how to craft and engaging fictional character, you can choose to dump all you know into a single post or plan a serial. You may say,
"Next week, I am writing 5 posts on crafting a character. Each day I will look at a specific element of character development."
Not only will this help you create shorter posts that may be read by the masses, but it will give you content for 5 days! Also, those interested in this topic will be eager to check in each day to see the next post.
- If you do have an lengthy post, break up the text with bullets, lists and short paragraphs. Keep your main points at the beginning of the sentence and use bold text to set it out. This gives your readers the option of scanning and pulling out the good info while giving them more info to chew on if they see something that catches their eye.
I wish I could give you a magical word length for the perfect post, but often, it's not how many words you have but how you choose to display and format those words that make the biggest difference. One thing I did to help change the way I write post was to look at posts I like to read. I noticed how they were written and incorporated those traits into my post.
If you look at most of my posts, you will see I use lists extensively now. I also bold the first line of the list items. It wasn't always like that, but I noticed that those are the kind of posts that help me quickly digest information on other blogs. This may not be your style. That's OK. Just take a look at your posts and see how you can make it more reader friendly. A little work on your part can help you create great posts that are read my many, many people. And it can help you create posts that people look forward to getting in their RSS reader or e-mail!
Tony Eldridge
4 comments:
My friend Bill Seaver, at microexplosion.com, gave me some great advice. He suggested that you plan your blog with a "meal" to "snack" ration. That is, you view some posts as meals and some as snacks. I'm sure you can tell how this relates to length already.
I don't do a very good job at maintaining a steady ratio. I tend to just write what's on my mind and sometimes it comes out as a snack and sometimes as a meal.
As a good ratio, if you were posting 3 times per week, you might want to do one meal and 2 snacks. If you're posting 5 times, you may want to do 2 meals and 3 snacks.
Either way, your comments about bullets and highlighting are right on the money when it comes to offering meals in a blog post.
For guest bloggers, I always tell them keep it under 500 words if possible, although my Thursday Excerpts can be up to 1000 words.
I also use visuals often to help break up a post.
For the most part, I keep mine around 250-400 words.
L. Diane Wolfe
www.circleoffriendsbooks.blogspot.com
www.spunkonastick.net
www.thecircleoffriends.net
Hi Tony,
As usual great content and post. I think our span of attention has gotten so short. Just take a look at Twitter and its 140 characters. I follow the three C's: Clear, Concise and Correct as my blog motto. If I can get my point across in 300 words, I do it, but I also have learned good content means good reading no matter how long it is. Thanks again for your book marketing tips. I am an avid reader of your posts: short or long.
Joe
Thanks, Joe! I have learned that with a little effort on my part, I can usually edit my posts to include all the important stuff and cut out the fluff. But sometimes my pure enjoyment for the written word gets in the way, and I use more words than really needed. You make some excellent points.
Post a Comment