How long should your blog post be?
This is a great question without a perfect answer or is there? Hmmmm.
If you look around people will tell you as a rule to make your posts 300 – 700 words but I follow blogs that regularly break these rules yet are excellent blogs.
One of my favorite blogs that I read daily often has blog posts that are very short and sometimes less than 200 words. I have seen the occasional post that is a single paragraph. The blog is Seth Godin’s and some of those very short posts are his most thought provoking.
Another blog I follow regularly and it is no where near as prolific as Seth’s but each post is a mini-report not a simple blog post. Quite frequently the posts can run 1000 words or more and anything under 700 is a short post.
The key is not how short or how long your blog posts are. The key is do you cover a specific topic and do it well.
If you can make your point in 100 words that is long enough. Very few of us are pithy and succinct enough to do that regularly.
Likewise most of us are not up to doing an epistle on a single topic regularly either,
The real key is to provide good targeted information in as many words as it takes. So go take action and get a post done today while you are motivated.
About the author
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Mike Paetzold got started blogging in 2003 and has become an expert on using WordPress. He has become known as The WordPress Guy. After being an under ground niche marketer using his blogs he has surfaced to share some of the ways he uses blogs to enter various niches profitably. |
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7 comments
Andre Arnett on November 30, 2009 at 5:32 pm
You are so right about this being the perfect question without a perfect answer. I have always followed the rule of between 3-700 words. I at times run way over that and then there are times when I don’t feel I have very much to say and might not make the 300.
I think I try to provide good content but I guess the only way to tell for sure is if people are responding to what you say. Like this blog comment sometimes it may be to much just like my blog.
Hmmmm… maybe I need to take action and put some of these words on my blog. -:). Thanks.
Andre Arnett´s last blog ..What is working and what is not on my blog
Shelby Carr on November 30, 2009 at 6:05 pm
Hi Mike,
Great post. You are right. It doesn’t matter the size of the post it’s the quality of it. I much prefer a smaller post to read because of time constraints, but I love reading a larger post if it interests me.
Earl Netwal on November 30, 2009 at 6:17 pm
While there is a clear preference for brevity, getting the point across is the main criteria.
Earl Netwal´s last blog ..Helping Offline Businesses Use The Net Effectively
Richard Perkins on November 30, 2009 at 6:45 pm
Hey Mike,
Finally decided to go ahead a start a blog. Of course I used Wordpress and of course all of your posts are great information for any Wordpress blogger.
It is funny you asked this question because my wife said I posted too long of posts, that people would not want to read them. Now I know what the rule of thumb is. I still won;t posts shorter posts because as you said above you need to post your point no matter how many words.
Great info once again! Thanks!
Richard Perkins´s last blog ..List of Excellent Wordpress Plugins
Brett McEllhiney on December 1, 2009 at 3:50 am
I have often wondered about this as I have definitely gone from one extreme to the other. It’s good to know that it’s not really the length of the content, but the message you are trying to get across.
Some people just take a little longer to get their point across than others, myself included.
Thanks Mike for the great info.
Brett McEllhiney´s last blog ..Niche Site Club is Live!
Anne @ b6s.net on December 1, 2009 at 5:55 am
I agree that a post can’t be too short (ok, well, if you can put it in under 140 characters, just tweet it
). I do think it’s too easy to make a blog post too long, thus deterring your reader. My rule of thumb is, if it’s longer than 1000 words, it needs to be broken down into more chewable chunks.
Anne @ b6s.net´s last blog ..Nine Types of Blog Posts to Get Your Writing Juices Flowing
Fred Lotgering on December 1, 2009 at 11:11 am
Great to see all those suggestions.
Seems like 140 – 700 is the range…
Below 140 tweet it and above 700 becomes boring.
Google loves 500 – 1000
Fred
Fred Lotgering´s last blog ..HOME BUSINESS RESOURCES LOTCON BIZ SOLUTIONS