W is for Word Count
We're almost to the end of A-Z Challenge! I can't believe I've come this far, never in my life did I dream that I'd ever do this! I'm haven't been keeping up as well as I've wanted to, but I'm proud of what I have accomplished.
Moving on to today's blogging tip, word count.
How long should one's blog post be? I've found that my shorter posts actually get more comments. Sometimes I ramble, but thank goodness I also schedule my posts in advance or I might be long winded.
Here's my general rule:
For people who visit lots of blogs, this is important. Much can be conveyed in very few words.
It also helps to break up what you say in small paragraphs so your readers don't feel overwhelmed.
Lists and bullet points help people who skim. (Even though we don't like it, lots of people skim) with lists you can get the main points across easily.
How long do you think a blog post should be?
Moving on to today's blogging tip, word count.
How long should one's blog post be? I've found that my shorter posts actually get more comments. Sometimes I ramble, but thank goodness I also schedule my posts in advance or I might be long winded.
Here's my general rule:
No posts longer than 300 words.
For people who visit lots of blogs, this is important. Much can be conveyed in very few words.
It also helps to break up what you say in small paragraphs so your readers don't feel overwhelmed.
Lists and bullet points help people who skim. (Even though we don't like it, lots of people skim) with lists you can get the main points across easily.
How long do you think a blog post should be?
Comments
I think 500 is a nice number.
What's more important to me is the line breaks. I hate BIG paragraphs with no breaks. It's just hard to read.
It it is a long post I'm reading, I'm more likely to skim if there are sufficient breaks because I won't get lost compared to if it's one huge paragraph.
And if it's a one giant paragraph, and I'm not totally invested in the post, I'm more likely to just quit.
I love bloghops. But when they get up into the 800-1000 word range, I tend to skim a lot more.
John at The Bathroom Monologues
Personally, my average post length has fallen from about 1000-1500 words to about 550-1000. (My Angelfire posts were often MUCH longer!) On occasion, depending on what the subject is, I may still have a post that's a bit over 1000 words. That's a big accomplishment for me, and short by my standards. I'm a serious intellectual, and forcing myself to write very short posts wouldn't reflect who I am. I can't think of very many posts I've made that were under 300 words.
As for word count, I generally try to keep it under 500 words but I think it really depends on the topic and the post's purpose.
I myself, don't mind longer posts if they contain great information.
Bear in mind that for some of us, pages take a ridiculously long time to load (blogger blogs with lots of side graphics are worst). So to spend longer waiting for the darn thing to load than it takes to read it can be a turnoff!
Hope you've enjoyed your A to Z-ing
Jemima at Jemima's blog