what makes a written blog post perfect?
DESCRIPTION
That's right: written blog posts rarely get read. But you can achieve that by setting the right expectations and using the right hooks. For more details, just read the paper attached. Good luck!TRANSCRIPT
Freelance Copywriter www.biancamarieta.com
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How Long Is The Perfect Blog Post?
Have you ever wondered if the blog post
you’ve just written is too long… or too short?
How do you know how many words to write
in a blog article?
In 2013 we’ve seen the online world taking a
huge leap of faith and changing the “rules of the
game”. Content became one of the major players
of online success. Great content is about the
same thing with viral content.
There are a lot of types of online content, yet
written articles are among the easiest to create.
But how do you know when to stop writing…?
Can you write blog posts that get read? We’ve already seen what blogging can do to your business, and you now know how to write
a WordPress article.
Now pay attention to me for a second.
I am about to tell you a very important disadvantage of written articles: they rarely get read.
People prefer to watch a video, scroll an infographic or listen to a podcast.
People who are reading your copy at this very moment are already thinking about stopping.
You too are thinking about it as you are reading this very article.
Is this article too long for you? Not necessarily. Maybe I am not using the right hooks to keep
you interested in reading. Maybe you came here prepared for another kind of content… and
you ended up reading this instead.
So you are naturally thinking about giving up.
Wait a minute… am I saying I set up some expectations with this blog post? I surely did.
Freelance Copywriter www.biancamarieta.com
facebook.com/marietasblog
www.biancamarieta.com | www.biancamarieta.com
Setting and meeting expectations is the core of successful
articles.
CLICK TO TWEET
But there is another element that is equally important…
The length of a blog post Length is one of the expectations you are going to set up, willingly or not. Depending on the
type of article you are working on, its length will vary as follows: Short: 300-350 words
Medium: 500-700 words
Long: 900-1200 words
These values are purely indicative. Of course, you can write an article which belongs to the
Short category, but yours is 500 or 700 words long. If this is you, make sure you set the right
expectations from the very beginning… starting with the article’s title.
For example, when people read the title: “Your Short & Practical List For Christmas
Shopping” they expect to see a (short) list and a couple of reasons why it’s practical.
And that’s about it.
Don’t start writing about irrelevant things (such as the type of paper they should write their
list on – or whatever, you get the point). Share ideas for the list and then stop writing.
How long should text articles be? This article is all about text posts. Written content. So I created a list of 9 types of text-based
articles. I also tried to categorize them according to their length. All these values are
subjective, but they can be good indicators of when it’s time you stopped writing:
Freelance Copywriter www.biancamarieta.com
facebook.com/marietasblog
www.biancamarieta.com | www.biancamarieta.com
Text article types according to length
Short articles: Resources, News, Updates
Q & A
Personal Stories
List posts
Medium articles: How To’s
Tutorials
Part of series
Long articles: Pillar articles
Case studies
Notice that some of these articles can include other type of content besides written text. For
example, a lot of pillar articles and case studies also have infographics, presentations or
videos included.
Tip: Sometimes you simply can’t stop at 350 words. You need to write more, but at the same
time you can’t ignore the expectations you set. At this point there are two things you can do:
you either make use of extra hooks, or you split the article and create a series.
Are you at a loss? You’re writing about stuff you know needs to be out there; it’s quality content; it’s important
news from your industry; things which solve people’s problems.
But people are not reading your content. And even if they are… They are waiting for the
perfect opportunity to give up.
Freelance Copywriter www.biancamarieta.com
facebook.com/marietasblog
www.biancamarieta.com | www.biancamarieta.com
Don’t let them do that.
Because if they stop reading, you lose.
They will not share your article.
Worst, they will not recommend it to their friends.
Lacking the right hooks, your article is too long for them to read.
What do you do?
Don’t panic. There is hope. If you want to know how to improve your copy, I have a 3 part
article on how to write great webcopy that catches people’s attention. It’s webcopy that
sells. Webcopy that people actually read until the end.
It’s right here:
Webcopy that sells Part I
Webcopy that sells Part II
Webcopy that sells Part III
How long are your text articles? Do you set word limits when writing? Do you think
expectations, article length and SEO factors are important in determining if your
content is read?
Let me know what you think in a comment below.
Thanks for downloading and taking time to read this document! I am waiting for your
opinions on my website.
I look forward to meeting you on social platforms! Let’s connect and grow our
businesses together. You can find me on: