How to Find the Perfect Length for Your Post

How to Find the Perfect Length for Your Post

Of the thirty-four thousand or so blogs that currently swell my reader, the average post length runs the full gamut from a few sentences barely clinging together to a mounting migraine waiting to happen. As with all things blogging, there are no hard rules. Writing style of the author must meet reader expectations in even measure to best dictate the length of each post.

But is there an ideal length for a blog post?

Since post length not only varies from blog to blog, but often from post to post, is there an optimum post length that generates the most traffic, invites the most discussion, or cements your readers into fans? I would say no, and by trying to fit inside narrow criteria we only succeed in the limitation of our possibility.

I recently came to the realization that I had been keeping myself far too confined while writing for Writer Dad. What had started out as something novel had slowly drifted into a formula. Each and every post, give or take, ran about five hundred words. When I started Writer Dad I followed no template, I simply wrote in the way that made the most sense to me. It was exciting, the response was encouraging, and I failed to make the growth I should have. Because I was unwilling to follow a template, I became a slave to my own.

After taking a little blogging break, I returned to Writer Dad with a fresh pair of pupils, seeing my half year of work like an old city after a new snow. With renewed vigor I endeavored a different approach. While talking about my last day of high school, I ran a post that ran a few syllables past two-thousand words; four times my normal length. I wondered if it ran too long. Certainly, I mused, it wasn’t what my audience was used to. I wasn’t sure if I should run the post in full, break it into pieces, or set it aside to later serve my memoirs.

I elected to publish the post and the results were a roadmap to a new way of thinking.

It was an important piece of writing and it received a warm and generous response. I was left with the lingering notion that I should embrace the liberty inherent in having my own blog, rather than simply resign myself to the prison of past procedure. Blogs are an exciting medium, changing slower than thought, but faster than law. The most exciting bloggers are those who adopt the medium not as a frame to hold a single snapshot, but as a wide canvas to fill with shades of surprising color.

A 500 word post, a 3000 word essay, or a single sentence spilling into an engaging video. There are no rules. Yet, as humans we find it all too simple to manufacture them so that we have something to follow. Fixed rules do not fit this medium that is still as soft and yielding as unbaked clay. Having said that, it is best to keep your audience surprised. Not jarred. I prefer blogs that have a baseline or standard to expect. It is then easy to recognize the surprising difference when it appears. Here are a few simple tips to help you find an appropriate length for your typical post, so you can color outside the lines whenever the crayons are calling.

Posting Schedule

Your posting schedule can help dictate the length of your post. If you are regularly posting only a couple of times per week, you might want to consider publishing posts that are a little on the longer side. If you are posting with more frequency, say once a day or more, shorter posts might be a better fit. Services like Twitter are slowly replacing the singular notion of a constantly updated personal blog. This will eventually clear more room for domains of longer thought.

Niche

What are you writing about and who are you writing to? The best post length covers your topic thoroughly. No more, no less. An in depth review of a system or product will invariably require a lot of words, a simple product announcement or case in point will not. If you have gathered a few interesting online finds, a sentence to introduce each link may be more than ample. Write toward your topic and make sure all your points are covered. Never fill space to just to hit a target word count. This will only cause your copy to suffer.

Attention Span

The average web reader, it seems, can sometimes share the attention span of a toddler. The average Writer Dad reader sticks around for about three minutes. For a long time I thought this was normal length of stay. Turns out, it isn’t. The actual online average is on the short side of a minute. Each blogger must know the limits of their individual audience and publish to that end. This is a place where it is appropriate to check your stats. Knowing how long your average reader stays fixed to your content should help you write accordingly.

SEO

The rules of SEO are sometimes about as easy to understand as stereo instructions written in Klingon. It isn’t that they’re difficult exactly, it’s more that they seem to constantly evolve depending on who you speak with and whether or not Mercury is in retrograde. It is commonly agreed however, that posts that are not too long and not too short are ideal for search engine optimization. This would mean a post running in length from two-hundred and fifty words to no more than a thousand.

Ultimately, the best length is the one that makes you feel most comfortable with your content. No more, no less. Wherever you end up, just remember it’s only a suggestion. Never be afraid to do more or less with your blogging. It is your voice that makes all the difference.

Never write just to darken the space, don’t press publish until it’s done, and remember your words are forever.

Sean

Sean Platt is a father and ghostwriter who also tweets.

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