B³H³ Blog Network

Here’s a popular question from bloggers both old and new:

How long should a typical post be?

I think that what bloggers who ask this question would really like is a firm number - for example, “the best length for a blog post is 336 words.”  Unfortunately, there isn’t a firm number that I can give you.  However, I can give you some guidelines for the ideal blog post length.

• Make it as long as it needs to be and no more!
  Sounds like one of those sarcastic replies, but it’s true.  Make the post as long as it needs to be to say what you want it to say and no longer.  If you can say that you want to say in a couple of sentences, then that’s how long it needs to be.  Don’t feel the need to pad it out.
• Give your post a title - and stick to it!
  If your post is called “How to do XYZ with ABC” then make sure that you post tells the reader how to do XYZ with ABC.  Be careful about wandering off on tangents and asides - this can bulk out your post unnecessarily and make your reader lose interest.
• Maintain your reader’s interest
  If your post looks like it’s entering “heavy reading” territory then think of ways to make is more interesting - add images, break up the text into bullet points, etc.
• Part 1, Part 2 …
  If your post looks like it’s going to become a monster, consider breaking it up into multiple parts over a few days.  This way you don’t overload your readers.
• What are your readers used to?
  What kind of post length are your readers used to?  If you normally write one or two paragraph posts and you dump in a War and Peace you are apt to upset readers (same goes in reverse).  Give your readers what they are used to!

And by the way, this post is 336 words long.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 16th, 2006 at 12:41 pm and is filed under Blogging. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.