It is a fact in the blogging community that your content has to be a certain length for it to get optimum engagement. Human beings generally have a short attention span averaging eight seconds. Therefore, you need to be able to capture the average reader's attention in less than fifteen seconds. The question of how long a blog post should be is one that writers continuously ask. Today, we have the answer for you on how long your blog post should be to gain the most attention and engagement from your intended audience.
Before we get into the main focus of this article, we would like you to know that the length of a blog post is not an independent factor in the success of your content. Other factors like keyword, writing style, CTAs, design, image optimization, and even content formatting, play a role in your blog post success.
Aspects To Consider When Determining Your Blog Post Content
❖ Purpose of the Blog Content
The purpose of your blog content is one significant aspect in determining blog post length. All content created is targeted towards achieving a particular goal, such as education, entertainment, or promotion. Therefore, shorter length blog posts are generally recommended for content intended to start a discussion or for social sharing. Longer and more detailed content is ideal for educational, review, or high Google ranking specific content.
❖ SEO Optimization
Research done on Google ranking found out that the highest-ranked content on Google is usually very detailed and longer than 1000 words. Therefore, if your goal is to perform well on the SEO ranking, then you will need to have a longer and more detailed blog content. The trick here is to make sure that whatever topic you write about is something people find relevant and useful. You don't want to waste all that time and energy on the content your audience finds irrelevant. Researching trending keywords and topic searchability is an excellent way to take advantage of trending searches by your target audience.
❖ Intended Target Audience
Before you start writing any blog post, you need to have an intended target audience in mind. The demographic could be a particular age group, geographical location, culture, or even people with certain habits. Once you have settled on your target audience, then identifying their specific needs, wants, interests, and so on, which will help determine the purpose and length of the blog content.
For example, is the demographic chosen interested in inspirational content, reviews, or entertainment? Remember, while longer content may be proven to have a higher engagement rate, if the content is not in itself engaging, you will lose more readers than you gain. So, make sure the material is something your target audience finds appealing.
❖ Social Sharing
As mentioned in the ''purpose of the blog content,'' content intended for social sharing should usually be shorter and optimized to be shared on any social media account. As social media platforms have become an increasingly useful marketing tool for businesses worldwide, optimizing content for your target social media platform is vital.
Research has shown that individuals will share shorter posts with their social media audience faster than a longer one. These posts will also get more comments on social media sites, therefore creating a higher engagement on these posts on social media.
While these posts may not necessarily rank high on search engines, they are, however, the perfect choice for marketing promotion and activities.
❖ Post The Right Headline
The right headline will not only make your blog post successful, but it will also help you determine the correct length for the said blog post. If the topic you are writing on is a difficult one to understand, then your blog post will have to be longer and more informative. However, if your post headline is on the lighter side, then you can write shorter and less serious content. Focus on the message without adding unnecessary fluff to the content.
How To Make Your Blog Post Longer
Now, you know the purpose of your blog post, and you have considered every other aspect necessary to choose the length of your blog post. Great! Here is how to reach your goal without writing a whole bunch of fluff that your audience will not find engaging.
● Outline
An excellent way to have a longer post is to outline the content you intend to discuss. An outline is like breaking your post down into smaller sections, and the smaller your sections are, the less intimidating it will be to write a long blog post. Outlining will help you focus on one part of your content at a time, and push you to provide the most adequate and detailed information for your audience.
A tip to outlining content is to ask yourself questions about your intended reader. Some questions include:
➔ What information is your target audience seeking?
➔ What else are they most likely to require to make their knowledge complete?
➔ How can you simplify the message for your audience to understand completely?
Questions like these will help you to think of the adequate outline for your blog content.
● Do Your Research
You can't have a successful long-form content without adequate research; it is just not possible. Carrying out detailed research will not only explain other aspects of your post's topic, but it will also help when having a writer's block.
You can research by reading related articles on the web, watching videos, talking to thought leaders in your field, working with marketing data to find the one that most aligns with your chosen topic, etc.
While these may seem like a lot of work, it is completely necessary to carry out detailed research if you are trying to write a long-form blog post.
● Edit Like A Pro
The process of editing any length blog post is essential. However, I would advise that you ask your editor to look at your blog post when you are done rather than editing it yourself. Doing this is vital because when you look at a blog post that you have freshly written, most times, the flaws in your writing aren't apparent to you. You also miss opportunities to expand on a particular point or outline. Getting a different opinion is an excellent way to ensure that all the outlines created in your blog post has been optimized accurately for length and usefulness. You can use sites like Trust My Paper or SupremeDissertations to find professional writers and editors.
Conclusion
While writing a long blog post has a lot of benefits, a shorter blog post carries its own different set of benefits. Do not be limited by a post length; instead, concentrate on the aspects of the posts to consider when creating the content.