Longer Articles Serve Multiple Purposes for You
The content experts at Ray Access encourage you to write consistently, regardless of the length of each article — as we’ve advised you in the past. Consistent blog posts, delivered every week (or more frequently), help your website rank higher with the search engines. All that extra content helps visitors and search engines alike learn what your business is all about.
Long blog posts can do more than 350- to 500-word articles. Short articles provide just enough space to explain one key point or share a short list of tips or tricks. It’s just too short to delve into a topic or shed real enlightenment about any subject. And the best blog posts — shareable articles — are those long blog posts that educate, inform and entertain.
Research Supports Long Blog Posts
Multiple expert sites suggest that the best length for a blog post is 1,600 words, such as:
One of the reasons this is so perfect is that this length takes an average reader about seven minutes to get through. Most people who find your topic interesting have seven minutes to learn something useful. If it’s any longer, readers tend to lose interest.
How Much Is 1,600 Words?
How much do you have to write to reach 1,600 words? If an average book contains about 250 words per page, then count on 1,600 words fitting close to six and a half pages. The same is true of double-spaced, typewritten pages. That’s much less than a chapter. You can write that.
Another way to look at it is to compare how other documents stack up. For example:
- The Declaration of Independence has about 1,450 words.
- Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech has a little more than 1,600 words.
- The average 10-minute speech has 1,500 words.
- This blog post contains approximately 1600 words.
The Long and Short of It
It still holds true that consistency wins the long race for gaining exposure, which is a vital first step toward generating new business. If you post on your blog regularly, you quickly build up a treasure trove of excellent resources for your customers and potential customers. And every blog post, long or short, stays on your website forever for anyone who wants to find it.
Even if your blog posts are short, around 500 words, they can still offer benefits to your website. But they need to be useful to your customers. They need to explain your point of view clearly, and it’s best if you write about topics that aren’t widely available. Give your audience real value, and they’ll remember you. They’re more likely to return in the future.
On the other hand, you have more opportunities in your long blog posts to build your case. It’s one thing to share your opinion on a matter of relevance to your customers. It’s another to back it up with research. A longer post packs more punch. It’s more persuasive. And that’s often the reason you write blog posts: to share information, tips and insights so that when your readers are ready to buy what you sell, they’ll think of you.
Why Everyone Doesn’t Write Long Blog Posts
Long blog posts are inherently more difficult to write. They take more time to complete than short blog posts. But since longer posts are proven to have a better response rate than shorter ones, it’s a trade-off in terms of what’s better for drawing people to your website. Of course, your results may vary. Your blog posts still need to be entertaining, engrossing reads.
Additionally, not every topic deserves 1,600 words. You need to dig deeper to find those juicy topics that your customers may find interesting and worth their time. If you’re a plumber, write about a common problem, and offer a number of reasonable solutions that don’t involve “call your plumber.” If you’re an accountant, a list of year-end tasks could make a valuable long blog post.
7 Reasons to Write Long Blog Posts
And now for the primary purpose of this blog post: to share with you why we recommend that you write long blog posts at least occasionally. Find some extra time once a month to craft a blog post that approaches 1,600 words. Here are the reasons why:
- Search engines like long blog posts. As research progresses year by year, the top-ranked sites had longer and longer content. Several years ago, a 900-word blog post may have received top marks, now it’s 1,600 words, and the mark seems to get a little longer every year. If you write long blog posts for no other reason, this one is compelling, since writing blog posts is a way of attracting readers and search engines in almost equal measure.
- Longer articles keep visitors on your website for a longer period. If you’re writing engaging content in your blog posts, readers are more likely to read until the very end, which keeps them on your website. This fact matters because other studies have confirmed that the longer a visitor stays on your website, the more likely that person is to buy from you.
- You can cover a topic completely in a longer post. As mentioned earlier, you have the space to go into depth about the topic you’re covering in a long article. In a longer piece, you can set up the situation, walk readers through your points, one by one, so that by the end of the article, you have persuaded your audience to adopt your advice. That’s the essence of successful rhetorical writing.
- Your readers stand to gain a greater ROI for their time. In other words, your audience gains a greater understanding of your arguments or your reasons for following your recommendations. If they follow you all the way to the end of the article, their payoff should be exponentially greater than that from a much shorter article. Make sure that remains true; reward your readers for reaching the end.
- Your website can stand out from the crowd. Because most businesses don’t create long blog posts, yours will automatically stand out. While some marketing experts, like Neil Patel, suggest creating 3,000-word blog posts, which is all well and good if you have the kind of subject matter that holds up for a good 15-minute read! We believe that a 1,600-word bog post gives you enough space and your readers enough time to absorb your topic. This length also keeps you as the writer from rambling or diverging onto other topics.
- Longer articles are more popular. They also exhibit longer staying power. The reason is that long, rich content is shared more than the short bursts of opinion that short blog posts too often contain. Marketers have determined that blog posts longer than 1,500 words are shared more on social media sites. As odd as that sounds, research has backed it up.
- Practice makes perfect. Writing is a craft; the more you do it, the better you get. Your first long blog post may not turn out great, but with practice, you will improve. Additionally, if you get in the habit of writing long blog posts now, even occasionally, you’ll be more likely not to blanche at the prospect of writing a white paper or even a book. If you don’t want to put the time in, just ask Ray Access to write it for you.
If You Do It, Do It Right
Almost everyone can write, but not everyone can write a long blog post and write it well. Remember that you’re writing for people first, not search engines. Keywords are fine to use, but don’t overstuff your article with them. At Ray Access, our recommended use is one percent density — that is, once every 100 words or so. We’ve written about best practices for using keywords before.
Also, keep your article moving forward. Break it up with subheadings, as we do in this blog post. Make every word count. Extraneous fluff gets in the way. Say what you want, and say it in your own voice. Readers will connect with you and be more likely to follow you to the end. And that should always be your goal.
Final Thoughts from Professional Writers
With so much evidence on the benefits of long blog posts, you should start writing them right away. They’ll attract more attention and keep visitors on your website longer. Longer blog posts that are also engaging and pertinent to your audience should lead to more sales and a greater name recognition for your business. As professional blog writers, we can vouch for the efficacy of writing long articles for your website.
Then again, if your long blog posts are well-written, well-constructed, interesting and informative, the ultimate length may not matter that much. So don’t set out to write exactly 1,600 words. Instead, concentrate on the content. Keep your sentences and paragraphs short so your readers have white space to rest their eyes as they make their way through your masterpiece.
Addendum: By the way, did you realize that a list of seven items is perfect? More items on the list and your readers won’t be able to remember them all. Too few items on a list means it’s not as valuable — at least in the minds of your readers. The magic rule is: seven, plus or minus two. So when you’re writing your next blog post, regardless how long it is, strive for that magic number. Another solid tip from the experts at Ray Access.
Ray Access is a content marketing firm that delivers targeted words to empower your business. Contact us about your specific project to receive a quote or discuss your needs. We write website copy, blog posts, e-newsletters and more. Everything we do is thoroughly researched, professionally edited and guaranteed original.