How long should your blog posts be?
As many words as it takes to get your point across.
While the bottom line really is that content length is irrelevant and that your blog posts should be as long as they need to be, I know this answer isn’t very supportive or explanatory.
So, let’s review a few other considerations so you understand what I mean.
Your content is unique
You can read a hundred different answers to this question of, “how long should my blog posts be,” and none of them will give you a definitive answer that works for you because they aren’t you.
Your content is built at an intersection of your brand voice, the value you offer, your company’s unique brand positioning and solutions, the needs and desires of the audience you’re looking to reach, and your background, which means your content is never going to collide head-on with another company.
The length of your content therefore, is completely dependent on the point you’re trying to make, the attention span of those ideally reading the content, and the value you’re delivering.
SEO matters (to an extent)
While SEO (search engine optimization) isn’t the only way readers will find your blogs, it can be an important source of traffic. So, if you’re continuously putting out very small, microscopic blog posts or updates, I might recommend grouping a couple posts together or finding creative ways to expand on them.
It’s generally recommended that blog posts have a length of at least 300 words, so that the post is easier for Google bots to find, retrieve value from, and index in search results for other readers to discover.
However, if you are consistently putting out longer-form content and want to publish a quick update or one-sentence blog every once and a while – it’s okay. Don’t worry about it!
On the other hand, if your content is quite long (1500-2000 words plus), and you’re struggling to find time to create regular updates because of the length, it may be worth splitting some posts up into multiple blogs where it makes sense.
Not only will this improve user experience by making the content more digestible (also an important part of SEO), it will also allow you to show up more regularly.
Content length is something to have fun with! Consider what you want your audience to get out of each piece, what your overall goals are with producing content, and some of these technical aspects when creating content.
Ask yourself: what makes sense for this piece in particular? And recognize that there are no steadfast rules you need to follow.
Testing is going to be your best friend
I’ve written before about how important data is when making decisions in marketing. Not only using 3rd party data, but also doing your own research and analysis of your audience so you know what content is going to resonate most.
Play around with your content length to see what sticks.
When do you get the most traffic? What about comments or feedback? Depending on your content goals, the answers to these questions can help you form a strategy and plan that makes sense for your company.
The bottom-line
When creating and publishing content you need to ask yourself whether or not the value you want to provide is there for your audience.
Why should your audience care?
What are your goals? What is your point? And is it coming across in your content? Does your audience have the context and information they need to understand what you’re sharing?
Good content is less about the length, and more about confirming that you're helping your audience with an actual problem, or giving them a perspective with information that's useful.