Bloggers: Does Size Matter?


Size Matters in Blog PostsJonathan Fields says size matters for bloggers.  Size … ahem … of blog posts, that is.

He has pulled together a fascinating roundup of comments from bloggers about the optimal length of posts.  One repeated theme seems to be: it all depends on your audience and the style of your publication. 

Some blogs do extremely well with short 150-word posts.  Others lean toward longer, in-depth pieces.

I have found that even if you like to publish longer pieces (as I do) it’s important to mix in shorter-length posts. It lightens things up. 

What’s your opinion?  What length do you like to read?  Do you prefer frequent, shorter articles?  Longer articles?  Or a mixture?  

And if you have a blog, what size and style of posting has worked best for you? 


More in: 11 Comments ▼

Anita Campbell Anita Campbell is the Founder, CEO and Publisher of Small Business Trends and has been following trends in small businesses since 2003. She is the owner of BizSugar, a social media site for small businesses.

11 Reactions
  1. I would have to agree. I like a majority of smaller size articles with a few bigger ones mixed in. I liked your comment in his article about needing small salads with a meat & potatoes diet.

  2. DwayneLattimore.com

    I personally believe that everything depends on what type of information you’re delivering to your readers. Contingent on the subject at hand my posts may be short or long depending on information being delivered.

    Dwayne Lattimore

  3. I agree it depends on the topic, but I also prefer smaller articles with a sprinkling of longer ones. As I’m sure many people do, I follow a lot of blogs, so I find myself gravitating more frequently to the ones that I know will be a quick read (but editorial rather than link posts) with the occasional special treat of something in-depth. Though I don’t write on my own blog as often as I should, I attempt to follow this philosophy but usually run longer than I intend.

  4. Amanda, we all need a little something light to nosh on. 🙂

    Dwayne and Kelly, the type of information really does dictate length. And I think your point, Kelly, about running longer than you intend is telling, too. Some subjects just take a certain number of words to cover them appropriately. You only find that out once you start writing. A 200-word post turns into 750 before you know it.

  5. MarketingDeviant

    It really depends on the blogger. Some are unconformable or exhausted after writing a very long post so they post only every 2-3 days. Shorter articles capture first time visitors much better. I like to summarize my articles in 4 paragraphs. It all depends on the blogger and their style.

  6. When I read blogs, I usually end up skimming over the longer ones unless they really grab my interest. However, when I write I can’t keep it brief no matter how hard I try.

    -Jeff-

  7. I think it definitely depends on the topic and who your audience is. For business blogs, HR blogs, etc. I prefer a majority of shorter posts with medium and long length ones mixed in. For food blogs, I like longer posts that tell stories and give some insight into the recipes. But parenting blogs seem to be most interesting when they are long posts with a few short ones mixed in.

  8. Anita – Thanks so much both for contributing to this article and for sharing it here with your readers.

    Funny thing is, for me, I tend to write longer article-type posts, though, after writing this particular one and getting so much incredible input from so many very accomplished bloggers, I will likely begin to mix in more soups and salads along with my 7-course feasts!

  9. I tend to write longer posts on my blog, because I am a long-winded person. However, I have received some feedback from readers saying they prefer shorter posts. So I now try to do a mixture of both; sometimes throwing in one paragraph posts and other times writing a lot more.

  10. I go for something small on the Monday, a break on the Tuesday unless something pops up, the weeks main blog post on the Wednesday and then end on the Friday typically with a funny video clip. No blogging at the weekend.

    Jamie

  11. I write mostly shorter blog posts, but I try to write longer pieces too. I think it could be could to have a mixture. If a blog post is very long, I prefer to read it in chunks after browsing through it. Sometime I print it out and read it later on. It could be hard to stare at the screen for a long time…