A Word Is Worth A Thousand Words
Friday, January 9th, 2009I received some advice from my most trusted friend today: “your blog posts are too long”… Yikes!
Well, I have to admit that I have known about this problem for a while; however, it is a tough habit to break.
From this advice comes this week’s lesson on how to write a blog. Avoid verbose blog posts. Essentially, do not use twenty words to make your point when 10 will work. Here are a few reasons why:
- Research shows that reading on a computer is significantly slower than reading print. Be respectful of your readers’ time and keep your article short.
- Attention spans have gotten shorter and people are not wiling to spend a lot of time reading.
- Today, the majority of people scan web pages rather than reading them. Long posts will reduce a reader’s ability to fully scan your post.
So, to heed the advice I received, I leave you with this: take care of your readers by keeping your blog posts short and to the point. Leave all the unnecessary fluff for someone else’s blog.
2¢ – Your two cents
Do you struggle with long posts?
How do you keep your posts short?
What other problems do you encounter when you write your posts?
Let me know your thoughts in the comments below. I would love to get your two cents on this post.
Do you like the photo in this post? It is courtesy of m00by’s events on Flickr.
