Some blog superstars out there have been advising bloggers to write shorter posts for quite some time now and I can’t begin to tell you how LIVID (OK, just a tad angry) that makes me.
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| Dam* right, it doesn’t. |
But first, let me clarify: By “superstars,” I mean those bloggers who have crazy amounts of GFC followers. I know what you’ll say: “But Annie, doesn’t having a ‘crazy amount of GFC followers’ mean you’re doing something right?”
Yes and No: Sure, it means you know how to write for the masses (you all know the posts that are trying too hard to be funny and practically beg for comments and followers–and then they get a shiz-ton of comments and followers?), but it doesn’t mean you necessarily know how to write for the masses. Because if you did, you wouldn’t be giving out crappy advice, like “write short posts.”
Here’s the thing: As far as search engine optimization (how your stuff gets found online) goes, short posts (i.e., those that are LESS THAN 300 WORDS LONG) can HURT you in the eyes of search engines because they’ll glance over your stuff and go, “Psh not worth it. Next!” :|
Another thing is that when you hear someone say, “people don’t want to read novels and blah blah blah,” you must RUN the other way. Because as far as marketing goes, they couldn’t be more wrong. I mean if they (you?) are after thousands of followers, then they’re partly right: Lazy, unengaged readers don’t want to read very long posts. But quality, engaged readers DO.
Which means there’ll always be a MARKET for people who perhaps find solace or lose themselves in a well thought-out piece.
For instance, sometimes when I come across a blog made up of beautiful, long, prose-style (read: not lists) posts that I instantly fall in love with and that has only one or two dozen followers on bloglovin (like Lovely Thoughts, which is, in one word LOVELY), I always wonder WHY IN THE WORLD it doesn’t have more followers. As in, “the world would be a better place if more people read and digested her stuff” and not the mindless “I’m trying to be judgey and funny at the same time haha” that many “superstars” blog about.
So that was my rant for today, I guess. Just remember to keep your posts at a length of at least 300 words, write concisely (not for the masses but for a niche), and remember you blog for you. Because followers matter, sure, but nothing beats a fan base built of quality readers. Also, your “novel”-long posts ARE getting read; you’ll see ;).
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PS- Maybe, just maybe those bloggers who complain about longer posts are probably just jealous that they can’t write long stuff as well as you (and *ahem* I), so they resort to writing shorter things–and telling everyone that short’s the way to go–because it’s what’s easiest. But hey, Rome wasn’t built in a day, right? (To each their own, I suppose.)
What do you think? Do YOU have a minimum/maximum word limit–or do you even care? Does quality trump quantity?