As a speaker at a conference at Mizzou once told a group of aspiring journalists, “Writing over your word count requirement is simply journalistic masterbation.”
I am not in the print news industry anymore (thank the Lord above), but I have learned a few things about writing through those trying years. Though a bit crass, the speaker’s illustration makes a great point — newspaper readers today don’t want to read for the fun of it.
The same is often true of blog readers. Readers of business blogs want the information they came for and they want yesterday.
People have the attention span of a goldfish; that means you have approximately 8 seconds to capture someone's attention. Brevity is key, people.
Here are a few tactics to do just that.
Stop Being Scatterbrained
That coworker who drinks too much coffee and talks a mile a minute, changing subjects every 10 seconds? Yeah, don’t be that person. (I admit, I’m sometimes that person.)
Focus on one topic at a time. If you find yourself wandering, make a note and write a separate blog on that tangent.
But What If I Have A LOT To Say About Puppies?
You, the pet store owner, might have quite a bit to say on those cute and cuddly puppies. And that information might very well be of use to someone. But for the sake of your blog’s readership, don’t write 800 words on puppies — at least not in one sitting.
Find yourself in this predicament with a certain topic? Write a series of blogs on said topic. If you plan out the blogs in an order that makes sense, you can even make an ebook with those blogs after the fact or create a SlideShare.
Repurposing content not only saves you time, but it also provides just another net to capture new followers.
size difference in olympians doesn't matter, depending on what sport you do 😉 6'8" & 4'8" pic.twitter.com/xiU9zIBXJH
— Simone Biles (@Simone_Biles) August 2, 2016
If You Must Write A Long Blog…
If for some reason you are forced to write a novel in blog form:
- Make it pop! Add some personality to that banality. Learn how here.
- Format it for optimal reading. For example, include bulleted lists and bolded text. Here are 6 popular types of blog posts.
- Add pictures, lots of pictures. This can even boost your blog traffic!
Well, folks, I got to my point in less than 400 words. I think you can, too!
