Bloggers have a lot to say
Often bloggers have a lot to say which is probably a good reason why they are blogging in the first place. The problem lays in their reader’s attention span or the fact that people want instant gratification or maybe just don’t have the time to read your pillar post.
You have to get it all out
If you are one of those bloggers who write posts that are comparable in length to a short story by Edgar Allen Poe, then you are probably thinking to yourself, “But Clifton I have a lot to say and want my readers to get exactly my point. I can’t help but write long posts!” Well, if that is you then I have a few solutions for you to consider.
Post breaking up isn’t hard to do
Do you have the TinyMCE Advanced plugin installed? If not, get it installed now.
- Go to Plugins in your WordPress Dashboard.
- Click on the Add New button.
- Search for TinyMCE Advanced.
- Click Install Now.
- Click Activate Plugin.
Alright, thanks for installing that plugin which now places an ”Insert Page break’ icon to your post editor. Now, you can break you overly long post into several pages. Place the cursor within your post and click the Insert Page Break icon to distinguish a break and create a new page for your post. What does this do? It doesn’t scare your visitors away when they see the behemoth blog post you’ve written. Remember, instant gratification. If they think they have to read all of that, they will bolt.
Create a series
Would you rather have one long blog post that is probably scaring your readers away or would you rather break that post into a series of small posts and give the illusion that you have more content? I hope that you would choose to create the series. Divide your post into a series of smaller posts each highlighting a point within the overall post topic. Here is an example of my My Four Secrets To Killer Blog Posts Series.
Be Bold
Look up. No, not literally at your ceiling. I mean move your eyes up the page and notice the subtitles above my paragraphs styled in bold. In fact, they aren’t just bold because I utilized the Header tags that are hidden under the Paragraph drop down menu in the post editor. This helps your on page SEO. The subtitles give your readers the opportunity to scan the page quickly and decide if there is actually going to be some points within the text that they will find interesting.
How much is too much?
Like always, the answer is “it depends”. But if you blog posts look more like a college essay and less like an informative summary then you and leaning in the wrong direction. Somewhere in between is a good target. Use your comments and feedback to gauge if you left too much information out.
Final Thoughts
This is a blogging tip to increase your page views, time on site, and reader interaction. If you are happy with writing your pillar posts and it doesn’t seem to impact your readers then don’t change a thing. Or just try out a few shorter posts and see if that changes anything. Everything is trial and error.
I would love to hear everyone’s feedback on this topic. What works for you? What are you comfortable with? Do you enjoy reading long blog posts or the shorter but informative ones?
Guess what?! You Have Too Many Plugins Installed Too
And…learn how to add post excerpts to your homepage by using the More Tag. Help your SEO and increase readership.
Then, share this post on Facebook and Twitter!
Clifton, I had to laugh at the next-to-last sentence. You’ve got us coming and going, eh?
I think some of my posts are too long, but I don’t fret about it. Time is relative and really depends on how badly you have to go to the bathroom ;)
Seriously, though, I only had one person tell me that a post was too long – and he wished it it hadn’t ended! That made my day, for sure.
Now, about those plugins…thanks for the link!
Cheers,
Mitch
.-= Mitchell Allen´s last blog ..Dinner Party Line of Sight =-.
LOL Thanks for the feedback Mitchell. I know this will be a nice topic to hear other bloggers’ experiences. I know that sometimes you just get into that groove and the flow just won’t stop. I think if that is the case, don’t break it just because it’s going to be long. If the content is happenin’ then ride it out. But my tips will help people avoid scaring their readers away if it looks like it’s going to take an hour to read one post. :) Plus, creating a series will help with search engine optimization by creating more content and linking to each other. Thanks man!
Hi Clifton
I’ve come over from Twitter as Mitch tweeted your post and I hadn’t met you before so wanted to come visit and have a look around. I’ve met lots of other bloggers through Twitter. Probably cos I spend so much time on there lol
I do admire you geeks who understand the inner workings of the blog world with all things techie. They are a mystery to me and I’m just glad I’ve met enough techies who blog who also come to my rescue when I get stuck.
Love writing articles and that’s why I wanted to read what you had to say. Well written post with salient points for newbies to take note of as they publish their posts.
Personally I will read long posts if they are well written and bounce off sites with poorly written posts. For me it depends more on the quality than the quantity of the post I am reading. Thanks for sharing Clifton.
Patricia Perth Australia
.-= Patricia@lavenderuses´s last blog ..Lavender Products Galore-Must Be Party Time =-.
Great to have you here from Twitter Patricia! You really hit it on the head about quality over quantity. That is something I should have covered in the post so I am glad you mentioned it. The quality and value of a blog post holds higher value then its length. Thank you for sharing and I look forward to hearing from you more often. :)
Clifton
I do NOT enjoy reading long blog posts at all. I have a short attention span (I’m sure you know this by now) so I like reading something that is short, sweet, and powerful. Before reading a blog post, I often skim through it just to see how lengthy it is. If it’s pretty long, I’ll pass. Sad but true.
Great advice Clifton. Thanks for sharing!
.-= Ashley Hatfield´s last blog ..You Have A Choice =-.
Hey hunny, thanks for the comment. I know you have a short attention span. My problem is that I just don’t always want to take the time to read an entire blog post. I will skim a longer post if it is broken up into points with subheaders so that I can pick and choose what I read. Thanks!
Sorry Clifton but I don’t understand I just put our goats pictures and registration on our web site.
LOL Marcy, since you aren’t really writing blog posts and just adding photos, you are the exception. :) Thanks for the comment.