 Article Writing & Marketing Insights |
Cut Up Your Long Articles
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Because longer articles aren’t always better…
Sometimes writing is easy. Not always, but once in a while the words just flow and you find that you have typed a brilliant article that runs 800, 1000 maybe even 2000 words.
It’s tempting when the words flow this easily to either keep writing or to publish your masterpiece right away. But wait! You may be missing even more potential views with your haste!
Before you send that article in – or keep adding to it – read it. Have you covered more than one area of your niche in this article? Is it possible that there are one, two or even more hidden gems within that would make great articles on their own?
It’s tough to know just how long of an article is too long. You don’t want to bore your reader, but you want to be thorough. You also don’t want your article to be so short that your reader isn’t entertained or informed enough to come back for more.
Why turn a long article into a few shorter ones?
- Shorter pages look easier to read. WIRED News did a study some years ago about scrolling down an article compared to clicking to the next article in a series and found that most readers thought the article that required scrolling was longer – even if it wasn’t.
- More articles create greater traffic and click-thru opportunities with about the same amount of effort and writing.
- Most web readers don’t just read a page and turn to the next like a book. Rather, they scan, then read what interests them, then click on a link, maybe go back.
(3) tips for breaking up longer articles into shorter, more effective traffic-building ones:
- Answer the question! A lot of times, when we are looking for a quick answer online, we often get a lot of other information we don’t want or need. Make your article answer the question you would want answered. Then make the next article answer the next question.
- Focus on providing short, scannable content, but don’t leave out the nuts and bolts, so that you can appeal to this type of reader.
- Provide links to more information. You’re article should stand on it’s own, but there is always the need for more information for some people – so provide them that information. Don’t feel like you have to keep it to yourself. You don’t want your reader to feel like you’re the used car salesman who won’t give a straight answer to your question!
You’ll be surprised at how many more article ideas you get simply by breaking up larger ideas. If you’d like to discover more about the concept of article sets, check out Chris Knight’s article titled Article Sets – How Authors Can Produce More Quality Articles in Less Time.
Next time you write a really long article, break it up into two or three smaller articles. Compare the performance of the three smaller articles to a long article similar to the original. You might be surprised to find yourself with more traffic.
Has this concept worked for you in the past? Leave a comment to share your experience with the rest of the EzineArticles community.
| Posted by Marc, Public Relations on July 28, 2009 at 8:23 am | 846 views |
11 Comments »
I want to help EzineArticles become a better site for everyone while generating traffic to my websites.
I have read several different content strategy recommendations and would like to know what works best for the readers, writers, and publishers of EzineArticles.com.
Website usability expert Jacob Nielsen says – “A mixed diet that combines brief overviews and comprehensive coverage is often best.”
So, I was wondering if it would be a better content strategy to write 2 short 400 word articles and one long 600 word article at a time?
Most important, do shorter articles convert more click throughs in comparison to long in depth articles?
Finally, has Ezine done any research (site statistics etc.) to see if readers and publishers prefer long or short articles?
[Reply]
I must admit that I`m quite surprised when I do a word count and find I`ve written far more than I would have imagined. As has been pointed out though, many readers aren`t looking to spend too long reading an article, they just want their question answered, or at least know where to go to find it. I must be a bit more disciplined in future.
[Reply]
Robert,
We know from internal stats that (2) 500 word articles always outpulls (1) 1000 word article in terms of traffic attraction.
The big picture question that must be asked here is this: Which size of article delivers the best user experience?
Often we get concerned when a type of article achieves a high CTR or high level of traffic attraction; yet fails to meet even basic standards of quality and thus could be presumed to deliver a poor user experience.
My recommendation is to write articles in the 400-800 word range, focus on delivering unique/original quality tips & strategies in your content while writing a high quantity of articles.
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More is not better, correct. The reader is looking for short and informative content that gives him the piece of information he is looking for quickly. Many readers are just “scanning” an article and not reading it word for word. One more reason to come to the point quickly. Don’t waste the readers time with long articles.
Gunter
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