How To Get People To Read A 1000-Word Blog Post
War & Peace
Please welcome Jacqui MacKenzie of marketing agency Straight North, who I met via a circuitous route beginning with Twitter colleague Brad Shorr, also of Straight North. Find out how to keep people’s attention for longer than I can… Hey, where are you going?
The Internet has really done a number on people’s attention spans. For writers who create content for the Internet, it’s conventional wisdom to keep the piece short and sweet – especially when it comes to blogging. A typical blog post usually weighs in around 500 words or less, with the idea that readers get turned off by posts that are too long and word-y. But a post with 1,000 words or more can be a real winner if you know how to write it. Get tips below for writing a monster post that people will actually read.
Pick a topic that is new, relevant and interesting.
Make sure your topic is really, really good. Make sure it’s new and different. Make sure it’s relevant to what your readers are interested in right now. Let’s say you want to write a blog post on Pinterest, for example, today’s hot topic in social media and Internet marketing. There are a million blog posts and articles on Pinterest circulating the Web lately – what makes yours stand out? What can readers take away from your 1,000 words that they haven’t already heard, or that they can’t get from 300 words on the same subject?
Know what you’re talking about. And love it.
Once you’ve nailed down your topic, do your homework. If your readers are going to take the time to read your entire post, they likely don’t want to be swamped with “fluff.” That means you have to provide useful, valuable content in every single paragraph, so you better have a strong grasp on your topic. And you better have a strong interest in your topic, as well. Your readers won’t care about what you have to say if you don’t.
Tell a story.
A good story can help your readers connect with your voice and remain invested in the post. The story can be personal (let them know how you can relate to the topic) or hypothetical (give them a character or a situation that follows them throughout the piece). They’ll keep reading if they’re asking the question, “What happens next?” Just be sure to provide the answer.
Make it easy for your readers.
Let’s face it – you may have a lot to say on the topic, but your readers likely aren’t hanging on your every word. Many people read content online by skimming through the copy to find the information relevant to them. Or they’re reading your article and succumbing to distractions every few minutes, only to come back and forget where they left off. Make it easy for them by formatting your content with short blocks of text. Provide headers and subheads. Write lists and use bullets. Break up the copy with appealing images, and back up your content with relevant quotes.
Start out strong and finish stronger.
Grab your readers’ attention from the very beginning with a strong introduction that clearly states what the rest of the post will be about. Let your readers know what to expect in the 1,000 words to follow. Your conclusion should be even stronger, briefly summarizing the entire post without getting repetitive, and giving your readers the bottom line. A strong intro and conclusion can give lazy readers – the ones who just read the beginning and the end to get the basic gist – a reason to go back and tackle the meat of the post.
Always put quality over quantity. If you can say it in fewer than 1,000 words, then do it. Don’t get long-winded just for the sake of filling the page. But if you have something important to share, by all means, share it all!
Jacqui MacKenzie is a writer for Straight North, a Chicago marketing company that provides services in Internet marketing, social media and Web design. She writes for a wide range of clients, including safety glove providers and online payment gateway specialists. Check out the Straight North Blog, or follow Straight North on Twitter and Pinterest!
Photo credit: Robert Burdock, courtesy Flickr, CC 2.0.
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Hi Jacqui, Nice post ... interesting, Shakirah, how we all wound up here. I really like the point about clearly explaining your purpose up front. It's frustrating to go 300 words into a long post and still not know why you're reading it. This is an area where bloggers can learn a lot by reading newspapers. Reporters definitely know how to grab your attention and perfectly set up a story in the first few sentences.
@BradShorr Writers can definitely get too creative, Brad--we want people to read our stuff, but burying the point too deeply makes people wonder not only why they're reading, but why we're writing. Not good questions for a reader to end up asking...
Thanks for this post. It is dead-on accurate, and confirms what I myself preach. If you removed all references to blogs in this post, and put it forward as a lesson for creative writing or journalism (both of which I practice), it would have the same power and relevance. Bloggers need to think of themselves as personal essayists, even if they don't believe they are putting 'themselves" in the post.
I particularly like the bullet point "Tell a Story." That is the mantra of my Writer's Center class titled "Writing Compelling Blog Posts." Readers will stick with you if you've grabbed them with a strong narrative.
PatrickRwrites Yes, a strong narrative is key, especially since the success of a blog post relies so much on the conversational tone. And personal essayist -- I like that!
@PatrickRwrites "Bloggers need to think of themselves as personal essayists, even if they don't believe they are putting 'themselves' in the post." Like Jacqui, I like that thought a lot, Patrick, and I believe that approach makes it easier for writers to make valid and useful points without sounding dry.
ShakirahDawud I"m pleased you and Jacqui like the analogy with personal essays! It really only hit me about a year ago, but it's a key element of my curriculum.
Like Erica, this post is for me. In graphic design, there's a tip that also rings true here: WHITE SPACE IS GOOD. So putting in a nice big fat paragraph break between paragraphs or sections helps.
My daughter the writer says, "Make sure every sentence can stand on its own, and every word has a reason for being there." That gets rid of superfluous words.
Finally, I love the way nikolas_allen formats his blog posts. Every paragraph or so, he bolds the first few words! I swear, he can get me to pay attention to every word that way, and he writes some long posts. I don't know why bolding the first few words works to keep me glued, but it does. Maybe I subconsciously think, "THIS must be IMPORTANT!"
Check this one out: http://www.bamsmallbizconsulting.com/2012/03/17/successful-marketing-begins-with-strategic-positioning/
New England Multimedia I love what your daughter says. So true!
@New England Multimedia @nikolas_allen "White space is good." I will take that tip home with me, Michelle, thank you. And hey, look at you with all those nice paragraph breaks! They must have heard you this time, lol.
ShakirahDawud Shakirah, I have to type out my comment, cut and paste it into a text document, reformat with paragraph breaks, then cut and paste back into the comment field. They didn't fix the bug. I just figured out a workaround -- and it doesn't always work. ;)
Ha! This post has my name all over it. It's a struggle for me to write posts shorter than 800 words; I've definitely tipped the scales at 1K and above before. I can't help it. I think it's because I take time between posts. By the time I write one, I have more to say and weave in a story or two if it makes the content more relatable.
I love your tips here and am happy to say, at least I think so, that I do most of what you suggest here! ;)
@EricaAllison So true, Erica--the fact you can keep my attention past that thousandth word, especially. I think we also factor in the fact that we love reading your advice and you don't blog every single day, so when you "speak," we're ready to settle down and "listen."
ShakirahDawud EricaAllison Thanks for the comment, Erica! I agree that a break between posts can really help keep readers interested with those longer entries -- even get excited about them! -
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