Comments on: How Longer Feature Posts Improved My Blog

By: Vlad - Small Business and Web Design

Vlad - Small Business and Web Design — Mon, 07 Jan 2008 02:19:57 +0000

Last few months I see exactly same dynamics. But… I can’t stop writing smaller posts, they don’t seem to be very important to readers, but they are important to me. Plus, they keep ME in the loop of updating blog more often.

By: aLan

aLan — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 15:46:34 +0000

Nicely written and although I never thought about it it’s true, my posts that are more definitive and comprehensive are far more popular. Just the other day someone said to me “I think that the things you write about are so interesting but I can’t always get to the bottom of them”. He said “Maybe add more links” which really confused me because I always/regularly use links (even if they’re linked images which most people don’t get). But now that I read this, I realised that I’m trying to keep my posts shorter so people “want” to read them, but this is clearly not the case. Many thanks!

Also, if you ever read this, you may want to fix your paragraph break in the second last para…

By: CatherineL

CatherineL — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 00:41:29 +0000

Great info Leo – sometimes I get bored reading shorter posts that are not long enough to be about them. Mind you, I have the opposite problem and often write posts that are far too long!

By: Jesse Hines, Vigorous Writing

Jesse Hines, Vigorous Writing — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 20:51:53 +0000

Yes. Longer, feature-like posts that really explore the subject from differing angles and reach a legitimate conclusion are usually better than short, quick posts that offer random, drive-by insights.

Plus, writing when you feel like it, when you actually have something to say–that’s when you should write. Don’t worry too much about setting some strict schedule and adhering to it regardless of your lack of material for that day.

Blogging is a different form of writing and publishing than say, newspaper stories on daily deadlines; you should recognize that in your writing approach and adjust accordingly.

Bottom line: blogging when you truly have something to say and are motivated to put the time and effort in to cull together other resources (links to other posts that amplify your own) and write out a compelling, in-depth exploration of an issue–that will probably enhance your writing and the benefit from blogging that both you and readers desire.

By: pavs

pavs — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 14:24:30 +0000

Since this month on any single day I post somewhere aroung 8-15 posts a day. And because of the nature of my blog there are often things going around that i can talk about. I do “feature” posts atleast 3 times a week. and this month alone I am hitting 110+ posts. Whch resulted in almost double me subscription base from last month.

I think the secret here is that in the early stage of your blog one should concentrate more on quatity (but should have atleast 2 features well researched posts a week). But after the blog has reached a stage where it can be considered “established” (ie 1000+ feed readers), one can slow down and concentrate on quality, which will eventually drive even more readers.

You can see a detailed comparison of my feed readers and post count froom last month here: http://www.blogperfume.com/feed-analysis/index.php?months=6&uri=http://feeds.feedburner.com/linuxhaxor/zvzl&pro=1

By: Fiar

Fiar — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 13:18:20 +0000

Very few people can get away with writing long posts when your area is humor. A select few can do it. I’m not one of those select few.

I often see reviews of humor blogs that take a beating for being too long, and worse yet is the criticism that it could be shorter, if only the author had the talent to be brief. Ouch.

Maybe it’s not so bad that my posts are short after all.

By: Justin Dupre

Justin Dupre — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 12:51:52 +0000

I just wrote a blog entry on not forcing yourself to write, and I think it makes blogging more laid back like you say. You can find it here: http://www.moneyandblog.com/2007/12/how-to-write-horrible-blog.html

I enjoy writing longer posts, really. It allows for more creativity, and original idea to manifest in your blog.

Justin Dupre

By: Hyder

Hyder — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 12:24:31 +0000

It’s a steady procedure to go with longer analytical posts from short ones. I’ve noticed that smaller ones tend to get me more comments faster, the longer ones have done well too.

I guess your readers need to get prepared for longer type of posts, this will make them used to reading you at a slower pace and paying more attention to your feed.

But once you do, you can get away with shorter ones ;-)

By: Ruchir

Ruchir — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 11:20:13 +0000

I tend to do medium length post (between 300 and 600 words). I don’t really believe long articles are beneficial for you. Yes, they do tend to receive more comments and they also tend to do well in social media. But also think about the cons: You might get burnt out and also They take time to write. Of course, whether you burn out or not depends on your niche. But in my opinion, medium length posts are much better…

By: Henna

Henna — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 04:25:41 +0000

How do you know that the changes you made are “working”?

By: Dr.Mani

Dr.Mani — Thu, 27 Dec 2007 04:03:27 +0000

“I did not have time to write you a short letter, so I wrote you a long one” – Mark Twain

:-)

I agree with Caroline – replace ‘longer’ with ‘higher quality’ and you’ve hit the nail on the head.

All success
Dr.Mani

By: Complete Geek

Complete Geek — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 23:23:08 +0000

When it starts to feel forced, I know it’s time to take a mini break. Not a long break of weeks, just a day or two where I completely remove blogging from the picture. I still read other peoples blogs, but I don’t even think of writing a new post during that time.

I always feel recharged when I come back and more creative even. That’s what works for me anyways.

By: Natasha

Natasha — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 22:54:24 +0000

Hi. Thanks for this post. Like Leo, I tend to do a better job when I’m writing about something that I’m passionate about. I’m still new at this, so it’ll be interesting to see what style I develop over time.

By: Chris Vincent

Chris Vincent — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 22:47:19 +0000

Does a blog get boring if you only have feature posts? I see some large blogs (no names…) that just focus on the best things in life but they seem to have lost my interest. Hey, i can’t complain about the good content but it’s now boring because although they haven’t exhausted the content, it just doesn’t sound as much exciting anymore…

What would people do to continue giving out good feature posts while keeping the blog with a good level of interest?

By: The Investor's Journal

The Investor's Journal — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 22:26:09 +0000

I tend to keep a post “featured” for one week. Two weeks if I think it provides exceptionally high value to my readers.

By: Jo

Jo — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 21:57:00 +0000

When I started blogging, I felt like I had to post something every single flapping day — and you’re right, even though its a personal blog about my own stuff, I was burning out. I felt like if my readers didn’t see something every day they’d take their inbound link and run away.

I post as regular as I feel like it now and most days it is daily. The feature article works great for money making blogs, but I wonder if I could expand my weekly same topic post more? Thanks!!

By: DJ

DJ — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 21:56:49 +0000

I’ve had mixed results on this. I have Beer Nuts articles which are quick notes about stupid people and beer, and some serious feature articles which span several pages. The top articles come from each category, and I think both tend to work. The shorter articles allow me to keep the site updated frequently while I work on longer articles.

By: Rodney

Rodney — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 21:53:26 +0000

Thanks 4 the N sight. I’ve been considering moving to a schedule, but prefer posting when I feel inspired.

Ifind that I also prefer longer more in depth post. Both writting them and reading them. I do like to be spontaneous from time to time. For example to use a shorter post to direct my readers to something I may have just discovered and likely won’t make a detailed post about myself.

By: Jamie Harrop

Jamie Harrop — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 21:41:15 +0000

There seems to be common misconception that for a blog to be successful, you must post at least once a day. But the fact is that there are many successful blogs that less than that, such as one post a week

I’ll be honest and say I fell in to the ‘trap’ of posting once or more a day. Like you, Leo, I sometimes feel myself having to force a post. However, it’s certainly very hard to change a schedule once you and your readers are used to it.

Once you have a schedule, it’s not easy to adjust to a new one. If you’re thinking of changing schedule, my advice would be to do it as soon as possible. The longer you leave it, the harder it will be to change.

By: Meeg

Meeg — Wed, 26 Dec 2007 21:40:52 +0000

Good advice. For the most part I’m proudest of my long posts that give a depth of information about a topic. But I think readers might appreciating mixing it up with some shorter, lighter posts too.