Small business bloggers are caught in an annoying dilemma. On one hand blogs that post quality content frequently attract up to 5x more traffic than less updated blogs. But, small business owners don't have time to research and write more than a couple posts a month. Something has to give.
I asked myself the question, "Do quality posts have to be long (700+ words)?" After looking through past posts on Pushing Social, I discovered that my better posts were my shorter ones. I also scanned through other small business blogs and noticed that the shorter posts gathered more comments and social shares.
Hmm... Could there be a use for short, concise posts?
The Blog Short
Most people are familiar with Seth Godin's short pithy missives that come out everyday before the rooster crows. I'm not recommending these. Instead, I suggest you try writing 400 - 450 word posts that bundle one powerful idea in a concise package.
Here's the "Blog Short" template:
1. First 100 words: Explain your idea. Only write about one idea. You'll see why in a moment.
2. Next 100 words: Demonstrate how your idea is relevant to your reader
3. Next 100 words: Offer advice on implementing the idea
4. Last 100 words: Recap your idea, benefits, and call-to-action.
Sticking to the template has its benefits -
Why Your Readers will Love the Blog Short
On average people can read 400 words in about 90 seconds. As you know, time is a finite and scarce resource for most folks. Your readers will appreciate your ability to quickly get to the point.
After 15 years listening to presentations, I know that the person that needs 30 minutes to say something is often less intelligent than the person who can elegantly get their point across in 10 minutes.
Brain researchers theorize that we have about 7 open spots in our short-term memory. Once the spots are filled, we start dumping information to accommodate the new data. Long posts often weave dozens of ideas into one document which means that most of these ideas get lost. Not so with Blog Shorts, they only have one idea making them easy to understand and remember.
Blog Shorts Solve The Quality + Quantity Dilemma
One idea posts concisely explained will meet the quality bar. Four-hundred words take about 30 minutes to write, even less with practice. Two even three posts a week are possible with this format.
Your readers will love your new focused approach. You'll love the extra time you gain. Win-Win.
(This post is 432 words just in case you were counting)