What’s the Word (Count)?

You won’t be surprised to hear that content marketing is still a top tool for marketers. Just plug in the search term “is content marketing still important in 2021” and you’ll find a lengthy list of headlines touting the tips and trends for a successful content marketing campaign.

The dos and don’ts.

The ultimate guides.

Plenty of content talking about content.

Content is still what people want. High-quality, relevant and useful content, more specifically. They don’t want interruptions from irrelevant pop-up ads for products or services that don’t serve their needs. And they don’t have time to sift through inbox-clogging emails that don’t offer any value.

But people will still take time to consume engaging, well-researched, and informative content that is relevant.

And when it comes to deciding what goes into a 2021 content marketing strategy for your business, blog content is still the top tool in the toolbox.

Here are some interesting stats on the current state of blogs and blogging:

• 60% of marketers say blog content creation is their top inbound marketing priority.
• 89% of content marketers used blogs in their content creation strategy in 2020 (Content Marketing Institute)
• 77% of Internet users regularly read blog posts (Impact)
• 71% of B2B buyers consume blog content during their buyer journey (Demand Gen)
• 60% of people cite purchasing a product after originally reading a blog post about it. (Demand Metric)
• 86% of companies produce blog content compared to other formats. (SEMrush, 2019)
• 70% of people would rather learn about a company through articles rather than an advertisement (Demand Metric)

Ok, so we know blogging is still IN, but here’s the question that comes up all the time whenever I’m talking about blog content with clients: “How long should a blog post be?”

Does word count matter?

I’m not trying to skirt the answer to the sub-header question, but it’s important to know that the first thing I tell clients who ask about ideal word count is that it doesn’t really matter how long your blog post is if it isn’t any good.

If you’re content sucks, no one will read it. Not if it’s 400 words or 4000.

And they certainly won’t share it, which is a really big deal when it comes to successful content marketing campaigns.

Good content = shared content = more interested prospects.

Again, this is why it doesn’t matter how long your blog content is if the content isn’t worth the reader’s time.

Obviously, what matters more than word count is, of course, the quality of the blog content. Hands-down. If you’re filling your blog with unnecessary words just to meet the optimal word count you discovered on the latest trends article you read last week, it’s probably a waste of time.

Your readers want substance.

Your readers want to learn something.

If your entire goal is to create a 3,000-word article so that it ranks high in the search engines, and doesn’t really say anything worth value to your target audience, it’s time to think about revamping your content strategy.

Yes, word count matters. But quality matters far more.

What’s the magic number?

When I first started working with clients, the short answer to the question about “the right” word count for a blog was “500 – 800 words, max.” Those were the days when we talked about keywords and meta titles a lot more. When we advised clients to be short and sweet. When we told them that readers had short attention spans and they needed to cut to the chase.

And some of that still holds true, but, today, the answer isn’t quite that simple.

When it comes to optimal length for a blog post in 2021, some things have definitely changed.

Posting a 500-700 word keyword-stuffed blog post once a month is just not going to be enough to boost your rankings, build an audience or generate sales leads. This is more of a “keep the lights on” approach to blogging.

Today, readers are savvier (aka: they don’t have time for articles that offer them no value.) With literally millions of blog articles being posted every day, there’s a lot of competition, which means the content bar has been raised.

When you create blog content that is a little heftier — both in length and in subject matter — you’re far more likely to gain real traction than you would with a thinly-written blog post designed to tick off a weekly blog post goal.

Creating a longer article allows you the space to pack it with valuable info and insight – and it also creates a perception of value over shorter blog posts.

With a longer piece of content, you can also make it easily scannable. Given the fact that most web visitors have time to read about 28% of the words on a screen during a visit, creating long-form blog content that readers can scan through is key.

A well-written blog should have short sentences, plenty of subheads, and bulleted lists to allow the reader to skim through the content and hone in on the part of the article that resonates most.

A good piece of long-form content that offers in-depth information will shine a light on your knowledge and strengthen your topical authority. It will build trust with your target audience. Your readers will also share that blog article with others. Again, a crucial piece of any content marketing strategy. More eyes on your content.

The search engines will see all of this activity and reward you, keywords or not. Another win.

Again, in the end, it truly is all about quality and value.

Ok, so back to the word count question. We’ve established the fact that quality matters. Scannable, long-form content is the ticket. And to provide good quality articles that are well-researched, the shorter 500-word blogs just don’t always get there.

There is a lot of data and research out there to support the fact that long-form content is more effective, including these:

• According to Hubspot’s recent data sample, for example, the ideal length of a blog post intended to generate leads is 2,500 words.
• Top-ranking content on Google runs between 1,140 and 1,285 words. (Search Metrics.)
• Articles that are greater than 3,000 words get 3x more traffic, 4x more shares, and 3.5x more backlinks than shorter articles. (SEMrush, 2019.)
• In BuzzSumo’s analysis of 100 million articles, in-depth articles get the most shares on social media

Less is More

When thinking about blog topics to plug into your editorial calendar, it might be a good idea to change your tactics. Instead of brainstorming a lengthy list of lightweight topics just to fill in the blanks, really think about what kind of content your readers want to read.

What are they struggling with in their business? If you’re not sure, ask your sales team what kinds of questions they get from prospects and customers. You would be surprised at the number of topics you can discover when you talk to the people in your company who are in front of your customers. They have the inside scoop into what’s on your customers’ minds.

What trends are hot right now that could help them?

What topics can you dive into that will showcase your own business strengths?

Once you’ve identified two or three really solid topics to get started with, create an outline for each one so that you have a clear focus.

Do research.

Conduct interviews.

Share stats, tips, trends, and your own advice or how-tos.

I promise you that you’ll see an uptick in your blog engagement once you start writing content that matters to your customers. This isn’t to say that you can’t sprinkle in some fun, short blogs into the mix. I recommend at least one thought leadership, long-form blog post per month to my clients.

If you’re reading this, then you’ve made it this far in my 1300-ish-word blog article. You’ve either digested the entire article (yay, you) or you’ve scanned for the bits that sparked your interest. Either way, I do hope you’ve found some value in the content, and that it will help you as you work through your blog strategy.