Keeping It Short And Simple
Andy Merrett asks over at the Blog Herald whether super-short posts are good for one’s blog. He argues that a lot of A-listers do it (a.k.a. the speedlinks). He cites some informal studies that say soundbites of about 150 words or less per post are more easily indexed by search engines and likewise easily digested by readers, too.
How’s that for great writing?
Well, in my opinion, it’s not really in the length of a post (or lack thereof) that makes your writing effective. It’s in how your writing gets your point across that matters. So you can write a thousand word essay and not make any sense at all. Two well thought-of, excellently-worded sentences might be all it takes to cinch that deal.
Then again, somewhere in the middle might be the most convincing.
Here’s a good example. AhmedF has a case study at TechSoapbox. He rambles and rambles, and 15 minutes after, he edits his ramblings and came up with a shorter (although not significantly so) article, but a better read at that!
Here’s where 229 words are greater than 326.
His conclusion. Those who write the lengthier posts are lazier than those who write the shorter ones. Or rather, those who edit their posts for brevity, clarity, and ease-of-reading deserve to be called great writers. It’s all about the editing.
Sure, blogs are mostly for rambling. But while you’re at it, why not make your ramblings more readable and understandable? You can even probably earn better from it (if you’re monetizing).
Remember the elevator pitch? You get 30 seconds to pitch your idea to an investor, your CEO, or anyone in power to help make things happen. That 30-second pitch should be brief, but well-thought of.
Be straight to the point, but do remember to include the essential details. Keep it short and simple.
What do you think?