For successful article marketers only - Can articles be too long?

17 replies
Hey there!

Quick question, for those who've had success in article marketing:

"Is there a limit you'd recommend in terms of article length?"

Most seem to be around 400 words long, but is there anything wrong with having a longer article, other than potentially loosing your readers attention?

I look forward to your reply!

Sam
#article #articles #long #marketers #successful
  • Profile picture of the author Kevin Riley
    Sam

    The problem with having too long an article (say over 1000 words) is that not as many bloggers and webmasters are going to want to use your article on their site, so it cuts down your chances of getting good exposure.
    Signature
    Kevin Riley, long-time Warrior living in Osaka, Japan

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2641261].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author John Pawlett
    The trouble with a long article can as you say lose the readers interest (if thats the case maybe it needs rewriting!) but if you have a lot of information why not slit the article in to parts, more bang for your buck.

    John
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2641341].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Kay King
      Most of my articles are 600-800 words long. For those who write general statements about a topic and ramble on and on about "weight loss is good for you" longer is not better.

      If the article is interesting with fact, case studies, theories, etc - longer is good. Works well for me, anyway.

      kay
      Signature
      Saving one dog will not change the world - but the world changes forever for that one dog
      ***
      Please do not 'release balloons' for celebrations. The balloons and trailing ribbons entangle birds and kill wildlife and livestock that think the balloons are food.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2641365].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author NicoleBeckett
    There's no magic length; it all depends on your topic and how compelling the writing is. Some topics only lend themselves to 500 words or so, while others can be interesting for 1,000 words. As long as you can keep the reader interested enough to make it though the whole thing, don't worry about the length.
    Signature
    Sick of blending in with the crowd? Ready to stand ahead of the pack? The right content writing services can get you there...
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2641353].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Vishal Mahadik
    There is nothing wrong in writing and submitting articles of length greater than 400 or so. An article can be 500 words, 600 words, 700 words or even 1000 words or more in length.

    As long as your reader is interested in your content, the length does not matter. If you can write intriguing content and can keep reader attention till the end, the length of your article carries little weight.

    I have observed the lengthy articles get more weight in the search engine rankings. It may be my testing results only. But it is true for most niches. You can even write 300 words articles and get more clickthroughs to your site.

    At the end of the day its your own call and the requirement of the actual content in the article which matters a lot.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2641531].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Britt Malka
    Your question has really been answered, Sam, so I'll just add that I love how you're using your signature to keep track of your goals.

    Good luck reaching them all
    Signature
    *** Idea Factory ***
    9 Simple & Fun Ways to Come Up With Ideas for Non-Fiction Books

    >>> Click here to get immediate access <<<

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2641539].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author DomenicoGrecojr
      If you have a 1,000 word article, I would split it into 2 parts (part 1 and 2).

      Or have part 2 as a video article. This can be the bribe for your resource box for people to sign up to.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2641571].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Cardsearch
    I personally aim for 400 words, but I recently heard of a gal who had tremendous success in article writing and believes her edge is because she writes the longer articles.
    Signature

    Spend your vacation in a log cabin in Maine!
    http://www.squidoo.com/maine-lakeside-log-cabin

    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2641653].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author JohnMcCabe
      It really depends on your objectives...

      > If you're simply looking for backlinks/clicks, short teasers seem to rule the day. (250-500 words)

      > If you're looking for wide syndication on other peoples' sites, medium length articles work better. (700-1,000 words)

      > If you're trying to create 'link bait', in other words, creating an article for your own site that you want other people to link into, longer articles seem to work better. (1,000+ words). Magazine length articles (2,500 words and up) should be spread across multiple pages. (700-1,000 words per page).

      That's what I've seen, anyway...
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2641686].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Barry Unruh
    Originally Posted by sam132 View Post

    "Is there a limit you'd recommend in terms of article length?"
    I'd recommend writing it just long enough to tell your story and get them to take the action you want. How long is that? For a Clickbank product maybe 400-800 words.

    For a Medical Treadmill used to test people's cardiovascular fitness by a Cardiologist, 800-2000 words.

    The only way to know is to test some different lengths for your niche and find out what your readers want or need to make them take the actions you intend.

    It is not a matter of how long, as much as who is reading it, why are they reading it, what is your purpose, where are they reading it. The expectations of the article on an article directory are vastly different than the expectations of an article on a companies blog, a medical journal, or tied to your product page.

    I can assure you a Cardiologist does not order a $12,000 to $20,000 treadmill based upon a 400 word article, or even call for more info. They are not going to read the article on an article directory either, they are not going to believe it has any authority.
    Signature
    Brain Drained...Signature Coming Soon!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2641728].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author tpw
      Originally Posted by NicoleBeckett View Post

      There's no magic length; it all depends on your topic and how compelling the writing is. Some topics only lend themselves to 500 words or so, while others can be interesting for 1,000 words. As long as you can keep the reader interested enough to make it though the whole thing, don't worry about the length.
      Ditto...


      Originally Posted by Kay King View Post

      Most of my articles are 600-800 words long. For those who write general statements about a topic and ramble on and on about "weight loss is good for you" longer is not better.

      If the article is interesting with fact, case studies, theories, etc - longer is good. Works well for me, anyway.
      Good advice.


      Originally Posted by im2010 View Post

      There is nothing wrong in writing and submitting articles of length greater than 400 or so. An article can be 500 words, 600 words, 700 words or even 1000 words or more in length.

      As long as your reader is interested in your content, the length does not matter. If you can write intriguing content and can keep reader attention till the end, the length of your article carries little weight.

      I have observed the lengthy articles get more weight in the search engine rankings. It may be my testing results only. But it is true for most niches. You can even write 300 words articles and get more clickthroughs to your site.

      At the end of the day its your own call and the requirement of the actual content in the article which matters a lot.
      It will always vary depending on the story you are telling...


      Originally Posted by JohnMcCabe View Post

      It really depends on your objectives...

      > If you're simply looking for backlinks/clicks, short teasers seem to rule the day. (250-500 words)

      > If you're looking for wide syndication on other peoples' sites, medium length articles work better. (700-1,000 words)

      > If you're trying to create 'link bait', in other words, creating an article for your own site that you want other people to link into, longer articles seem to work better. (1,000+ words). Magazine length articles (2,500 words and up) should be spread across multiple pages. (700-1,000 words per page).

      That's what I've seen, anyway...
      Great analysis...


      Originally Posted by Barry Unruh View Post

      I'd recommend writing it just long enough to tell your story and get them to take the action you want. How long is that? For a Clickbank product maybe 400-800 words.

      For a Medical Treadmill used to test people's cardiovascular fitness by a Cardiologist, 800-2000 words.

      The only way to know is to test some different lengths for your niche and find out what your readers want or need to make them take the actions you intend.

      It is not a matter of how long, as much as who is reading it, why are they reading it, what is your purpose, where are they reading it. The expectations of the article on an article directory are vastly different than the expectations of an article on a companies blog, a medical journal, or tied to your product page.

      I can assure you a Cardiologist does not order a $12,000 to $20,000 treadmill based upon a 400 word article, or even call for more info. They are not going to read the article on an article directory either, they are not going to believe it has any authority.
      Authority does matter...


      It also depends on who you want to publish the article...

      I target ezines / newsletters with my articles... They are generally working within a set template, which is designed to work with 700-1200 words... They will seldom accept articles outside this given range...

      Article directories almost universally require 300 words or more... But there are directories that require 500+, 700+, 800+ and 1000+

      Most bloggers write in the 300 range, but don't care what other writers produce...

      Website owners use shot copy, medium copy and long copy, and they generally use articles that match their copy style...


      The people who encourage 300-500 words are generally those who use article marketing only for link building to influence Google... This makes sense, because you want to create MORE articles so you can get MORE LINKS...

      I target newsletter publishers, so I always use a minimum of 700 words... If I create an article beyond 1200 words, I go heavy on the editing pen, to bring the word count down... But sometimes, even with deep editing, cutting more words will cripple the story told, so I keep to the word count that supports the story...

      At the end of the day, I always use the amount of words needed to tell a story well...

      If the story is 1200 words or less, I don't work as hard to tighten the story...

      But over 1200 words, I always work to cut the story down to size...

      I have managed to get strong publication up to 1500 words, but those web publishers will cut those down to two pages, and I believe that always hurts sales derived from my articles...

      I have found publication on articles to 2500 words, but not at the same level as 1200 word articles...

      In the end, word count is only one measure... The most important measure is the articles' ability to keep its audience interested, and unfortunately, that measure is much harder to quantify...


      Originally Posted by NaturalStyle View Post

      If you want CTRs you can go either for quality clicks or quantity clicks. With longer articles you get more quality CTRs (people who will for example sign up for your stuff or buy it) because everybody who has made it to the end is obviously interested.

      Do your testing in your niche and for your audience. There is no way around proper testing.
      This is right on... Quality Clicks are from people who are more likely to buy from you... And this is the reason I do article marketing, to find people who are willing to buy from me... And to give them the incentive to go ahead and buy from me today, as opposed to at some point in the distant future...
      Signature
      Bill Platt, Oklahoma USA, PlattPublishing.com
      Publish Coloring Books for Profit (WSOTD 7-30-2015)
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2642197].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author thebitbotdotcom
    I try to hit between 500 to 600 words. It seems to work pretty well.
    Signature
    Do Your Copywriting Skills Suck?

    Let Us Help You Develop Your Writing Skills!

    Submit Guest Posts With [ TheBitBot.Com ]
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2642090].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author NaturalStyle
    If you want CTRs you can go either for quality clicks or quantity clicks. With longer articles you get more quality CTRs (people who will for example sign up for your stuff or buy it) because everybody who has made it to the end is obviously interested.

    Do your testing in your niche and for your audience. There is no way around proper testing.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2642128].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Dan C. Rinnert
      For article marketing, my most read article is over 600 words in length. Second most read is over 1000 words.

      The one with the highest CTR is 300 words in length. But, though the CTR is much lower on the most read article, it has 7 times as many actual clicks than the one with the highest CTR because of the substantially larger number of readers.

      For articles I publish on my own sites and blogs, the most read articles tend to be 1500+ words in length.
      Signature

      Dan's content is irregularly read by handfuls of people. Join the elite few by reading his blog: dcrBlogs.com, following him on Twitter: dcrTweets.com or reading his fiction: dcrWrites.com but NOT by Clicking Here!

      Dan also writes content for hire, but you can't afford him anyway.
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2642208].message }}
  • {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[2649808].message }}

Trending Topics