How long to write a 500 word article?

Mark Brian

14 years ago

I guess each writer may vary. My writer can complete ten 300-word articles within 8 hours.

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GameVoid

14 years ago

Depends on the subject. If it's a subject I know thoroughly and a topic that's easy to write about I can knock off a 500 word article in 15 minutes or less.

But if I don't know the subject and have never written about it ever before, then over an hour is not unreasonable. Try explaining how to change the oil on a Hummer if you have never changed the oil on any car ever.

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Michael Oksa

14 years ago

If you are happy with the results, then I think that time frame is fair. Far better than taking 10 minutes to write a 500 word article, in my opinion.

All the best,
Michael

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BonganiS

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Delta223

My VA seems fairly slow with her article output; it normally takes her 1.5-2 hours for a single 500 word article. Even with 30 minutes of research (I would guess 15-20 is more accurate) it seems too long for a 500 word article.

But I could be wrong. For those of you who write articles, what do you think is a fair time range for writing an article? (exclude research if it's easier that way)

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It depends on the Writer and the topic. As for me since I write articles for myself, it takes 20 to 30 minutes to write. This excludes research. But if there are great results as a result of the output, it is not that bad.

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Barry Unruh

14 years ago

It depends on her familiarity with the topic, and how good of quality she is producing.

I can knock out a 500 word article in 30 minutes along with research, sometimes faster if I know the topic well.

If I do not know the topic and need to keep thinking about it, stopping and rechecking facts, the time goes up.

Her time seems a little long, but I'm guessing you are dealing with a English as second language writer. You need to allow a little extra time for the mental conversion processing.

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NicoleBeckett

14 years ago

Like the others have said, it varies from person to person and topic to topic. Personally, I can research and write an article in about an hour (or a little longer, if the topic is really complex). However, I also write really fast.

I don't think your VA's work pace is unreasonable - especially if you're happy with the quality of articles that are being churned out. It's better to wait an extra half hour for quality content than try to rush and wind up with junk. However, if you're not happy with the end result, that's a whole other issue besides time.

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Kay King 14 years ago

What is the reason you are complaining about the time frame? How much is one article costing you? What do pay the VA per hour? Telling someone how fast they "should" write is like telling someone how long it should take them to eat a meal.

My first thought in reading the OP was "he's trying to push the VA faster for more and cheaper articles". If the quality is what you expect it to be and the time frame isn't over-inflating the cost, don't try to micromanage it.

kay
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Andy Kobe

14 years ago

Originally Posted by Delta223

My VA seems fairly slow with her article output; it normally takes her 1.5-2 hours for a single 500 word article. Even with 30 minutes of research (I would guess 15-20 is more accurate) it seems too long for a 500 word article.

But I could be wrong. For those of you who write articles, what do you think is a fair time range for writing an article? (exclude research if it's easier that way)

Thanks

It all depends on the quality. If the article turns out 100% perfect for you
then that time (although a bit long) is worth it in my opinion.

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Don Schenk

14 years ago

Does your VA need to do any research? Or is the subject something with which your VA has years of experience?

Research could easily take an hour and a half to two hours. And another half hour to write the article because of the need to keep referring to the research.

I can write 500 words in 15 minutes if I am writing about business - something I have more than 40 years experience in. But for me to write about Corvettes or other sports cars would take me a couple hours to research because I have no interest in sports cars, and therefore no knowledge about them.

:-Don

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Alfred Shelver

14 years ago

I have tried hard, but I cannot do it quicker than that unless I am really clued up on the subject .

So that is not bad at all.

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indchris

14 years ago

Depends on whom you want to write it for. if for the press takes over around 1 hour for a 800 words feature article or edit if you've done your research already- meaning you already have the information in your grey matter. But that is professional writing. To write promos etc it tales me 30 minutes tops for a quality article. But then I am a editor. Cheers!

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MilesT

14 years ago

If you're throwing unfamiliar topics at them then yeah it could take that long. Not unreasonable IMO. And if the articles are good, then worth it, right?

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~kev~

14 years ago

If the VA is having to research the topic - yea, I say 1.5 - 2 hours sounds good to me.

A few days ago I wrote an article for my blog that was about 500 words - it took about 2 days to write. Even though I wrote the article in about 30 - 45 minutes, I just was not sure if I had worded it right. So over the next 2 days I made some minor changes, and finally published the article.

Another draft article has been sitting in my blog control panel for about 2 - 3 weeks. I'am just not quite sure of the direction it should go.

So if your VA is taking 1.5 - 2 hours to post an article, so what?

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chui

14 years ago

It depends on the individual, personally 45 minutes is enough to write including the research but if the subject is complex it may take a little bit longer.

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Zabrina

14 years ago

If you're that concerned, look at it from your VA's perspective. Just talk to her, not us! You'll get a lot of numbers that don't apply to her from people here.

Ask her what you can do to help her produce articles with less hassle. This might mean providing her with more or fewer details, clarifying that articles don't have to be exactly 500 words, or anything else she mentions as a "tricky spot" and the reason why she takes 1.5-2 hours. Or maybe there's nothing wrong at all and you just need to be happy with what you get, or look for someone who writes better/faster.

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deloriagod

14 years ago

If I know a lot about a subject, I can pop out a 500 word article in 10-15 minutes that I would be proud to publish. If I have to do research (like I'm assuming your VA probably has to do) then it would take considerably longer.

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marcus2929

14 years ago

Think i would take a week! i hate writting!

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Luke McCormack

14 years ago

Really depends if the VA is knowledgeable on the subject and also their grasp of the English language.

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Scott Voss

14 years ago

Consider switching from a by the hour model and move to a by the article model.

Establish how much an article is worth and pay for each acceptable article. Just clearly establish the guidelines for what an acceptable report is (you probably already have that).

This will help you with cost control and will, over time, get your people working faster (because that is more cash).

I pay my guy by the article, then I don't have to worry if he ends up checking out an unrelated YouTube video when he is doing his research or if he has to get up and answer the door while he is writing.

-Scott

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corinnek

14 years ago

IMO, including research, 1.5-2 hours is reasonable. Especially if her articles are well researched and written well

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JJMoney1 Banned 14 years ago

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- Kay King 14 years ago
  
  The OP has not responded to say how much each article is costing - or what he's paying the VA per hour.
  
  If someone doesn't work fast enough for you - hire someone else. Just understand that you don't get cheap and fast/good at the same time. If he's paying $2-3 an hour for his VA (which many are paying) - he's still getting an article for $5.
  
  So what is the complaint - not enough getting done ....or wanting to get more for less?
  
  No one here is qualified to say how fast anther person "should" be writing.
  
  kay
  
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  1 reply
  
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  Dear April: I don't want any trouble from you.
  January was long, February was iffy, March was a freaking dumpster fire.
  So sit down, be quiet, and don't touch anything.
  
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  tedwood 14 years ago
  
  Personally i have written an 806 word blog post in 32 minutes and usually it takes me around 15/20 mins to write a 400 word article. They are all review based so i know where my knowledge comes from and just write as fast as i can as it leaves me more time to do other things. No way should it take her 2 hours unless she knows nothing on the niche.
  
  Thanks
  
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sixplus

14 years ago

Originally Posted by healymedia

It completely depends on your reason for writing.

Some people just want a quick and dirty article for nothing other than the backlinks. In that case, if all you need is something that an article directory will accept, it probably shouldn't take as long as she's taking.

However, if you're looking for pillar quality articles that you'd be proud to have syndicated or to place on your website, then you're looking at longer.

I won't give any exact times since it varies so much from person to person, but I'd say that if you're unhappy with the amount of time she's taking you should evaluate if the quality of the work merits the time. If it doesn't, then you've got a problem.

If it does, but you're not looking for that kind of quality, perhaps communicate to her that you'd rather she not put so much into each article since they're mostly just content for backlinks.

Cheers
Ryan

EXCELLENT! Couldn't have said it better myself!

Blessings!

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Michael Oksa

14 years ago

Originally Posted by tedwood

Personally i have written an 806 word blog post in 32 minutes and usually it takes me around 15/20 mins to write a 400 word article. They are all review based so i know where my knowledge comes from and just write as fast as i can as it leaves me more time to do other things. No way should it take her 2 hours unless she knows nothing on the niche.

Originally Posted by Kay King

The OP has not responded to say how much each article is costing - or what he's paying the VA per hour.

If someone doesn't work fast enough for you - hire someone else. Just understand that you don't get cheap and fast/good at the same time. If he's paying $2-3 an hour for his VA (which many are paying) - he's still getting an article for $5.

So what is the complaint - not enough getting done ....or wanting to get more for less?

No one here is qualified to say how fast anther person "should" be writing.

kay

I was just going to make that response and see Kay gave the answer BEFORE the comment was even made...now THAT'S a true Warrior!

Seriously though, everybody is different.

Also, I may be in the minority, but article writing isn't meant to be some sort of race; at least not the way I do it. I never understood people bragging, "Oh, I can write 10 articles in an hour". But it's even worse when they put those unrealistic expectations on somebody else.

Believe it or not, some writers actually write a "draft" and then go back and make "revisions" and care about "quality". Really.

All the best,
Michael

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PatriciaJ

14 years ago

If it's a topic that I know well it takes me a minimum of an hour. If I have to research then 2 hours would be good and then there would be editing time.

I don't think that 2 hours for a good article is particularly slow but when you get fastcats claiming far quicker times it makes 2 hours seem to be slow.

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1 reply

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suaveymcsuave

14 years ago

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The Crog

14 years ago

Originally Posted by suaveymcsuave

For me it's all about working a system with deadlines in place for each segment. Regardless if I know the topic or not I have fine tuned a system where I can find "good enough" nuggets of wisdom to add to my research. After I feel that I have collected enough info it is time to write.

My way takes me about 25-30 minutes (topics I don't know) for a 500-600 word piece of writing. This includes research, writing, and editing twice. After more repetition I'm sure that the time will be reduced.

-Dave (suaveymcsuave)

Could you explain your system, or have you published it?

I would really like to be able to produce good copy that quickly.

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vicone 14 years ago

Like others who have already commented, a lot depends on how well I know a subject as to how long it takes to write an article.

However, I've found that, with experience, I've developed a lot of strategies that can speed up the writing process. For instance, for many topics it's possible to use article research software that will quickly ( a minute or two) extract information from the web.

It then doesn't take long to select some of the most pertinent material and organize it into a rough article. Then, with the aid of Dragon Speaking Naturally, a draft of the article can be dictated. Allowing time for some final editing and polishing, 20-30 minutes for a 'reasonable' quality article is certainly possible.

On the other hand, doing it manually, I've certainly spent 1 1/2 to 2 hours writing an article I consider to be of good quality.

Ivan
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- jkblogger2012 14 years ago
  
  I was glad to see your response. I research my articles, gather all the information I can, and rewrite it with my voice and understanding. Including the grammar and style checks I give it, along with tweaking, a 550 word article runs around 1.5-2 hours.
  
  I stress quality over quantity and so far, my clients are extremely satisfied with that approach.
  
  I find it very difficult to write about things I have never used or experienced and also like to add surveys, and authoritaive data, when needed. It is not easy!
  
  I just wanted to see what others say since I do not have any personal relationships with any writers these days.
  
  Thanks
  
  1 reply
  
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  addice 14 years ago
  
  I usually search ideas by googling and at articles sites, then once I've got a structured idea I would usually take about 1.5 hours to 3 hours to write my aricle, depending on the length and editing.
  
  Usually I'd use a certain style to write my articles so that it'd be consistant.
  
  Thanks
  
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Alexa Smith Banned 14 years ago

Without wanting to offend anyone, it's a little bit comical (in a faintly macabre kind of way) seeing some of the answers in this thread.

Of course, many Warriors can write a "good" 400/500-word article in less than 30 minutes.

Of course they can.

(Don't look now, but maybe that's why they need to write so many of them).

You get exactly the same with copy for a sales page. Many people can write it all in 3 - 4 hours (for $97). Of course they can. You go to a top professional with many years' experience and it's going to take him 30 - 40 hours, but never mind that: he's obviously just "slow", right? :rolleyes:

What are you buying, here: a chunk of backlink-fodder, or an article? And how much are you paying for it, anyway? People giving an opinion without knowing either of these things are certainly a lot more perceptive than me ...
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mclauchlan

14 years ago

Perhaps it would be more prudent to have a post displaying some of the above mentioned articles.

That way we could compare the quality therein, otherwise there's a danger of misplacing the donkeys tail...

John

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seotrafficcrew

14 years ago

let me know what you think of this, but it's basically a way to write articles from videos you watch on a topic.

1. Find videos on a niche topic that has a lot of good content.
2. Take notes from the content of the video

Think about what you would tell a friend about the video, or if you had to do a presentation.

Write as much as you can remember.

Clean up the content and Create some bullet points for an introduction, and a Call to action for a conclusion.

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Chris Thompson

14 years ago

1.5 to 2 hours for an 500 word article seems reasonable to me. My outsourcers are not faster than this for the most part. It definitely depends on the quality that you want. But if you aren't happy, hire someone else and see how they do. Then compare and decide what is reasonable. Hire two people to do the same job as an experiment.

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oldrodnok

14 years ago

Usually, I write a 500 words article in 5-6 hours (quality first)

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ultimates

14 years ago

It usually takes my writers a full day to deliver a article or two to me.

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UTOBC

14 years ago

It takes me much time with keywords and theme words researches, writing, theming, editing & edtiting! It takes me over 3 hours per 500 words article! That's really hard if you want a unique and seo article!

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pow

14 years ago

Yeh, it does depend on the quality you are looking for. I can write an unconsidered 500w article in around 20/25 minutes but if I want ir to sing I have to spend at least another 30 minutes sorting it out.

I have started to use a voice to txt (dragon app) on my i phone this saves loads of time I can speak my article in (takes around 10mins) load it up into word and then mess with it for 15 mins and I have a pretty decent article!

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How long to write a 500 word article?

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