This post is based on Episode 149 of the ProBlogger podcast.
So you have a great idea for a blog post. It’s a great topic, has a lot of depth, and will strengthen your reputation as an authority in your niche.
But it does it justice that you have to cover a lot of ground, which means that you will write a lot of content.
What raises the question: How can you best share this information with your readers? Should you write a long and detailed post that includes every aspect? Or should you create a series of posts that deal with each one in turn?
And the answer is … it depends.
The advantages of a long contribution (of the film) …
The nice thing about publishing everything at once is that your readers get the information they want without interruptions or delays. You don’t have to keep coming back for the next installment or following the links from one post to the next to get all the information.
Do you remember the last time you felt when you watched a TV episode and read the words “To be continued …”? This is how your readers might feel when they have to wait for your next post to continue learning.
And while those who read after they are all done don’t have to wait, they may not like to open post by post to get to the end – especially if they choose to print it out so they can read it offline .
Another advantage of having everything in one post is that it is fairly comprehensive and authoritative. In the same way, a publication has a significant “weight”. A 5,000-word blog post covering all aspects of the topic makes what you’re saying more believable.
And people like to share posts that are meaty and comprehensive. You seem to appreciate the fact that you have tried to provide them with a lot of solid information and you want others to benefit from your efforts.
Google also seems to appreciate it. I’ve found that our longer posts tend to rank very well on Google, possibly because they’re linked and shared with more than our shorter posts. Some SEO experts also believe that longer posts rank better than shorter ones.
… and the disadvantages
However, there are some disadvantages to summarizing this information in a single post.
One of them is the effort to research and write them. Some of the longer pieces I’ve written took several days (and a lot of effort). And if you’re struggling with motivation, this could be a problem.
Another disadvantage is that not all of your readers make it to the end unless you are a talented and dedicated writer. Some people prefer to scan rather than read. Some people don’t have the time to read long pieces (or at least not all at once). And some people read your post on a mobile device and don’t want to wipe constantly.
Finally, adding so much information to a post can quickly exhaust your pool of ideas. I know a blogger whose first post contained 9,000 words about everything he knew about his niche. It was a great post full of useful, actionable content. But when he tried to come up with ideas for future posts, he couldn’t think of anything he hadn’t covered in that first post. In retrospect, he would have preferred to split this information into a series of posts and publish it over a number of weeks.
Which brings me to …
The advantages of writing a series of shorter articles (the mini series)
If you split a long post into shorter posts, you will naturally receive more posts that you can publish. So instead of having content for your website for a week, you could have three, four, or even more.
And each of these posts can be more focused, which can help with search engine optimization. While long posts rank well for broad, overarching keywords, they may not be as good for your niche’s more focused keywords. Smaller posts have a better chance of ranking for these more focused keywords, which can help you rank for more of them over time.
Search engines also tend to like links. So if you have more posts on your website that other websites can link to, Google can improve your website’s ranking.
Writing a number of blog posts can also liven up your blog. Readers will anticipate your next post, which can help you get more subscribers. (You don’t want to risk missing out on the next post in the series.)
It’s also good to have a number of posts on your website if you want to monetize your websites using ad networks like AdSense.
And if you’re struggling to write long posts because of the amount of time and effort, shorter posts feel like a breath of fresh air. Knowing that you can write and publish a blog post relatively quickly can motivate you to keep going.
Writing a series also has disadvantages
But your blog post series doesn’t suit everyone. As I mentioned earlier, some people will prefer to have all the information available in a single post so they can get it all at once.
Another negative aspect of writing a series of posts is that they are tied to a specific topic. If your readers aren’t interested in what your series is about and the series lasts a few weeks, they may be so frustrated that they’ll unsubscribe and end your visit Blog.
Still, I still think you should write a number of blog posts. I try to do two or three series a year because they have all worked very well so far.
Of course, you can always do both
Ultimately, the decision whether to write a mini-series film is entirely up to you. And the good news is that you don’t have to choose from each other. You can write a number of posts to build momentum if you want, but you can occasionally write long-form posts to build authority.
And you can turn this series of blog posts into something bigger at any time. The posts I wrote for 31 days to create a better blog were combined and finally into a PDF that people could buy. I wasn’t sure if anyone would be interested, but thousands of our readers bought one. They obviously wanted something that they could read and work through again and again.
So what’s your preference? Are you going to write a movie or a mini series? Let us know in the comments.
Photo by Felix Mooneeram on Unsplash