Here’s a question I’ve learned to ask on a daily basis at the completion of every post I write:
“Would this post work better if I split it into two (or more) posts?”
While the answer is usually ‘no’ for me I do semi-regularly get to the end of a blog post and realise that what I’ve actually written is probably better if it is split into parts.
For me the reasons that I split posts this way generally fall into these categories:
- Length – some posts just contain too much information to digest in one sitting.
- Multiple Topics – sometimes a post meanders too much across multiple topics. While they might all relate they also might require readers to make too much of a leap from one topic to another and run the risk of losing readers halfway through.
- Theory and Practical – Sometimes I like readers to have time to digest the theory behind something before following it up with something more practical or ‘how to’ in nature.
- Depth – occasionally I’ll get to the end of writing a post with multiple points in which I know I could have gone a lot deeper for each point. To do so would make the article too long so I make the choice to take what I’ve written for each point and expand upon them in separate posts.
- Momentum – sometimes you write a post that you just know will connect with readers and that is actually a good enough idea to sustain interest and build momentum on your blog over a longer period of time (a prime example of this is 31 Days to Build a Better Blog which years ago started as a single post with 31 brief ideas in it).
The word of warning that I’ll give on splitting posts into parts is that you don’t want to do it for the sake of it and to cut down on your work as a blogger. While it’s a nice feeling to realise a post you’ve written can easily be split in two and that it gives you a day off writing tomorrow – if you cut posts down too much you could also end up with something that just isn’t meaty enough to really be worthwhile posting.
Darren,
Great post. I am one for long winded posts. I think I should be asking this question more often. I often wonder if it is too long and whether readers get bored or loose interest or tired by the end
Excellent and direct to the point (no fluff post)… I know when i started it was hard to not write super long posts cause you want to give them everything… but you nailed it with the point of “Theory and Practical”.
Actually, my last blog post fell exactly into this category. I took some pictures of palaces up in Baghdad while there for a conference. I intended to make one post, but as I was writing it, I realized that I have quite a few shots, and it will probably work better as 2, or maybe even 3 posts, spaced out over time.
Todd
This is a very good point Darren!
Some posts SHOULD be cut in two, but others deserve to have centre stage as one long post.
If it’s a good story and you break it down with headlines and photos, having it as one quality post should not be a problem if you add value to your readers!
I wrote a post of Fitness Boxing and why I love it sooooo much on my site after reviewing a boxing ring in my area and the school loved the detail post so much, they sent it to a printer and had two plaques mounted and displayed inside their school! They also submitted the link to the Boxing Association!!!
Krizia
I think post length is very important because most people these days are lazy and just like to skim through the content. That is why video is exploding because people rather learn and get educated visually instead of taking the time to read. So if you have a nice mixture of video and content, i believe that it would work out the best
Amazing! I was just about to push publish on my next post in the next few minutes and I opened my twitter stream to look at a DM then saw a link to this article.
I’ve noticed that I do write very long posts and it’s been with in my means to survey my list of readers and see if they like one long post per week or several short posts per week.
One blogger friend of mine did this and his list said once per week and make it meaty.
Maybe it goes with out saying to find out what your readers want first also before deciding to split your posts?
Regardless great post and it still gives me much to think about :-)
I am sticking to the 250 /400 word post, depending on how meaty the subject is.
A racy post just happens, when you are pretty sure about what you are giving – with authority.
Momentum, I am yet to try it.
Thank you for a good post.
I think part of it depends on the kind of blog you’re writing. I tried using shorter posts for a while, but I got tired of it. I enjoy writing more long-winded posts every now and then. Of course, I don’t get much traffic, and my frequent readers seem to have a longer attention span.
I can definitely see the benefit of this if you’re trying to earn an income from blogging.
I agree with your warning about doing it for the sake of doing it. Often, my posts are fairly short anyway, so that will hardly ever be the reason to split, but sometimes I realize that I’ve got two points in a post instead of one, and I will address them in two posts. In fact, you just gave me an idea that I will try next week in my blogging. Thanks!
Thanks Problogger.net for these important points. This is very essential to know about the nature of a post, and then hit on the publish button.
I had to do this over the past three days. I had a topic, and as I started writing it, I realised I either needed to split it up, or condense it drastically. I felt that by the time I condensed it, the reader would’ve been dissappointed, not had anything explained, and the post would’ve been all over the place.
I also realised that there were 3 clear parts of what I wanted to talk about, and once I made the choice to split it into a series, I was thrilled. I was able to link all three posts to one another, and from day one built anticipation in the reader to come back the next two days, letting them know what I’d be doing next.
I think in this case it worked.
Great topic as usual.
I agree with you completely on this.
Thanks for a lot of great articles, I have read this blog before, but I’m now starting to really work on my website and hope it will pay off with the help of your articles :)
I think the best reason to divide something into multiple posts is if you are covering multiple related topics.
It’s also not a bad idea if the concept is very complex and your first post is a building block for the latter posts…
I don’t appreciate it when bloggers break up a post into 2 or 3 parts unnecessarily, however. If you do this there should be a good reason for it.
Splitting long posts up have several benefits. In addition to just keeping the article short enough for a quick read, I’d like to think that it builds a bit of suspense.
I’ve done several two-part articles in the past but last week, I had my first three-part series with brand identity as the topic. I probably could’ve even broken that up into more chucks!
Another good reason to split posts is to increase the number of page views and decrease the bounce rate.
I am trying harder to keep my post to four paragraphs or less because I do have tendency to ramble on.
A series will be my next big hurdle to learn and execute.
P.S. I really miss the 30 Day Course being available on your blog, I used it regularly. :(
Great post.Thanks for the amazing post
Dear Darren:
I have dealt with this issue before as well. I found myself using similar guidelines as yourself to determine which posts would be too long.
Most important things is to deliver quality content that readers can stay attracted to. Just like you mentioned, sometimes you write posts that are really long, but you feel that they keep the reader’s attention throughout the whole article.
Also, asking that question could stop you from posting an overly general article, which would add no value to the reader.
Thank you for sharing.
Best,
Tomas
This topic was discussed on the problogger.com forum….my conclusion is: if you feel like you really have something to say – than split it up into two posts. But be careful about pulling a Biden :) and taking twice the amount of time to say what could be said in one post.
Ok, but how do you easily interconnect each part of the post together while arranging facilities for easy navigation. This is the WordPress plugin I am using with posts that I split into separate parts…
http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/organize-series/
See example here, http://www.virtualpreacher.org/series/bearing-fruits-a-sermon-on-john-15/
All the parts of the spitted post can be seen in a one page and navigate between easily.
See your point but if it’s an interesting post, I usually don’t mind about length – so long as the content is all useful and well-written.
Writing up a post in complete form and taking a break to return later helps a lot too, with the final product. Great points! :)
Thanks – this quickly made me realise the solution for a problem I’d been having with a monster-sized post.
I’d been working on the “10 things that make a great live performance” for the last two weeks without ever being really happy with it. After seeing this post pop up in my RSS reader I decided to post just the introduction to the article and then request comments which I could then feed on for the remainder of the article which I now intend to spread across two further posts…
http://www.greatfrenchsongs.com/2009/11/what-makes-a-great-live-performance/
Darren, I have been visiting, and learning from your site just about every day – and this has been going on since 2-3 months now, just about when I decided to blog full time. I have one question though…and pardon my ignorance, why is the date on this post, and all the comments showing as the 11th of Nov when it is actually 10th of Nov today? Is this one of the blogging hacks /SEO hacks? I am very confused now. Seems like every day there are 500 new things to learn.
Unless your post has the audience at the edge of their seat for the entire post, then I think it is more effective if is split into multiple posts.
Readers tends to skip over some sections of long post, and if you have very important points to get across, then the reader might miss it.
Splitting it into different posts can also help you add additional information to your post. If you post part 1, and a few hours realize you missed something or would like to add something new, you can always do so in part 2, 3 or 4 ;)
Thanks for this post. I am a new poster and just the other day I made a post of a top ten. I put information on every selection I made and it was a long post. Looking back I should have split it in two.
I find it quite difficult to write short posts. I often find short posts too fluffly and I (believe I) have a lot to say and can’t make my point or tell my story in, lets say, 300 words. Length/ word count shouldn’t matter when a post is interesting, shouldn’t it?
Hey Darren,
The most effective posting schedule and article format differs for each website.
If you post infrequently, and your articles are timeless and act as resources, then it makes sense to have single, larger posts. It will become a definitive resource for the topic you wrote about for years to come. A lot easier to read, share, and link to.
If you post frequently, and your articles are current-events related and not meant to be read years down the road, then it only makes sense to break them down. Not only do you save yourself some work, like you mentioned, but many readers will appreciate bite-sized chunks of daily reading – rather than a magnum opus arriving each day in their feed reader or inbox.
Personally, I’d go for the longer, single post, since I’m from the infrequent-but-timeless-content camp. I do believe in creating a series of articles, like your 31 Days to Build a Better Blog. Each article stands on its own, but it’s part of a greater series that really would be WAY too long as a single post.
Best,
Oleg
Yet another amazing and informative post. Thanks for sharing Darren, you have made my blog 1000 times better!
Excellent question! And in light of it, I think I’m gonna split this comment into a series of comments… will continue my thoughts on one of your future posts! ;)
I recently wrote my first series of posts called 7 Elements of an Effective Portfolio Website, and it was a great way to get people more invested in the site and recruit subscribers who wanted to keep up with the future posts. One thing I should start doing is asking your proposed question at the end of some of my longer posts. I like the idea breaking it down into theory and practical posts.
Thanks for making me a better blogger.
Thomas
Hey Darren.
I sometimes think about the length of my posts. It is hard to say whether I should shorten or lengthen them. I usually stop when I get this mental feeling that I’m done. I uses sub-headlines and that helps a lot because it makes sections easier to read or skip over.
I have been doing some videos lately, and the last one was too long, so I will keep the next one shorter, most likely.
Depth is somewhere I can see that I could put more into, with examples and discussion. This will come into play in my future posts over time.
Thanks for this.
Ms Freeman, if you look in the archives, there is a page outlining the course really well.
Whenever a complex topic can be highlighted from more than one perspective, I think it is advisable to split it up into several posts over several days. The readers can digest what you have written and will be eager to read on.
But as always it’s a question of balance. Too long a post can put off your readers as well as easily approachable topics chopped into tiny slices.
Excellent factors, almost common sense! Should you always repeat what works or when is it a good time to test and try something new?
Blog promotion has been a big learning curve for me, I started my blog blokebuddy.com about 4 weeks ago now, and I have taken onboard much of what darren has said, and it is because of Darrens advice that I have managed to gain 12 subscribers already.
it is a long slow process i think, at first I was dis heartened by the cat no one was commenting and hardly anyone visited at all, so it was like i was blogging to myself, and just recently the traffic has started to increase not much but it has increased, i think i get about 25-40 hits a day at the minute and it is increasing.
I have now come to a point where i say ‘what to do now’ because content is not an issue I know i write good posts but how do i push my blog to the next level? i dont want to still have 12 subscribers in 2 months no way, I mean what else can i do apart from keep posting and putting tweets about them on twitter, its hard slog keeping up with all the bookmarking sites, social netowrking sites, forums etc i barely have time to post, who knows maybe a magic wand will come and save me
I think splitting up posts really depends of the material. If it is a story or narrative or something like that, splitting it up adds some dramatic serialization that encourages visitors to come back to finish the story.
If it is more informational, I think most visitors would not mind a long post if it meant receiving relevant information all at the same time instead of in different posts.
At unitshifter.org, I don’t usually have to deal with this situation but it’s nice to see the different points of view. Thanks!
I often write really long posts, I get on a topic and go – go – go! Just lately I have tried splitting them up and it has worked really well. I love that you get comments for each post – being a complete comment junky!!!
What do you guys think of a series of similar posts?
Do you think people lose interest if there are 5 posts to a series? For example I did a core stability exercise series, using 5 blog posts. They were spread over a few months with other posts in between. I worry that;
a) People found it too difficult to navigate through the other unrelated posts (even though the links were at the bottom of each post). The first post Core Stability part 1, got 20 comments whereas the last post Core Stability part 4, got 8.
b) If I posted them sequentially it would mean my other readers not interested in core stability might not revisit.
What is the maximum number of posts you would recommend in a series?
Amelia
Darren it is a good point you raise,
If a blog post it too long then it should be
made into two blog posts, as long as quality
is not sacrificed.
To keep blog content of a high standard it
is good to keep the post quality up but there
is a point of diminishing returns as you mention.
Too much information is a very good one to bring up.
Sometimes when blogging you get into a flow
state and wish to do more and more,
Yet, as you point out, quality is more important
than just the length of a post,
thank you,
Jim Cassa.
Good point, I have never thought about this kind of problems, all my blog posts are quite short, not like yours, so long and great!
Sometimes I think that why Problogger could write and post new articles every day, you have been blogged for several years, why you still could remain hard working?
I know you love blogging, but I am wondering how could you find those things to talk about, wish I could do that just like you :)
i always teach my self to write in range of 400-500 words because i don’t want to overwrite, but when ideas is to much, which is could lead to long post, i definitely hold the other ideas for the next part.
After reach more than 500 words, i will ask that question, should I continue or should I hold for awhile, and mostly hold for a while.
But sometime thing just better be long than in part.
Ok. I guess I will share my 2 cents in here as well. I can only write when all the planets are lined up the right way. In other words, I have my moments when i just simply get in the mood, and start writing. I don’t count anything, I don’t care about anything, and I don’t pay any attention to keywords, density, size, etc. And I stop when my soul/the writer within me stops. At this point I simply publish the post as is (private). Then I come back to it, SEO etc. it, add pictures or whatever else I need to do for aesthetics and ranking etc. And the post gets published. 3-10 days later, when it is all indexed, I end up breaking it down in smaller smaller (400-500) posts, with inlinks etc, and post the newer (child) posts under new headings, with links back tot he original post (dofollow). And then again after 2-3 days, I write another post related to all the previous posts, which end up acting like a summary of these posts, and I go and post them on hubpages, articles directories (with variations), and sometimes even do a “Modified Version” of guest blogging. Now I struck a post idea. I will write about my modified guest blogging technique in a post and will be happy to share that with you as well. This works great for me. I have only been blogging since August (but don’t get me wrong, I had been spending hours and hours for 6-8 months ahead of it learning all the tricks of the trade), and my flagship site iflyasa.com is PR 3 and I am consistently getting 100-150 unique visits a day. Where I am stuck is that I have no clue how to make any money out of this! Maybe someone here can point me in the right direction.
Clear and to the point explanation. For myself (who totally newbie), write an article sometimes become a serious problem, so refer to your explanation, I got a conclusion about how to make a “interesting article” is..
Thanks Daren.
and also for building internal linking of course :-)
The biggest reason for me is the content too long if present in one post. The message surely can reach perfectly if i split it.
Brilliant tips/questions to ask yourself before blogging also applicable to twittering or updating one’s facebook page.. Can I add: If I was to read this text written by someone else, would I find it interesting? And if the honest answer to this is ‘Yes’, then go ahead. Most times you realise you are really writing it for yourself and you shoudn’t ‘go public’ with it.
What I tend to do is to create running columns about specific topics. For example, at a real estate blog that I worked at, rather than listing all of the properties that fit a certain criteria in one post, I would create a series of posts that each focused on one individual property.
Thanks,
Justin
http://thewebexperiment.com
I[‘m actually having this debate right now.
My advice, sever that tips list at the bottom of each post, and flesh it out and make it its own post.
HUGE lesson for me, as I tend to write lengthy posts but want to write them everyday…I get so excited about teaching things I’ve learned about body language and design that I just keep blabbing on!
I know it could have a dire affect on me in the future by running out of ideas…but hopefully that won’t happen anytime soon! Great tips!