As part of a little research I’m doing for a post (or a short series of them) next week here at ProBlogger I’d like to ask readers to answer this question:
How Long Do You Take To Write a Blog Post?
I know each post varies depending upon what it is – but on average how long would you say you take to write a blog post? I’d be interested to not only hear the time it takes you but also you usually write posts in one sitting or come back to them over time. Also it’d probably help a little if you told us the type of posts you generally write.
Maybe an hour after you count the research part. Actual writing probably only takes 15 minutes or so.
I just removed the sitemeter code but my sidebar is still not loading in IE. Frustrating me now
In total it takes about half hour for me to crank out a more detailed post.
Six hours to write a post for my running blog http//dailyrunningtips.com. I start writing immediately I get in the office, I work on the post on and off because am constantly interrupted by customers. Am able to finish the post during the lunch break.
Up to 8 hours. Everything from researching and comparing data, double checking information, looking for images, proofreading and attaching some reliable relevant links if there were any. Proofreading takes a considerable time since English isn’t my mother tongue.
The type of article spends that enormous hours is tutorial articles and tips.
It really depends on the subject and how much depth I want to go into. For keyword targeted niche blog articles, 5 to 10 minutes. For my typical review posts on my flagship blog, between 15 and 30 minutes. For more in-depth instructional articles, one to two hours.
I don’t think you can discount the research, searching for images etc. That’s all part of the process. Therefore a blog post takes me 1 to 2 hours.
Chris
For my news/politics site, it takes me approximately 30 minutes to write a post (with 2-3 posts per day) but I spend several hours every day reading and watching the news….
For my personal blog, it usually takes me 1 hour to finish a post.
Usually it will take about 15 to 20 minutes to crank out a blog. I would have to say that the first 10 minutes are actually writing and then the rest of the time is going back and checking spelling and whatnot. The only time I usually take longer if it is something that stirs something up inside, then I usually have to just get all of my thoughts and frustrations down, let it sit for an hour, then come back to see if anything that I wrote even made a hint of sense. The blogs that I write usually just stem from random thoughts throughout my day.
Generally from an hour to two hours, even more. I usually write detailed, indepth posts(1000+ words), and that takes time.
Throw in 15 minutes for proof reading and final touches, and half an hour to search flickr for appropriate images..
So all in all, near two to two and a half hours :D
Generally I’m writing about life, my craft business, something cool I recently found. It can take up to an hour for the post, but that’s usually because I’m doing a million things at once. Sometimes it only takes about 10 minutes, when I’m just updating to update. I’ve started adding more inline links so getting the URLs is a little time-consuming.
I love to write though, so it’s all good.
It varies by post, some seem to flow, others drag. I basically do a bit of research, collecting pictures, reading articles, etc. The research takes anywhere from 15 minutes to a few hours (depending on the topic). The actual writing is anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour. I’ll usually write out the article, let it sit for a while, then proof it. All told, I probably spend about an hour and a half per article.
Including the research phase, in total it takes me a maximum of an hour to complete a post.
On average, it’s about three minutes. I never plan to write anything. I write as I think it, see it, shoot it, etc. Being in PR, I write all day long so spitting out 700 words that are of original thought come easy to me. My posts range from socialnet topics, photography, kids, family, married life, work, sports, and the all encompassing bucket of randomness.
Gosh, I guess I’m a turtle rather than a hare! It takes me about 2 hours, and I often sit on a post and re-read later. I try to include an image or two in each post, ensure I’m not just repeating yesterday’s news, include some research and and make it educational.
I will attribute some of the time to learning curve, since I recently started blogging again and getting used to WordPress. I find that working in WordPress slows down production time, so I’m looking at a Windows LiveWire.
I do try to optimize each post for keywords and META tags and go back to make sure all links open in a new window and NOFOLLOW certain links.
For my writing a post can take from 15 minutes to 2 days depending on how focus I am when I decide to write and the amount of research that has to be done for the post. If the post is just about relating what happened to me personally during the day/week it would take 1/2 hr the max for a 200 word post. Long time would be needed if I am adding in collages made with the photos taken.
An hour maximum to make sure there are no spelling or grammar mistakes.. and the thoughts are well put together.
Some posts are easy and take about a half hour, while other more detailed in depth posts can take as much as two hours once I sit down to write. That’s if I actually type out my post.
It’s quicker when I dictate my posts into my digital recorder which I affectionately refer to as my “digital brain” and download them to my computer.
I think what takes the longest is the research and qualifying the sources.
I keep a list of blog topics on a white board over my desk to stay focused. I use one Word doc that sits on my desktop and usually contains about 4-5 blog posts. I take time to revisit and research for each post. Overall, I would guess that once I have all the info required for the post, it probably takes me about an hour to write from start to finish.
However, it totally depends on the subject and length required to express my idea, opinion or how-to information.
AND…let’s not forget visuals people. I think the perfect compliment to a rockin’ post….is a professional looking or creative image. The right images can make an awesome impact, solidify your branding (when appropriate), and further clarify your message or theme for the article. So don’t forget to feed your visual learners/readers!
Depending on the type of post, 5 minutes for a short news story (relevant for my blog) or up to 45 minutes or an hour for a featured post.
Half-hour to an hour, depending on research, how technical a post it is, whethere there are pictures….
Personal blog can take anywhere from five minutes to 2-3 hours (if I’m writing something in-depth that requires lots of links and arguments). Work blog maybe about twenty minutes.
In average, 30-45 min.
It generally takes 30 – 60 minutes for me to write an “average” post: between 300 and 500 words.
A i am Just following the Big Bloggers, Cause i am New to tech Blogging, so when every i find a nice post, I takes to 10-15 minutes to post on it..
20-40 minutes on average. And surprisingly, some of my most popular posts are a result of just sitting down and freely putting my thoughts down without a plan, outline, or even heavy editing. And the posts where I spend hours across a few days putting together something structured can be complete duds.
One to two hours. Sometimes I spend a week researching a post, on and off, before actually writing it.
On average 2 hours. Obviously depending on what type of article.
Darren, How Do you decide your Topic??? cause deciding a topic is more hard for me them writing…
Darren, I usually take 1-2 hours for each individual post. I’ll sleep on it and revisit it the next morning before publishing…
I blog about online dating and dungeons & dragons mostly (how’s that for a niche?) ;-)
Most of my posts I do in under an hour. Some of them I slave over all day (Are Your IM Buddies in the Monster Manual?). Some of them I write in 20 minutes at 3 in the morning and they end up on BoingBoing (Musician’s Guide to Alternative Uses for Polyhedral Dice). Go figure!! :-)
Good question because I often hear potential clients or even current clients tell me they “just don’t have time” to write to a business blog on a regular basis. I tend to write on the longer side – usually a typical thesis style with opening paragraph, 3-4 points and closing comments. This can often take me an hour or more because as I write I change my mind about several things, then I have to edit, etc. Sometimes I have multiple posts in draft form days ahead of the time I post them. I think I really need to work on shorter posts that take no longer than 15 minutes and to figure out how best to organize my thoughts to do so.
It depends on the type of post I write and the quality of post. If I’m writing about blogging, which I do the most, I take from 45 mins to 1 hour for a good quality post. For a news type of post, I take 10-15 mins to write. If I write on any other niche, I take around 1 hr to 2 hrs for a 750 words post. I need to do more research when I’m writing on other niche topics.
On an average every post I write takes 30 mins to write.
From 1 1/2 to 2 hours depending on research.
I have a three-step process:
1) I map out the topics at least one month ahead, then go back through and add sub-topic bullets. (May take a minute per post at this point)
2) I write two posts during the day and save to my flash drive. (Maybe an hour total)
3) I upload the posts and proof them at night, adding adsense and another affiliate to each post. (Maybe 15 minutes)
I’m sure it could take less time if I wrote uninterrupted.
My blog has five topical categories and in each of those I have the choice of writing one of three style posts. They each take different amounts of time. I write or prepare all of them in one sitting but never post without getting up, walking away and coming back to it anywhere from an hour later or even the next day.
Here’s the breakdown:
1. Post related to my company’s activities – 1 hr. (this week was heavy in this department but it isn’t always like that)
2. Interview of subject matter expert (got several dozen of these booked and in motion) – 2 hr/interview including prep + conversion to blog in either edited video or text post is another 1 – 1.5 hours (this seems like it is going to go much higher due to the video podcast and podcasting we will integrate into the site over next week – 10 days, not to mention blogtalk radio plans in immediate future. We are batch-prepping some of these and staging their release dates.
3. Topical Post, meaning a post on one of my five topics that doesn’t fall into #1 or #2 above. 1.5 – 2 hours
Thinking about my blog posts: 24 hours/day
Thinking about new design changes to consider: 24 hours/day
Thanks for asking this question. I’ve wondered how my time compares with the pros. I’ll be interested to see the results of your poll.
Shane
http://www.innovativeeoncomy.com
My posts are mostly about photography and can take up to 2-4 hours. I start with the general idea, let it rest a few days, write some more and once I have enough content I finally publish it. I really wish I could make a post in less than an hour!
I take anywhere from a ten minutes to an hour. On one blog, it’s all from memory, so it’s really straight forward. But, for my biology blog, I have to do research and that takes more time.
Anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour, at least. A large part of the time factor is fixing my typos.
Normally it takes me anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour, depending on how the number images I need to resize (or want to include) and how I am feeling from a writing perspective, because sometimes it need to be brief.
When I am publishing interviews it can take well over an hour, since the features are with artists or crafters and I have to determine how to “lay out” the article using a dozen or more images.
It depends a lot on the objective of the post. On average, probably in the 30-60 minute range. Thoroughly researched posts will run longer – upwards of 2-4 hours – but those only constitute 1-2 posts per month. Lightweight pieces, such as quick book reviews or pure commentary observations can take as little as 10-15 minutes.
I write lot of Instruction guides and how-to on technology topics and mostly on Linux.
1. Research: 1 to 3 days. In some cases even more. Typically I have 2 or 3 research activities going on simultaneously. This is the fun part for me and sometimes I end-up spending more time exploring the technology stuff that I’m about write.
2. Initial Draft: 2 hours for my instruction guides/how-to’s. I never post the first draft on the same day, even when I think it is complete, as most of the time the first draft is something I may understand easily. But, it may not be clear for readers.
3. Final Draft: 1 hour. During this time, I fine tune the content to make sure the steps mentioned in my guide are clear for someone who is performing it for the first time.
Note: When I post a something that is not an instruction guide or how-to, it typically takes 3 to 4 hours total in couple of sittings. I never like to write a post in one sitting that takes less than 1 hour.
Ramesh
The Geek Stuff
I write in my head as I go about my day. My post lengths also vary a lot. Some posts are just a picture and a couple sentences. Those take maybe 15 minutes to pull together. Others can be 1000 words or more and/or have a lot of photos and links. Those posts can easily take an hour. On average I would say I spend 30-40 minutes per post, and I post around 35 times a month. Of course that doesn’t take into account the time I spend reading and replying to comments, tweaking blog design, and visiting other blogs.
Mary, mom to 10
I’d say on average, 1.5 hours. I’ve definitely spent up to 3 or 4 hours on some. Then of course, there’s the quick 10 minute post. For me the time is all in the editing. I start by just getting it all out as fast as I can, and then I got back in to tweak it so it actually starts to make some sense.
Usually two or three weeks. grin/
Well some of them sit in the idea box that long, but probably only about an hour, two at the most, with research.
My website publishing for the last 10+ years has been about Genealogy, and that comes easy. I kick those out in a few minutes.
Then about seven months ago I found out you don’t have to give all your information away for free and there actually is a way to make m-o-n-e-y on the Internet.
So I now have a couple of dozen sites in various states of progression and they each bring in a little bit until I can find the golden egg and hammer it.
Rich
It takes me a while to form a post and I am still adjusting my writing to blogging.
I’m learning how to create a good mix of long, detailed posts and shorter ones. I cannot believe after 2 years of blogging I get pre-dated posts.
Being on Twitter is definitely getting me out of feed reader lurkerdom.
Have a great weekend.
Danielle
Modern Musings
Most are about half an hour. For longer posts I’ll write about half an hour at a time until it’s done. Some posts take me a good 2-3 hours, when I’m writing a team breakdown type post (sports blog).
I usually take an hour or two from thought to publish if I do it all in one sitting
But for a more detailed posts like my latest ones on problems with Linux, it takes me much longer and I work on it over a span of 2 to 3 days !
That’s ofcourse helps me to think and write better and not cause my brain to fart.
I write about freelancing and such. I usually have to do my posts in one sitting, or I get distracted and won’t finish it. If I really work hard on it, I usually spend 30 minutes to an hour per post
Specifics.
About 1-2 hours for a long post.
I can belt a shorter one out in a half hour.
Great weekend all.