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How Long Do You Take To Write a Blog Post?

Posted By Darren Rowse 3rd of August 2008 Reader Questions 0 Comments

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.

About Darren Rowse
Darren Rowse is the founder and editor of ProBlogger Blog Tips and Digital Photography School. Learn more about him here and connect with him on Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.
Comments
  1. About a half hour. I spend lots of time thinking about what I will write before I actually sit down to write

  2. As with the others who commented, my posts generally start out at five minutes but can drag on for many hours depending on the content and research involved.

  3. I write my post while swimming my mile or walking my 6 miles, or while I am working the apple trees, the flower garden,cooking, cleaning, doing laundry and in between phone calls and emails from workshop folks – in my head. I have paper and pen with me at all times. I have done the research in the time after I write for the next day. I start typing at 11 am every morning and usually revisit what I write before sending on to my web genius to post. I watch or read about 7 news sessions 5 days a week and read about 2 hours a day. My shortest post took me the mosts rewrites as I really wanted to convey something specific. I am trying today to work longer because I have an offer of a chair at the beach for Saturday and Sunday. I don’t think I can be more precise than this right now. I do love to read that some folks work one day a week for 6 figure incomes, but I don’t think that is my style or my best effort.

  4. When a thought does comes to my mind it is only around 5 mins or so to write a blog post. And if I have to write one compulsorily :( It takes 1 or 2 hours.

  5. I am so glad you asked this question…I thought I was slower than the norm. It takes me at least an hour to write a post, edit it, post it, add pics, etc. It can take 2-3 if I have to research a lot. I write about Italy, travel tips and running a B&B, except when I don’t! ;-)

  6. Usually take too much to write and proof read the posts, 4 to 5 hours, or less, depend the documentation for article… because of that I write very rare an article :)

  7. Normally, whenever I get an idea about something to write I jot it down in a notebook (old fashioned I know, but it works for me) so that in time I’ve built a whole database of ideas about what to write. Updating that usually takes a couple of minutes but save up plenty of time trying to think what to write later on, especially if you’re being rushed.

    As for the actual writing, that normally takes about an hour which includes research and re-reading the post in order to see that it ‘feels’ right. To that add a further ten minutes getting the right image and actually uploading.

    Like a couple of other posters on here I write about running (www.maltaathletics.blogspot.com) but think that I’m the only one to write about football / soccer (www.aliverpoolthing.blogspot.com and http://www.ilrecalcio.blogspot.com)

  8. first time commenting here, after reading for several years!!

    i’m not a pro-blogger perse, i do more of a personal diary with photos and humor. so for me, it seems to come in a rush. like when i want to say something, but shouldn’t, i’ll snap a photo, do some photoshoping and publish. so maybe 1/2 hour. but, more and more i’ve been using the blog as a platform to get things off my chest. i can work on an article all day if that’s the case.

    a quick thank you to you, darren. you’ve been very helpful.

  9. Usually I will take about 15-30 minutes to finish a post. Perhaps my blog is too simple. And also I don’t usually write very long post. What I usually have to do is to take the screenshot of a program or a site, then add to the post. But when I take the photos with my digital camera, I sometimes have to edit the photos. But, the editing usually means adjusting the brightness, contrast, saturation and cropping the photos only.

  10. I’ve got hundreds of half written articles that just need a little work, but most articles that I crank out at once take 2-3 hours. Add another hour on average for photos (actually taking and editing) and researching. Never under an hour, often 5 or more.

  11. It depends on the subject of the post. If it is strictly a “mommy” post about my family or life as a mother it takes about 30 minutes to an hour. This is to get my thoughts down, find and edit an appropriate photo, and proofing the post. Most of my posts are of the shorter variety.

    About once or twice a month, I post a longer, well-researched post. These posts require research (for example one for free summer movies in my area), it can take 8 – 12 hours to do all the research, put it in an appealing format, and proofing the post. The posts that require massive research are the ones that get searched on the most and I have the highest page views on. While they take much longer to put together, they are worth the time and effort involved.

  12. I usually post whenever an idea strikes me. I’ll spend some time writing it, usually anywhere from ten minutes to a couple days, depending on what the subject is. The hardest posts for me to write are those that I feel other people will find interesting. I’ve purposely steered clear of the cliche posts – lists, top tens, etc. – because I don’t feel that would fit well on my blog. It would be like adding a bunch of link buttons simply because someone else does it. On the other hand however, if the idea has merit and is in line with what my blog is about then I would probably take advantage of it. I did this when I figured out how to add background images to my post titles. I figured others might benefit from this, since it took me a few days to figure out.

  13. mine vary. when I am just posting something fun it can be as quick as 10 minutes. when I am posting something that is meaningful and deeper it can take me around an hour. some posts have a lifespan of days as I write, save as a draft, come back to it in a couple days and finish it.

    I’d say my average is about a half hour.

  14. I am glad that this question was raised as I had searched the problogger site in the past trying to find some information on the time other people spent writing a blog post.

    Some of my posts (300-500 words) have taken me approx. 2 hours, and I was starting to have concerns about my productivity! However, after reading some of the experiences from others in the comments above – I now feel better. :)

    At the moment, in an attempt to improve my blog posting speed I am trying to educate myself on style and grammar (a back to school approach) and at the same time trying to understand better some of the linguistics based research on sentence construction and communication.

  15. 2 hours for me as well! I am hoping I get faster as I write more. Even though my information is factual, it sometimes takes time communicate it in an organized way!

  16. It takes me about an hour for a short post. Long essay-type posts take me 2-3 days. I’m glad to see I’m not the only one who takes so long!

  17. 4 hours to 4 weeks

  18. It takes me at least an hour to write a technical post with code samples, CC licensed photo from flickr, etc. Easily more some days.

  19. 2 hours for a full Post and 1 Hour for survey

  20. yah agree with Greek…i will definitely take 2 hours for each post…

  21. It really depends if it’s technical, historical or just from my head.

    I’ve got a note pad which I carry with me because I get a lot of ideas when I am walking about, just relaxing. So this speeds things up for me, as well as lots of information I have collected over the years, and all are filed for me to pick easily on any subject.

    1 minute to find more references and info. Sometimes longer if I haven’t got the info. Let’s say an hour.

    Then another 10 minutes to write it (fast at typing).

    Another half hour to refine it. And I might go back to refine more.

  22. Usually 1 hour per post. Although i don’t write big post, but i don’t whenever i start compiling a post, the time flies away like anything.

  23. It takes me about 2 – 4 hours to write a good post including research and proofreading, but I’m trying to reduce that time by writing more often. I try to write at least 1 article per week.

  24. aint easy to say. from 15′ to one and a half hour, or even more. I AM LOOKING FOR A TOOL THAT CAN MESURE how many letters I am able to write in a period of time. I figure a add-on to Ms-Word or OpenOffice would be usefull. The chronometer could count the time we are working on a document and give us the ratio letters/time. With such a tool it would be easier to know the average time it takes to write a blog post.

  25. About an hour per blog. I usually take one day a week and write them all, upload the photos, link it.

    I’m always looking for ways to improve my sphere of influence via my blog. Thanks for your articles. Enjoyed them. And will continute too.

  26. The actual post takes about thirty minutes. Collecting my ideas is a daily task. I keep a journal on my desk and carry a small notebook with me. I write down any blog ideas that come to me with three or four bullet points. When I sit down to write, I go back through these notes.

    I find that this has helped my creativity. My mind is free to think up new ideas because it knows that my other ideas have been recorded. I cannot say that this is my original idea. It came from an Effective Writing class I took in college.

  27. It takes me anywhere from 40 minutes to a couple of hours – depending upon the content and my ability to stay “in the zone”

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