As you can probably imagine, I love reading blogs on a variety of topics including freelance writing, internet marketing, making money online, sports, and many others. The great thing about blogging is that the author is in charge of everything from topic selection to length and much more. Over the years I have found that shorter blog posts are best for me. There are many reasons for this:
1. My readers have told me so. On many occasions I have spoke with readers who have told me that shorter posts are better for many reasons. Not only are they easier and quicker to read, but they get to the point without all the fluff. I know that freelance writers are busy professionals, so I try to stay away from posts that will take too much time to read.
2. They are easier for me to write. Sure, I could go on and on and make each post 1,000 words or more. I know many bloggers who do this, but it is not a style I enjoy. It is easier to write shorter posts, and by doing so I am forced to get my point across in a concise and efficient manner.
An average blog post for this site is between 300 and 400 words. Of course, there are times when I need to say more so they stretch to 500 words or more. To be honest, I don’t think about how long a post will be before getting started. I brainstorm an idea, follow several points that I want to get across, and see where I am at in the end.
Remember, your blog is your blog. As long as you are comfortable with the length of your posts and are giving readers what they ask for, you are doing something right.
Today, I want to talk a bit about the design of your blog. If you do not have a blog this post may not pertain to you. But even then, there is a good chance that you will be starting one in the near future. One of the biggest mistakes you can make when starting a blog is spending too much time worrying about your design. I am guilty of doing this at times, but have found that it is a waste of my time for the most part.
As you may remember, I used a basic template for this blog for many months. Even though it was not a unique design, I achieved solid results. The point of this is that you do not want to let your lack of design skills, or a unique design, hold you back from starting and/or growing your blog. I have several other blogs in addition to this one, and I have learned over the years that spending a lot of time on design work upon getting started is a big mistake. Sure, you may want to get this out of the way so you can move on but don’t forget about the real power behind your blog: your content. Your blog could have the best design in the world, but if you don’t offer quality content you are going to struggle to gain traction.
I am no different than most of you guys and gals. There are some design elements of my blog that I would like to change, but since they are not major components I keep them on the back burner for the most part. In my opinion, getting caught up with small details will keep you from the big picture. In turn, you will begin to lose focus and your blog will stray off the path that you want to follow.
As long as your blog’s design is clean and offers a good format for your content you should continue to forge ahead. In the future, when you have a defined path and an established base, you should then begin to think about a unique design that is better suited to your wants and needs.Â
At the end of January I mentioned that I was in the process of starting a new blog, Workathomescoop.com. After about a month of constant updates and marketing, it is finally gaining some traction. Not only are more and more people subscribing to the blog, but search engine traffic has been surprisingly solid despite its young age.
If you are an avid reader of this blog you will probably enjoy Workathomescoop.com as well. A lot of the information is similar, but Workathomescoop.com is not related specifically to freelance writing. Instead, it offers tips on starting a work at home career, choosing an opportunity, avoiding scams, setting up a home office, etc.
If you have yet to check out Workathomescoop.com I would love for you to visit in the near future. And of course, if you get the chance subscribe to the RSS feed. This way you don’t miss any of the daily updates!
