How Short Will This Blog Take?

"Creativity is a process", explainsVicky Earley of Artichoke Design, "and you need to give it the time necessary." Custom design, by definition, is created to the specifications of the project on hand, she adds, so that "How long will this take?" is the wrong question to ask.  Creativity often "meanders, considers, ponders, and only then delivers".

ProBogger says something on the same order about the process of delivering well-written blogs.  Researching and composing an excellent blog post for a business "can use up the better part of a day".  Having been a writer for more than thirty years, with two years of blogging and blog-ghostwriting under my belt, I can attest to the truth of that statement about the time effort that go into customized blog posts.

Some of the "meandering" Vicky Earley mentions in describing the creative process in design takes the form, in business blogging, of reading, including web-surfing to read what other writers are saying and what the latest thought trends are in that business field.

The "considering" part includes finding just the right photo or clip art to capture the theme of the blog post.

"Pondering" might involve formatting the text with short and snappy paragraphs to make it more readable.

Speaking of short and snappy, blogs, by definition are shorter and less formal than website pages.  There’s been much debate about the most effective length for blog posts.  The rule I’ve arrived at is "Make your post as short as possible, but not shorter!"

There is such a thing as a too-short blog. For one thing, you want to offer enough valuable information to searchers to make them realize they’ve come to the right place.  In addition, you’ve got to have some length to make your use of key words and phrases flow naturally and make sense.

It could be that neither "How long will this blog take?" nor "How long will this blog be?" is the right question to ask. Try, "How can this blog deliver the most relevant information – and the greatest ROI to the business?"