WordPress.com Forums » Topic: Would you read a post this long? http://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/would-you-read-a-post-this-long WordPress.com Forums » Topic: Would you read a post this long? en Fri, 24 May 2013 06:32:19 +0000 http://bbpress.org/?v=1.1-alpha-2539 aeliusblythe on "Would you read a post this long?" http://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/would-you-read-a-post-this-long#post-724923 Wed, 19 Oct 2011 23:49:37 +0000 aeliusblythe 724923@http://en.forums.wordpress.com/ For me it is not so much the length as the formatting. In general, when I started I noticed I got far more comments and views on posts that were shorter. But since then I've discovered that no matter the length, people respond better to clearly formatted posts.

In fact, online, people tend not to read so much as skim (there are a couple studies on this, I'll have to go hunt them down...) So making your points stand out is extremely important. I use, for example, shorter paragraphs, bold text for the important bits, and break up long posts into two or three pieces with sub-headings for each one. That way people can scan the page and pick up on anything that looks interesting. Since I started doing these things I noticed that whether a post was long or short really had nothing to do with whether people read it.

So, to address your post specifically. . . While it's not actually that long, it is basically one big block of text that may make it hard for many people to read.

]]> danielsfunny on "Would you read a post this long?" http://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/would-you-read-a-post-this-long#post-724074 Wed, 19 Oct 2011 02:19:17 +0000 danielsfunny 724074@http://en.forums.wordpress.com/ Yeah, I would and did read it. That's not too long at all. All my posts tend to run around 1000 words.

]]> invisiblemikey on "Would you read a post this long?" http://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/would-you-read-a-post-this-long#post-723676 Tue, 18 Oct 2011 18:40:25 +0000 invisiblemikey 723676@http://en.forums.wordpress.com/ 500 or so words isn't long to me. Mine tend to run 700-1000.

If I start to go over that length, I do tend to break the posts up into separate parts.

2k words is about my limit, and it had better be way above average. I found your reminiscence about a memorable walk quite enjoyable to read though.

]]> smallestofthings on "Would you read a post this long?" http://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/would-you-read-a-post-this-long#post-723355 Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:09:24 +0000 smallestofthings 723355@http://en.forums.wordpress.com/ Whoops, my apologies, this was in reference to my most recent post

]]> smallestofthings on "Would you read a post this long?" http://en.forums.wordpress.com/topic/would-you-read-a-post-this-long#post-723354 Tue, 18 Oct 2011 13:08:03 +0000 smallestofthings 723354@http://en.forums.wordpress.com/ On some days it's just a few sentences, even just a picture. Then there's those days where it just keeps on flowing, though where to I don't know. I love reading long blog posts but I fear I may be the only one. Please have a look if you have the time.

Thank you.

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