Let’s Compare
Blog posts come in all shapes and sizes and range widely in both formatting and word length. Some of them have (almost) no words at all, sharing instead an infographic, lots of photos, or a video for example. My blog posts are usually quick posts because I believe the quote “A picture is worth a thousand words” and usually share more photos than words since I’m a photographer. But I still need to add words for SEO and people prefer different formats. Do you prefer to read, watch videos, view photos, or see infographics to learn? Or do you think a variety works best for blog posts?
For the purpose of today’s post, we’ll compare two different posts that are on opposite ends of the content spectrum – quick posts, or short posts, if you will vs. epic posts.
While there is no set number to define a quick post or an epic post, short posts are anything under 500 words. Some may define it by a lower number like me since I usually share more photos than words. To me, the post you’re reading right now is on the long end of a quick post, and not just because of the low word count. More on that in a minute.
Epic posts on the other hand are long, well-though-out posts that convey a lot of information. They are usually at least 2,000 words long. They also take a lot more research and aren’t something you can quickly sit down and write in an afternoon.
Which brings us to the next big difference between quick posts and epic posts – and one that I think distinguishes between the two better than some random word count. A quick post is something you can sit down and write quickly. An epic post on the other hand requires some research and planning. You gather your thoughts, figure out what you want to share and convey and then come up with a plan or an outline. From there you spend some time writing a long post that covers a lot of ground. You may also choose to include several different images or graphics to illustrate your point or embed some videos. You may even go so far as to summarize the main points of your post in an infographic.
There’s a lot more work that goes into an epic post and it isn’t something you’ll want to publish two to three times per week. Instead, it’s the rare project you put together to gain authority, links, and hopefully a lot of traffic via social media and the search engines.
Quick posts on the other hand are something you can write and share quickly. They are shorter and to the point and frankly, easier to read. These are your bread and butter posts. Speaking of bread of butter, my family makes and cans homemade bread and butter pickles and they sent me a jar for Christmas. They are great to make a quick sandwich amazing. Quick posts are the posts that you’ll publish several times per week to keep your readers happy & engaged and your blog fresh. Sometimes a quick sandwich is perfect while other times you want a great Thanksgiving feast.
Each type of post has its place in your blog posting schedule. Are you using both types of blog posts?
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Hey Amanda, thanks for clarifying those two different types of posts. I’ve written both but never thought much about the impact of either. I started out with many epic posts, which made my writing very time-consuming. Once I realized that people want simple quick information sometimes, even about serious topics, I switched to more quick posts, and I’ve gotten better at them. I still need to incorporate more photographs in my posts.
Yes, add more photos to your post for more visual interest.