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NOTE: This is part 6 of a 7-part series that describes the main types of blog posting formats. See the index to this series for the complete list.

The long article format includes almost any blog posting that runs longer than 700 words and that is not a list.

Good long articles are hard to write. Bad long articles are easy to write – but difficult (even tortuous) to read. Editorial skill and clarity of thought make all the difference.

Good Example: Are Useful Requirements Just A Fairy Tale? by Dan Willis, Boxes and Arrows.

Needs Editorial Work: Most of the articles in Jay Rosen’s blog PressThink. Now, don’t get me wrong – I love Rosen’s work. He makes excellent points, and I often refer others to his articles. He is one of the great media observers today. But (someone has to say it, sorry Jay), Rosen probably should spend less time writing and more time editing. Many of his blog postings go on hundreds of words longer than they need to in order to make his points well. The lack of subheads only makes it more difficult for the reader to stay engaged and follow Rosen’s points. Also, he often rambles and loses track of which point his article is making – in which case he’d do better to break longer articles into two or more short ones.

ADVANTAGES: In-Depth, Enhances Reputation, Good for Storytelling

If you offer well written and edited (I can’t stress that enough) blog postings in the long article format, you’ll give your readers plenty to think about and talk about. Plus, you will probably enhance your reputation as an expert in one field or another. The trick is to effectively engage their attention and hold it throughout the article. That’s a huge challenge, but not impossible.

Also, the long article format gives you room to explore a topic in as much depth as you feel is warranted.

If you are telling a story in a blog posting, the long article format tends to work well. Storytelling resonates deep in the human psyche, so if you can find ways to incorporate storytelling techniques into your long article format postings, that’ll help keep your audience engaged.

DISADVANTAGE: Tedious + Rambling = Eye Glaze

Unfortunately, most long articles I’ve seen posted to weblogs are poorly written and/or edited. They ramble, take too long to get to the point, beat a point to death with over-explanation, and commit numerous other editorial sins. The primary effect of these problems is that readers’ eyes quickly glaze over. They lose interest and click away.

This doesn’t simply mean that all your writing effort was for naught – in fact, it had negative value. Anyone who reads a bad long article will have even less inclination to read more items from the same weblog in the future.

TIPS

Any time you find yourself writing a posting that’s more than 700 words long, look for ways to trim it to below that benchmark or else divide it into separate articles. Don’t ever write a long article as a blog posting unless you absolutely must.

If that’s simply impossible, then insert subheads every 500 words or so. This clarifies transitions to new topics, and it also gives the reader a visual and psychological break. Reading lots of text on a computer screen is hard on the eyes! White space helps.

Or, you can do like I did in this article and find a way to convert a long article into a series. (See tomorrow’s posting.)

Edit long blog postings very carefully. Decide which points you wish to make or which story you wish to tell, support it adequately but not voluminously, and stick to it. Keep your writing tight. Employ standard editorial tightening tricks such as eliminating passive verbs, simplifying complex sentences, and eliminating unnecessary prepositional phrases.

Most importantly, adhere to the key principles of effective writing: make it engaging, efficient, and readable. Those considerations don’t preclude long articles, but they do clarify the extent of your editorial responsibility if you choose the long article format.

NEXT: Creating a blog posting series (final segment)…

PREVIOUSLY: The short article posting format

INDEX to this series