The Importance of a Daily Word Count
When I first started blogging at WA almost three years ago, I used to get overwhelmed. A 1000-word blog post was a big stretch. I have a blog in which I write about technical subjects, and each post felt like a marathon because accuracy is SO important. The last thing I need is other smarter people calling me out online :)
That said, it was difficult to stick with blogging. I used to find that I could not do 1000 words at a time, so I gave up for a few months. But you know what? I couldn't stay away. I missed writing, I had insights to share, and I missed being part of the WA community--a place where we delight in each other's success and help each other through the setbacks and difficult moments.
So I came back and decided to try small, doable goals, like blogging 500 words every day. My posts tend to be long--2000+ words--and I finally recognized that until I'm doing this full-time that I need to work at a pace that is doable.
And let me tell you, I am so glad I stuck with it. Two years in, my blog finally started making money, and my revenues continue to grow. I didn't even update it all that much for 6 months, and over that time, the strategies I learned in WA about writing posts with long-tail keywords began to pay off. I have a few posts now that rank on Google, and once I added affiliate links to those, I began to see an increase in sales.
The best thing about it is the products I am recommending are the same ones that have allowed me to learn technical skills and become a web developer. That is truly a win-win with affiliate marketing--when you're able to recommend products you know and love and connect other people with them.
So what is the takeaway? DON'T GIVE UP. Even if it's hard. If you don't have time to write 1000 words every day, start with a smaller goal. 500 words every day suits me well on difficult subjects. If that's too much, you can start at 350. If you go at that rate, you'll publish twice each week, assuming 1000 words is an appropriate length for your posts. As I mentioned, my posts tend to be 2000+ words due to the subject matter. The key is to find a system that works for you and to continue to give your readers helpful content that they will love.
I wish everyone here great success in reaching your goals for 2019!
Recent Comments
11
Thanks for sharing. I needed to hear that to keep going. Looking forward to keeping up with you success.
You’re most welcome. We all need to hear success stories, especially when we invariably encounter roadblocks. If you stick with this, good things will happen for you. I look forward to hearing your success story!
Thanks for the advice and encouragement. Frequency of writing posts is definitely a challenge for me but as you said, doing a little something more often may be a better approach.
Yes, I really had to think about it differently. Setting daily or weekly word-count goals sometimes makes blogging feel more do-able. Wishing you success in your online business!
What a great idea to set yourself a daily word count rather than a weekly/monthly post count. At the end of the day that is going to result in a much higher quality of content. Thank you, Laura.
Colette and Philip
Thanks for your comment, Colette and Phil! Glad to connect with you here and best wishes to you both.
See more comments
I can relate to struggling with writing 1000 word posts, to some it comes easy but I'm not one of them lol. Your strategy of writing shorter posts sounds more doable.
I'm glad you never gave up and that your persistence is starting to pay off. Thank you for sharing this post and I wish you continued success Laura!
You're most welcome! I'm glad you can relate. There is one point in your comment that I'd like to clarify: I am advocating for a shorter daily word count, not necessarily shorter posts. We should all aim for a minimum of 1000 words in our posts, but if it takes you longer to get to 1000 words, then that is just fine! For instance, you can spread a 1050-word post over three days if your daily word count is 350 words per day. This means you can publish two 1050-word posts per week and still take a day off :)
Oh I did understand that Laura, our training suggest nothing less than 1000 words, I was just agreeing with you about writing maybe half one day and finish the rest another day. I'm sorry if I confused you with my comment. After reading it I can see why lol. Thanks Laura!
LOL and no problem! My main concern was that maybe I didn't explain it clearly :) Best wishes to you, and thanks again for sharing your thoughts.
You're welcome