Voxtropolis Tip: Pacing Yourself

One of the mistakes that I see many well-intentioned bloggers making is writing far too lengthy blog posts that could easily be broken up into smaller pieces. While some bloggers do well with long articles on their sites, it’s really not recommended. As usability experts like Jakob Nielsen points out, the word count for the web should be half that of printed text. So how can we pursue that while sharing our longer thoughts?

One way is to do what I’ve just done. The use of the “More” feature found next to your insert picture button (in Voxtropolis the tiny tree above where you write your post) is one quick way to let people know there is something interesting that will take a bit more time. It has the added benefit of letting them read part of previous posts in case they’re not interested in your current one. But what else can be done?

Another thing you can do is so simple we forget it. You can wait. If you’ve just read a great book and want to get the word out, you’ll often find there is a lot to summarize. You could write six or seven paragraphs about the book. Or you could cut your thoughts up into four different posts to be shared over time. You’ll just have to get creative and make sure to share your personal reactions in each post.

What about the flash of inspiration? Well, the good news is that you can still write everything when inspiration hits. I can sit down and write the core part of all four posts and one at a time hit the “Save” button instead of the “Publish” button. When I’m ready to use a post the next day, I look for its title at the top of my writing page, click on that, edit it and publish it. Then, not only do I help my readers. I also have four days of blog posts just ready to go. This is especially helpful if you hit dry spells.

[More from Neilsen on writing for the web]