How Much Content is Too Much?
There is an unthinkable amount of content generated and released onto the internet every minute, so you may feel exhausted at the mere thought of trying to keep up with it all.
The good news is that you may not have to. This may be reminiscent of your old homework-avoidance tactics, but you’re a grown-up now and these tips may just save you time and repetitive strain injuries!
You don’t need a huge word count to be a heavy-hitter
Most consumers aren’t looking for a huge long read nowadays, they don’t have the time and there’s always some gorgeous little snippet just over there… Thankfully, as long as you make your content relevant and informative, you only need to ask for 300 words of their time (ahem). Of course, long-form comes in handy if you want to get your authority on, but only if you get good feedback.
Aim for quality
Producing reams and reams of words just doesn’t do it for anyone anymore. Readers want to take in your content in minutes and be able to remember it. You need to plan, structure, add bullet points and always look out for excess words. Think lazy Sunday mornings for long-form; how often do you get a Sunday morning? Once a week…
Ever-decreasing attention spans
No-one has the time to spend too long on one article or post, plus, our attention spans are falling. Think about your favourite songs from the 1980s (if you were alive then…). Listen to them now and they seem to go on for ever. No-one has the time for self-indulgence on this scale, not the Millennials and certainly not Generation Z, who now make up a large share of your consumer base. That’s right, you’ll have your work cut out for you; lucky for you it’s short work.
The work may be short, but you should spend time watching your audience
It takes time and experience to know which 100 words will work with your butterfly-brained readers. The 100 words will take you mere minutes, but the research that goes into them should take you a lot longer. It’s estimated that just 5% of content gets 90% of the attention, so how can you get into this elite?
Write for your buyer personae
If you sell running shoes, you’ll want to appeal to most ages, but how do you reach 19-year-olds and 70-year-olds on the same site? How do you speak to them and gain their trust? You need to study each demographic and watch how it reacts and behaves.
Don’t forget visual appeal
Around half of us are visual learners and visual content is processed much faster even by the other half. Make sure you take your visuals as seriously as you do your words.
