Tape MeasureIt’s a question likely as old as the written word, and one we might not give consideration to while hammering out our ideas online. Is our content too long? Will length make an impact on the number of RSS subscribers? It’s certainly a valid concern and, after discussing it with some fellow bloggers, it might be worth asking about your own content.

In my case, the length of my posts is generally a secondary consideration as it’s not quantity I look for, but quality. That said, there is some question about the level of writing on here, and I’ve had dozens of visitors send emails telling me to stop using so many commas or to relax my stance on a subject or two. But never has anyone complained about the length of the content. It might be one reason for this site’s high bounce rate, though.

Looking to the Pros

When we look at some of the most successful bloggers, we often see articles ranging anywhere from 400 to 750 words. Regardless of the writing style or content, we can often see subscriber numbers in excess of 100. This is true for blogs about everything from online revenue to golf. But is this why their blogs are so popular? What sets many of these sites apart from the crowd?

Length might play a factor, as many of us now suffer from some learned form of A.D.D., which is bad news for long-winded bloggers like Nick Phillips or myself, but is it the only reason?

Not surprisingly, the answer is ‘no’. There are dozens of factors to success, regardless of length. Another would be the number of subjects.

Talking About Too Many Things?

One of the big no-no’s we hear about on various BAB (Blog About Blogging) sites is discussing too many subjects. I can speak from experience and say that this can be a big reason people stop reading a site.

Late last year I spoke quite a bit about Ubuntu Linux, and my experience with the Operating System. I’ve also covered Japanese politics, space elevators, new products from Palm and Apple computer, various NAS options, upgrading a notebook, this site, moving to Japan, troubles at work, my wedding, and a few other subjects. Suffice to say, with almost 600 posts on this site alone, very few subjects that I’m passionate about have been left untouched. In that time, I’ve seen readership flow and ebb with a particular subject line. However, despite seeing this predictable trend, I’ve never capitalized on the rising numbers with just one or two subjects.

Readership Is Nice, But It’s Not My Goal

My goal with this site is not to attract a huge following or be considered an expert in any field. I have other sites for that. Instead, the goal of j2fi.net is to invite discussion on various subjects and to vent some of my frustrations. Hopefully I can look back on this site in five years and see some personal growth, and perhaps I’ll even have the opportunity to use it as a springboard into other areas {link | Embink}. Very little of what’s discussed here is exceptionally unique but, with over 100-million blogs out there, can anyone claim to be 100% unique?

Probably not.

So I’d like to open the floor to you, now. Does length matter? Does the number of topics matter? What do you watch out for on your sites?