Wasn’t long ago when I hit my 100th blog post, and I decided to hack my writing style with 15 posts 300-words or less as well as test post frequency.
At the end of the exercise, some thoughts:
- 300 words was arbitrary, but it was a test for effectiveness and readability (my “MVP”). During the 15 posts, I’d write full drafts (~400-500 words) before trimming. After 30 minutes, I’d get to sub-400, and painstakingly carve potentially good content to get to 300. I’ll opt for 400-word limit moving forward with judgement.
- I thought posting twice weekly would boost readership. It does… kinda. Multiple posts are great especially with sites like Atlanta Tech Blogs which showcase the latest posts from startups and entrepreneurs; however, I get “organic” traction just fine with daily social shares.
- Two posts weekly is tough for me. Inspiring content is the challenge. More than twice a week would be unsustainable for me at the moment. I’ll still do two-a-weeks till October.
- Friday, Saturday, Monday aren’t great times to share at 11AM or 2PM. I’ll gather data from Google Analytics later. For now, anecdotally, the best days to post on any outlet (LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook) are Wednesday, Tuesday, and Thursday (in order).
- I love how Hypepotamusshares a post multiple times a week socially. Before, I did one social blast per post, but realized I was missing opportunities with multiple shares. Now, I share a single article several times citing quotes from the article on social media outlets — each day for a week after the initial post. I get more residual Favorites, Shares, Retweets, Comments, etc.
I’m always looking for ways to improve, and this was a great exercise to improve my writing and overall communication skills.
What are some other ways I could change up my writing style? Any other recommendations on writing style or what blog/ writing styles you’ve enjoyed reading?