Your ideal content length; size, user and AI intent matter
Fleur Willemijn van Beinum
Head of Content | AI, Marketing, Strategy & Author
When is short too short and becomes long too long?
Is shorter content better content? In today’s fast-paced social-first world, short is not always better.?
Sometimes, short becomes too short, barely scratching the surface and giving the reader as good as nothing except a clickbait headline. On the other hand, longer content can scare readers with big walls of text, become boring, and feel fluffy. What the h*ll is the ideal length?
The most important is that you don’t leave your readers puzzled; give them what they are looking for → content, with substance.?
When is short too short and becomes long too long?
Fair question, easy answer: it depends.
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The golden rule for content length
Bursting your bubble, there is no magic number of words or reading time of 5 minutes. You do have some specifics per channel; however, there's no absolute number set in stone.?
If any content marketer, strategist, or self-proclaimed guru tells you otherwise, I kindly suggest eliminating them from your team. ?
The golden rule is ‘as short as possible, as long as needed.’
Sometimes, you can convey your message in 50 words or less; other times, you need 5.000 words.?
It's about the quality of the content, not the quantity. It's about the message, not the length. Size matters, but often, what you do with it matters even more. However, there are a few non-negotiable prerequisites for the quality of your content:
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The benefit is focus on the message for humans and AI
If you don’t have to worry about sticking to a maximum length of your content, you can focus on your message. By default, that improves your content, increases engagement, and gets your message across.
And, don't not forget that if humans like your content, AI likes it as well – and will use it to answer prompts.?
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The only exception to this golden length rule is social. There, you must focus on the first ~90 characters to get the attention; be super short and very precise. That said, for now, I'll focus on the longer-form content for thought leadership and share insights and points of view.?
Let’s dive into how to focus on the message and the prerequisites.
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1. Understanding user and AI intent
‘User intent’ is an expensive word for ‘what a user wants to achieve or find out.’ As a marketing manager, your job is to ensure that your content answers this question as quickly and easily as possible.
This ‘user intent’ is also essential for SEO and AI-based search. Google and ChatGPT work based on the users' prompt and search the web for the answer. If your content gives that answer, is easily accessible, and is written in a human language, there is a big chance they'll use it.
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How to find your users’ intent
This is the most difficult part of creating content. How do you know what your users are looking for??
There are two ways to find out.
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Next to the quality, it's a bonus if your content has a clear and logical underlying structure, so Google or AI knows where to expect and find what information. Let's check some details on this structure in the next paragraph.?
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2. Start with the end, find your structure and thread
This is the secret to engaging content: start with the end. Logically, the ‘end,’ the summary, and your main point is at the end of your content. But, If you place the end in the first paragraph, your reader is engaged from the first moment. He or she immediately understands your main point without spending a lot of time reading. As an additional perk, they can stop reading at any spot on the page and still come away with the main message.
Next to starting with the end, your content's underlying structure serves as your story's central thread. Without a central thread, your reader will get lost and click away.
Traditionally, we build a storyline and work towards a ‘climax’; nowadays, we start with that to capture the reader immediately. Today, readers are much more impatient and want to know from the first lines if the content is worth reading. Which makes sense, right?
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How to find your end, structure, and thread
This is best explained by my experience of 15+ years as a content strategist and writer of books and blogs.?
I always start my content creation old-school with pen and paper, preferably two colors of pens to give hierarchy to my story. I write down the ‘problem-solution-benefit ’ and put myself in my readers' shoes. What problem are they facing, how can I help them solve it, and what are the specific benefits of my solution?
Writing this down by hand slows me down, allows me to be creative, and forces me to think, clarify, and simplify. Writing by hand takes more time and effort than typing or using AI, this different pace helps me define the central thread and key message.
Next, I highlight the ‘end’ and the ‘why it matters to my reader,’ which is my main point, the start of my first paragraph, and often my title and headline.
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Now that you have this structure and thread in place, it's time to focus on how you write, show that you care, and make the lives of your busy readers easier.
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3. Write for busy readers
The common mistake in creating content is complexifying your writing, fluffing it up, and making it longer than needed. As if this makes you look more intelligent and attracts more attention. Quite the opposite is true.
The simpler and shorter your writing, the more expertise, knowledge, and time it takes to create.?
And it makes reading easy. Your busy readers love easy reading that takes them as little time and energy as possible.
Writing for busy readers means simplifying your writing.
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How to use AI to simplify your writing
Yes, you can use AI to simplify your writing. I use ChatGPT in two ways: a simple writing prompt and a custom GPT.
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Benefits of simple writing
This is the list of benefits of simple writing for busy readers (and AI).
Please note that this simple writing for busy readers especially applies to your highly educated and very busy audience. That you’re creating content for a higher educated audience is by no means an excuse to produce long content.
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Key takeaways and summary
There is no magic number of words or reading time of 5 minutes. The golden rule is ‘as short as possible, as long as needed.’
And if you don't have to focus on the quantity of words, you can focus on the quality of your message.?
These are a few non-negotiable prerequisites for your content:
And, let's not forget that if humans like your content, AI likes it as well – and will use it to answer prompts.?
Now, it's up to you to create some awesome content, no matter the length.?
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Need help?
If you need any help with all of the above—and I’m not biased at all—I’m thoroughly experienced, have ruffled many feathers, and have learned from my mistakes,?drop me an email. If I’m not the right person to help you, maybe I can recommend someone or an agency from my network.
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