Many people undervalue the artistry of short-form content. Sometimes, readers want a quick answer to a simple question–not a six-page-long tangent, jumping from one topic to the next.
Still, as with any content writing, short-form involves understanding your audience and what catches their attention. You should also account for what type of posts perform best when provided in a compact, fast-read format.
So, when is short-form blog writing the best option? Let’s dive in below.
What Is Short-Form Content Writing?
Short-form is a broad category that encompasses various communication methods. In simplest terms, short-form provides concise answers or information in 1,000 words or fewer–sometimes far fewer. A reader should be able to catch the overall message from a well-written short-form after a few sentences.
The tone of short-form is often casual, straightforward, and easily digestible. For instance, imagine receiving a promotional email from your favorite online store or restaurant. Usually, they’ll grab your attention with a simple catchphrase or call to action like, “Today only–half off,” followed by a brief description of the product or service.
The promise of discounted biryani from your local Indian joint entices you, and you immediately click the link to learn more. Now, imagine if that email had been unnecessarily long. Would you have finished reading and collected your prize?
Short-form offers an alternative to traditional long-form writing that can help you cultivate a more effective and reader-friendly blog portfolio.
Why Choose Short-Form?
Generally, a mix of short and long-form posts is best for SEO and building your brand. However, with the sheer pace of modern society, many people don’t have the time (or energy) to read through a 2,000-plus-word article. In many cases, they may get through a few paragraphs before losing interest and clicking to the next, more accessible source. Businesses should consider this a baseline, as unfortunate as it may be, and develop their content accordingly.
Here’s where short-from reigns.
Capturing and keeping readers is a bit easier when they can get what they’re looking for sooner rather than later. Fast and available information encourages readers to follow through, making them more likely to commit until the end (and check out your call to action).
Below are a few other benefits of short-form blog writing:
- Provides an easy way to engage with readers
- Keeps readers invested
- Increases engagement rates (i.e., readers reposting on social media)
- Easier to produce
- Boosts reader-action and click-rates
5 Ways to Create Effective Short-Term Blog Content
Now that you understand the gist of short-form, you can look for where this method fits into your marketing strategy.
What do you intend to gain from shorter posts? Are your competitors using similar methods when touching on a specific topic?
Examining these and similar factors is crucial for creating short-form content that performs well and keeps your audience happy.
1. Identify What Your Audience Needs
The first step in short-form blog writing is recognizing your audience. What exactly are they hoping to find in your content? Are they looking for a simple solution or a more in-depth explanation?
Let’s say someone searches for the “best beach sandals” before their big trip to the Bahamas. Your blog focuses on fashion, and you have numerous long-form posts about different types of sandals. However, you don’t have a short-form eye-grabber about the best option.
Here, you can bring in readers with a brief post that provides a simple solution to the readers’ questions. In a few hundred words, you can claim X brand makes the most comfortable and lightweight sandals for traveling, or even briefly outline an X-vs.-Y comparison. The reader walks away happy knowing they can make an informed decision.
They also feel they can revisit your blog for any future fashion tips. That’s crucial to developing brand loyalty.
Additionally, you can re-engage your audience by including links to your more lengthy posts that provide in-depth information about each available sandal on the market. Therefore, you get traffic to the short-form piece, and readers ultimately gravitate toward older posts, too.
2. Examine Your Competitors
Another easy way to determine when to use short-form is to check out what your competitors are doing. What types of content work best for them? Do they focus heavily on fast attention-grabbers, like TikTok videos or infographics, to convey their message?
Using this information, you can gauge how long to make a blog post or when to incorporate more visual aspects. Sometimes, you can convey the same information better with images than text–and keep readers from losing interest before you can answer their questions.
3. Stay Precise and On-Point
Don’t dilly-dally with unnecessary verbiage or confusing language. Focus on the main goal of your article, ensuring to maintain relevancy and significance.
Remember, words are valuable currency when writing short-form content. Staying under 1,000 words can be difficult, so prioritize concise sentences with the most pertinent details and essential content. Use headlines that hook readers, or leave an impact with emotion-provoking personal stories or anecdotes that relate specifically to your theme.
4. Remember, Quality Over Quantity
Creating typo-free and grammatically correct content is critical for becoming a trustworthy source of information. You may capture readers with a witty header, but can you keep them interested once they land on your page?
So, how can you achieve quality short-form content? A simple way to ensure your blogs are up-to-par is to invest in editing or proofreading software. Grammarly is a great example–you can even download the browser extension for free.
Tools like this can help you recognize when you go overboard with lengthy sentences that muddle your overall message (and eat away at your word count!). If your blog targets businesses or professionals, intentional editing can ensure you come across as knowledgeable, polished, and dependable through your content.
5. Stay Consistent
You create and foster a brand with published content. Remember to stay consistent in how you present yourself. Avoid switching between tones or giving into fads that interrupt your established online identity.
Keyword research can also help you decide if a topic of interest fits your current audience. Building your brand means sticking to your guns and capitalizing on what you excel in–whether advising readers about sandals, marketing, or complex engineering techniques.
Staying Ahead of the Short-Form Game
The online world is constantly evolving–trends come and go every day. But, you can ensure you stay relevant and impactful in the short-form entertainment or content marketing realm.
You’ll always have to compete against other websites promising the same answers as you, but intentional, well-curated, and thoughtful writing can set you apart and gain readers’ confidence.
Photo by Bench Accounting; Display image by Courtney Cook
