In this article, I answer the question, “What are some important marketing metrics to track?” One of the most delicate things you can do for your web marketing plan is created long-form content. Long-form material that exceeds 3,000 words blurs the distinction between an article and a guide, distinguishing it as a distinct sort of content. It’s’ detailed, but not too so. It’s’ the ideal kind of article for actually assisting your readers. Long-form material also establishes you as an authority, attracts backlinks, and helps develop a long-term content marketing strategy. Long-form content has always been a critical aspect of my marketing approach throughout my career.
Long-form material is also used by the majority of the wildly successful businesses I know. Coincidence? No, I don’t’ believe so. “However, how can I write these massive articles?” you may wonder. I’m’ not sure where to begin.” It’s’ plenty to get started if you have an article concept in mind. All you need is a decent concept, some time, and some Googling skills to get started. I’ve’ polished the method of producing long-form material that works for any subject over the years. It’s’ so simple to understand that I’m’ sure you’ll’ be able to write your first 3,000-word essay in a matter of days. Ready? Let’s’ get this party started.
How to write a 3000-word essay in no time?
1. Write about what you’ve’ learned.
First, I want to address a problem that I often encounter. I’ll’ read an article that checks all the criteria but has poor substance. And the author hasn’t’ done any research on the issue. You can tell that an article’s author doesn’t’ fully understand the problem if it makes a lot of imprecise comments and extensively depends on other people’s quotations. And it would be best if you wrote about when you’re’ writing 3,000 words or more. I can write 3,000 words about marketing in no time. I’d’ be lost entirely if I attempted to write a 3,000-word piece on how to backpack through Spain. Writing 3,000 words requires a thorough understanding of the subject. If you’re’ stumbling about and making stuff up as you go, your final output will suffer. When you write about what you know, your knowledge comes through. Your readers will immediately recognize you as an authority on the topic. Above all, your content will not be dull. It’ll’ be in-depth and instructive. Let’s’ look at the process of creating long-form material now that it’s’ out of the way.
2. Creating an outline.
When most people think of a writing plan, they picture something like this:
LumenLearning is the source of this information. These outlines are lovely for writing academic papers, but they’re’ a little too complicated for articles. You may use a lot less complex design. For example, your system may contain a list of all of your article’s subheadings. It might also be a list of topics you wish to write about in bullet points. Spend as little time as possible on your outline, whichever method you employ. You want to get started on the drafting phase as soon as feasible.
3. Getting your information.
The success of an article is dependent on its sources. Your audience will not believe your arguments if you do not have credible sources. Your sources must fulfill two crucial criteria: they must be reliable, and they must be current. Therefore, make an effort to utilize reputable sources. Case studies are usually a good choice.
Here are some excellent sites to check for information:
- Publications available on the internet
- Sites that are based on research (e.g., MarketingSherpa, HubSpot)
- Blogs about the industry
Primary sources are always preferred above secondary ones. Original study or information is the primary source.
Here’s’ how Buffer works with a primary source:
Of course, your key sources don’t’ have to come from you or your organization. You may, for example, reference the Buffer post as the primary source. Here’s’ one of the most helpful writing hints I can offer: First, locate your sources. It will be more difficult to naturally include your references in your work if you wait until later to discover them. However, if you find them early on, you may produce an essay based on your sources. This improves the flow of your writing and strengthens your arguments. In the long term, it also saves you time. Next, return to your outline and construct a list of the essential points you want to make. For each topic, find one or two primary sources. This will guarantee that your points are well-supported.
4. Make a complete draft.
Now that you’ve gathered your sources, it’s’ time to write your first draft—one thing to remember while drafting is to pay attention to detail. One of the reasons I wouldn’t say I like brief stuff is because it isn’t’ thorough enough. I’d’ have to sacrifice a lot of information if you asked me to produce a 500-word post about long-tail keywords to squeeze in the major themes. Shorter material may be effective in some situations, but if you want to establish authority and expand your audience, you’ll’ need lengthier content. And that entails attention to detail. Many newbie bloggers make the mistake of believing that their audience would understand what they’re’ writing about. You can’t’, however, make that assumption. You run the risk of alienating some readers if you do so. It’s’ usually better to go into too much detail than not enough, as a matter of thumb. When writing your posts, keep this in mind. Allow yourself to write freely as you begin. Even if you think it’s’ not very pleasant, write whatever comes to mind. This phase aims to get words on the page. If they’re’ wrong, you can always change them afterward. Keep the following two factors in mind when you’re’ drafting.
5. Let’s break it down.
When writing a lengthy piece, you must ensure that everything is divided into sections. In addition, each point should be clearly explained.
When you’re’ writing your first draft, make an effort to address the following questions:
- What questions would you have if you were new to this subject?
- Have you broken down each region into manageable chunks?
- Have you defined any terminology that some readers may be unfamiliar with?
Include a beginners” tutorial anywhere at the introduction of your post if you’re’ writing about an advanced application of a subject. Uninitiated readers will understand the fundamentals before continuing to your topic.
At the start of your piece, you may want to include a table of contents. Again, Kolakube makes good use of them:
Remember that your purpose is to assist the reader, and a table of contents may help you achieve that by breaking down the piece into smaller, more manageable portions.
6. Construct pillars
Examine your outline once again, focusing on your essential themes. You should be able to make 5-7 points. These 5-7 points are your pillars, and they support the central argument when taken collectively.
Take a look at this Kissmetrics post, for example:
The primary idea is in the title, while the subheadings are the article’s pillars. That is the format you should strive towards. I like to use subheadings as pillars, but you’ll’ be OK if you have your supporting parts. Finally, when it comes to your initial draft, try to make it lengthier than the length of your article. That’s’ because you’ll’ typically trim out a lot more than you realize throughout the editing process. As a safety net, I advocate going beyond 400-500 words. Aim for 3,400-3,500 words in your first draft if you want your final piece to be 3,000 words.
7. Brutal editing
It’s’ now time to modify. You must be ruthlessly honest with yourself while editing your work. It’s’ easy to acquire editing blindness since you’re’ so accustomed to your work that you’re’ prone to overlooking errors. Leave your article for a day or two to combat this. When you return to it, you’ll’ be able to modify it with greater objectivity. Start by reading your piece out loud, if possible. (Yes, it’ll’ take a long, but it’ll’ help you catch faults you would have missed otherwise.) At the very least, read your piece carefully from beginning to end. Do all of the phrases make sense to you? Are there any phrases that aren’t clear? Editing should be harsh. Using tools to assist you in polishing your drafts is also a fantastic idea. First, run it through a spell checker, but remember that spell checkers aren’t’ perfect. (For example, even though it’s’ inaccurate if you write “I threw the baseball” instead of “I threw the baseball,” a spell checker won’t’ detect it.) After that, use Grammarly. A free grammar checker will identify any mistakes and guide you through the correction process.
Finally, use the Hemingway App to check your work. This excellent text editor highlights lengthy phrases, complex words, and adverbs. Hemingway’s’ philosophy is to make your writing more concise and compelling.
Finally, check through your piece one final time, and if everything seems fine, it’s’ ready to launch.
Conclusion
Isn’t’ that too difficult? And the most significant thing is that as you practice, you’ll’ grow better at it, and it’ll’ get easier and simpler to accomplish. A method for writing a long-form essay may be applied to any subject. Find a theme, gather sources, construct pillars, write thoroughly, and edit. Rinse and repeat as needed. The formula can’t’ fail if you write about something you’re’ familiar with. All you need is a few hours in front of the computer and a little motivation. In my opinion, writing 3,000+ word articles is more straightforward than writing short (500-700 word) articles. In 3,000 words, you can cover a lot of territory without going off on a tangent. Writing outstanding long-form essays, however, still requires a lot of work. (After 10+ years of blogging, I’m’ still practicing.) So take this approach and apply it to some amazing long-form content.
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