While some content writers find “how long does a blog post take to write” a marmite question, I personally find it helpful to business owners who want to quantify content expense and time against their targets.
Here’s my take on the question, based on my 15-year experience as a blogger and now a content writer.
Typically the average blog post takes 2.5 to 4 hours to write
In short, most 750 to 1000-word blog posts take 2.5 hours to write. But. and this is a BIG but. That depends on several factors being in a writer’s favour.
Realistically, there’s a scale, and I would consider a blog post of 750 to 1000 words to take anywhere between 2.5 hours to 4 hours.
Wow, that’s a difference, Sara; why is that?
Here’s why there’s such a variance.
10 factors that affect how long a blog post takes to write
Several factors will dictate how long a blog post takes to write.
1. The Brief
There’s a location app called What3Words; it is an easy way to identify and communicate locations. It has already saved lives by helping emergency services find hurt people quickly.
Sometimes I get blog briefs that are just three words long, and I am expected to write exactly what was in the mind of the clients who wrote these three words. As you can imagine, three-word content briefs could be wildly misinterpreted without context and an angle.
Don’t get me wrong, if we have been working together for a while; then I already have inferred context, so I’ll use my knowledge and skills to bring your three words to life. But if you have a new writer on the team, they will need more help.
Here’s what would save your new writer time in the creation process.
Providing a tone of voice document
Access to buyer personas
A clear call to action
An understanding of the intended angle or overall how this piece fits into your current content strategy
Access to the keyword or SERP research if you have done this (optional)
Any internal links (optional)
List of sources (optional)
Don’t forget a seasoned writer can help you with strategy, sourcing and more, so don’t worry if you don’t know where to start with either briefs or ideas.
2. Evergreen, thought leadership piece or case study?
Thought leadership blog posts are likely to be shorter punchy opinion-based posts (500 to 1000 words), whereas evergreen blog posts tend to be longer and more informative pieces solving a problem for your audience (750 to 3000 words). These are the: what, where, why, when and how-to posts, which need heavier research.
Case studies can vary depending on the style of your format and how much data your writer needs to wade through to pinpoint useful results.
3. How new is your writer to your team and your industry
Not many people consider this question, but it can significantly affect a writer’s output. If your writer has less industry experience and less time on your team, it will take them a while to perfect their knowledge base with quick go-to sources for research and terminology. They’ll also need to learn how to talk directly to your audience.
That doesn’t mean you necessarily need to source writers with industry experience. A good writer can pivot topics and styles relatively quickly. In the interim, however, there will be a learning curve you need to account for, which may mean more time in the writing and editing process.
4. How experienced is your writer is
An experienced writer will have honed their trade, systems and tools to create good content at a quicker pace. This will mean, in most cases, paying a bit more, but if your targets demand it, then your ROI far exceeds the expense.
Remember, a more experienced content writer can also add value to your content so that you outshine what already ranks for the keywords and SERPs you wish to acquire.
5. How much research is there to do
Depending on your brief, a writer will need to complete additional research. This might be more in-depth than you imagined depending on the complexity of your topic.
6. Keyword and SERP research
Many great tools are out there to help you create effective keyword and SERP research in just a few minutes. If your writer doesn’t have their own system, you might consider purchasing a licence for your preferred tool.
Remember, this research step isn’t just about gathering raw data; it is about taking time to understand what’s ranking for your chosen primary keyword and topic direction and how that piece has been set up. After all, you want to outrank position one, right?!
7. Length of post
A rough guide to word length can be helpful, but please give your writer room to create a valuable post without being capped to a word count. Flexibility here also prevents less scrupulous content writers from word-cramming, as I call it, which can easily happen if you pay your writer by the word (p.s. that isn’t the best idea and here’s why).
8. Is it part of a cluster or a stand-alone piece?
Stand-alone blog posts are usually easier and quicker to write than cluster pieces. This is because a cluster blog has to be angled to fit with the cluster conversion and internally link appropriately to most if not all, other pieces.
9. Does your writer need to reach out and conduct interviews?
Case studies, in particular, need collaboration with the client you are presenting. Your writer’s turnaround and creation time will vary depending on how long that process took and added time for the communication and interview.
10. The editing process
Every first draft needs an edit before submission, just as some submissions need a few tweaks here and there occasionally. How much back-and-forth you have with your writer will add time to the turn-around process.
Here’s a guide to how I create blog content for clients so that you can see the process from your writer’s point of view.
I hope this has given you a better idea of how long a blog post takes to write.
Good luck!
If you need an experienced writer to bring your ideas to life, contact me using the project brief below.
