Welcome to the 8th annual blogging survey.
Years ago, we set out to answer some basic questions about blogging. It’s grown into a long-term project that tracks trends in the changing world of blogging and content marketing.
Each year, we ask 1000+ bloggers 20 questions about their process and their content. Then we analyze, make a bunch of charts and add input from a dozen content marketing experts.
This year we had 1067 survey responses. What follows are 35 charts based on those responses, 12 experts and hundreds of blogging statistics that reveal some fascinating insights into an industry in flux, now more than ever.
Contents
Blogging still works, but driving big results is a challenge
Let’s begin at the end, with the question about blogging effectiveness. We asked each blogger if they are achieving strong results, some results or disappointing results.
Of course, “strong results” is subjective and relative to the goals of each blogger. There are 600+ million blogs (source) with a huge range of goals: fame and fortune, reach and revenue, links and lead generation.
There are other surveys that try to understand why people blog. The reasons are vast, as you can imagine. The purpose of this survey is to show you what’s working now, regardless of your goals. This report is practical data for the content marketer.
1 in 5 bloggers report “strong results.” This is our benchmark. We’ll use this number to find correlations between various tactics and success. Some tactics correlate with a higher likelihood of strong results. Others, not so much.
Here is the trend. The percentage of respondents who report “strong results” has declined slightly over the last few years.
Now we have the big picture and the benchmark for success, let’s get into the specifics.
1. How long does it take to write a blog post?
Ever wonder? Here’s the answer: the average blog post takes just over four hours to write.
We average the answers from the 1000 bloggers to see how much time we’re all spending on this stuff. It’s a lot. And it’s increasing. The time spent per post is higher than ever. Bloggers spent 67% more time per post in 2021 than in 2014.
Does the extra effort pay off? Yes. But only when there’s enough of it.
There isn’t much difference in the probability of reporting “strong results” for bloggers who spend 2-6 hours per post. But the really serious bloggers who put in 6+ hours on average are far more likely to report strong results.
2. Trends in blog post length: How long is a typical blog post?
Where does the time go? Into longer posts. The average blog post is 1416 words. Longer than ever.
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