What a great question! Like many great questions, the answer is: It depends. It depends on who your audience is, what people are expecting when they click your link, and why you’re making that blog post in the first place. There’s no perfect, one-size-fits-all answer, and it makes a difference whether you’re blogging as a person or a business. Here are a several things to consider, and examples to compliment them.

When I started blogging regularly – not even everyday, just often – my posts were generally in the 750-900 word range. Truthfully, I though it was great that I could even write that much in one sitting that wasn’t a listicle! During that time, a handful of people told me they liked the topics or agreed with something (probably just being polite), but they wouldn’t read more than half a post. TL;DR was a common phenomenon even under 1,000 words.

I still don’t have great numbers, but when I cut my posts down to the ~400 word range, I began to see a lot more engagement. And I believe that’s because I no longer had to hold someone’s attention for five whole minutes (an impressive feat in today’s fast-paced engagement world). I only needed it for two.

The right length for any blog is going to be different depending on the audience. For instance, David Cummings keeps his blogs to something like 200 words each. His audience is primarily business professionals and entrepreneurs who just want the bottom line, so that’s what he gives them. And it works.

Then there’s others, like Jeff Goins and Jon Westenberg, who seem to have a sweet spot in that 800-1,000 word range. As an individual, the biggest part of determining how long or short a post should be is understanding your voice. Do you usually spit out the main points? Do you prefer to tell stories? How much time are you trying to spend per post? You need to answer these questions before you intentionally decide on a length.

On the other hand, if you’re blogging for a business, or for search engine optimization (SEO) purposes, the best content that gets all the highest engagement rates is ~2500 words per piece. Obviously that’s not something you can churn out on a daily basis. But what’s more important: creating more, or getting more viewers? I’d bet the latter.

In most cases, these long, detailed articles are either listicles or research reports. They typically perform best because they give the best account of a particular topic or question. They provide the most value, and search engines reward them for providing that value.

There’s a lot that goes into the best length for a blog post. Obviously we haven’t gone into every detail, and that’s because I want to keep your attention until I’m done writing. The best length is going to be determined by your voice, your audience, and how people are finding you. If your goal is subscribers, then shorter captivating posts will likely do the trick. If your goal is to have the best SEO, then you’re better off with longer pieces and reports.