What is an article
I've written over 600 of them, so I think I know the answer to that question, but I'm not completely sure. When I was an academic, a college professor, I knew that I couldn't get an article published unless it was over 2,500 words.
No self-respecting journal would accept it, at least in my field. It would seem light weight and superficial. But if you write for an Ezine you can get away with posting 300 words, and depending on who you are, even less.
One of your offerings could be 247 words, which amounts to about an average minute of spoken speech.
That's not very much text, is it? Yet, it is still considered an article.
From a functional standpoint, does it sound more impressive and more credible to say you have 2,000 articles to your credit, or 20, or even 200?
The producer of thousands must be the genuine expert, at least in the popular imagination, right? Does it pay to carefully craft fewer, and arguably much better articles, or to push out relatively mindless matter on a must faster schedule?
This depends on your purpose, your audience, and I suppose if you're a genuine essayist.
I'd say, if your goal is to explicate an idea, to create a new thought, or to give clarity or better exposition to an existing one, you need some space in which to develop your theme.
You're probably arguing for a certain view or proposition, and arguments must be recited and marshaled, and this takes time, space, and well, words!
But if you just want to add to your article count, if you're in competition with others based on mere numbers, or if you're really a marketer, believing that exposures before search engines like Google will get your web page noticed, and your products sold; then brevity is your friend.
I intended to make this article shorter, but somehow, I just couldn't bring myself to do it!
What does that say about ME?
Dr. Gary S. Goodman is the best-selling author of 12 books, over 600 articles, and the creator of numerous audio and video training programs, including "The Law of Large Numbers: How To Make Success Inevitable," published by Nightingale-Conant-a favorite among salespeople and entrepreneurs. For information about booking Gary to speak at your next sales, customer service or business meeting, conference or convention, please address your inquiry to: [email protected]
