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How much time do you spend to write a 1000 word article?
Me: 3 hours and you? Tools you use? Docs or MS Word or WordPress Editor? Typing or Voice?
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9 Replies
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It depends on the complexity of the subject, your current understanding of the subject, and availability of sources. Normally, it’s about one hour to one and a half. You get faster the more you do it and the more you understand the subject.
For example, if your goal is to write ten articles about pest control, the first article may take long because you don’t know anything and still trying to understand the subject. But you can write the tenth article blazing fast…
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Depends on the topic but I take a half day.
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An Experienced content writer hardly take an hour to do so.
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It really depends on several factors. I love cricket so it would take me around an hour to write anything about this topic. However, if you ask me to write anything related to health and nutrition, it might take even a few days to write a proper SEO optimized article.
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Depends whether I’m familiar with the subject. And how much research is required. Especially when writing content that has to be factually correct like finance.
Drafting the outline including the research is probably the longest. The actual writing is shorter because it’s just connecting the dots.
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I worked as a full time content writer for several years, first in house at a couple agencies, then as a freelancer. (I’m currently an on-page SEO specialist at an agency, though I still write copy and content from time to time.)
Here’s my perspective.
#Tools
I’ve always used Google Docs for drafting copy and content. Lightweight, easy to use, less bloated than MS Word, yet files can be saved as a Word doc if the client prefers. Docs is also great for collaboration.
You can also just draft your content in WordPress, of course. I’ve found that for the most part, Docs content pastes seamlessly into WP. Most I usually have to do is upload images and fix some minor spacing issues.
#Typing or Voice?
Is using voice to text for a full article something people actually do? I could never imagine myself doing that. For me, writing (via a keyboard) is sort of its own distinct and seamless mode of both thought and action.
However, I could definitely see the value for people with disabilities that prevent them from typing effectively, e.g. visual impairment or motor issues.
#Time taken
Okay, so I’ll be honest: there’s no one answer to this. It really depends.
Could be an hour. Could be four. There isn’t really one answer to this question, and that’s probably what others will tell you as well.
I’ve been forced to crank out like 3k words over the course of an hour for a shitty content “agency” (basically content mill) I worked for that had rapid turnaround times, *criminally* low rates, and other various issues.
I’ve spent 8+ hours on a piece of content before as well.
It depends on a number of factors:
– **How much research is needed?** A few quick Google searches? More than that? Does the client want an outline first?
– **How well do I know the material, at baseline?** (These days, I avoid writing about things I do not know much about, but I’ve written literally hundreds of pieces on topics I had *zero* business writing about.)
– **How much am I being paid?** Time is money. Higher rates mean more time and care can be put into the content.
– **How good of a writer are you?** This affects things, if you’re doing your own content for a project. Will you need extensive proofreading, editing, etc?
For freelance work, I charge by the word, not by the hour, so there’s always some leeway there. That said, the rate will still effect how much time I feel it’s prudent for me to put into the content. I’ll take a lower rate for something I can crank out quickly, versus something that requires a higher degree of time, care, and expertise.
These days, I’d kind of recommend taking your time to put together something genuinely insightful and helpful for your audience.
I’ve been writing content since 2014. Back then, it was all about high volumes of relatively short (~500w) content. These days, not so much. Quality really does matter more than quantity if you want to rank. Don’t be afraid to take your time and publish less frequently, so you can create solid evergreen content that performs well.
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I probably take a day for a 1000 words
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Probably 4 or 5 hours including research. One of those hours is broken into its own block of time so I can edit with fresh eyes
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About 2 days. I’m an expert in my niche but still like to get it right. 1,000 words is not a lot really and if the subject allows, I write a lot more.
I use an html editor that has a us spell checker.
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