If you’ve ever avoided hitting publish because your blog felt “too short,” you’re not alone. Many counsellors get stuck on word count, but focusing on blog length too soon can actually stop you from getting found by clients.

In this episode, I share:

• The reality about blog post length for counsellors
• Why word count isn’t the most important thing when you’re starting out
• 5 practical ways to make blogging quicker, easier, and far less overwhelming

Whether you’re new to blogging or ready to improve your private practice marketing, you’ll leave this episode with the confidence to publish without worrying about “perfect” length.

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Links and Resources Mentioned:

Framework First Blogging Method - A low-cost, step-by-step method for blogging once a month with ease

→ Blogging for Counsellors | Monthly Writing System to Attract Clients

And for more of my free and paid resources CLICK HERE

If you've ever found yourself wondering how long should a blog post be, or even worse, you've not published something 'cause you think it's too short, then this episode is for you because today we are talking about blog post length for counsellors in private practice and why word count might be the least important thing when you are first starting out and what really matters instead.

I also share five practical tips to make blogging quicker and easier and far less overwhelming. So if blog post length has been something that's holding you back, let's fix that.

So hi, and welcome to the Grow Your Private Practice Show, the podcast that helps you grow a sustainable practice through simple blog based marketing. I'm Jane Travis, and I'm a marketing mentor for therapists and counselors, and I'm here to help you to get visible in a way that feels good for you.

Okay, so if you are a counsellor in private practice, you've probably heard that blogging can help you to get found by more clients, and it definitely, definitely can.

But then the questions start, you know, what should I be writing about and how often should I write a blog post? And probably the biggest that I, you know, the most common one that I hear is, how long should a blog post be? Now, if I think back to when I was in school, and actually even after that, when I was trained to be a therapist, if I had to write 500 words, I'd cram in as many extra words as possible so that I'd get to that number quickly.

So “EG” written you know two letters, EG that became, “for example”, cause that's added to my number of words. And instead of saying something like the “sky is blue”, I might have said “the sky, which is the vast expanse over us, often appears to be blue in color, which is one of the primary colors and is generally considered calming and pleasant to look at”.

Now, did you ever do that? Come on, be honest. Did you? Well, I did. And the truth is, being fixated on a word count doesn't make your writing any better. In fact, it can make it painfully tedious to read. You know, think of the sentence that I've just said about the sky. I mean, that was just, you know, who wants to read that and for counsellors obsessing over a blog's length can stop you from sharing posts that could genuinely help clients to find you. So how long should a blog post be? It's not a simple question.

And that makes you think, right, okay, that's just not good enough. But the problem is this kind of question trips up so many people that they end up not posting anything at all. Now, I've lost count of the number of counselors who've told me that, you know, I've written something, but I haven't published it yet because it's not long enough. So I need to finish it off.

And the problem with that is, are you gonna finish it off or has it now sort of gone to the depths of your blogging pile never to be found again? So my question is, you know, not long enough for who's deciding how long it should be? Is it Google? Is it some sort of mythical blogging rule book that there is out there?

You know, there's no one with a clipboard counting your paragraphs and the only critic breathing down your neck is usually, yep. You guessed it. You. So why do counselors get caught up in this idea of blog length? Well, when you are new to blogging for your private practice, there are so many shoulds floating around.

So you know, you might have heard that you should write at least a thousand words. You should make it a really in-depth post so that people can see you as an expert, or you should hit a magical number for SEO and because you want to look professional and get found by more of the right clients. It's so easy to believe that length equates quality.

And the trouble is that mindset can lead to endless research and, you know, overthinking to the nth degree or half written posts, like I said, that we'll never ever see the light of day again. And posts that are just never gonna get published. And I've done all of those. You know, what can I say? I've done them all.

I have half finished drafts where buried so deep in my website. I'm scared to go and see what monsters there are lurking around down there. But here's the real problem. Your work never gets to help anybody, and you miss the chance to connect with potential clients. And you never, and I think this is the big one for me, that you never get the satisfaction of ticking blog published off your to-do list.

There's just something really cool about doing that. It really helps with your confidence. So what's the thing that really matters for counselors? Now if you are just getting started with blogging, these three things matter far more than hitting a specific, you know, specific post. I can't say it. These three things matter far more than hitting a specific blog post word count.

That was far more difficult than I thought it would be. So the first one is clarity. You know, your blog post should be really easy to read and really easy for somebody to make sense of it. So for somebody who is struggling with something but doesn't know a lot about that topic, they should read it be, they should be able to read it and go, oh God, yes. Yeah, I get that. I understand that.

The second one is relevance. You know, your blog post should speak to something your potential clients genuinely care about. So have a think about, what is it that they would like to hear from you.

And the third one is consistency. Good old consistency. So a steady trickle of posts brings visibility and trust far faster than one perfect blog post every six months. So, you know, it's far better for you to write just a short post every month than to just like overwhelm yourself and try to be perfect. So you might be sat there thinking, well, okay, that's great, Jane, but you know, come on, spill the beans.

How long should a blog post actually be? Well, SEO studies suggest that posts between 1,000 and 2,500 words can perform well. That's for me. I would say that's something to aim for later once you've found your blogging rhythm and you're ready to optimize, ready for search. But look, if you are just a beginner blogger or if you are somebody that's not been blogging very long, it's far better if you are starting out to write about what you need to talk about and then stop.

So a helpful 400-word post published today is always gonna beat the 1,500-word masterpiece that never gets finished. So how can you start, you know, increasing the length of your blogs? Well, for me, the more confident you feel about the topic, the more naturally the words are going to flow and the easier it's going to be to write it. But the thing is, you don't have to wait for confidence. You can actually build that confidence as you write, and the more you write, the more confidence that you'll get. You know, it's fabulous.

So here are five practical ways to make writing a blog quicker and easier so that the words flow and it's far less overwhelming. So the first thing that I would say, and this is just the biggie, start with a super specific topic. So I highly recommend that you don't write a blog post that's called How to Reduce Stress, because that's far too broad of a topic.

Think about how many books there are about reducing stress. Think about how many podcasts there are. Think about all the information, all the resources there are in the world about stress. So how can you write a blog post and you know that's going to fit into that huge title.

It's just too big. So that's gonna give you headaches because you're not gonna know what to include and what to get, what to not include. So yeah, don't have something that's too broad. So if you're going to write a something about stress, then I would suggest that you go into something a little bit more specific.

So something like, “three breathing techniques to calm your nerves before a job interview”. So that's a far smaller topic. So that means that you're going to be able to write that a lot easier. You're gonna be writing it a lot more quickly because it's a far shorter topic and you can just share a few ideas and that's it done.

So that's going to make the whole thing a whole lot more simple for you. The second thing I'd recommend is to use a simple structure. So decide on your blog topic list, maybe three to five key points. Add an intro, add a conclusion, and there you are. Done. Now, make that sound very simple. Don't tap, but if you can give yourself, um, a template and work to that, that's a really good idea.

And if you want a ready-made structure so you're never having to stare at a blank page again, my framework first blogging method, which is just nine pounds a month, gives counselors one step-by-step blog framework every single month. So it's a different blog framework about a different blog topic. It'll be a different blog style and it's gonna be so helpful when it comes to writing blog posts, so you just plug in your own ideas and the writing is gonna flow so much faster.

So number three, set a timer. Now, this is something I've always, I've done this for so long now and I talk about it a lot, both with the members of the great private practice membership and anybody who will listen to me basically now. If you've heard it, it's the Pomodoro technique basically.

If you haven't heard of it, definitely have a look for it. I have written a blog about it, so I'll see if I can find that and put it in the show notes. But basically it's about setting a timer for a set amount of time and then just really working to get it done within that amount of time. So in this situation, I'd give yourself maybe 30 up to 45 minutes to get the first draft down. And in this, you are not gonna be fiddling with every sentence. You are not gonna be searching for the right words.

You are not gonna be looking at the grammar or the spelling. You are just gonna write, you're just gonna get it out of your head. And down onto the paper or onto the screen, or however you prefer to write. Once you've done that, then take yourself a break, and then you can come back either later that day or another day, and you can then tidy it up and edit it. And that's going to help you to just get the information from outside of your head and get it out there.

Another way, kind of fits in a little bit like the super specific topic I was talking about before. So rather than doing great big blog posts, I would recommend that you may be, if you have an idea for a big blog post, maybe think, how can I break this down into smaller parts? And I do this quite regularly.

I quite often have like three part blog posts and I did have a big section for Christmas before as well. So what you would do is you'd think about this idea for a blog post and you think, right, that's a good meaty idea. And then instead of it being like one huge blog post, you can actually break it down into maybe three posts or five posts or whatever.

That means that you're not trying to cover everything all at once. It means you're gonna be able to publish it quicker, and it's gonna help you to keep each one of the blog posts more focused, and you have ready-made topics for future blog posts as well. So the bottom line for counselors really is that when you are new to blogging, the perfect blog post length is the one that actually gets published a short, helpful blog your clients can read today will always beat a perfect blog post that's gathering dust in your drafts folder. And remember, publishing a shorter post now doesn't mean it's set in stone because you can always come back and add more to it later. You know, you can update any examples or build it as you go along.

So the next time you find yourself counting words when you are writing a blog, stop. Make it useful, make it clear, make it relevant, and then press publish. And I'd just like to point out that I've just recorded a podcast all about how length isn't everything without giggling childishly once. So you know, round of applause for me, I think.

Anyway. So if you want to skip the overthinking and just get your blog posts written, my Framework First Blogging Method gives you one step-by-step framework every single month. You'll know exactly what to write, in what order, without worrying about word counts. You know, it's perfect for counselors in private practice, and it's only nine pounds a month, so if you want to find out more, go and check it out at janetravis.co.uk/framework-first. And if you look in my show notes, there'll be a link there too.

And if you've enjoyed today's episode. Please make sure that you hit follow so you don't miss future episodes, 'cause they'll help you grow your private practice through blogging and ethical marketing.

So thanks for listening. I hope you have Ara really fabulous rest of the day and I'll speak to you soon. Bye-bye bye.