Burst Blog

One of the most common questions we get from bloggers is how to increase pick up from publishers. Obviously, each blog is different - these are just some general tips that we’ve learned through our relationships with the publishers.

• Post length: The preferable post is somewhere between 100 to 500 words. Posts which are too short probably don’t contain enough content to stand alone on a post view. Posts that are way too long could lose the reader, who may be accustomed to reading a few paragraphs. There is flexibility here, as our Gadget blogs tend to post shorter stories, and our Science and Environment blogs tend to post feature-length articles.
• Personality and Writing Style: Publishers are looking for unique voices that complement their pages. Insightful commentary and original content is key, as is a consistent voice. The vast majority of publishers don’t want the copy/paste approach of news stories with just a few lines of blogger opinion.
• Timeliness of Content: This varies by topic, as some blog posts are evergreen. But if the blogger is posting about a past event or an old news story, the time for pick-up has probably expired.
• Posting Frequency: The more you post, the more visible and discoverable your blog is to publishers. Daily posting is preferable, but publishers are interested in quality over quantity.
• No Profanity: Most publishers won’t pick up posts that contain bad words, even when you use an asterisk, clever as that may be.