How Long Does It Take to Write a 1,000-Word Blog?

How long does it take to write a 1,000-word blog? This question pops up on freelance writing forums all the time. The answers tend to vary anywhere between 30 minutes to days. How long it takes to write a 1,000-word blog depends on your experience, the topic, the research time needed, and many other factors. 

Today I want to talk about what factors play a role in writing a 1,000-word blog, how to write a blog, and how to get better at writing blog posts. Before I get started, I want to ask you to be gentle with yourself and don’t fall into the comparison trap. 

No matter where you are at, you can always improve your skills. Being faster or slower than the average doesn’t mean you are better or worse than other writers. Your experience, your writing strategy, or your writing speed doesn’t define you as a person. With that in mind, let’s talk about how long it takes to write a 1,000-word blog and how to get better at it.

How Long Does It Take to Write a 1,000-Word Blog: All the Factors

Honestly, there is no one answer for this. It depends on so many factors.

• The topic: The topic plays a big role in how long it takes to write a 1,000-word blog. Some topics are easier than others. I have a feeling that it’s much easier to write 1,000 words about cats than aerospace engineering. Or maybe for some, it’s the other way around. You will have an easier (and speedier) time writing about a topic you love and have experience writing about. As a health writer, it would take me much longer to write about SaaS, a niche I’ve never written in.

• The research time: Research is usually a major part of your writing process. Of course, it matters when it comes to how long it takes to write a 1,000-word blog. Some blogs need a lot of research, others need very little to none. Sometimes when writers say research, it means browsing google and looking at competitor blogs. At other times, you need to read scientific studies, dig up statistics, and so on. And let’s not forget about brainstorming and outlining either. Those take time.

• Anything else: Though it’s less common for blogs and more common for magazine writing and journalistic work, in some cases, you may need to do some interviews. Interviews may mean putting a quick survey out and waiting for written answers to roll in. In other cases, you have to find and call up subjects, which can take longer. In rare cases, you may have to take a field trip and visit a store or museum, or maybe try a product yourself. This takes time.

• Distractions and your mental health/health: Let’s be honest here. Some days you are inspired, motivated, and focused. You are in the flow and time flies. Writing a 1,000-word blog won’t take too long. On other days you are tired, stressed, and distracted. You are staring at the wall and keep checking social media. Writing the same 1,000-word blog will take much longer. If you are dealing with mental health or physical health challenges, it can weigh you down as well. Of course, there are many strategies you can use to improve your writing experience (and writing speed), but forgetting about your emotional state, stress levels, and health factors would be a mistake. They can slow you down. Though for some people, stress and anxiety actually drive them to be faster.

• Your writing speed: Your writing speed matters. Some people are naturally speedy writers, others are not. As you get more experience in freelance writing and your niche, you will get faster. This is why you should never charge per hour. Your fees shouldn’t matter how long it takes you to write a 1,000-word blog. You should not be penalized for becoming faster and more efficient.

• Editing: Editing takes time. If your first draft is great, it will take less time. However, a first great draft often takes more time. You may self-edit while writing and need less time editing later.

• Your process: Your process plays a huge role in how long it takes for you to write a 1,000-word blog. I’ve noticed that some writers like to break down their processes. One day for brainstorming and research. Another day for writing. And the third day for editing. So it takes them three days, though not three full days. Others, like myself, squeeze all these steps into one day, often one session.

• Any extras: SEO optimization, finding images, writing blurbs for social media, or any extra tasks you may have takes time. It shouldn’t take too much time, but it does factor into how long it takes to write a 1,000-word blog.

A Typical Timeframe for Writing a 1,000-Word Blog

Okay, okay. You get it. It depends on the person, the topic, your processes, and so many other factors on how long it takes to write a 1,000-word blog. But you can just give me an average.

Sure, but take this with a grain of salt. If it takes you longer than this, it doesn’t mean you are a slow writer or a bad writer. It may mean you are dealing with a difficult topic and you need more research. It may also be dealing with health or life challenges that slow you down. There is nothing wrong with slow writing. And remember, fast writing doesn't mean quality writing.

According to Stream SEO, the typical timeframe for writing a 1,000-word blog is 1 to 2 hours, noting that beginners may need more time. Other websites estimate somewhat longer. Reading answers on freelance writing forums, it seems that the typical timeframe for writing a 1,000-word blog is 4 to 5 hours for beginners and 1 to 2 hours for more experienced writers. Some writers claim that it only takes them 30 to 45 minutes to write a 1,000-word blog, however, it seems that those pieces are generally done with little research. I’ve noticed that some writers don’t include the editing time when answering how long it takes them to write a 1,000-word blog.

The point is, stop comparing yourself to others. If you feel like you are slower than you should be, look at your writing process. All of us have something to improve on. Maybe you simply need more experience. Or maybe you just need more grace and less comparison.

The Process for Writing Blogs and Articles

To become more efficient and faster at writing a 1,000-word blog or any article, you need to develop a process that will help you to complete the blog. As with everything, there is no one right answer. Your process for writing blogs and articles may be different. This is a general outline of the blog writing process most freelance writers use.

Choose Your Topic

This is probably the most obvious step, yet, it can be the most difficult one for many freelance writers. In most cases, you won’t have to think about it because your client will give you a topic. In other cases, you have to help your client come up with topics. You may have to help them with the content plan and content calendar. You may be writing your own blog. If you need to come up with a topic, I don’t recommend doing this right before you sit down to write and you are on a deadline. Plan ahead. Create a content calendar at least a month ahead or at a bare minimum, and have an ongoing list of topics going to choose from.

Brainstorming and Internet Research

Once you have your topic, it’s time to do some brainstorming and internet research. Look around the internet. Check who is ranking for certain keywords in your topic. Look at your competitors. What have they written about this topic? Check relevant social media pages, for example, Pinterest or Instagram, for ideas. Use an SEO tool to get some ideas and explore your keyword options. Even if your client has given you some target keyword, it never hurts to dig deeper. Ubersuggest is a great free tool to do this.

Create Your Outline

Outlining your work will help you keep organized. Instead of feeling overwhelmed by what’s ahead, you can work section by section. This will become particularly helpful if you are writing long-form content instead of just 1,000 words. Your outline should already include your headings and subheadings. Under each heading, you may include some notes or keywords to make your process easier.

Deep Research

This is not necessary for all topics and niches. But if you need to look at scientific articles, do a literature search, check for statistics, do some interviews, or so on. This is the time for it. Some writers may prefer to do this before the outlining phase. It’s up to you. However, I think having an outline and a clear direction will help you research. Add whatever you find to your outline.

Write

It’s time for writing. Start with the body and leave the introduction and conclusion last. Go section by section. Have a clear goal for each section. Never stuff your blog with unnecessary words and fluff just to reach your word count goal. Don’t worry too much about your word count at this point, you can always add or remove a little during the editing process. Use lists and bullet points to make it an easy read.

SEO and Title

If you are writing an SEO blog, you need to think about your keywords during the writing process. However, once you are done with your writing process, you can check if you’ve used your keywords enough or too much. Pick a catchy title and optimize it for search engines. Work on your meta description, slug, and other SEO magic. Optimize your image title and image descriptions as well if you are offering images. 

Edit

It’s time for editing. Editing has two parts. You will have to check for the content of your thoughts. Does it make sense? Is it clear? Do you need to reword or clarify anything? And of course, you need to look for grammar and spelling mistakes as well. Grammarly is a great tool to use. It may save your life if you make too many typos. But remember, Grammarly is not always right. Some of its recommendations are wrong and funny and it also misses mistakes.

How to Structure Your Blog

Structuring your blog right is very important both for your reader and for your writing process. Just as we learned in school, the structure of your blog post should be as follows: introduction, body, and conclusion.

The structure of a 1,000-word blog generally looks like this:

• Introduction: It should be short, anywhere from 50 to 100 words. It should be 2 to 3 paragraphs. One paragraph can be okay, but never write more than 3 paragraphs in your intro for a 1,000-word blog. It should catch the interest of the reader. Your first paragraph should also include your target keyword or keywords.

• Body: This is the main focus of your blog. For a 1,000-word blog, the body should be between 800 and 900 words. This should not be a huge blog of words. Break it down into 2 to 3 or even 4 subheadings. As needed, you may include a few subheadings under each section. Keep your paragraphs at 2 to 4 sentences. Include 2 to 3 paragraphs under each subheading. Use your keywords as it makes sense without keyword stuffing.

• Conclusion: Your conclusion should be short, 50 to 100 words. It should be 1 to 2 paragraphs. End with a call-to-action (CTA).

How to Write Long-Form Content

Some writers love long-form content. Some don’t. I am in the long-form camp.

Google actually loves long-form blogs and 2,000 to 2,500 blogs rank better than 1,000-word or shorter ones. According to Hubspot, 2,100 to 2,400 words is the ideal length. Lately, even longer blogs have become more popular. 5,000 to 10,000-word long masterposts, pillars, and guides are also not unusual to use for google rankings and backlinking. Ebooks are often structured similarly to blogs as well.

You can use the same structure as a general idea for long-form blogs. Of course, you will have more headings and subheadings, but the idea is the same. Similarly, you will use the same process when it comes to research, outlining, writing, and editing. 

It will, of course, take longer to write a long-form blog than to write 1,000 words. The average time for a 2,000 to 3,000-word blog seems to be 2 to 6 hours. For really long-form content at 5,000 to 10,000 words, you will likely be working for 10 to 25 hours or longer. While you can write a 1,000-word blog in one writing session within one day, long-form blogs, especially over 4,000 words, will likely take more than one day.

How to Write Faster and More Efficiently

Practice makes it perfect…or at least it makes it better. But there are a few other strategies that can help you write faster and more efficiently:

• Create a content calendar so you exactly know what you need to write about.

• Outline before writing.

• Write the body before the introduction, conclusion, and title. 

• Look for images once you are done.

• Choose a freelance writing niche and write about topics you are interested in, knowledgeable about, or want to gain expertise in.

• Don’t overthink it. Try not to self-edit while writing. Don’t worry about typos, you can fix that later. Let your ideas flow.

So How Long Does it Take to Write a 1,000-Word Blog? Really.

I can’t emphasize it enough: how long it takes to write a 1,000-word blog depends on a lot of factors. Improving your processes and gaining more experience in freelance writing (and your niche!) will make your process easier, faster, and more efficient. Don’t stress about it and don’t compare yourself.

Are you interested in creating a sustainable freelance writing business without the hustle? Check out my freelance writing course with a step-by-step process of exactly what you need.

So how long does it take to write a 1,000-word blog for you? What does your process look like? I would love to hear from you.