Cut Off at the Knees: Truncated Posts
Do you cut your blog posts off at the knees? Truncating is when you force the blog to show only the first few lines of a post on a reader or RSS feed.
If you do, chances are good I probably miss your posts regularly.
As far as I know there are only two reasons to truncate your posts.
• you might be trying to prevent robots from scraping your content. (Though if you think about it, if some automaton did want your content, all they'd have to do is go to your blog and take it.)
• you want to force people to physically visit your blog.
If you say something in those first few lines that compels me to comment, I'll pop in, but I won't do it just to read a post. On any given hour, I have a hundred other blogs to check out first.
There was a very good group blog I used to follow, but they truncated their posts both on Google Reader and even email. So I contacted the blog owner and asked them why they did that. She never answered.
She then posted a Q&A on the blog and I asked that question again. Once more, she ignored me. For all I know maybe I was missing the larger issue and I was very curious. But since she never answered, I have to assume there was some ulterior motive involved. As much as I liked the blog, I didn't want to be manipulated, so I took it off my reader.
If you do feel you must truncate your posts, here are some tips to ensure click-through.
• get to the point. If it takes you a while to say something meaningful, you're probably losing readers.
• use sparkling action verbs to draw attention.
• have a good headline
• use strong SEO keywords so at least the bots will think the post is important.
Am I missing the point of truncated posts? Are there other good reasons to truncate? I'd really like to know. Readers: Do you regularly click through to read truncated posts or do those first few lines have to wow you?
***
Homestead Update: The grasshoppers are winning. Now I know why they're considered a plague. I read somewhere that I can dust my plants with flour and it'll gum up their mouths. I might try that on my strawberries. They're getting hit the hardest.
Writing Update: First round edits for Mistress of the Stone are done! I want to read it one more time before I send it back. Easiest-peasiest edit ever.
Monday: Guest Blogger, Tank will be taking the podium.
If you do, chances are good I probably miss your posts regularly.
As far as I know there are only two reasons to truncate your posts.
• you might be trying to prevent robots from scraping your content. (Though if you think about it, if some automaton did want your content, all they'd have to do is go to your blog and take it.)
• you want to force people to physically visit your blog.
If you say something in those first few lines that compels me to comment, I'll pop in, but I won't do it just to read a post. On any given hour, I have a hundred other blogs to check out first.
There was a very good group blog I used to follow, but they truncated their posts both on Google Reader and even email. So I contacted the blog owner and asked them why they did that. She never answered.
She then posted a Q&A on the blog and I asked that question again. Once more, she ignored me. For all I know maybe I was missing the larger issue and I was very curious. But since she never answered, I have to assume there was some ulterior motive involved. As much as I liked the blog, I didn't want to be manipulated, so I took it off my reader.
If you do feel you must truncate your posts, here are some tips to ensure click-through.
• get to the point. If it takes you a while to say something meaningful, you're probably losing readers.
• use sparkling action verbs to draw attention.
• have a good headline
• use strong SEO keywords so at least the bots will think the post is important.
Am I missing the point of truncated posts? Are there other good reasons to truncate? I'd really like to know. Readers: Do you regularly click through to read truncated posts or do those first few lines have to wow you?
***
Homestead Update: The grasshoppers are winning. Now I know why they're considered a plague. I read somewhere that I can dust my plants with flour and it'll gum up their mouths. I might try that on my strawberries. They're getting hit the hardest.
Writing Update: First round edits for Mistress of the Stone are done! I want to read it one more time before I send it back. Easiest-peasiest edit ever.
Monday: Guest Blogger, Tank will be taking the podium.
Comments
So, I truncate my posts because that's how everyone wants to do it, no? :-)
I've just switched my blog to Wordpress from Blogger but I'm keeping Blogger as my reader because Wordpress insists on showing me whole posts and that feels too overwhelming and like I might miss something I really want to read.
My rather rambly point is that most of us don't think too hard about these things and fall into the trap of assuming everyone shares our preferences. Or maybe some bloggers don't realise they can choose.
The problem I face is that most people don't start off with a scintillating first paragraph, so if they truncate and that's all I see, they're unlikely to lure me in.
Also, even though it's one click, multiply that by a couple of hundred new posts every eight hours and that takes too much time out of my day. I prefer to scan the post at my leisure and click through only if I want to comment.
Thanks for sharing your reasons though, and thanks for stopping by. I feel enlightened. :)
I don't have that many blogs to go through, and half the time I'm pressed for time so I only read the ones with a cool title or a cool graphic or if I know the blogger will entertain me or offer me something of value. Otherwise, I skip. I also tend to skip the really long posts unless if they really grab my attention.
Looking forward to Monday - unless Tank truncates : )
I have a friend who truncates his post but he has a specific reason. It's a group blog, him and two others, but he's the main blogger. And every once in a while he or one of the other's would accidentally post on the same day someone else posted, which would bump their post below the new one. And since their blog posts are long (comic reviews, etc) people would miss the other new post. And because they use a lot of pictures, it would take a long time for the page to load. So truncating the posts meant people wouldn't miss any new posts if they don't use a feed and it also let the blog load A LOT faster.
I'm with you. If it's a catchy title, I will read just to figure out why they used it.
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Mike: I believe it's an option when you set up the modifiers on your blog. Never having been interested in it, I never checked it out.
Ref: Tank
I only want to truncate Tank when he pushes me out of bed.
Now that you mention it, I do follow a graphic design blog that is picture and text heavy. I wish they truncated. It takes forever to move on to the next post when it pops into my Reader.
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Dee: Agreed. I don't want to take extra steps just to read something. If you want to be read, post it. Otherwise you take your chances getting skipped.
If it's like Sarah said, a blog that posts several times a day with lots of pictures, truncating could be a mercy, but most of us aren't in that boat.
Great topic. I recently switched my blog from standard view to Dynamic view (this may be a different topic altogether). But basically you can look at my blog and see a more interactive way to connect/read/review past posts. I decided to go this route because I have such a mix of content, from very personal posts to writing specific topics.
Would love to get your thoughts on using the dynamic view on blogger.
Cheers,
Anna Soliveres
I'd rather page down to read than be forced to click.
Most of the time I prefer the full post all at once, but even in RSS, if someone has a really long blog, it can take FOREVER to scroll to the next one. When you lose interest a third of the way through, it's annoying to have to keep scrolling through it, versus just closing a tab or window.
Most posts I don't truncate, though :).
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Pat: All things being equal, I'd love to scan the first three lines of a post, but I'm lazy. If it's not in front of me, I won't look for it.
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Marianne: I'm glad I'm not the only one who views it this way. Internet content is public, but I'm not going to go out of my way to find it. There are too many other places to read without extra clicks.
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Rebekah: Long posts worry me. I think people's eyes start to glaze over when it gets too long. On the few occasions I've had extra long posts, I've broken them up into easy-to-read bites. This was especially useful when I ran the Killer Campaign series. It seemed to encourage readers to come back and read the next installment.
Interesting subject.
Darn those grasshoppers. They must be close relatives of locusts. Hope the flour works for you. Strawberries are some tempting fruit for the buggers, though :-)
So can't wait for the next book. Well, I have to wait, so I will, but I'm so excited!!
Stacy: I wish I could hit the 400 word mark. I try for 500. More than that and I think people's eyes glaze over.
Angela: I can't remember if it was Blogger or WordPress that has a nifty feature to hide the spoilers. Must be WP. It only hides the spoilery parts.
Krista: GUILTY!!!
You've discovered my secret. LOL.
Grasshoppers with gummed up mouths made me laugh.
Those grasshoppers sound like a real problem. We don't have them over here. We have white aphids, but I just pick the herbs or lettuce and wash it well and get rid of them. Is there any sort of companion planting that would put them off or do they eat everything? A flower like marigolds mixed with the vegetables sometimes helps with pests.
I look forward to hearing Tank's wisdom.
Like you, my time is precious especially reading all the blogs that I do read, so it's better if I can read it all in my Google reader before commenting.
How are things with you? I hope all is good.
Barbara: Not everyone posts at once. I usually scan about 200 blogs every 6-8 hours. If they're interesting, I bookmark the post. If it compels me to comment, I visit. The rest I read and delete.
Shelley: There are some plants grasshoppers don't like but I have my gardens spread over an acre, not counting the potted plants. They seem to be born and grow up right around my the brick of my house which is how I've been picking them off. But now they're getting big and can escape me easier.
Dru: Things are better. I hope I've turned the corner. Thanks for asking.
As for how to truncate, I believe there's an option under settings that allows you to truncate. I've never used it, but I've seen it.
Can't wait to hear if the flour on strawberries works.
As for your grasshoppers...Oh, my! I've heard they can be just awful. Never heard of the flour bit, but it couldn't hurt to try it.
Maybe your chickens would feast around on them...can you free range them in the afternoon or something? I don't know how big your strawberry patch is, but could you cover them with mesh, or do you have too many? It breaks my heart to think of your crop ruined!!
I read somewhere that when they swarm, they lay eggs in the soil - so you will have trouble the next year also. There's got to be someway to kill them without harming your soil/plants...right? Oy!
Nadja: Last year the chickens free ranged. Grasshoppers (and scorpions) were fewer, but the chickens didn't discriminate between meat and vegetables. What the drought didn't take, the chickens finished off. Bad chicken children.
I hate truncated posts and I feel the blog owners are trying to force me to visit. *But* since I swapped platforms, I have to offer truncated posts on my main blog page. I can direct people via FB or Twitter to the 'real' page but if people visit the blog's home page, they see the truncated posts. I'm thinking of moving to Wordpress in the summer so I may change my system yet again. :)
I thought you used a Blogger platform, but it looks as if it's on your own domain. There must be an option that lets you opt out of truncated posts. I've never seen one yet that forces you to truncate.
I think some bloggers choose truncated posts because it makes their view stats look better if someone reads a post at their site rather than in the reader.
thanks for stopping by, Margie!
I still haven't figured out how this is accomplished..yet.