At its simplest, word count is just a number: the number of words in your case study, brochure, website page, or e-book. You may wonder, then, why you need to be concerned about it. It’s the number of words; so what? When you are preparing to write a document, you should know the intended word count for several reasons:
- The length indicates what kind of document you are “really” writing. If your boss asks you to put together a five-page white paper, for example, what she may actually have in mind is a product brief or brochure. Each type of document requires different content, and it’s helpful to know what type you’re dealing with before you begin.
- You need to make sure your text can be accommodated by the design. Say you’re putting together a single-sided data sheet. Even if a normal page of text is 500 words, those 500 words are going to have to be pretty tiny once you take into consideration any images, graphs, tables, or other design elements that also need to be included.
- The intended length can help you determine the right level of detail, and how much research you’ll need to do. I recently got an assignment for a 25-page document. Just based on the number of pages, I knew I’d have to conduct several interviews to develop the right level of detail.
Here are some guidelines for how long each type of document should typically be. Keep in mind that one 8.5″ x 11″ page of 11 point, single-spaced copy is about 500 words.
- Article: About 500 words, may be longer depending on the context
- Bio: About 200 words
- Blog Post: At least 300 words, no more than 700, unless you can be pretty sure your readers will stay interested (formatting can help here—be sure to include brief paragraphs, bulleted lists, and white space)
- Brochure: For 8.5″ x 11″ pages, about 300 words per page (assuming graphics will be included on each page); for a standard tri-fold, about 700 words total
- Business Proposal: There is no real standard for this. It depends on how much you have to say. Just be sure not to say any more than you need to.
- Case Study: As few as 400 words, up to about 1,200
- Data Sheets: About 300 words per page
- E-book: There is no real standard for this. It depends on how much you have to say. Just be sure not to say any more than you need to.
- Grant Proposal: No more than the limit stated in the RFP, no exceptions!
- Press Release: Between 300 and 450 words
- Web Page: At least 300 words
- White Paper: Somewhere around 10,000 words
Did I forget any? Let me know in the comments!
About the Author: Karen Marcus, M.A. is a Northern Colorado copywriter who has been helping clients in a wide range of industries to put their best word forward for 13 years.
Need assistance with your word count? Karen can help! Click here for contact info.
