04 Aug
If the headline caught your attention, it means your work is closely related to texts, whether translating or copywriting. There are several essential reasons why word count is important. The first reason is to adhere to the proper text length. You need to know how many words you have written or translated to fit within the given limits. The second reason is to calculate your fee, as it is usually estimated based on the character or word count.
The best word count is the proper word count.
Modern technologies have made it easier to research and draw conclusions about the optimal length for a post, article, or book. We know what sentence length should be to make it easier for readers to stay focused longer. For example:
- The average sentence length in any scientific journal is 60 words.
- The length of the average sentence in the Harry Potter books is 12 words.
And this is for a reason.
Are you wondering what else the research shows?
- An 8-word sentence is 100% perceived by the reader;
- A sentence with 8-14 words is 90% by the reader;
- But a sentence with 40 or more words is only 10% by the reader.
Posts that are too short or too long will have poorer results, while the content of sufficient length works better. It’s easier to create a 250-word post because it’s quick and effortless to gather material. However, that length doesn’t provide the essential information potential readers need. Also, word count is a crucial factor when working with SEO, and if you’re writing or doing translation for an online environment, that’s worth considering, too.
7 minutes to read, or what word count is appropriate for a reader?
Another exciting reason why word count is important is time. Now we have unlimited access to information from many sources, but we are still limited in time. We don’t have time to read the news from morning till night. We need to know the most important and impressive information in the shortest possible time.
For example, one study of news platforms showed that the ideal length of text posted on a blog should not exceed 7 minutes. Researchers measured the number of seconds experiment participants spent reading posts and compared those numbers to text length.
How much is your word worth?
Working with texts is our profession, and our salary is directly related to the produced word count (words that we write, translate, or edit). Of course, quality matters as well, but now it’s more about estimating the amount of work.
It is crucial to be able to calculate the number of words accurately, not only for higher conversions on websites but also to create an invoice for your client. Many online counters work with a limited number of files, and the built-in counter in Microsoft Word is not as accurate as you’d like it to be.
Try using the AnyCount word count tool to estimate the amount of work accurately. The word counter supports 70 file formats, and it’s also effortless to work with. See for yourself!
Download the free version here.
Add as many files as you like, or add links to web pages to make a word count on websites.
Try Anycount now!
Download the word count tool absolutely free.
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