Help Me. You're My Only Hope!

If you don't wanna read this, please answer the one-question poll, mkay?

I promise this article has nothing to do with Star Wars. Lucasfilm

Do me a solid: Please scroll to the bottom and answer the short poll. The rest is colorful context. And butt jokes.

The other night I was lying in bed randomly thinking about Point Break; my brain is basically a broken record, endlessly repeating things like “Utah—gimme two!” and “Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true.” While drifting toward sleep in this quasi-fugue state, I had an epiphany that exorcised my gnarly demons in a rush of panic.

Am I doing this all wrong?!

My faux confidence—it’s easy to be brave on the Internet—might have you thinking, “this Eric guy knows his stuff, I bet All the Fanfare will be banging,” but let me assure me—I actually have no idea what I’m doing. None! Yes, I watch movies and think about them way too much—obviously—and sometimes I create an interesting article out of the experience. And I have a degree in IT, so I’m handy with the steel, if you know what I mean. Earn my keep. (Regulators! Mount up.)

But! (This word is not enough to indicate the degree of my objection. I need something bigger…)

This’ll do. American Recordings, LLC

The premise of All the Fanfare was basically super awesome, super long articles. And while I still think the value proposition is definitely in-depth writing, I wonder if I’ve put too many eggs in my ‘long article’ basket.

The Pros and Cons of ‘One Article to Rule Them All’

• I’m not sure I’ve ever, in my life, read an article that takes an hour to read. Con

• I’ve also never encountered an hour-long article on Point Break. The idea has a certain grotesque charm, which might ensnare idle clicks. Pro

• If a website has no content, does it even exist? Google would say no. Con

• SEO thrives when pages link to lots of other pages. Con (SEO = search engine optimization, which means making your site Google-friendly so people find it while searching.)

• Breaking an article into 4-5 smaller ones means regular updates, which drives discoverability. Con

• It’s easier coming up with good titles for 4-5 articles versus coming up with a great, all-encompassing title for the full monty. Titles drive clicks. Con

• I’m pretty sure I had one more but I’ve lost it. Not sure if that’s a Pro or Con.

I count 5 Cons and 1 Pro to doing the uber-mega article. Maybe this is why nobody has done this before?

This doesn’t mean I’m suddenly making a U-turn on this whole idea. I’m just questioning everything. No big deal. But I don’t really care about any of the Cons if you are genuinely excited about getting an enormous read every couple of months.

So here’s the question.

Assume the content is identical. The only difference is how often you get an article and the length of it. Do you prefer:

1. One really long article (45-60 minute read-time) published once every 2-3 months?

Or

2. A series of 5-6 articles on a single topic (e.g. movie) that take 7-10 minutes to read?

Or, if you prefer picture books:

Option 1

Option 2

This is where you stop scrolling and vote. 🤘🏻

If you want to leave a comment expanding on your preference or sharing your favorite Sir Mix-A-Lot memory, that’d be cool, too.

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Speaking of polls… I recently asked you to weigh-in on my next project, and presented a few options. Predator holds a small lead in what is essentially a two-horse race. Voting closes Wednesday, if you care to have a say.