What top bloggers reveal about actually getting results in 2025

Want to know what other bloggers are doing to get their content seen, and meet their goals, whether that’s traffic, email sign ups, or sales? Orbit Media has just released its 12th annual survey of bloggers, and has crunched the numbers on what people are writing, what they are doing to get people to read it, and where they are getting clicks from.

Blog posts are evolving

One of the criticisms that get levelled at blogs is that they are not interesting to look at. People claim we don’t read any more. Or that people’s attention spans are too short for blog posts. That’s not the case.

Yes, not everyone likes reading, some prefer video or audio but that doesn’t mean blog posts can’t cater to different learning styles.

Orbit Media’s latest survey shows the bloggers who are having most success are those that incorporate elements like video, audio, and more images into their articles.

Making your blog post more engaging doesn’t mean you need to be setting up a studio and producing a podcast or Youtube show on the side.

You can embed clips from videos, as I have in this article about when Mark Webb interviewed me for the Halftime Huddle. You can also embed relevant audio.

You can also increase the number of images in your post so your readers’ brains have something else to keep them interested as they read.

You can see how adding more imagery helps in this chart:

And when someone tells you no-one wants to read a long article any more, you can point out that longer content is still getting the best results.

The average article is about 1333 words but those writing more than 2000 words report “strong results”.

I still maintain the best length for a blog post is as long as it needs to be to get your message across. That could be a few paragraphs, or 5000 words.

What kinds of content are getting results?

Your blog post wants to be solving a problem, or giving your reader something they can’t get elsewhere.

As you can see, it’s the blog posts which take more effort which get results. This is because people want original, in-depth content.

Taking time to put together quality material is worth it. Putting out content that they can get elsewhere, or that can be created by AI, less so.

There’s probably some cross-over in that list. For example, you have gated content and webinars, guides, and ebooks. It might be that people are asking for an email address in return for those richer, longer pieces of content.

Think about your niche. What would be a useful type of content you could produce regularly? I do a roundup of government announcements that haven’t been top of the headlines.

Lists remain popular. We all like tips, reasons, examples, and ways to do things.

What are you doing, or who can you talk to about an area of interest that you could turn into original research or interviews?

Thinking about creating a range of types of content on your blog means you will have some longer, in depth pieces, that take time to put together, alongside more snackable content which is quicker to read.

Can you collaborate?

We have a mental image of writing being a solo activity, but the stats show collaboration leads to better results. And that makes sense: if you interview someone, or you put a call out on social media for people to contribute their views and experiences, you then have a number of other people invested in your article. They will want to share it too. It gives them another piece of content to add into their content mix after all.

Think about your blog a bit more like a podcast or video show. All the content doesn’t have to come from you.

One of the things I do is write up my highlights from conferences I have been to. It gives conference organisers something to share and I tag in speakers as well so they have social proof to share.

What else is working?

SEO (search engine optimisation) and guest blogging. Again, these are both approaches that take time and effort but they help bloggers get in front of more people.

Taking the time to research keywords means your blog post can be found more easily in search, whether people are using AI or not.

Guest blogging has the benefit of getting yourself in front of someone else’s audience, while doing them the favour of creating content for them. What do people in your industry read? Can you pitch an article to them?

And if you’re looking for someone to write about identity, storytelling, communication, or public affairs then get in touch with me!

Blogging in 2025 in numbers

Average length of a blog post: 1333 words

Average time spent writing a blog post: 3.5 hours

Bloggers posting weekly: 23%

Bloggers posting several times a month: 25%

Bloggers posting monthly: 17%

Marketers reporting strong results from their blog: 21%

Marketers reporting some results: 60%

You need to double down and be original

That’s my key takeaway from the report. Now is not the time to back away from blogging, quite the opposite.

The data shows that people who take the time to make their blog posts less ordinary, though original research, collaborating with others, adding in more images, video, and audio, say their content marketing drives results.

What is unique to you? What’s your take? Get creative.

What blogs do you read? What are you enjoying? What’s worked for you? Let me know in the comments.