If you’ve felt like blog posts are getting shorter, you’re right. Orbit Media’s 12th Annual Blogger Survey (808 marketers, twelve years of tracking) shows clear shifts in how people create and promote content. Fewer long reads, faster publishing, and almost universal use of AI tools now define the landscape.
Blogging Still Works, Just Less Dramatically
Around 80% of marketers say their blog brings measurable results. That’s good news, but only about 21% call those results “strong.” The middle ground dominates. Sixty percent say blogging helps, but not massively. The rest either see no impact or aren’t sure. So blogging still works, but the big wins are harder to reach.
Word Counts Down, but Depth Still Pays Off
The average article now lands near 1,333 words. Two years ago, that number was higher. For nearly a decade, writers kept stretching posts longer each year. Now the trend is reversing.
Publishing Less, Saving Time
Most writers post between two and four times a month. Weekly publishing is falling fast. Yet those who keep a higher pace (several posts a week) see the best returns, around 37% strong results.
AI Everywhere Now
Two years ago, most marketers hadn’t touched AI. In 2025, nearly all have. Only about five percent still work without it. The majority use AI to brainstorm, outline, or clean up text. Few trust it to write entire posts.
The data points to balance again. Teams that blend AI help with human editing perform almost as well as multi-editor setups. Full automation lags behind. Machines can speed things up, but they can’t yet match human nuance.
Visuals and Research Keep Readers Around
Nearly every article has images now, 88% of them. Sixty percent use charts or data, a quarter include video, and a small number use audio. That last group is tiny but surprisingly effective, about 30% reporting strong results.
Formats and Focus
How-to articles still dominate, making up about three-quarters of all posts. Lists and guides come next. But deep, data-backed formats continue to win on results. Around 27% of those writing reports, long tutorials, or detailed explainers rank their work as high-impact. Effort still matters.
Promotion Habits Shifting
Social media remains the top channel, used by 93% of marketers. About a third rely on SEO and another third on email. Paid promotion and influencer outreach trail far behind, but the payoff there is better.
Those running paid campaigns hit strong results about 30% of the time. Influencer collaboration delivers similar gains. Only nine percent of respondents do it regularly, but that small crowd performs best overall.
Search Getting Tougher
More than half of marketers say organic traffic is slipping. Sixty-three percent list it as their biggest challenge. Engagement follows right after at 56%. AI-generated search summaries and zero-click results are part of the issue.
Analytics and Guest Posts Still Matter
Tracking every post correlates directly with better results. One-third of creators measure performance for every piece, and they show a 32% strong-results rate. Occasional checkers barely reach 13%.
Four Habits That Predict Success
Looking at the full dataset, four practices line up consistently with stronger outcomes:
- Writing longer posts (over 2,000 words)
- Using multiple visuals
- Working with influencers
- Tracking analytics regularly
Each performs far above the 21% benchmark for strong results.
Where Blogging Stands in 2025
After twelve years of tracking, the pattern is stable. Blog posts are shorter, AI tools are normal, and success depends less on volume and more on structure. The workflow has matured. Marketers now chase measurable efficiency, not just creativity. Blogging hasn’t faded, it’s just become a data habit.
Notes: This post was edited/created using GenAI tools.
Read next: Survey Finds Few Americans Turn to Chatbots for News[1]
References
- ^ Survey Finds Few Americans Turn to Chatbots for News (www.digitalinformationworld.com)