Word Count Targets Cheat Sheet
The limits worth knowing before you write, so you are not cutting at the end. Same counting rules this tool uses.
BFCBrilliance · bfcbrilliance.com/tools/word-counter
Common limits
- Meta description
- about 155 characters
- Page title tag
- about 60 characters
- Email subject line
- about 50 characters
- Blog post, useful minimum
- 700-1,000 words
- Reading time at 200 wpm
- words / 200
- A page of double-spaced 12pt
- about 250 words
- Five-minute talk
- about 750 words
Plan the piece before you write it
| Section | Target words | Actual | Cut / add |
|---|---|---|---|
Before you submit
- Counted with the same rule the recipient uses - ask if it includes titles and references
- Checked whether the limit is words or characters
- Checked whether spaces count
- Read it aloud once - length problems are usually structure problems
- Cut the first paragraph and checked whether anything was lost
- Removed every sentence that only restates the previous one
If you are over, cut whole ideas
Trimming adjectives to hit a limit makes writing worse and rarely saves much. Removing one entire point you did not need saves far more and usually improves the piece. Look for the paragraph that repeats an earlier one in different words.