How long does it take to read a newsletter?

People have been asking us how long it takes to read a newsletter-- and that answer depends on a combination of factors:

• The type of writing: You read fiction faster than nonfiction

• Your age: Kids and elderly folks tend to read slower than those in between

• Your primary language: If you’re reading in a second language, it is likely to take longer.

• If you’re reading out loud or in your head: Out loud takes longer, but most people are reading newsletters silently in their own heads.

• Length of the newsletter: (obviously…)  If it’s longer, it’ll take you longer.

Let’s assume an “average” newsletter reader is: an adult, reading non-fiction in their primary language in their head.

This “average” reader will read 238 words per minute (wpm). And most adults will fall in the range of 175-300 wpm.

Based on the “length factor” of the newsletter, here is how long, on average, you would expect it to take to read...

[Note: If the newsletter were fiction (which most are not) on average you’d read 260 wpm, with a range of 200-320wpm]

We encourage writers to indicate how long their newsletters tend to be so that you have a sense for how long it will take to read them. We know that’s important info! 

Citation: Numbers came from this 2019 meta-analysis research publication by Marc Brysbaert in the Journal of Memory and Language.