X Articles: How to Write and Publish Long-Form Posts on X

If you've been squeezing ideas into threads, Articles gives you a page instead, without sending readers off X. Here's how it works and how X itself says to make one worth reading.

Articles versus long posts

X has two ways to go past the 280-character limit, and they're easy to confuse:

	Long posts	Articles
Format	A normal post with more text	A formatted long-form page
Length	Up to 25,000 characters, per X's Premium page	Long-form; X doesn't list a cap on its Articles page
Formatting	Text, media, polls and hashtags as usual	Headings, subheadings, bold, italics, strikethrough, indents, numbered and bulleted lists
Where it lives	Your timeline	The Articles tab on your profile

For the free-account limits, see the X character limit for free accounts.

How to write and publish an Article

1. Make sure you're on an eligible paid plan.
2. On x.com, open the Articles tab in the side navigation.
3. Click Write and build your piece: text, headings, images, video, GIFs, posts and links.
4. Click Publish, choose your audience, and publish. The Article then appears on your profile's Articles tab.

How to edit or delete an Article

Find the Article, or open the Published timeline in the Article composer on x.com, then open the three-dot menu:

• Edit Article, then Confirm. X unpublishes the Article while you edit, so republish when you're done.
• Delete removes it.

Once it's published, X says anyone on X can read and share your Article, within the audience controls you selected when you published it. Readers don't need a paid plan; only writers do. That makes Articles a good fit for content you want your whole following to see, including people who've never paid X anything.

That unpublish step matters if you've shared the link widely: plan edits for a quiet moment, and republish straight away.

X's own advice for writing a good Article

X's help page includes an unusually opinionated writing guide. The points I'd keep:

1. Start with a clear purpose. Decide what you want the reader to think, feel or do, and who it's for.
2. Nail the title and hook. Specific, curious and promising value, with a header image that earns the click.
3. Structure for skimming. Paragraphs of two to four lines, a subheading every three to five paragraphs, lists over walls of text, one idea per paragraph.
4. Sound like yourself. X says writing that gets too professional usually gets boring; write as if you're talking to a friend.
5. Back every claim. Follow it with evidence: a story, a before and after, or an embedded post.
6. Edit hard. Cut filler words and read the piece out loud.
7. End with energy. Summarise, ask a question to spark replies, or give one thing to try now.

How to get your Article read

Tactic	What X suggests
Tease it	Post a short teaser or question a few hours before you publish
Pin it	Pin new Articles to your profile, especially in the first 24 to 72 hours
Thread it	Share key excerpts as posts that link back to the full piece
Reply early	Answer the first wave of replies to build momentum
Reshare	Bring evergreen Articles back when they're relevant to the news

Subscriber-only Articles

If you run Creator Subscriptions on X, you can put an Article behind your paywall. Write it as normal, click Publish, choose Subscribers under Choose your audience, and publish again. X's tips for making that work: tell readers exactly what subscribers get, keep some Articles free to attract new readers, create regular subscriber formats such as a weekly memo or Q and A, thank subscribers publicly and end each piece with what's coming next. Promote each one to non-subscribers with a teaser post linking to your subscription page.

Article ideas that work for a business

The best Articles answer something your followers already ask you. A few formats that suit X's advice on purpose, structure and evidence:

• The full answer to a common question, with the short version in your opening lines and the detail below.
• A before and after from a client project, told as a story with the result at the end.
• Your take on industry news, embedding the posts you're responding to so readers see the original.
• A step-by-step guide using numbered lists and screenshots, so it's easy to skim on a phone.
• A monthly roundup of your best posts, embedded as living examples, with what you learned from each.

Whatever you choose, X's point about voice applies most to business accounts: an Article that reads like a press release gets skimmed and forgotten, while one that sounds like you gets replies.

Subscribers are one way to reach the readers who care most, and my guide to X Subscriptions explains how that works.

Should a business use Articles or a blog?

Articles keep readers on X and reach your followers where they already are, which is useful for commentary, launches and opinion pieces. But the page lives on X's platform and needs a paid plan to publish. Your own blog or newsletter still builds an asset you own; if you're weighing newsletter platforms for that job, I've compared beehiiv and Substack. The two work well together: publish on your site, then post a shorter X Article version that points back.

My verdict

If you're already paying for X and your audience is there, Articles is the best format X has for showing expertise: it reads like a full web page, it sits on your profile, and X's own tips are sound. Write one piece a week from questions your customers ask, pin it, thread the best lines, and reply to everyone who engages in the first day.

If your posts include video, my guide to X Media Studio is a useful companion.

Frequently asked questions

Who can publish X Articles?

Subscribers to X Premium, Premium+, Premium Business, Premium Organizations, and the Plus, Premium, Super and Ultra plans on The X Subscription. Anyone can read Articles.

Where do I write an X Article?

On x.com, open the Articles tab in the side navigation, click Write, then click Publish when you're ready.

What happens when I edit a published X Article?

X unpublishes the Article while you edit it. Republish it when you've finished.

Can I make an X Article for subscribers only?

Yes. When you publish, choose Subscribers under Choose your audience, then publish again.