Blog Post Types Made Easy

Working with authors and small business owners, I’m often asked, “What should I l blog about?”  I find that it’s hard for most people – even authors – to add this task to their marketing agenda.
Most people don’t know what to write about or how to get started.
Like it or not though, blog writing is still a vital component to online marketing, and has evolved to become the main vehicle to build trust and establish you an an authority in your niche. Having a great landing page is not enough to attract and convert new leads. You need great content to keep your audience interested and wanting more – and as the image here suggest – they know who you are.
Blog posts can take a variety of formats. When choosing the right one(s) for your blog that conveys your voice and approach,  you’ll find engagement and interaction is greatly increased, which is good news for building traffic on your website!

Here are six types of blog post formats to consider:

 1) Make it personal

Do you have a stellar customer or employee to write about? How about several influencers in your niche who have inspired you? When you write about others and make them shine it creates an awareness that your brand or business cares about its audience and connections, and this is guaranteed to generate a response. Take a look at this recent blog post by Pauline Cabrera on her Twelveskip website, which has drawn in quite a few comments and shares on social media:

2) Visual infographics and videos

Readers love eye-catching graphics and videos that also provide information they can use. These type of posts tend to get more shares online, which can increase your inbound links. The key is to focus on visual content, and less on text in order to be the most effective. When done well your brand or business can use these to build more authority in your niche. Social media maven Rebekah Radice does a great job of producing images and infographics that draw in readers and comments:

3) How-to articles

If you have a knack for writing great how-to instructional posts, you can have a whole series of articles to write that your audience will follow. These can include anything from step-by-step to more general information topics in your niche. Consider using a checklist as an easy way to present your points to readers. Search engines like Google will be more likely to show instructional blog posts in their results as many people are looking for “how-to” information. This is beneficial from an SEO standpoint, and can help your website have a higher ranking.

4) Announcements and news

Does your business have a new product or service to offer? Or perhaps your company is expanding into something new. Readers are attracted to new information, especially if this entails a big announcement or an exciting event coming up. When writing these types of blog posts, be sure to include a timeline and any deadlines that will  create a sense of anticipation.  This  leads to word-of-mouth marketing. Keep your audience updated with recent changes to your industry as well with cited facts and figures, which can be easily tracked with sites like Topsy and a subscription to Google Alerts.

5) Write something fun

People love to be entertained, and this is a good opportunity to show a more personal side to your business or brand. Holidays are a good avenue to create witty and fun blog posts that appeal to your target market. Include images of your employees, office or public domain images from sites like Pixabay and Flickr. The response rate is generally very good on these types of blog posts, which can attract more subscribers.

6) What’s in the News

Have you seen something in the news recently that just gets your blood boiling or shouting for joy?  Write about it.  Tying newsworthy items into your blogging is an interesting way for you to provide your slant, opinion or knowledge on the topic while showing your readers who you are.  You might even get lucky and get some SEO action from people who are searching the news topic and receive some new fans as a result.

Here’s a bonus video: Copy Editing Tricks to Make You Look Professional.

If you get comfortable publishing a mix of blog post styles the more versatile your content become by being fresh, interactive, and relevant. These ideas will help keep your content out of the run-of-the-mill or mundane arena and take your blog into a more active and engaged platform where people will want to return to again and again.