This is an article “5 Types Of Blog Posts That Can Get You The Mileage You Want” by Marc Primo Warren
Blog posts come in different formats with different results. The key is determining your main goal and which audience and channel you should be preaching to get the most mileage for your content. Once you know what your audiences want and where you can reach them, developing your content is the next step to posting a successful article online that increases your website traffic.
More marketers are coming up with various content strategies that can hit targets better than simply relying on typical SEO methods. Multiple types of blog posts are emerging due to higher demand for unique content that a gamut of audiences wants from their reputable sites.
Here are five types of blog posts that can broaden your reach, increase your site traffic, and establish you as a thought leader in your niche:
Content hubs
Suppose you think you have ample knowledge or experience about a particular topic and can develop volumes of helpful content for a specific audience. In that case, content hubs may be your best bet to establish an online presence and authority.
A content hub is a web of links that connect various collections concerning one pillar topic. With this, your pillar article should be your audience's primary source to know more about your expertise within a niche.
For example, let's say you already have multiple articles on your website concerning pop culture. The problem is that your topic is extensive. Your articles are scattered all over your site, which can confuse your audience. Categorizing your blog posts into smaller sub-sections such as movies, music, and video games will help more audiences find what they are looking for on your site. Doing so can also allow you to link them back to your pillar article.
In short, content hubs can strategically boost your site traffic and online authority via three parts:
Pillar Page
Your Pillar Page carries your pillar article or omnibus post about specific sub-topics you will be covering within your site. It should include links to these sub-pages split into chapters or categories.
Sub-pages
These pages go into a more in-depth discussion about a certain sub-topic that your pillar article covers. In our example, this page may include several topics covering movies, such as film reviews, latest gossip, and news. These so-called sub-spokes can also be subcategorized into more chapters depending on how broad they are.
Hyperlinks
Lastly, hyperlinks direct your visitors back to your Pillar Page and vice versa. Interconnecting your blog posts and leading them to your Pillar Page allows your visitors to explore more content on your site they can appreciate, increasing page traffic.
How-to blog posts
This blog post presents a series of well-organized and valuable content for your audiences looking to engage in some DIY. The typical How-to blog post offers a step-by-step guide that consists of a catchy title with the right keywords, an introduction to what your visitors can get by further going into the post, a list of steps they can follow to accomplish something, and finally, a conclusion that sums up all you want to say on your post.
Most expert marketers would advise that you be as specific as possible when detailing all the steps you want to include in your post. Take a recipe page, for example, for blueberry pie. You wouldn't want to follow a long number of steps and end up with a pancake, right?
When developing a How-to guide, it's always best to ask yourself the 'hows' and 'whys' first, then answer them concisely without missing the necessary steps.
Expanded definition posts
Expanded definition posts aim to center and highlight a subject's definition before delving into the step-by-step guide for target audiences looking for greater depth into DIY topics.
They share almost the same structure as How-to guides but allot more space for frequently asked or follow-up questions to increase understanding of a subject further. These types of posts are where you can utilize most of your long-tail keywords and balance them out with the number of words you will use for your blog posts without resorting to overstuffing.
Develop an expanded definition post by being straightforward about your target audience's problem, telling them what can happen if they don't address it, and offering solutions they can do to avert such issues in the future. You can see most of these posts on sites that explain customer journeys and technical articles on such complex platforms as Google, Facebook, or most eCommerce sites.
Listicles
Of all the blog posts out there, listicles or list posts may be the easiest and most common type to develop. Think of BuzzFeed to get a clear view of how this type of blog post works. Listicles offer audiences tips, techniques, top tens, or other unique lists within a niche that can interest a visitor.
Most lists don't necessarily have to be arranged chronologically. Still, the problem with many is that they resort to clickbait headlines or meta descriptions that can turn away potential visitors to their sites. Keep your headlines straight to the point, and your 'standfirst' (one to two sentences that include your keywords and sum up or describe what your post is about) short and easy to read.
When audiences capture the details they need within your headline and standfirst, the more they will want to spend more time reading your post and exploring more content on your site.
Cheat sheets
Lastly, we have what marketers call 'cheat sheets'– checklists that meticulously break down walkthroughs or steps towards a goal. Most video gaming sites offer these blog posts for gamers who need some help in defeating that giant gargoyle boss in level 42 or any other quicksand they are stuck on at the moment.
However, unlike How-to guides, which can be a bit scattered and broad in explaining what particular topic it is covering, cheat sheets aim to address specific problems and the solutions you need to achieve them.
It can provide checklists of sites you may want to visit, things you must buy, or actions you should take to overcome a challenge. When developing this type of blog post, make sure you organize your checklists and steps in chronological order so that your audience will not miss any important details they have to perform precisely.