Blogging was supposed to be easy, right? Simply sit down, drink your special blend coffee, crack your knuckles, and bang out one of those epic blog posts. Write about whatever is on your dear heart and mind.
Ha, ha, ha. Buy me a ticket and take me on a joy ride.
How many types of blog posts do you use routinely on your blog? Are you getting any traction? And, if you struggle to come up with blog post ideas, it might be that your content marketing strategy needs leveling up.
You’ve got to dig deeper into things like building a content bank, search engine optimization, and content promotion. Oh, and don’t forget to leverage your email marketing plus craft killer headlines and blog posts that are worth writing and reading. Aaargh…
But lately, you’ve become bored with your own blogging. You’ve gotten tired of scouring Google for the ultimate guide to blog post styles.
How do you make blogging easy again?
Maybe you’re behind schedule, probably overwhelmed, and staying up all night in an effort to fill your blog with content. But if you want an engaged audience and plenty of repeat visitors, you need to give those readers some variety.
I’m sure you can appreciate that to sustain a viable online business, you need to reach out to new audiences.
One of the best ways to do that is through engaging content on your blog. It gives you fresh material to share on social media and more opportunities to rank well for terms your target audience is searching for.
So, if you’re planning on becoming an authority blogger, you’ll need to make sure that you have a consistent content schedule. However, creating fresh blog posts can often be a difficult thing to accomplish. It’s common for people to feel like they’ve run out of things to talk about.
Don’t worry! I got you covered.
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Clever Blog Post Styles
Let’s get cranking! It’s time to plan, write, promote, and profit from your blog.
This article is your springboard. Better yet, it’s your secret sauce for endless juicy content ideas that readers won’t find anywhere but on your blog.
Good buddy, I don’t care if you’re a corporate lawyer or a fruit vendor, if you want to grow your business, the least expensive, most sustainable choice is content marketing.
And that means having a blog anchored with pillar posts — the information any visitor needs to get the most out of following your blog — as the foundation of your strategy.
- A blog is far less expensive than paid advertising.
- A blog is an asset that increases in value over time.
- A blog continues to drive traffic and make sales long after you’ve hit the publish button.
Thankfully, there’s many types of blog posts you can write:
- The Reporter (a.k.a., The List Post)
- The Teacher (a.k.a., The “How To” Post)
- The Insider (a.k.a., The Case Study)
- The Investigator (a.k.a., The Expert Roundup)
- The Curator (a.k.a., The Review Post)
- The Trailblazer (a.k.a., The “Thought Leadership” Post)
- The Professor (a.k.a., The Ultimate Guide)
- The Storyteller (a.k.a., The “Personal Story” Post)
- The Newsjacker (a.k.a., The “Current Trends” Post)
Try some of these on for size and see if you don’t suddenly find yourself thrilled about blogging again.
Create Engaging Listicles
This is the classic “101 ways” post. Many of the most popular types of blog posts on the web are listicles, which is short for list article.
The “Reporter” is enjoyable, easy to write, and has the potential to go viral. They also lend themselves to repurposing as PDFs for opt-ins.
Simply, this post is a collection of related points on a given topic or theme organized as a list. There are a few reasons why this tends to be one of the most popular types of blog posts used globally.
First, it’s easy for you to create. You’ll be able to break down a big topic into several smaller sections. This is like having to write several smaller blog posts, rather than one giant one.
Audiences also tend to love engaging with listicles, with this content frequently getting shared to social media. This is because it’s much easier to absorb, as a bigger article can occasionally result in information overload.
It’s also much easier for people to skim through a list, so they can get a quick grasp of the topic. Accordingly, these posts can be a great way to attract traffic to your blog.
Listicles can take a variety of forms, including:
- A “greatest hits” list. This is a list of your previous articles, or those belonging to others. For example, you might compile a list of your best stuff.
- A resource list. This is a list of free and paid resources, such as the 7 books everyone should ought to have in their library or 7 Books Most Millionaires Read Before They Turn 30
- A tools or gear list. This could be a list of tools or services, such as 21 Best Blogging Tools For Beginners.
- A “habits” or “secrets” list. For example, 7 Habits of Successful Bloggers, or a list of the top five secrets for getting website traffic fast.
List Post Examples for Inspiration
- 101 Tips from Top Experts On How to Get More Traffic
- 73 AWESOME Types of Blog Posts You Can Write Today
- 50 Things That Happen In The First Year of Having A Baby
Next…
Deliver Accurate How-To Guides
This is the resourceful “step-by-step” post, one of the most popular types of blog posts, and for good reason. A well-written and researched “how to” blog post does exactly what it describes.
The “Teacher” shows your reader how to execute a task or complete a project by breaking down a series of steps whilst establishing your expertise.
This is also a great way to build trust with your audience. As a result, they’ll want to keep coming back to your site, as they know that your information will be accurate.
There’s a definite need in the marketplace as we all desire to learn how to get stuff done. Historically, a step-by-step post performs well for most bloggers, and with good reason.
Readers assume with “how-to” type posts that they’re going to learn how to do something quicker, cheaper, or better than other people. There’s an expectation that they could possibly shave some time off a tedious and archaic process.
Now, generally most of your how-to articles will be in the 700 to 1200-word range. However, you should provide an in-depth how-to article on each of the major topics you cover on your blog.
You want these to be the cornerstone posts for readers regarding your niche.
Brandon Gaille did an awesome job with “How to Write a 3000 Word Blog Post in 1 Hour”. Such posts certainly create viral traffic.
Follow these best practices:
- Provide step-by-step instructions.
- Offer tips to add value to your article.
- Provide examples to clarify concepts.
- Incorporate lots of pictures /video to make the process visual and simpler.
How-To Blog Post Examples for Inspiration
- How to Write a Blog Post: A Simple Formula to Follow
- How to See All the Companies Tracking You On Facebook
- How to Master the Art of Exceptional Blog Titles
Next…
Highlight Successes with Case Studies
If you or a client have had great results with your services or products, write it up as a convincing case study.
What is a case study?
According to Top Rank Blog, a case study is:
The “Insider” is a perfect way to prove a point. For example, you might want to show how your coaching services can be helpful. In this instance, a case study could illustrate the impact that you had with your clients.
Be sure to include where you started from, the steps you took, and the results you achieved.
The key to a good case study is emotion. You want to make sure that your reader can connect with the people in the case study. Consequently, this content can be very powerful, helping people make big changes in their life.
Seven Steps to Writing a Strong Case Study
- Finding the Subject of Your Case Study
- Ask for Permission to Use Their Story
- Send Them an Introductory Questionnaire
- Format Your Case Study Interview Questions
- Schedule the Interview
- Write Your Case Study
- Promote Your Case Study
7 Marketing Case Study Examples for Inspiration
- Exodus Digital Marketing – Plumbing Company Study
- Cirque du Soleil — Evolving to Inspire a New Audience
- Real Madrid FC — Connecting with 500 million passionate fans worldwide
- Ahrefs — How to Get High-Quality Backlinks With the TRUST Formula
- Nike — Nike Sustainability and Labor Practices
- Walt Disney — Walt Disney Culture Case Study
- CoSchedule — Discover How This Remote Team Saves 10+ Hours a Month on Content Marketing
Next…
Go Deeper with Expert Roundups
This is somewhat your “ask the expert post”, another one of the more popular types of blog posts. Essentially, roundups are a compilation of expert answers to a single question.
Perhaps you spend a lot of time researching your industry or might have the chance to talk to a notable person in your niche. Ask thoughtful questions of an industry expert, and post the exchange to your blog via a roundup post.
The “Investigator” can be a great form of content, allowing your readers to get a deeper insight into their personality and way of thinking.
If you’re ready to skyrocket your traffic to high heavens, then creating a roundup has the capacity to help immensely.
This category has a lot of blog post examples for you to take inspiration from. For example, all the major newspapers will have interviews. This will give you a better idea of how you want to present the content.
Sue Painter offers everything you need to create an expert roundup post.
As you start to gain viewers and do more interviews, influencers will want to talk to you. These people will often have an in-built fan-base, which could be attracted to your blog post.
A good post of this type will attract shares from participants and also help the author build valuable relationships with them once the post is published.
Here’s where you take your readers’ questions directly, or you answer popular questions from your niche on your blog.
For example, you might write posts to answer popular questions such as:
- What are the best ways to get more traffic to a blog?
- What are the worst blogging mistakes to avoid?
- How to make money blogging?
Are you ready to start creating high-quality, expert roundups for your own site, brand or blog?
Checkout these…
Roundup Post Examples for Inspiration
- Ryan Robinson – 40 Top Bloggers Share Best Blogging Advice
- TripAdvisor – 20 Female Solo Travel Bloggers Share Tips
- Smart Blogger – 48 Creative Geniuses Who Blog to Promote Their Art
- Infographic Design – 21 Branding Experts Share their Best Infographic Marketing Tips
Next…
Serve Up A Handy Review of Valuable Resources
These types of blog posts serve as a handy “review” of valuable features, benefits, and why you love a particular product or service. The “Curator” is great for attracting links and subsequently, search traffic.
Include both the good and the bad points for more credibility, but if your review is overwhelmingly negative, your best bet is to simply not post at all.
If you do any affiliate marketing, then you’ll definitely want to add the Review article to your arsenal. This is where you highlight both the strengths and weaknesses of a product to help your readers make a buying decision.
TIP: Here’s a variation: do a comparison article to review two similar products at the same time. This works even better if the article compares two products that are aimed at slightly different segments of the population.
For example, perhaps you can review two different E-Commerce Solutions, such as SendOwl vs ThriveCart.
In your post, aim to provide an honest opinion of these two platforms to help your reader decide which is the right shopping cart solution for their online business.
If they’re both good products, then you can recommend both of them.
Generally, you’ll include an introductory paragraph which may take one of the following forms:
- A quick summary of the article you’ve linked to. E.G., “Did you know that the shopping cart platform you use can actually make a HUGE difference in terms of user experience, customer re-engagement, and sales? In this post, I’m going to introduce you to MY favorite shopping cart tool, ThriveCart.
- An explanation of how to use the product – E.G., “A Guide to Boosting Your Revenue and Easily Tracking Your Business with a Cart Platform.”
- An explanation of how using the product affects readers, and what steps they need to take. E.G., “You may be frustrated with your shopping cart platform, now realizing that you’re unable to scale your online business. It doesn’t allow for bump offers neither features an integrated affiliate platform. Don’t worry, there’s a much better way to sell products and services online…”
Review Post Examples for Inspiration
- Create & Go – ConvertKit Review
- WPCrafter – LearnDash Review
- IncomeMesh – Elementor Pro Review
- Blog Marketing Academy – Camtasia vs Screenflow
Next…
Inspire Your Audience as a Thought Leader
“Nothing valuable comes quick.” ~ Gary Vaynerchuk
“Success is a pile of failures you’re standing on top of, instead of underneath.” ~ Dave Ramsey.
“Keep making a ruckus, it matters.” ~ Seth Godin.
“If you do what you’ve always done, you’ll get what you’ve always gotten.” ~ Tony Robbins
“Snatch It. Then You Hatch It.” ~ Marie Forleo
Besides being highly successful in business, these people are known as thought-leaders — or experts — in their industry.
One of the more thought-provoking but worthwhile types of blog posts is the “Trailblazer.” This post uses the author’s acumen and foresight to alter the way people think about a topic. The ultimate secret weapon to become an authority blogger, this is also a “strategic tool” when connecting with other influencers.
Being a thought leader may seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be.
By definition, a thought leader, or influencer, is someone who, based on their research, expertise and perspective in an industry, offers unique guidance, inspires innovation and influences others.
Nevertheless, trying to do online research can be very difficult. As a result, if you’re able to consolidate all the research into one place, people will be very appreciative.
This is a savvy way to position yourself as a thought leader.
If you’re working with outside links, make sure that they’re all listed in the articles. You might also want to make sure that you’re getting the information from reliable sources.
In some instances, you can take this to the next level by commissioning the research yourself. Though this can be expensive, particularly if you need to do a scientific study, it will often be a good investment.
This will prove that you are a leader in your niche, so people will know to turn to you for the most up-to-date information.
Thought Leadership Best Practices:
- Know your audience and continue learning about them.
- Be active on social media.
- Publish content in a variety of places.
- Analyze what competitors are doing.
- Create valuable content.
- Be genuine.
Just ensure that you’re authentic, adding to the conversation, experimenting with your engagement, efficiently structuring your content and making it easily accessible for your audience and the wider community.
And if you begin with these tips and apply them to your online business, you’ll be well on your way to becoming a thought leader.
Trailblazer Post Examples for a Deeper Dive
- How A Password Changed My Life
- Travel Gives You Space to Think
- Living for Everyone Else
- 12 B2B Brands Putting Out Real Thought Leadership Content
- The 5 Most Important Things Needed to Become a Thought Leader
Next…
Anchor Your Blog with Ultimate Guides
This type of blog post is a long-form guide to a specific topic which is comprehensive in both scope and detail. This is a popular way to share content – and there are even some very big sites based on this method of content curation, such as HuffingtonPost.com.
Therefore, the “Professor” can easily serve as one of your pillar posts.
The Handy Checklists
There are many times when you might be able to outline the process in a checklist format. For example, if you’re in the camping niche, you might want to write a comprehensive camping list and gear checklist to use when packing for your road trip.
Also, this doesn’t need to take a long time to write, so you’ll be able to create a checklist very quickly. When writing your checklist, make it as practical as possible.
In some cases, you might want to make a PDF version of your checklists. This will allow people to print them off. You can also use these as a tool to get an email address, getting people to sign up to the email list in exchange for a free checklist.
The Tools Post
You’re already sharing “how to” information on your blog, right? Now you can make your blog even more useful by sharing tools that help your readers take action or achieve a specific goal.
For example, you can help your blog readers choose good tools and training by compiling the ultimate resource guide. (Tip: These types of blog posts are easy to monetize with affiliate links, and you won’t have to worry about appearing too “salesy.”)
Executed well, The Professor can quickly become the definitive resource on a topic. Become a specialist by seeking out interesting posts and news articles in your niche and linking to them on your blog.
Your featured tools may include:
- Digital Courses
- Resource Cheat Sheets
- Checklists
- Worksheets
- Swipes
- Templates
- Planners
- Mind maps
The Ultimate Guide Post Examples for Inspiration
- 21 Ways to Promote Your Blog
- The Ultimate Camping Checklist
- How to Start a Freelancing Business While Working a Full-Time Job
- 30 Best Email Marketing Automation Tools to Transform Your Business
- 24 Must-Have WordPress Plugins for Business Websites in 2020
Next…
Build an Audience with Storytelling
Ole time, it was a mighty good time. Monkey chew tobacco and he spit white lime. Bullfrog jump from leaf to leaf and…
Did I get your attention?
Thriving blogs and businesses are built on effective storytelling models. Your target audience loves to see, read or hear stories because it creates a human connection based on empathy.
Yet, not every post has to be a keyword-rich, traffic-driving machine. Compared to the other types of blog posts, the “Storyteller” employs a powerful personal story to impart globally accepted philosophies and provide encouragement.
Sometimes, a personal or inspiring story is just what your blog readers are searching for. Consequently, the best marketers in the world leverage the power of storytelling to improve branding and conversion rate.
Unfortunately, many bloggers still don’t understand how to use storytelling in a blog post or elsewhere in their website.
According to HubSpot, “storytelling is the process of using fact and narrative to communicate something to your audience. Some stories are factual, and some are embellished or improvised in order to better explain the core message.”
Storytelling Is:
- Useful Info in a Narrative
- What Motivates Your Team
- What Your Brand Stands For
- About Your Customers
- Emotional & Engaging
- A Beginning, A Crisis & A Resolution
- An Interaction Between Your Customers & Your Brand
Storytelling Isn’t:
- Any 10.000 Word Article
- Your Sales Goals
- An Advertisement
- About Your Brand
- Boring
- Something “Cool’’ That Happened
- A Sales Pitch
You can speak about your strategies for successful living, past business failures, college education, and favorite pastimes. Perhaps you’ve got a few hilarious stories with your pets, or lessons gleaned from your mentor.
A captivating story can shape how other people view you. Their assessment of you will determine whether they’ll read your article, comment on your blog posts, refer others to your website or your social media channels, hire you, or buy from you.
Jon Morrow’s epic post titled “How to Quit Your Job, Move to Paradise and Get Paid to Change the World.” is an example of a powerful storytelling-based blog post.
You’ll be astonished to learn that some persons appreciate the same things you do — and you may just get a few more email subscribers through the magic of storytelling!
Making sense? Great…
Now think about crafting a post highlighting goals achieved or mistakes made. Share it with your readers and you’ll see just how popular your content can be.
Use storytelling effectively to sell your brand and vision. Storytelling is powerful and I believe that it’s similar to motivational coaching.
However, …
Your secret weapon of storytelling isn’t just limited to blog posts. You can use stories to sell digital products or to connect with your list as well.
You can execute this strategy in your:
- About Pages
- Email Newsletters
- Sales Pages
When your readers become engaged, they mentally handcuff every objection that might otherwise stop them from becoming loyal customers. In short, it’s a powerful secret weapon when it comes to your marketing strategy.
“Stories are powerful. They can establish a point. They can make a topic more relatable. They can allow the reader to make a personal connection with the post and the person writing it. A good story can inspire, enthrall, and captivate a reader. It can compel them to fight dragons, swim oceans, and climb mountains. Less dangerously, they can compel readers to tweet, comment, and subscribe.”
Dive Deeper for More Inspiration
- Why James Chartrand Wears Women’s Underpants
- The Blogger’s Guide to Telling Stories That Win Hearts and Minds
- Why I Almost Walked Away From the $500k/mo. Company I Founded
Next…
Employ the Newsjacking Strategy
Popularized by marketer David Meerman Scott, newsjacking refers to the practice of capitalizing on the popularity of a news story to amplify your sales and marketing success (basically drawing attention to your own content).
Think about it!
Something newsworthy is trending every second in this wild world of ours. Those smart marketers who can find the door, possess a rare opportunity to piggyback the launch of a breaking story to benefit their business in some way.
Now, the launch ends pretty fast perhaps in hours, usually in days, and if you’re lucky, in weeks. Yet, the impact of seizing the story early to benefit your business is big. Especially compared to the effort you had to put in to get in on the action.
It’s why we write reviews on the best page builders, tech & gear, sales funnel software, best graphics design tools, best online course platforms, and best web hosting when such updates are made, for example.If people are going to be talking about it, and it affects our audience, we should be writing about it and getting in on the action!
However, steer clear of controversial situations!
What breaking news stories makes sense for you to piggyback to get yourself noticed?
Once you have a story in mind, the outline below can help you develop a deeper-dive newsjack that adds a new viewpoint to that hot topic:
- Step 1: Identify Your Target Audience
- Step 2: Establish Your Unique Angle
- Step 3: Determine Your Primary Takeaway
- Step 4: Brainstorm a Few Catchy Headlines
- Step 5: Create an Outline
- Step 6: Write the Body
- Step 7: Wrap Up with the Conclusion
- Step 8: Sprinkle Links to Additional Resources
- Step 9: Finalize Your Attention-Grabbing Headline
- Step 10: Add a Relevant Call-to-Action
- Step 11: Insert Your Blog Post Copy into Your Blogging Platform
- Step 12: Edit Meticulously!
- Step 13: Pick a High-Quality Image
- Step 14: Search Engine Optimize Your Post
- Step 15: Lastly, Hit Publish!
Dive Deeper for More Inspiration
- Facebook Launches Clickable Hashtags #Finally
- 5 Examples of Brands Newsjacking Big Events to Shape a Marketing Campaign
Conclusion
Stop being so damned boring! The heart of any successful blog is a steady stream of quality and engaging content. There are many different types of blog posts that you might want to try. Each of these blog content ideas has been proven to deliver strong traffic and remain quite popular.
So, if you want to keep your readers engaged on your blog, then offer them content in a variety of formats. However, don’t be afraid to experiment with the format, putting your own unique spin on the article.
And don’t just cherry pick your way through these blog post types – instead, test out all nine on your blog to see which kinds your audience responds to the best!
Have any questions about writing blog posts? Talk to me below!
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