Let’s face it.
Millions of blog posts are published on an everyday basis. To stand out and get the desired attention, you need to go above and beyond writing traditional blog posts.
Pushing out the same content again and again can make your blog stale quickly. Your audience will prefer moving to someone whose work is far more creative and entertaining.
So, what can you do to keep them engaged? How are you going to spice things up and make your blog more attractive? The answer is simple – by using a variety of content formats.
Using different content formats will help you bring in the diversity you need while keeping your audience hooked. To help you get things started, here are ten content formats that are proven to work:
1. How-to guides and tutorials
Think about it for a second. What is the primary purpose of people browsing through the internet? To find solutions to their problems, right? And the best way to provide solutions to your audience is by making How-to guides and tutorials.
In such content formats, you try to explain to your readers how to accomplish a specific task. The aim here is to specify the steps required to do the job as soon as possible.
How-to articles are also a great way to show your expertise in your niche. Such content formats build your authority and credibility among your audience.
2. Reviews
Reviews are so popular that many bloggers focus on making websites dedicated to just reviews. Now, here are two reasons why such content formats are so popular:
Many consumers make buying decisions based on what others (who have used the product or service) have to say
Many consumers want to know other people’s opinion and experience of using that product or service to qualify their own purchase decision
To make a review post, you can either select a single product and write a review on it, or you can compare it with similar products.
The key to making a good review post is to honestly tell your audience how you genuinely feel about the product. If the brand is sponsoring you for the review, mention that explicitly to them.
3. Listicles
Listicles, as you might have guessed, are the posts that are written in a list-based format, just like this one. A listicle is a vast category, and it can include multiple content formats such as:
- Checklists
- To-do lists
- Cheatsheets
- Best-of’s
The reason such content formats work is that readers are always in a hurry, and they want to consume the complete information as quickly as possible.
With listicles, your audience has the chance to skim through the points in a short time and understand the purpose of the content quickly.
4. Interviews
Interviews are a great way to connect with anyone in your niche and ask about their opinions, likes or dislikes. The good thing about interviews is that it can be in any format. So, if you prefer making video-based content more, record an interview.
Such content formats help you connect with your industry leaders and your audience. And you can always ask your interviewee to share the video content within their network, which will get you more exposure.
5. Personal opinions
The reason you have an audience is that they like hearing from you. They are interested in your opinions and your perspective of things. And to continue this trend, you can come up with a custom post that talks about your opinion on any subject.
It doesn’t have to be like your usual blog posts where you spend hours researching and carefully crafting an article. Such content formats are supposed to be about you and how you feel about a specific marketing trend or sales hack.
6. Case studies
Making case studies has to be one of the best ways to show your expertise in your industry, and to explain how your customers benefit from your products or services.
A good, well-researched case study is always appreciated by many and has the chance of going viral. It can also bring you backlinks from other blogs in your industry if it is relatable. In addition, back-linking is always good for SEO!
Always focus on writing articles that can attract the masses, and you would never have to worry about engagement on your blog again.
7. Quizzes
A quiz that is closely related to your niche will prove out to be a great way to engage with your audience. And by taking quizzes, you will also get to know more about your audience.
If you think creating such content formats is not possible in your industry, then you can try to come up with a simple survey. Just as a quiz, surveys give your audience a chance to interact with you, and you get to know their point of view too!
8. Guest posts
Contributing to external websites is an excellent way to not only boost brand authority but also create an excellent link-building strategy in the process. Moreover, such content formats also offer a great way to expand your network in your niche. So, if you feel you want to inject new blood into your content marketing, start taking guest posts from expert marketers and new business owners for your website. This will also help you to create more content at a faster pace – for half the effort. One thing to note here is that managing guest posts can become a task on its own. So, ensure a dedicated page for it such that it details all the required guidelines for contributing a guest post.
9. Infographics
‘A picture is worth a thousand words’ is an old English quote that holds true to this day.
Readers can quickly get tired of reading blocks and blocks of words online every day. And even if you are choosing different content formats on your blog, they are still just words at the end of the day.
This is where infographics come in. They are a great way to provide information to your audience in a very attractive way.
Such content formats can contain anything – from listicles and case studies to statistical charts. And if designed well, infographics can quickly become a popular, shareable asset in the market.
10. Myths vs stats
This is a content form that is powerful but rarely implemented by businesses. If you have people who are constantly claiming the wrong things in your industry and misleading people, then these articles are a great way to set things right. You might have come across many such content formats on social media posting.
Therefore, you can choose the most common myths you keep hearing and then find the supporting facts to prove what is right. One thing you need to make sure here is that the source you get your stats from must be credible. If you just randomly put out facts without a reference, it might backfire!
Keep experimenting with different content formats until you find something that works for you. Your end-goal should be to ensure your audience finds your content valuable. You can have the most diverse blog, but if your audience doesn’t find any value in it, then it’s of no use. So make sure whatever content formats you write, be credible, be authentic and try to solve a substantial problem.
About the author
Sravani Sundeep is the founder and CEO of Apna Writer that provides fully-managed content writing services in India. She has worked in the industry for several years and has helped many businesses sort out content that fulfils their needs.
Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this blog post are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of Think Little Big Marketing.
