You might be wondering if blogging is still useful for your business and for your clients.
With new changes in how search engines work, it can feel like maybe blogging doesn’t offer the same advantages it did a few years ago.
But companies that maintain a regular, high-quality blog do still enjoy a lot of benefits.
It’s true that search is changing. But companies with an active blog have more than five times as many indexed pages and nearly twice as many backlinks as those that don’t. That means blogs give companies a lot more opportunity to be found… and not just through search queries.
The real proof is that companies that blog get 67% more leads every month than companies that don’t.
In other words, blogging is still effective… at least when it’s done well.
Writing blog posts just to have something to publish won’t do you much good. For blogging to continue to provide benefits, you need to do it strategically.
That means using proven structures that get shared more across social media.
It means being purposeful with your content.
And it means taking a little extra time to deliver a high-value, useful, relevant experience for your readers.
Blog Post Structures That Boost Your Shares
Let’s start by looking at some of the most effective structures for blog posts. By effective, I mean people are actively looking for these types of posts, they engage with them longer, and they’re more likely to share them through their social media feeds.
Before we dive into three proven structures for blog posts, I want to emphasize that you should use these structures sometimes but not every time. People like variety, so if you have a topic that works better when structured differently than what you see here… run with it.
How-To Posts – The Blogging Workhorse
The most popular, most sought-after type of blog post on the internet has got to be the how-to post. And that makes sense. How often do you search for something starting with “how to”?
How to bake a moist, fluffy cake…
How to grow tomatoes…
How to change the oil in my car…
How to make copper wire flowers…
When writing a how-to post, make sure you zero in on a specific process you want to share with your reader. You don’t want to write about a process that’s too simple. And you also don’t want to try to cover too much ground.
How to change a light bulb is too simple. How to build a house is too broad. How to install a new light fixture is a topic worthy of a how-to post.
Once you’ve picked an appropriately complex topic that is relevant to your audience, write down the how-to steps. You do this for two reasons: 1) To make sure you understand the process well enough to write about it, and 2) To make sure you don’t know the process so well you’re skipping steps that seem obvious to you.
Review your list of steps. If you’re fuzzy on the process, do some research. Ideally conduct an interview or two with people who have more experience. If you’re deeply experienced, make sure you’re conveying all the steps — it’s easy to leave things out when you’ve done something a hundred times.
Once you’ve got your list of steps all worked out, those become the subheads of your how-to post. Provide details for each step. Add an introduction, a conclusion, and a call to action… and voilà, you’ll have a well-organized, useful, how-to post.
Listicles – Because People Love a List
The next most popular style of blog post is a listicle. A listicle is just what it sounds like… an article made up of a list of things.
The 7 Best Super Foods for Brain Health
The 10 Most Popular Varieties of Apples and What to Do With Each One
5 Tricks You Can Teach Your Dog in a Week
The 15 Best Ways to Market Your Freelance-Writing Business
To write a listicle, start by gathering the things you’ll include in your list. Do a little research to make sure you include the no-brainer items on your list. For example, if you created a list of the best super foods for brain health and didn’t include salmon and blueberries, a lot of your readers might think you missed something.
But, after you’ve got the “if I leave these out, people will question my knowledge” items, think about your own experiences and draw from those. This will help your list stand apart from other lists on a similar topic.
For each item on your list, write a paragraph or two about it and how it ties to your main theme.
While lists are popular, they can also get boring to read if you’re not careful. So, for each item, try to include a standout detail. This could be a strange factoid, a personal experience, an interesting study… even a quote from a famous person, as long as it’s relevant.
Like this quote, which could be a fun, off-the-wall addition to your brain foods post…
“I ate two waffles, a banana, and cereal with blueberries. And that was between my two breakfasts.” — Amy Poehler
Make sure to write a strong introduction, one that draws your reader in with curiosity or the promise of a benefit. And also write a conclusion. Don’t write up to the last item on your list and stop there.
Case Studies – Let People See Themselves Succeeding
After how-to posts and listicles, you’ll find all sorts of disagreement about what other types of post structures are most popular. It will depend on the industry you’re writing for. But, if you’re working with B2B companies or in popular consumer niches like health, finance, or lifestyle, then knowing how to write a case-study-style blog post will serve you well.
These types of posts tell a story about somebody and their specific experience with a product or service.
Start your case study off at the point of tension. The person whose story you’re sharing has a problem, and they just can’t seem to solve it. Talk about the problem, the downstream effects it’s having, how the person feels about it, and what a solution would mean to them.
Then there’s a point of discovery, where they encounter the product or service that might be just what they need. Talk about how they made the discovery, what excited them about it, what doubts they had, and what led them to take the plunge.
After that, dig into their journey. What was it like to use the product? How was it different than other things they’d tried before? What did they love about it? What did they struggle with?
Finish with the outcome. How did the product or service solve their problem, and how has their life changed for the better because of it?
This type of post works best with lots of quotes from the hero of the story and should finish with a call to action that lets your reader know how to start their own journey with the product.
Using these three structures when they fit well with the topics you want to write about can help your post get found, get shared, and enjoy a broader reach.
But the post structure isn’t your only consideration.
Before You Start Writing
Imagine you have a topic you want to write about, and you’ve even identified the structure you want to use…
You might feel like you’re ready to write, but you’re not… yet. There’s something very important you need to do first. You need to answer these three questions.
- What does your reader want and need from your post?
- What is your business goal?
- What change do you want to happen for the reader?
By identifying what your reader wants or needs, what you want to accomplish, and your own vision for how your post will improve your reader’s life (even in just a small way), you’ll be able to write with more focus and purpose.
After you’ve answered these questions, start writing. And then, once you’ve finished your draft, revisit these questions and your answers. Read through your draft to make sure you’re delivering on all three. You might find you need to do a little editing to achieve that, but when you check off these three boxes, you’ll have a post that works well for you and your readers, and is bound to get more shares.
Always Ask, How Can I Punch This Up?
Once you have a draft that’s delivering on your reader’s goal and your own business purpose, the next step to increase shareability is to look for opportunities to engage your readers in a deeper way and to add unexpected value.
The sky’s the limit when it comes to how you approach this, but here are a few proven tactics you can use:
A Distinct Voice: Make sure your voice, or your client’s voice, really comes through in your piece. When I’m writing for a client, I like to imagine them reading it to me. Trying to hear my words in their voice — whether it’s an individual voice or a company voice — lets me know immediately if I missed the mark anywhere.
When you write in a distinct voice, you make your content sound like it’s coming from a real person, and that will connect better with your audience.
Use Images: Blog posts that make liberal use of images simply get shared more than those that don’t. For each section of your post, consider if you can include an image — a screenshot, an original photograph, a chart or graph, or a stock image that creates the right emotional beat. These will give your piece more texture and make it more enjoyable for your reader.
Add Multimedia: Don’t stop at photos. Is there a video or two you can embed that would be helpful to your reader? Could you turn the key points of the piece into a slideshow to include with your conclusion? Would the piece lend itself well to an infographic. Using different media adds value to your piece, can make your key points more memorable, and of course can increase the odds your work gets shared with others.
A Call to Action: Don’t forget to ask your reader to do something at the end. Your call to action might tie to your business goal — “Contact us to learn how you can enjoy our product, too.” Or it could be about earning more shares — “If you enjoyed this post, please share it on social media.”
When you’re purposeful about your blog post’s structure, its primary goals, and adding value, you’ll increase the chances your blog post will get found through search, social media, and links back to it. And you’ll deliver a better overall experience for your reader.
