23 Effective Types of Blog Posts You Can Publish for Massive Results
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In order to have success as a blogger you’ll need to publish content that interests your target audience.
This, of course, involves covering the right topics. But it also involves the format of the article and the way you share the information.
There are a lot of different types of blog posts you can write, and in this article we’ll look at more than 20 options to consider.
Most likely, your blog will include a combination of different types of posts. My recommendation is to pick a few types of posts that work well for your topic and your audience, and use those types of posts for the majority of your content. Then mix in some other types of posts for variety.
Types of Blog Posts You Can Write
Let’s take a look at the different types of posts, as well as examples.
1. News
If you take a look at mainstream websites and blogs you’ll find a lot of news-related articles. This can be anything from politics, to finance, to sports, to celebrity gossip, to local news, and more.
For the average blogger, I recommend staying away from trying to break news. Major websites and blogs have a staff of writers, and they are almost always going to be able to stay on top of the news faster than a one-man/woman blogging operation.
An effective way to use news and trending topics is to write about them, but don’t just cover the news. Add your own take and put your own spin on the news. Give an opinion and make people think.
Example:
Recently, Suze Orman was in the news for critical comments made on the Afford Anything podcast about early retirement and the FIRE movement. Major news websites covered the story and wrote about Suze’s comments. Some bloggers were able to capitalize on this opportunity by writing their own response, rather than just covering what Suze said. Chad Carson wrote an article What Suze Orman Got Wrong About the FIRE Movement.
2. Personal Story or Experience
Blogging can be very personal. Creating a connection between yourself, the blogger, and your readers is one of the most powerful things you can do in terms of growing your blog.
There are a number of different ways you could go about writing from a personal experience. It could be a success story, a failure or lesson learned, something motivational, something funny, or any number of other things.
Example:
Even if your blog isn’t overly personal, including some of your own stories and experiences can really help. I’ve never considered any of my blogs to be overly personal, but I do write about my experiences at times. A good example is my post How I Turned a Photography Hobby into $1,138,610.
3. Interview
This option leaves most of the writing to someone else. You can interview another blogger, an expert, one of your readers, or someone else.
One of the best things about interviews is you can get some great content that you wouldn’t be able to write on your own, which means it’s a great option to make money blogging for beginners. If you don’t have expertise on something that you want to cover on your blog, find an expert who is willing to do an interview.
If you’re a new blogger or if you haven’t done interviews before, the process can seem a little intimidating. You may wonder why an expert would want to spend the time to do an interview for your blog. But really, most people are very willing to do interviews for blogs.
If you have a small blog you may be scared to ask someone to dedicate time for an interview on your blog. I’ve been doing interviews for years in a few different niches and I’ve never once had anyone ask how much traffic I get or how many subscribers I have before agreeing to do an interview. Sure, some people will tell you that they don’t have the time, and some will ignore your request, but many will be happy to do the interview.
Interviews can also provide really helpful content for readers, so there is a lot to love about this type of blog post.
Example
I recently interviewed Virginia about flipping furniture for profit.
4. Expert Roundup
Instead of interviewing one person, you can ask one (or a few) questions to several different people. Pulling off an expert roundup takes a little bit of time and organization, but it can be well worth the effort. You’ll need to find all of the people that you want to invite to participate, reach out to them, organize the responses that you get, compile them into a blog post, and then let all of the participants know once it has been published.
Expert roundups can be great for traffic, and one of the reasons is because many of the experts who participate will share it via their social media profiles once it has been published. After you publish the roundup be sure to email each participant with a link to the post, and you may also want to ask them to share it.
You can do an expert roundup in any niche. They are popular in the world of blogging, internet marketing, and SEO, but this technique is rarely used in most other niches/industries. Just like I mentioned with interviews, expert roundups make it possible for you to cover topics even if you don’t have expertise yourself.
Example:
The Savvy Couple published 19 Full-Time Bloggers Share Their Worst Blogging Mistakes.
5. Profile
A profile is similar to an interview, but more than just questions and answers. It is usually written in a story format, even if the information was gathered through more of a formal interview with the person being featured in the profile.
A lot of times profile articles will showcase success stories. If you sell a course or ebook you could write an article to profile one of your customers who has had success following your program. Even if you don’t sell a course or ebook, you could write profiles about people who would be interesting to your readers.
Example:
Business Insider published The Inside Story of DrLupo, One of the Most Popular Video Game Players in the World.
6. Resource List
The resource list is a great type of post because:
- Lists can be extremely useful for readers
- Lists tend to attract social media shares and links
- Anybody can create good resource lists with some research
I’ve been blogging since 2007 and I’ve been using resource lists that entire time. A good resource list can take a lot of time to research and create, but it can be well worth the effort.
Resource lists can work well in just about any niche and for a wide variety of topics.
Example
Here at Vital Dollar I published 50 Fantastic Money-Making Apps You Won’t Want to Miss.
7. List of Tips
Another effective way to use lists is to create a list of tips. There are endless possible uses and these types of posts can be used for just about any topic.
Like the resource list, this is another type of post that I’ve used A LOT over the years. These articles tend to be helpful for readers, easy to scan, and a good list of tips can generate a lot of traffic.
Example:
A good example is 30 Brilliant Ways to Save Money on Groceries.
8. Top List
Best-of or top lists are also a really good option. Like resource lists, these can take some time to put together if you’re using a large number.
There are a number of different ways you can do this, but a common example is a list of top blogs on a certain topic. Like the expert roundup, these can be great for getting social media shares. If you create a list of top bloggers in your niche, be sure to contact each one of them and let them know they’ve been featured in your list. Many of them will share your post through their social profiles.
Top bloggers is just one possibility, but there are many more options.
Example:
Recently I published 50+ of the Best FIRE (Financial Independence, Retire Early) Blogs.
9. How-To / Tutorial
Step-by-step guides that teach readers how to do something specific can be extremely effective. If you want to use your blog to teach or educate, the how-to post is a natural fit.
There are all kinds of possibilities here in just about any niche you could imagine. It could be anything from a design tutorial, to how to lose 20 pounds, to how to throw a curveball, to a specific DIY project tutorial. The possibilities are endless.
Readers love how-to posts because they are extremely practical and useful. This is the type of content many people search for on Google or Pinterest.
Example:
Here at Vital Dollar I published 9 Steps to Financial Independence (How to Retire Early)
10. Ultimate Guide
In the past few years there has been a big trend towards detailed, long-form blog posts. One of the most common, and effective, approach is to create a thorough post that extensively covers a particular topic.
These posts are often titled ultimate guides, comprehensive guides, complete guides, or something similar. These posts are usually several thousand words long and they take a very long time to write.
Ultimate guides can serve as cornerstone content that will be relevant and useful for several years to come (you may need to update them from time-to-time). Because there is so much content in these posts, they also have the potential to rank in Google searches for a lot of different keywords and phrases.
Another benefit is that ultimate guides can be monetized with affiliate links to relevant products and services, or you can promote your own products and services if you have something to offer.
Example:
One of my favorite examples is How to Sell Private Label Products on Amazon (FBA) – The Complete Guide.
11. Checklist or Cheatsheet
Checklists and cheatsheets are popular with readers because they are extremely useful and practical. You can use a checklist or cheatsheet to show your readers exactly how to do something specific.
These types of posts can also be good for attracting links if you include some sort of downloadable checklist or cheatsheet. You can also use the download as a lead magnet to grow your email list if you’d like.
Example:
In an effort to help bloggers get more out of their posts, I put together the Blog Post Checklist: 20 Steps to Extraordinary Blog Posts.
12. Case Study
A case study shows the details of a real-world example. It could be a case study about a blog post you wrote, a case study about one of your investments, or a case study on how you lost 10 pounds in 2 weeks.
Readers love case studies because they show actual results, not just theory.
In order to write an effective case study, you’ll need to provide plenty of detail. Readers can use the information and data from the case study and apply it to their own situations.
Example:
Blogging Wizard has published Guest Blogging Case Study: 5 Big Lessons from Writing 43 Guest Posts in 3 Months.
13. Product or Service Review
Regardless of what niche your blog is in, there should be some opportunities for review posts. You could review a physical product that you purchased (or one that was provided for free in exchange for the review), a course or digital product, a service, or an app. There are LOTS of opportunities and possibilities here.
Review posts are a very popular way to make money as an affiliate. You can review a product and include your affiliate link, so when customers make a purchase you’ll earn a commission.
If you do use review posts as an affiliate, be sure that you only recommend a product or service if you truly believe in it. If you write your reviews simply to earn commissions from sales, readers will stop trusting your recommendations.
Some blogs are completely built around reviews, but for most blogs this is a good complementary type of content that you can mix in here and there.
Example:
I’ve written a Review of WordPress Themes and Plugins from Elegant Themes based on my experience as a customer/user.
14. List of Best Products
Another option that is extremely popular for affiliate marketing is to list the best products of a particular kind. These posts usually include mini reviews that share the details, and maybe pros and cons, of the products that are being featured.
This type of post is a staple for niche websites that are monetized with Amazon affiliate links, and you can find examples in just about any niche.
Example:
This article I wrote for Kikolani.com is a comparison of the best WordPress landing page builder plugins.
15. Q&A or FAQ
This is a type of post that you may not see that often, but it can be effective. You’ll gather a bunch of common questions on a particular topic and answer each of them.
These types of articles can be useful, especially for readers who are new to the topic. This content can also be good for search engine optimization because people often use questions when they are searching, and your content may be an obvious match to their question.
Example:
Grow has put together a list of 14 Investing Questions You Should Be Able to Answer.
16. Glossary
A glossary post would simply be a list of common terms, along with their definitions or meanings. These types of articles are fairly easy to put together if you know the subject well, or you can simply do the necessary research.
Glossary posts probably won’t drive a ton of traffic, but they can be relevant and useful for several years to come. Another perk is that they are possible for just about any topic.
Example:
33 Basketball Terms Every Kid Should Know published at ACTIVEkids is a great example.
17. Controversy
Controversial articles can be extremely effective because they evoke a reaction. Most of us are naturally drawn to something that sounds controversial, so these types of headlines can draw a lot of clicks and social media shares.
Taking a controversial stand on a popular topic is a good way to start discussion and to encourage thought.
Personally, I tend not to use controversy with my blog posts, but many people do it very effectively. It’s a great way to get eyeballs on your blog, and if you can back up your stance or your view you can earn the trust and respect of readers.
Example:
The White Coat Investor has published 22 Things Dave Ramsey Gets Wrong (and Right).
18. Challenge
You can use your blog posts to offer or present some sort of challenge to your readers. There are endless possibilities here, and you can use challenges in creative ways.
The best thing about challenges is that they get your readers engaged and involved, and that often leads to a strong connection between you and your readers.
Challenges can also be great for helping your readers to get results.
Example:
I have a post that is a collection of money saving challenges.
19. Inspiration Showcase
The inspirational showcase post tends to work well with visual topics. The purpose of one of these posts is simply to show off something amazing and inspire your readers or visitors.
It could be a showcase of drawings from a particular artist, photographs of a certain kind or subject, examples of beautiful landscaping, ideas for DIY home decor, or anything else that is visual.
If you are using this type of post, be sure that you are using images, photos, or art work with permission and not violating copyright or licensing.
Example:
Web Design Ledger has published 25+ Creative Event Invitations to Impress Your Guests.
20. Freebie / Download
One way to get readers and visitors to love you is to give them something for free. This is more common in some niches than others, but with a little bit of creativity you should be able to come up with an idea for a free download that you could offer.
In some cases you may ask visitors for an email address in order to be able to download the item, or you could just offer it without the requirement of providing an email address. Of course, you’ll get more downloads if you don’t require an email address. And you’ll grow your list faster if you do require an email address to download.
Example:
The CoffeeShop Blog offers a ton of freebies, including the Rothenburg Fine Art Texture Set.
21. Video
Video content is extremely popular, and there is no limit to the possibilities. Your video could be the extent of a blog post, or you could create a video to complement a blog post and embed it within the post content.
Example:
Cath often creates YouTube videos to go along with her posts at The Content Bug. You can see an example of a post and video working together in 10 Tips to Take Better Instagram Photos of Yourself.
22. Podcast
A podcast is another extremely popular way to deliver content to readers/listeners. Some blogs include podcasts and traditional blog posts, rather than being exclusively a podcast.
Creating and producing a podcast can take a lot of work, but you can outsource the majority of the production if you need to. Podcasts are great for connecting with your audience, and for networking with others (if you have guests on your podcast).
Example:
Pete McPherson does a great job of combining traditional blog content with a podcast at Do You Even Blog.
23. Link Roundup
The last type of post that I’ll mention here is the link roundup. The type of post I am referring to here is different than the resource list that I talked about earlier in the article. When I say “link roundup” I’m talking about a post that is a collection of links featuring top content published on other blogs or podcasts. A lot of bloggers publish weekly or monthly link roundups to showcase their favorite posts from other bloggers in the niche.
Link roundups can be helpful for your readers, because they may not have seen the articles that you are featuring. Publishing link roundups is also a great way to connect with other bloggers, because every blogger likes to get links to their posts.
Example:
Angela at Tread Lightly, Retire Early publishes a few different link roundups, including Friday’s Frugal Five.
Putting It Into Action
As you look through the different types of posts mentioned in this article, think about which ones might be a good fit for your blog. If you have been blogging for a while, which ones tend to get the best results for you?
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