Blogging can be a great way to attract and convert leads, but there isn’t just one type of blog post. The term “blog post” is a very broad term that covers everything from content discussing what the stars wore on the red carpet to how to put together a business plan. So, let’s take a look at the various types of blog posts so we can answer a few questions: Which one is best for your audience? Which one is best for each stage of the buyer journey?
Table of Contents
1) How-to Blog Posts
One of the most popular types of blog posts is the how-to blog post. A lot of people start searches by looking for tips on how to do something themselves.
The downside to targeting people at this stage is that they conduct these searches when they’re at an early stage in the buyer journey, so they’re less likely to convert into customers right away. The good news is that, if you manage to grab and hold onto their attention now, you’ll be in a prime position to convert them into a customer as soon as they’re ready to buy. You will have already demonstrated that you’re an expert in your industry, and if you maintain good marketing tactics, you should have kept your brand in front of them so it’s the first thing that comes to mind when they’re ready to buy.
2) Cheatsheets, Checklists, and To-Do Blog Posts
Similar to a how-to blog post is the checklist/to-do blog post. These tend to be shortened versions of the how-to blog posts in that you’re not telling your reader why they need to complete each step, or even covering everything that’s involved in each step. Instead, you’re just providing a list of the things they should make sure to have done before they complete the last step – whether that’s hitting the “publish” button on their blog posts or videos, or zipping up their suitcase for that getaway.
Pro tip: Cheatsheets and checklists also make great downloadable PDFs so people can hang onto them and refer back to them whenever they’re engaging in the activity referenced in the blog post. That way, they don’t have to try and find your blog post every time they want to run through the checklist, and your brand will be in front of them every time they use it.
3) Lists
Google loves lists, and so do readers. From an SEO aspect, lists make it very easy for Google to figure out what your content is about and index it accordingly, thereby increasing your website’s chances of showing up in relevant searches.
From the reader’s point of view, a lot of people want the fastest, easiest way to get in, get the information they want, and get out, and lists make it very easy for them to do that.
Lists are similar to cheatsheets, checklists, and to-do lists, and while those are certainly three types of lists, there are countless other kinds of lists you should also consider including in your blogging strategy, so get creative with it.
This blog post you’re reading right now is an example of a list-style blog post that’s not a cheatsheet, checklist, or to-do list.
4) Curated Lists
In addition to the standard lists of things people can do to improve their lives, you can also create a curated list of tips and tricks from other experts and influencers in your industry. Not only does doing so provide value for your readers, it also demonstrates your knowledge and expertise by showing that you know where the good stuff is. Every industry has its influencers and its wannabes, so by pointing your readers in the direction of the true experts, you’ll be saving them a lot of time.
It’s also a great way to get the attention of those experts and influencers and get on their good side because you’re helping spread the word about their brand, making them more willing to return the favor.
5) Tools and Resources
Tools and resources are another great list-type of blog post that people love. If you use any specific tools or software to make your job easier, let people know what you use so they can try them out for themselves.
If you have favorite blogs you follow and/or books you’ve read about your industry, let people know about those resources so they can start educating themselves — or at least they know where to go to get the information they need to educate themselves. Some of your followers will want to consume all that information, but many of them will just be glad to know you know where to get that information because that helps position you as an expert in your industry. Most people won’t want to go digging through all that content because of how time consuming that can be, but knowing that you know where to find all that information will help convince them you know what you’re talking about because you’ve already done all the research.
6) Announcement Blog Posts
As a general rule, blog posts should avoid being sales pages, and instead focus on providing valuable information readers can use in their day-to-day lives, but there is one exception: the new product launch.
When you launch a new product or service, you can create a story around it by talking about the history behind the product: Why did you create it? What was the inspiration? What did you see/experience (or not see/experience) that made you think this new product or service should exist?
Find a way to put the customer at the center of your story. You can talk about a customer (real or imagined) who’s been using the product/service. What did their lives look like before they started using it? How did their lives improve after they started using it?
7) Testimonial Blog Posts
Ideally, you should have a space on your website that’s devoted to all the awesome things your clients have said about you, but if there’s one testimonial in particular that’s really long and/or especially flattering, see if you can’t make it into an entire blog post. Reach out to your favorite client and see if they’d be willing to give you more details on their success story. Few things are as effective at convincing people who are on the fence to become buyers like an example of someone else in their position who achieved success in whatever they were attempting to accomplish after they started working with you. Tell your favorite client you want to feature them in a blog post (and link back to their website) and they’ll almost certainly agree because it’s added visibility for them without any extra cost.
P.S. You can be your own success story. Just make sure you have the data to back up your claims because people tend to be a little more skeptical when the featured “success story” is the same person who’s trying to sell them something.
8) Controversial Blog Posts
A headline that posits a theory that is counter-intuitive and/or contradicts what everyone else is saying is sure to grab readers’ attention – just make sure you have the data to back up your controversial position. Getting their attention is great, but it’s only the first step. Once they click and start reading more, your next task is to convince them to see things your way, and the best way to do that is with cold, hard facts.
9) Transcript Blog Posts
The data on why business owners should be including videos and/or podcasts in their marketing strategies is pretty solid, and if you do go that route, get the most out of it by doubling that content as blog posts. Whether you host a podcast or make a marketing video on a regular basis, you can use the transcription from the podcast and/or video and put it up as a blog post. Just be sure to include a link to the podcast and/or video so people can consume the content however they prefer to do so.
10) Ask-the-Expert Blog Posts
Obviously, you’re the main expert getting featured on your blog, but don’t forget to feature other experts every now and again – either in your industry and/or in adjacent industries.
You can interview your expert, then post the transcript of the interview as a blog post. Or you can ask a bunch of experts one or two questions and list their answers in your blog post.
These kinds of blog posts also mean less work for you because you don’t have to do much research or really write the majority of the blog post – you just have to come up with the questions, track down the experts, ask them the questions, and write down their answers. You can make it even easier on yourself by asking your audience ahead of time what questions they would like to see answered by the expert(s). That way you’re sure to get content you know your audience wants to see.
Pro tip: Let those experts know once you’ve published the blog post, because they’ll likely help promote it by talking it up on their social media channels and in their newsletters. Also, be sure to tag them when you share it on your social media channels.
11) Guest Blog Posts
Even easier than the ask-the-expert blog posts are guest blog posts because you don’t have to do any of the writing yourself – you just have to get the guest expert to write it for you, and then all you have to do is schedule and promote it.
As with the ask-the-expert blog posts, you can get some help promoting it by asking the guest author to promote it on their social media channels and in their newsletter. Again, tag them when you promote it on your own social media channels to help with the crossover promotion efforts.
Pro tip: Once someone agrees to write a guest post for your blog, ask if you can write a guest post for their blog. It’s a great way to increase your visibility and it gives them a free post for their blog.
12) Blog Post Series
Finally, when you want to really dive deep into a particular topic, you can write an entire series of blog posts on the topic and use those posts to cross-promote each other by making sure each post links to at least the previous post and the next post in the series, if not every other blog post in the series. This is a great way to get readers coming back for updates as you continue to publish the series, and to keep them exploring your site and consuming your content if you’ve already published the entire series.
As far as the SEO of your blog posts is concerned, there’s a lot to be said for internal backlinks, which is when you provide a link on one page of your website to a link on another page of your website. They’re not as valuable as external backlinks (which is when someone else links to your site from their site), but they do have value, and a blog series is a great way to build those internal links and drive traffic to certain blog posts.
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