“Content” – it’s probably the most used word in the marketing world in 2013.
According to data from Hubspot that observed 1,400 small business websites, it was revealed that “customers with blogs gathered 68% more leads than customers without blogs.” In other words, having a blog can be a very powerful way to take your business to the next level.
Without content, though, a blog is nothing. To get results from your blogging efforts, you not only need the right amount of content to get results, you also need the right types of content.
You could write list posts every day or you could keep giving people “tips” but your audience are most probably tired of reading them. Everybody is writing these kind of articles.
Here are 3 types of content your blog needs to flourish this year:
1. A Resource Post
A resource post is different from other content types in that it gives people actual solutions to their problems, not tips or advice.
For example, if the aim of your blog is to help people get press for their business, instead of giving them tips they can follow or instead of giving them tips on how to write emails that get results, you can share actual templates that have worked for you in the past so that they can modify the templates and use it as they see fit.
Depending on the aim of your website, a resource post could contain:
- Link to other websites
- A list of words/terms etc.
The idea behind this is simple, though; you’re not just sharing tips with people that they can follow to solve their problems, you’re sharing the actual solution that they can use, bookmark and come back to later. In most cases, it’s as simple as clicking a link or downloading a file that they can keep using for a very long time.
How to write a valuable resource post that get results:
1. Look for a major problem people are experiencing in your niche: This is no different from a problem you’ve been blogging about before.
Example: If my blog is addressing other bloggers a major problem they’re experiencing that they need solution to is getting traffic, or how to get backlinks that improves their SEO etc.
2. Ask yourself if there’s a better way to solve this problem: In most cases, the solutions available are just tips on how to solve this problem. With our example of bloggers getting traffic or building backlinks, you’ll actually find thousands of articles on how to get traffic or how to build backlinks. People can find and read these articles in other places so what you want to give them is an actual solution that they can use with the click of a mouse.
3. Present this solution in a blog post: Not just tips, but the solution.
Example: Following the example of bloggers who want to get traffic, I can come up with a list of places they can submit their websites to for increased traffic. So instead of telling them to submit articles to article directories, I’ll come up with a list of 100 article directories they can submit their content to. Instead of telling them to submit guest posts to other blogs, I’ll come up with a list of actual blogs they can submit their guest posts to.
4. Only approach one problem at a time: The aim of your resource post isn’t only to ensure that people can use it but also to ensure that they can share it; with this in mind, it’ll be more effective if your resource post covers just one problem so that people can easily explain that it solves that problem when they share it.
A major advantage to publishing a resource post is that it has huge potential to go viral, get shared and expose people to your brand.
2. A Case Study Post
The idea behind a case study post is to take people behind the scenes on how you approached a particular problem and solved it with a strategy you advocate. In other words, case study posts are more like “proof” that something works and can be used to prove the validity of what you teach and make people more confident in your blog.
The main aim of a case study is usually to generate more clients, leads or sales for your product/services.
3. An Ultimate Guide
In a Quicksprout article titled “How Content Length Affects Rankings and Conversions,” by analyzing content on his own sites and reports from other websites, popular blogger Neil Patel revealed how powerful content length could be when it comes to getting both traffic and conversions on websites.
A particular study that was covered in this post showed that the top 10 rankings for most keywords in Google turn out to be an average of 2,000 words.
With this said, it is also important to realize that saying more than you need to say when writing an article can be dangerous for your brand; however, you can write longer and better articles by writing the ultimate guide to a particular subject.
Ultimate guides are very effective for getting a lot of social shares and backlinks which eventually leads to better search engine rankings and as a result more traffic.
Tips for writing an ultimate guide
1. Focus on just one topic you can cover extensively: There can’t be an ultimate guide to everything.
2. Cover everything you can cover extensively: Don’t spare any details.
3. Use a lot of visuals: Use screenshots, examples, templates and anything else that’ll make your content more comprehensive.