When we think about creating a blog, often we imagine creating regular articles with an intent to inform, educate, or tell a story. But your blog posts don’t have to be traditional article type content, with a series of paragraphs.
Of course you can get really creative and work with audio and video content, but even if you’re not into that, there’s many different types of content that can take on the written form.
As you work through planning out the content for your blog, keep in mind the following options to help spur new ideas.
Typically speaking, for SEO purposes for search engines, it’s recommended that blog posts should be at least 300 words in length. That said, not every single piece of content on your blog needs to be perfect for SEO either. Consider the cadence of your blog content and offer variety to your visitors. If every article is an essay, readers may soon tire and not stick around as long as you’d like them to.
While SEO is important, keeping the interest of the visitors you do attract is equally important. Try to mix in some shorter posts with 150 words and a half-dozen images.
That said, there’s a lot of value that can be packed into long form articles. Challenge yourself to write a longer essay of 500, 800, even 1,000 words. Make sure that you follow the general guidelines for posting longer content online: break up your text into short paragraphs, use headings when possible, and vary the length of individual paragraphs.
Think outside the box. Regardless of your blog topic, an interview format would be a wonderful and unique addition to your storytelling toolbox! Plus it could potentially open up your blog to a new audience, depending on whom you interview.
If you’re a fashion blogger, you might interview a local designer or stylist.
If you’re a book reviewer, an interview with a published author or poet would be a natural fit.
Do you blog about your experiences as a new parent? Your audience is likely composed of a lot of new parents as well, so why not interview a more experienced parent? Ask questions like, “What do you wish you had known when you were a new parent?”
The interview doesn’t have to be long: it could be just three questions, or 13! Start small and simple, and work your way up to more complex or longer interviews as you build your confidence. The interview could be in a written format, or you could take the plunge and record it as an audio file that you can then upload to a blog post.
Check out these real-life examples of interview posts published by other WordPress.com bloggers:
Search the WordPress.com Reader for “Interviews” and find other interview posts to review to gain inspiration, and to also figure out what you do and don’t like about the approach of others and how you might do it differently.
Remember listicles? Those were hugely popular articles that were composed largely or exclusively of a list of some kind, e.g., “Top 25 Colleges for Creative Artists,” or “Top 9 Movies You Should See Before You Get Married”.
Guess what? They’re still popular. You may not want to write only listicles for your blog — unless you’re really passionate about that format! — but they’re a fun, easy way to share some interesting, related information.
Here are links to some list-style posts from fellow WordPress.com bloggers to help inspire you to create yours:
Again, searching the WordPress.com Reader will provide a pool of ideas to draw from.
Not necessarily a “real” letter, complete with postage and a trip to the mailbox — although that would be lovely too! — but a letter-style format about any topic you choose, addressed to whomever you’d like.
Think of the oft-published “open letter to [insert name of prominent person or institution here]” in your local newspaper. Then consider your blog’s niche and pick a topic that would fit well into a letter format.
For example, if you write about fountain pens and were once gifted a prized pen by a dear friend, teacher, or family member, consider writing a letter to that person about how much you love the gift, what it’s meant to you over the years, and maybe even share some examples of other letters, essays, and assignments you’ve written with it.
Consider writing a letter to your past-self, or even your future-self! How fun would it be to scan back through your blog archives and read a letter that you wrote five years ago? It’s not just fun for you, but if you do it just right, those letters could also bring meaning or inspiration to a younger or older visitor who frequents your site.
How is this different to just writing an advice article? It’s in the writing style and voice you use. The way you word things in a letter will read much differently to the way you word things in an article, especially if you direct the letter at yourself, or someone close to you. That style of writing will have an intimacy to it that your regular writing will most often lack, and your blog readers will be more deeply moved on an emotional level.
That’s not to say that you need to write about something deeply personal, if you’re not comfortable with that. It’s the familiarity of tone that comes through in your writing that will create a feeling of intimacy.
For letter-writing inspiration, read on for examples from other bloggers:
The best writing prompts inspire bloggers to explore new ways to mine their blog’s main themes and come up with some extraordinary stories.
If you Google “writing prompts” you’ll find bazillions of results, many of them undoubtedly quite useful. But you can also start with simple prompts like favorite quotes. Here are some to get your writing energies flowing:
“The greatest glory in living lies not in never falling, but in rising every time we fall.”
Nelson Mandela
Prompt: Write about one of the challenges you faced in pursuing your blogging journey and how you overcame it.
“We read to know we’re not alone.”
William Nicholson, Shadowlands
Prompt: What is a book you’ve read that influenced your passion for your blog niche? Share how it helped to shape your journey.
“Somewhere, something incredible is waiting to be known.”
Astronomer Carl Sagan
Prompt: What is something incredible about your niche that a new reader might not know about?
It’s safe to say that many people embark on the journey of blogging because they have something they want to share with others online — their thoughts, artwork, knowledge, and even their vision. But how many bloggers set out with the mindset of becoming a solid resource for their audience?
Becoming a resource for your readers means recognizing the potential value that your content could give to your audience, and even to the occasional visitor of your blog. For example, perhaps you keep shortcuts for some of your favorite websites and blogs because they’re a great resource for your own content.
Here are some additional examples of blogs that can serve as resources in various aspects of a person’s life:
- Cooking blogs that share their recipes and recommended ingredients or brands.
- Lifestyle or technology blogs sharing “life hacks” to simplify daily routines and tasks.
- Health blogs that share their references and medical sources to supplement their advice.
- Travel blogs sharing top resources for planning a trip, or recommending good destinations and resorts.
- Pet bloggers who share their experiences with raising their animal companions, or resources to help with their training or care.
- Beauty blogs sharing their reviews and tutorials for hair and skin care, or for makeup and cosmetic products.
- Photography and art blogs that showcase their work in image galleries, as well as the equipment and software they use.
Consider your long-term goals for your blog, and then consider the benefits you will receive if your blog becomes a solid resource for your audience — visitors will likely explore your archives and will continue to follow along in the future.
Not only will becoming a resource generate traffic and encourage potential followers, you’ll also serve as a key part of your blogging community. Both benefits will help sustain your blogging platform and may give you the extra push to create more quality content over time.
Becoming a resource for your readers can also take on a few different forms and segues nicely into the next section on credibility. While your actual posts may become resources, you could also consider setting up a resource page where you list tools of the trade and recommendations – whether it’s for products, sites, brands, movies, books, or more. Resource pages like this (one or more) can become a short form reference guide for your visitors. You can then cross-link these resources back to the full blog posts you have written where you showcased or referenced specific resources.
| Pro tip: Internal linking between your posts and pages also helps with SEO. Be sure to review the lesson on SEO basics and consider taking the free Intro to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) course to learn even more about improving your content for search engines and humans. |
While many areas of blogging may be anecdotal — stories that are based on your personal experiences — there are other forms that may be based on existing research or opinions. If your blog relies on information from other sources, you can build its credibility by sharing these sources with your visitors.
With this in mind, consider creating a reference area on your blog — such as near the bottom of each of your blog posts, similar to footnotes — to list the resources that have helped with crafting your blog content.
Your references can be a working list that you can edit and adjust with time, and they can vary to include any of the following:
- Citations and/or footnotes to published work that you’ve referenced for your own writing.
- Recommended products that have assisted your work — such as an inspiring book, or an ergonomic tool.
- Suggested workflows for task and time management, including any software or services you use on your devices.
- Any free or paid workshops and courses you’ve taken to help with your craft (which may include this WP Course, if you’re inclined!)
If you mention certain references regularly, or your list becomes quite long, you may also consider different methods to help keep track of them and build consistency. This may include using options such as creating a Reusable block, or even creating a separate References page on your blog.
Additionally, if the resource is from another blog or website, it will help to share a link directly to the site so that visitors can view it at the source. This is also good online etiquette; you would certainly want others to do the same and reference your blog if they learned something from you!
| You’ll want to consider when it’s appropriate to distribute a closed or private resource. For example, if a colleague or friend shares something privately with you in confidence, take the time to check or ask for their permission before you openly share it with others. |
If this is your first time going through this lesson, spend some time considering these different types of content and which ones appeal to you the most – or maybe figure out which one(s) you absolutely have no desire to include. If the content types inspire any particular topics, make a note of the topics along with a reference to the content type.
If you’re returning to this lesson after a brainstorming session, consider the topics that you’ve identified and categorize them into the various types of content that would suit them best.
Resources
- How to Structure Your Blog Posts for Maximum Readability (Article)
- Why You Should Interview Subject-Matter Experts for Your Blog (Article)
- Reusable block (Support Guide)
- Intro to Search Engine Optimization (SEO) (Course)
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