We’ve got an important blogging question for you: why did the Avengers assemble? Obviously, it had something to do with the ruddy great dimensional hole spewing hostile aliens into the sky over Manhattan. But why bring a team of superheroes together? Because they couldn’t tackle the problem alone. Together, they had the right mix and variety of powers to bring down the bad guys and save the day.
Take your pick of the powers
Yes — writing your blog is essentially the same as managing the Avengers, just like Nick Fury (bear with us). You want to capture your customers’ imagination, but you can’t do that with just one type of post. To win the fight against boredom and keep your audience reading, you need to inject variety into your posts and bring together all of your blogging powers:
- Articles
The Tony Stark of your outfit, articles do pretty much most of the work for you because of their versatility. One way or another though, you use them to tell a story. You could announce some great news, show off your expertise or write up a review. Articles also give your subject matter experts the ideal space to jot down all of the really useful stuff they have rattling around their brains. - Listicles
Listicles give your audience a clear, simple way to process all the knowledge you hurl their way. Think Buzzfeed and its ‘27 things only Brummies will understand’ type headlines. Except you can fill these lists with the handy content your audience wants to see, like top tips or ways to solve particular problems they might have. - Infographics
If infographics came in a tin, that tin would say exactly what they did on it. A visual (or graphic if you like) that presents information, like statistics or a how-to guide, in an interesting and easy-to-understand way, an infographic gives your customers the important facts. Probably the Thor of the group because they hit home like a hammer. - Curated content
Sometimes you can show your audience just how much knowledge you have without even typing a word (well, almost). Put together a list of links to content on a particular subject that you think your audience needs to see and you can demonstrate the expertise in your industry that customers read your blog for.
Write with a purpose (or two)
Next time you sit down to bash out a blog post (or write it carefully — whichever really), think about which of these layouts suits what you want to say best. And be willing to copy and paste a bit.
Just because you’ve written an article doesn’t mean you can’t take any stats you’ve used to make an infographic as well. Repurposing your content adds variety and helps you put your point across. It gives you several different ways to use your superpowers (yes, they’re super now) to build the best blog possible.
Creating varied blog posts gives you a great source of regular content to connect with your customers.