17 Types Of Blog Post Articles You Can Publish

Introduction

Blogging was supposed to be easy, right? Just sit down, crack your knuckles, and bang out a blog post. Write about whatever is on your heart and mind. And do it again and again.

“It’ll be easy,” they said. “You’ll have no problems,” they said.

But, and it’s a pretty big but, it turns out that blogging isn’t so easy after all.

The writing part itself is certainly challenging – stringing together sentences in a compelling, coherent manner requires thought and effort.

But that’s not the only part that’s difficult.

One of the hardest parts of blogging is knowing what to blog about.

This is especially the case if you’re trying to use your blog to build your brand and your business.

That’s because, when you’re using your blog as a brand-building tool, you can’t just write about what happened on a particular day – your blog does not serve as a personal journal.

Rather, you want to write about things that will actually matter and add value to your readers – and this is where things get tricky.

Constantly coming up with new topics and angles to blog about that will add value to your readers is no small feat. It requires creativity, insight into your audience, and the ability to create fresh content day after day.

It’s enough to cause even the smartest blogger to burn out.

The good news is, this guide is here to help make your job easier.

I’m going to give you 17 different types of blog posts that you can write – you can think of these as blog post formulas that provide an easy-to-follow framework for you to use when writing blog posts.

Ready?

Let’s dive in.

#1: Beginner’s Guides

These posts are “how-to” posts (see below) but geared specifically toward beginners. They teach newbies in your industry valuable insights and skills that they need to learn anyway.

Examples of this type of post include:

• A Beginner’s Guide To Email Marketing
• A Beginner’s Guide To Lead Generation
• A Beginner’s Guide To Salsa Dancing
• A Newbie’s Guide To Running A Marathon

Consider these important items when writing these guides:

1. Make your guide in-depth but not overly technical. You want to cover the subject thoroughly without overwhelming the beginner with a lot of technical terms or industry jargon. Try to keep the posts straightforward, to the point, and relatively easy to understand.
2. Use a variety of media, like screenshots and videos, to clarify your points. Remember, you’re writing to beginners and people learn in a variety of ways. Some are more visual learners, while others learn better from text. Try to cater to all types of learners in your posts.

Beginner’s guides, when done well, can be an incredibly valuable resource to those who are just getting started in your industry.

They can also establish you as an expert in your industry – somebody that beginners can look to for advice (and then continue following as their experience grows).

In some ways, these beginner’s guides allow you to mentor newbies from a distance, which can be incredibly rewarding.

#2: Behind The Scenes / A Day In The Life

If you have a sizable audience, there’s a good chance that they want to know what a day in your life is like – they want to go behind the scenes of your business and see how you do things, and they want to learn from you and see what things are like from your vantage point.

Doing behind the scenes / a day in the life blog posts are a great way to let your audience get to know you.

Start from the moment you wake up until the time you go to bed. Chronicle what each element of your day looks like.

• What is your morning routine?
• What sorts of meetings do you have?
• What strategies do you use to be productive?
• What do interactions with your team look like?
• What is your nightly routine like?
• What do you do to unwind?

Your goal is to give others a sense of what your day looks like and, if possible, you also want your readers to learn valuable lessons from how you go about your day.

For example, maybe you work out early each morning because it helps you to feel energized throughout the entire day, so communicate that to your readers.

Or perhaps you eat a specific type of superfood because of the numerous health benefits, so clue your audience into that.

Or maybe you do yoga every evening because it helps you to relax. That’s a great tidbit to share with your audience and something they can learn from.

If you don’t want to write a behind the scenes blog post, you could always video yourself throughout the day and then post that on your blog. Sometimes that can be even more effective than a written post.

#3: Case Studies

Case studies are incredibly valuable to readers for several reasons.

First, they let the reader see what’s going on behind the scenes of your business.

Readers love being taken behind the scenes and by writing a case study, you give them a look at how things work in your business – you show them the inner workings of your business, which can provide valuable insights to your readers.

Second, they provide valuable lessons regarding how you achieved success in a particular area.

For example, let’s say that you tripled your sales in six months. You get to walk your readers through exactly what you did, why you did it, what other options you discounted (and why), how you did it, and what the results were. Your readers can then implement similar steps in their own businesses.

If you don’t have a personal case study to write about, you can write about how you’ve helped one of your customers. In other words, write about how you enabled one of your customers to achieve massive success.

Look through your customer list and determine which one(s) has been successful using your products or services, then email them and talk through how they used your product or service to grow their business.

When writing your case study, try to provide as much concrete, actionable material as possible. You want your readers to be able to take your case study and apply the lessons in their own businesses.

#4: Checklists

We are forgetful, which is why we use checklists, which help us remember everything we need to about a particular subject.

We use checklists to help us remember what to take on vacation, to get specific projects done, and even in the operating room to ensure that everything goes smoothly.

Checklist blog posts can be hugely valuable to your readers – you can help them remember everything they need to around a given subject.

For example, let’s say you’re in the photo industry. You could create a checklist blog post of everything that needs to be taken to a photo shoot.

Or maybe you’re a real estate agent, in which case you could create a checklist of things a person needs to do to get their house ready to sell.

Or maybe you’re a fitness coach, so you could create a checklist of all the exercises in a particular workout.

To create the perfect checklist, take a common task (such as selling a house) and break it down into much smaller sub-tasks – but remember to ensure that your checklist is thorough and complete.

Checklists also present you with a unique opportunity to build your email list. You can offer a downloadable, nicely formatted checklist that people can access in exchange for giving you their email address.

This method of email list building is often called offering a “content upgrade”. Your readers can “upgrade” the content they get from you (the downloadable checklist as opposed to just the blog post) in exchange for their email address.

#5: Controversy

It’s no secret that controversy sells.

There’s a reason that people love to read the tabloids and that reporters are always chasing controversial subjects.

So if you’re smart, you can use controversy to your advantage when it comes to blogging.

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