Review of content types

We have prepared a list of popular content types which you can use to diversify your content plan. The majority of them will be relevant not only to blogs but also to the public or personal pages on social media or to other content projects.

Any content resource requires a variety of materials not only in terms of information but also in formats. It will ensure that users will remain interested in your content and will keep visiting it. Moreover, it will help the author as even if a publisher is keen on writing, eventually, he/she will get tired and bored of preparing similar materials. Thus we are sharing several ideas which can be added in the content plan:

      “How-to” content/ guidelines/ tutorials. Articles, videos or posts answering the question “How?” are highly popular among users and have high chances to get to the top of search. Explain to the readers how to do something by themselves, show the process in the video or add print screens, schemes or any other materials which can help. To be honest, we strongly recommend sharing such materials as often as possible if you want to get your blog higher in search.

      News, reviews of events or chronicles. The advantage of these posts is that news attracts much attention and increases the number of subscribers as well as user retention. Don’t try to compete with famous sources which inform about Hollywood stars’ lives, it is better to choose a less popular niche. Write or make videos about lifestyle — add information about events and share the tips on food or makeup and create the selection of top products once a month to earn through affiliate marketing.

      Reviews of other sources and selections of articles. If you know well a blogger, a vlogger or an author of interesting sources, you can choose the best materials and post links to them on your blog or channel. Of course, you shouldn’t select everything no matter the quality, on the contrary, choose the most interesting articles, then users will visit your source more often to find the most valuable materials. But don’t copy-paste their texts, just a headline and a short description will be enough.

      Storytelling and cases. These are some of the most popular and most demanding formats as people like reading someone’s stories and learn on someone else’s example instead of theoretical explanations. You can create a competition and pay the authors of the best stories for placing them on your source, or you can simply ask someone you know to share their experience.

      Statistics, research, reports, White Paper. Everybody likes high-quality statistics and reports which can be useful for both huge corporations and just readers. Research can be carried out by the capacities of the company or by aggregating data from the Internet. For example, if you work with financial affiliate programs, you can create a material with information on the number of bank cards per person in different countries. Such information can be found on the websites of central banks of any country. 

      Infographics, graphs, and schemes. All the data gathered in the above-mentioned point can be visualized as infographics (diagrams and schemes are easier perceived by users). It also relates to the non-numeric data (for example, instructions or guidelines). It is an easy way to demonstrate how to do something.

      Humour. Even the most serious sources post some jokes/memes once in a while. The best advantage of memes or comics is that they can become viral: users will willingly share funny content and the source will get popular. But don’t get too attached to this genre: it is hard to use CPA model to monetize channels with only humorous materials.

      Books/movies/TV shows reviews. If you read many books, share the reviews, your subscribers will find out more and you will be able to start discussions with them (books can cause many disputes in comments).

      Reviews/test drives/selections of tools or services. No matter what you write about, there will be always some useful tools on this topic. Do you write about fishing? Recommend some necessary supplies. Do you have a blog about traveling? Create a selection of services with medical insurance and of travel platforms with cheapest tickets. Do you have a channel about makeup? Create videos trying on different types of cosmetics.

      FAQ (questions&answers). Gather the most frequent questions which you receive from your readers/viewers and create materials based on them. It will help you create content which is definitely demanded among your audience and which will help resolve their issues.

      Interviews. The interview can be not only with a star but with an expert in the field you are talki ng about. Come up with some questions which can be the most relevant to your audience and don’t be afraid that the questions can turn out to be a little naive — experts can help clarify any topics.

Lists, selections, and checklists. Such a structured type of content is usually created in order not to forget anything, for example, vital things for camping, video settings before uploading on YouTube, etc. It is possible to create a check-list almost on any topic if you use some imagination. You can create a sort of challenge from such lists. For example, many fitness bloggers create their own fitness programs and their subscribers should do exercises according to the lists.

Surveys. This type of content will help you gather feedback from your audience and use all their requests and wishes to create future content. The more answers you will collect, the deeper you’ll understand the audience and its needs. But don’t create a sophisticated survey with 100 questions and a required essay at the end. It will be enough if you ask users to answer 20 multiple-choice questions. The majority of social networks provide an opportunity to create polls to interact with the audience.

      Tests and quizzes. This format is more popular among users as they take tests or quizzes to check themselves or to have fun, not to provide you with information. And don’t forget to add a button “Share on social networks” in the end. It will increase the reach of your post. Tests can be serious (for education) or entertaining (for instance, “Which Disney princess are you?”).

      Podcasts. The main advantage of podcasts is that it is convenient to listen to them almost anywhere — whether you are driving or walking your dog, you just need headphones. But they also have drawbacks — they are not shown in search results as well as texts.But you can always make an article and then record it in voice and additionally discuss it with someone.

      Event reports. If you attend different industry events, let users know what you have found out. Share the insights and your impression of the event, you can even start a live stream for your subscribers to show important moments.

      Biography of interesting people or historical remarks. You can always diversify your content with interesting facts from history or biography of a person.

Mix your content and don’t be afraid to use new formats or to experiment a little — perhaps, such materials will be the most demanded among your audience. Don’t copy someone else’s materials but get inspired by them. Only original text can make your blog popular. On the contrary, copy-pasted texts can arise negative.

And remember that if you want to develop your content project and make it really worthy, don’t focus only on promotion and materials which you can use to sell products. Interesting content of high quality should always comes first.