Note from Taughnee: I used the “Super Simple Ideas” template from The Blog Post Vault as a jumping-off point for this post. The final result is 100% unique content using my own experience, knowledge, and voice. From start to finish it took me just a little over 3 hours to write over 4,000 words, which is (much) less than half the time it would have normally taken me. 🙌 

If you have your heart set on blogging as a way to drive organic traffic to your business and reach new customers, it’s really not as daunting as people make it out to be…

😩Some bloggers seem to effortlessly churn out content, but I struggle to even write a sentence!
😩I’m afraid I’ll spend a bunch of time writing a post and no one will even bother to read it
😩Just thinking about squeezing blogging to my already-packed schedule is overwhelming, ugh! 

Sound familiar?

Most small business owners struggle with  limiting beliefs like this because let’s face it – blogging is not your central focus. You’re busy with more important priorities. 

And even if you’re a veteran blogger, we all have gaps in our knowledge that prevent us from getting the results we want – more leads and sales from free traffic!

The truth is, writing blog posts is just the tip of the iceberg. Gaining momentum happens when you start paying attention to the details most bloggers tend to gloss over. And it’s no surprise they do – organizing your thoughts and typing them into the computer machine is time-consuming enough. 

Given that the whole point of blogging in the first place is to help you expand your customer base and grow your email list without paying for traffic…

And considering it may only take a tweak to what you’re doing to really start gaining traction… 

Our challenge today is to figure out what might be missing in your strategy. 

By the end of this post, you’ll… 

👉Understand how to get your ideal audience clicking on your content in the first place
👉Keep them captivated from the first second they land on your website
👉Know how to structure your content in a way that guides them to the next steps ($$$)
👉Keep improving your results with every post you write 

Sound good? 

Then grab a cup of coffee (or your beverage of choice!) and settle in to learn 10 tips for creating blog posts that attract and convert your ideal customers, starting with… 

1. (Really) Understand Your Audience

Understanding your audience is the bedrock of great content but really understanding what makes them tick is an art. The more you practice honing in on their needs and desires, the more intuitive it will become.

Start by paying attention to the things they’re saying. Listen closely to the comments they leave on social media, the questions they ask in emails, and the feedback they leave on your blog…

• What are their concerns or questions? 
• What’s resonating with them? 
• What’s helping them move forward? 
• What’s standing in their way?

By making it a habit to really listen to them, you’ll begin to understand what they want from your content.

If you don’t already have an audience, you can join groups or communities where your ideal readers are likely to hang out and take note of the questions, comments, and conversations that are taking place. 

The idea is, you want to join in on the conversation going on in their minds with your content. 

Another helpful thing you can do is create an audience persona — a fictional representation of your ideal reader. By visualizing one person, you’re better able to empathize with what they need and write with them in mind rather than a vast, generic “target audience.”

Think about…

• What are their goals and aspirations?
• What are their interests? 
• What are they trying to do? 
• What frustrates them?

Writing directly for one ideal reader will help you stay focused on them and helps you connect with your audience on a personal level – building the “know, like, trust factor” you need in order to create a loyal following of people who are interested in being a customer. 

2. Choose the Right Topics

When choosing topics for their blog, business bloggers tend to go one of two ways:

1) They focus exclusively on keywords and create content for search engines rather than humans, or
2) They just start writing about stuff they know –  willy-nilly and when inspiration strikes or when they’re in the mood to wax philosophical

The problem is: if your audience doesn’t recognize themselves in your topic – if it’s not something they’re already looking for, struggling with, or super interested in already – it won’t capture their attention and they’ll just keep scrolling. 

In fact, let’s do this quick exercise right now: 

Visualize your person scrolling social media on their phone – bombarded with a constant stream of notifications, annoying ads, and friends from high school posting political opinions that make their blood boil…

A Google Calendar alert dings to let them know their Zoom meeting is about to start, they just remembered they forgot to ask their husband to pick up milk on the way home, their kids start screaming in the background… 

Utterly. Distracted.   

Then, a link to your blog post appears on their screen…

What happens next? 

Do they filter it out because it’s just more noise that’s not relevant to them?

Or does it stop them in their tracks: 

• “I’ve been meaning to learn more about this!” 
• “I’ve been wondering about this! How did they know?” 
• “I’ve been struggling with this for ages, I need this!” 

That “Hey, this is for me! It’s exactly what I need!” is what you’re shooting for and picturing this scenario will help you decide whether a topic is worth your time to write or bound to be yet another wasted effort. 

Another huge mistake bloggers make is trying to come up with completely original content ideas rather than figuring out what topics are already in demand. 

Instead, focus on creating content you know is popular with your target audience and put your unique spin on it. Research what they’re consuming and look for gaps and opportunities that you can fill with your own experience and perspective. 

Use tools like AnswerSocrates, Google Trends, SEMRush, or BuzzSumo to get to the bottom of what the popular topics in your niche are. Analyze your competition to see what types of content they’re creating and scope out their comments section to see what people are saying – what’s resonating with them? 

It may seem like adding topic research to your to-do list is more than you can afford, but it’s actually much more costly to write an entire blog post that’s not going to grab your audience’s attention. 

3. Make it Easy to Skim 

Did you know the average user spends just 15 seconds before deciding whether to stay on a web page or leave? 

We like to play it safe and use a “5-second rule”: If it’s not clear to them within 5 seconds that the blog post is going to deliver on its promises, they’re going to hit the back button. And making your content easy to read, skim, and scan is priority #1 when it comes to keeping readers on your website. 

Studies have shown that readers are more likely to engage with content that’s structured in an organized way, which means always use a proper document outline.

A document outline breaks your content into logical sections and sub-sections, making it easy for readers to navigate at-a-glance and get right to the information they came for.

You also want to avoid using too many colors, fonts, and bolded text and use a legible sans-serif font (or a serif font designed for screen reading) to avoid visual clutter and to make reading more comfortable. 

Creating an enjoyable user experience will pay off with a lower bounce rate and a higher time on page – which sends good signals to Google, too. 

If formatting is not your cup of tea, these pre-formatted blog post templates have the document outline already set up, include prompts for remembering to put visuals in strategic places to break up big walls of text, and are structured for maximum readability and engagement. 

4. Get More Clicks with Optimized Headlines and Meta Descriptions

Catchy headlines and clear meta descriptions are essential for getting more clicks and boosting your blog traffic.

After writing an epic blog post, it’s understandable you may be tempted to treat this like an afterthought, but these small pieces of copy will make or break it for you because they’re the first things people see. 

In other words, before you can wow them with your content, you first need to get them to click through. 

Think about a time when you were scrolling through the Google Search Engine Results Page. What made you click on one link instead of another? It’s not always about which one is ranking the highest, right? Chances are it was the headline and meta description.

Now think about your headlines and descriptions as heading into battle with all of your competition. Yours should be compelling enough to entice your audience to click through and your meta description should give them a clear description of what they can expect if they do. 

The picture below illustrates what we have to work with, so making the best of this tiny space can go a long way in making your blog post the one people want to click on. 

Before you hit “publish,” take a moment to type your topic into Google and see what’s there. What catches your attention? What can you do to make your headline and description more enticing? Consider using: 

• Active verbs (“Understand Your Audience” versus “Understanding Your Audience”) 
• Numbers (“X ways to achieve a goal”) 
• Power words (“The Ultimate Guide to [Topic]”) 

For your descriptions, this is one of our favorite ways to use ChatGPT! Give it a summary of your blog post and ask it to provide you with options for your meta description – then choose the one that catches your attention and makes you want to read it.

If you’re not sure how to add a meta description to your post, use a plugin like RankMath because it makes it easy peasy to do right inside your WordPress post editor. 

5. Write in a Conversational Tone 

Writing in a conversational tone builds a personal connection with your readers and makes them more likely to take action, stay on your site longer, sign up for your mailing list, check out your offerings, and so much more.

Remember, people buy things from people they know, like, and trust, and using a formal tone only creates distance.

Where business bloggers tend to go wrong is trying too hard to sound like an expert. Instead, focus on writing like you’re giving advice to a friend. 

Writing Tip #1. Use relatable language you feel comfortable with

If you wouldn’t say “I was like yaaaaas, boss babe! Smoochies!” to someone face-to-face, then don’t put it in your writing. But you don’t need to sound like a corporate robot in order to sound professional either. 

Writing Tip #2. Avoid using jargon or technical terms 

Avoid words your readers may not be familiar with – and be aware that you may not even realize you’re using terms commonly used in your industry but not by your audience.

In case you’re not sure, you can ask ChatGPT and then ask it for suggestions for how to say it in a way that’s more approachable for your audience: 

Writing Tip #3: Keep it concise

Remember, people are busy so they’ll quickly become annoyed if you take too long to get to the point. If you love using as many words as possible as much as I do ​​🤪, it’s just a matter of getting your thoughts out in the way you need to and then editing it down. For example…

Instead of saying…

“It is essential to acquire knowledge of the appropriate approach towards writing in a conversational tone for the purpose of maintaining reader engagement”

You might say… 

“To keep your readers interested, write like you’re having a chat with a friend. Use simple words and avoid using jargon they might not know.”

Pro-tip: say it out loud. Does it feel awkward? It’s probably because you’re using too many fancy words when you could just say it simply. #fancy-pants

Writing Tip #4. Use contractions 

Contractions are a natural part of spoken language and using them in your writing can help make it feel more conversational. 

Think “you’ll” instead of “you will” and “don’t” instead of “do not.” 

I’ve been practicing this one for years and I still don’t catch them all, but give it a try – you will  you’ll see that it makes a big difference in the tone of your writing. 

6. Make it Visual

The internet has shortened all of our attention spans (*shakes fist at TikTok*), so hitting your readers with a big wall of text is just going to make them groan and abandon ship. 

Remember: you’ve got 5 seconds to hook them in and one of the first things they’ll look for is whether it looks like it’s going to be easy to read… 

This is where visuals can help!

By breaking up your text with images, graphics, and other visuals, your readers will be more likely to stay engaged with your content. This means increased time spent on your site and the more likely they’ll be to convert into subscribers and customers.

And the cool thing is, adding visual interest to break up your text can take many forms, including:

• Relevant photos and graphics to enhance your readers’ understanding of the content
• Screenshots or screen captures to illustrate concepts and provide examples
• Callouts and block quotes to highlight key points or quotes to draw your readers’ attention to 
• Subheadings to break up your content into smaller, logical, easy-to-digest chunks 
• Bullet points and numbered lists to summarize key information or provide step-by-step instructions
• Content upgrade opt-in graphics or forms: to provide readers with a free tool to help them implement what they learn in your post
• Videos or .gif animations to demonstrate concepts in a dynamic way
• Charts and graphs to illustrate important data so it’s easier to understand 
• Quotes from experts to lend credibility to your content
• Turn statistics into graphics to call attention to relevant data so readers don’t miss it 
• Interactive elements to encourage readers to participate such as “click to Tweet” or quizzes and polls
• Infographics to help convey complex ideas in a way that is easy to grasp
• Get creative!  Remember that anything that is not a paragraph of text can help break up your content 

7. Call Your Readers to Action

By including clear calls-to-action (CTAs) in strategic places throughout your posts, you can guide your readers toward the next step in their journey to become a loyal follower, email subscriber, or even a customer.

Start by identifying the goal you want to achieve with your content. Do you want your readers to…  

• Download your free guide? 
• Spend more time on your website and click through to read another post?
• Check out your relevant offerings?

Once you’ve identified your goals, write CTAs that clearly communicate what you want your audience to do and why they should do it. 

⚠️If you don’t ask, and if you don’t tell them exactly what to do, they won’t take any action at all. And we’re pretty sure clicking away from your website never to return is not your goal.  

Use language that encourages your readers to take a specific action and wherever possible – really sell it. Tell them the value they’ll get on the other side of the click… 

• Want an easy way to [achieve result they want]? Our free guide breaks it down into five easy steps. Download it here to get started!
• If you’ve tried [to achieve a result they want] in the past but it didn’t work out, check out this post to learn a simpler method that worked miracles for me
• If you’ve been stuck in a rut when it comes to [niche topic], I invite you to book a consultation with me and I’ll help you decide your next step so you can move forward

I think you’ll agree these are more enticing than “click here” – yes?

The placement of your calls to action is key as well. Consider the context of your content and the behavior of your readers – they should be strategically placed throughout your post where they’re most likely to be seen and acted upon.

For example, you can include them…

• In the body of your content whenever you’re making a relevant point
• At the end of your post so you don’t leave them guessing what to do next
• As an exit-intent pop-up to invite them to join your mailing list and continue learning about the topic

Have you noticed that I’ve already placed several calls to action in this post? It may not be obvious because I’ve asked you to click on things in context when it was hyper-relevant to what you were reading so it wouldn’t seem intrusive or distracting. 

One of the key features we baked into every blog post template in The Blog Post Vault are prompts to remind you to continuously call your readers to action. 

It’s super easy to get so focused on providing value that you completely forget about the reason why you’re writing the blog post in the first place: to provide your readers with a path forward on their journey to become your customer. (Not just read your post and peace out.) 

8. Promote Your Posts

In case you need to hear this (and we all need to hear this): If you want to grow your blog and reach potential customers, you need to be proactive in promoting your posts. 

While search engine optimization (SEO) is important, it’s not enough to rely on Google to send you traffic. SEO is a long game and there are no guarantees your content will rank on page 1 of Google. 

Get your blog post out there and in front of people – there are tons of ways to do it!

• Email your list and tell them why it will benefit them to read it
• Link it from an automated email welcome sequence after someone opts in to a relevant freebie
• Share it on social media platforms that allow “clickable links”: Instagram stories, Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn
• Use relevant hashtags to reach a wider audience
• Tag other bloggers or influencers in your post to increase its visibility where appropriate
• Create a guest post for another blogger or industry publication in exchange for linking back to yours

And don’t just share it once and call it good! Promote your content for as long as it supports your business goals. We included an “Evergreen” category in our Content Calendar System precisely because it’s so easy to forget about sharing older content. We wanted it to be right in the calendar to remind you to keep at it. 

Even if you’re not using CCS, you can keep track of your “Evergreen” content using a tool like Google Sheets, Trello, or Notion — the important thing is to keep all of your links handy when you’re creating and scheduling social media posts. 

Try to share links back to your blog at least once per week on all your social media accounts. Keep promoting them over time (the traffic will add up!) and visit and update older content to keep it fresh and relevant. 

And if you just can’t imagine finding the time to do any of these things, try this… 

MetriCool (affiliate link) is a social media scheduler that allows you to set up “Autolists” to promote blog posts on an evergreen schedule (a.k.a. “set it and forget it”). This feature saves a ton of time and ensures your content is being regularly promoted to your audience without having to think about it. 

We have lists set up for our products, freebies, and lead magnets for Twitter and Facebook and once we add them to the list, MetriCool handles rotating them all through the schedule we set up – all on autopilot. 

This way we don’t have to worry about being spammy but we also don’t need to worry about forgetting to promote our content either.  Win, win! 

9. Streamline Your Workflow

By now you might be wondering how you’re going to find the time to pay attention to all these details, I know, I’ve thrown a lot at you today. 

That’s why it’s so important to get organized and use the right tools to help you with your workflow. You need to be as efficient as possible so you have the bandwidth to put your attention on the things that actually move the needle,  not just busy work.

Here are a few of our favorite tools that streamline the time you spend writing and promoting your posts: 

• The Blog Post Vault: This epic collection of 52 customizable blog post templates are all written in a conversational tone with prompts to guide you through customizing them for your niche, with reminders to insert visuals and calls to action in strategic places, and formatted to maximize reader engagement and conversions. To really supercharge productivity, we use it in combination with…   
• ChatGPT: This AI tool is a perfect sidekick when using content templates like The Blog Post Vault. The templates keep us focused and provide the strategy, but ChatGPT works as a “writing assistant” to help us with research and quickly move past writer’s block. We’re saving a boatload of time, and if you want to learn more about how we’re using it, check out this post 
• Notion: Notion is our favorite tool for staying organized with blogging tasks. Having an editorial calendar and a system for tracking the posts we need to promote shaves off hours each month. If you prefer Asana, Trello, or Google Sheets that’s cool too – work with the tools that work best for you. The key is to have some kind of “dashboard” of everything you need to keep track for your blog right at your finger tips. 
• Canva: As a former graphic designer and Adobe loyalist, I can hardly believe how much Canva has won me over and how strongly I recommend it now. This graphic design tool just makes things so much easier and faster. Even if you have no experience with graphic design, it’s a piece of cake to create beautiful images and graphics for your blog and social media
• MetriCool (affiliate link): There are tons of social media schedulers out there but we’re all-in with Metricool lately. We love that it comes with social media analytics and the ability to set up “Autolists” that promote our content in a “set it and forget it” way. And the best part is that their free plan is incredibly robust, so there’s nothing to lose if you want to give it a try! 

10. Measure Your Results

Now for the secret sauce of a successful content strategy. If you want to win your audience over and keep them coming back for more: measure your results using a tool like Google Analytics. 

This, again, is something that most bloggers don’t bother with – huge mistake. When you’re aware of which posts your audience is flocking to, all you need to do is simply continue helping them with related content. No more guesswork, hurrah!

Using data to help you figure out when your audience is raising their hands and saying, “Yes! This is what we need help with!” (which is what they’re saying when they read a post) is the most effective way to understand your audience so you can give them more of what they want. (See Tip #1) 

Conclusion

To quickly recap… 

By paying attention to details like these,  creating content that attracts and converts your ideal audience will quickly become second nature:

• Understand your audience – always be listening to what they’re saying they need help with
• Identify the right topics  – don’t just write what you know, write about what they already want (using your knowledge) 
• Make content easy to read – break up text into logical sections so they can find what they came for quickly and easily and don’t use 37 fonts! 😉 
• Write conversationally to create a connection with your audience and keep them engaged
• Use visuals to break up big walls of text and to help your readers understand complex topics 
• Call them to action in strategic places to encourage your readers to take the next step with you
• Promote your content proactively and automate where possible using tools like MetriCool (affiliate link)
• Streamline your workflow with the right tools so you have the time you need to attend to everything on this list
• Measure your results so you can double down on what’s working and better understand your audience

There you have it! 

Will you be using any of these tips to create your next blog post? Let us know in the comments below!

And if you’re eager to write blog posts that attract your dream customers but you’d much rather just have an easy button, The Blog Post Vault is it. 

You’ll be able to effortlessly write a high-quality blog posts:

👉Without having to worry about forgetting any important details that keep readers engaged…
👉In a fraction of the time it would normally take…
👉And for half the price you’d pay a writer to create just one single blog post (starting at just $49 lifetime)

🙌

We hope to see you inside! 

Blogging can be a huge challenge when you’re juggling multiple priorities in your business. After years of trial and error, we discovered the secret to staying consistent and getting results is all about choosing the right type of blog post before sitting down to write.

Yup, there are different types of blog posts and when you understand what they are, it takes the guesswork out of what to write and when and makes it possible to dedicate a realistic amount of time for blogging.

This simple strategy we’re about to share with you will help you plan writing blog posts into your routine and create the type of posts that consistently attract and convert your ideal customers.  

But before we break it all down, you might be wondering… 

What Do We Mean by “Type of Blog Post”?

There are dozens of different types of blog posts with proven post structures that keep readers engaged. In fact, you’re probably already familiar with many of them even if you’ve never thought about it this way before!  

For example, there are… 

• List posts (“Top 10 Ways to Make Extra Money”)
• How-to Posts (“How to Plant a Rooftop Garden”)
• Informational Posts (“What is a Brand Identity?”)… 
• And so on…

We analyzed the different types of posts that delivered the most traffic and conversions and then broke them down into predictable formulas. We wanted to stop “winging it” with our strategy and be able to choose the right post type for our needs and the time we have available.

The 3-Bucket Blog Post Strategy

Once we had an exhaustive list of all the different post types, we then sorted them into 3 larger “buckets.” Each bucket includes post types that vary in length and detail including:

1. a strong foundation of short posts that answer a specific question
2. authority posts that go into more detail on a topic, and 
3. domination posts that take a deep dive into broad, competitive topics.

Thinking about it this way helped us to first consider our goals…

• Do we need to build credibility and authority around a new topic area?
• Do we need to create awareness about a new product or service?
• Do we need to drive more traffic from search?
• Do we just need to create a post as quickly as possible to stay visible with our audience?

And then, looking at the goal for the post through the lens of these 3 buckets, we were able to remove the guesswork from the equation so we always knew exactly what we needed to write and why.

An unexpected benefit of following this strategy is that by pulling from each of the three categories, you end up with the perfect mix of specific, broad, and deep-dive blog posts that build authority with your ideal customers (and Google too). So…

The rule of thumb is that 1/3 of your content should come from each bucket.

(Keep in mind we’re talking about the number of words. You’ll be creating a lot more shorter posts than lengthier posts.) 

This is not a hard-and-fast rule, but approaching it this way will keep you from overworking yourself and keep you focused on your goals.

Now, let’s look at each of these categories in more detail with examples you can pull from to put this strategy into practice…

⚠️ Important note before we dive in: We use “target word counts” as a way to gauge how much time you should allow for writing the post. But, do not worry about hitting some arbitrary number. The goal isn’t a number of words, it’s to be helpful to your audience. If you need to write more or less in order to be helpful, that’s what you should do. 

Types 1-6: Foundation Posts

What is a Foundation post? A foundation post answers a specific question your target audience has, addresses a topic that has low competition in search, and should be in the 1000-1500 words range. 

When to write them and how long it will take? Foundation posts are great to write if you’re a new blogger or if you’re covering a new topic category. Ideally, you want to write lots and lots of foundation posts before you move on to more competitive topics. You can also write them at any stage of your blogging journey when you’re short on time because they just take an hour or two (tops) to crank out. 

While these are fast and easy to write, don’t underestimate foundation posts, they also play a crucial role in your blogging strategy… 

Writing lots of foundation posts on a particular topic will help your readers understand what your blog is about and helps Google understand your niche. This is important because “topical authority” is a key Google ranking factor every small blogger should be paying close attention to – it’s the one that allows you to compete with bigger sites in search.

The best way to explain this is with an example:  

Say you’re a professional baker specializing in “realistic cakes” and you blog a ton about realistic cake baking. Google will begin to see you as an expert on this topic. Then, say a big fashion blog decides to write a one-off post called “How to bake a realistic cake shaped like a designer purse” and you’ve written a post on the same subject. Which one will Google rank higher? Even though the fashion blog may be more established, and even if your domain authority is lower…because the topic is outside of their expertise and you’ve earned credibility with Google along the way, Google will consider your content to be more authoritative. 

Foundation Post Examples

Post Type #1: “WHAT IS”

Sometimes readers just need a quick answer to a specific question. Imagine them typing it into Google: “What is [X]? 

You’ll answer the question directly and then dig into more details so they get the full picture.

“What is?” posts can also answer other types of questions that require a quick response like: 

• When is…?
• Who is…?
• Why is…?
• What does…?

They all follow the same format, intent, and structure. 

“What is” posts are perfect when you want to:

1. Define one simple niche term or concept (e.g. What is a long-tail keyword in SEO?) 
2. Share your “recipe” for success (e.g. What is the most effective at-home workout for stay-at-home moms? What is the best content mix for a healthcare business?) 

The key with these posts is to get really specific and niche down who you’re writing it for. That way, you’ll have less SEO competition and be able to write the posts quickly.

Post Type #2: “MY TAKE”

With a “my take” post you want to choose something that’s currently being taught by pretty much everyone in your niche and find a flaw in it – there’s always a flaw. Or maybe you just have a better way to get the results your target audience is looking for. Either way, play off the existing flaw(s) in the strategy and tell your readers what they can do instead.

What you’re doing here is creating interest by going against the current wisdom. You’re also showing your readers that:

• You know why conventional wisdom may not be getting them the results they expected
• You’re an authority on the subject and not just repeating what others recommend
• You’re giving them great value and a better way to help them get the result they want
• You can help them achieve greater success by thinking outside the box

Post Type #3: “REASONS WHY”

Think about your target market, your niche, and your specialty offering. You know your ideal customer inside and out. You developed your technique, program, service or product because you know it will make a difference in their lives. Right?

You know you have what they need, but they don’t know it yet. So, they need a reason to apply what you teach, sign up for your email list, and ultimately, buy from you. 

In these blog posts, you’re going to give them the reasons that show them why they need what you offer and why you’re the best person or business to help them. 

Make sure you give specific examples from your experience (or your clients/customers) to show how your technique solved the problem. 

Post Type #4: “THE ONLY THING”

In these posts, you’re going to share your unique strategy to help your readers reach a big goal they have – one that you’ve already achieved. You’ll be framing it as the ONLY strategy they need to see success.

This is a perfect opportunity to “brand” your strategy with a unique name – e.g., The Runner’s Roadmap to 10K. 

In your posts, give them an overview of your strategy with just enough details to get them started. 

Then, include a more in-depth freebie they can download to get even more results. 

This can be a great jumping-off point for a new product or program about your strategy!

Post Type #5 “BREAKING NEWS”

These posts answer the question, “What’s changing in my niche?”

You’re going to write about a recent event or breaking news your readers need to know about. It doesn’t have to be “news” news, it just has to be current and BIG…something that will interrupt the way they’re doing things right now…something they can’t (or shouldn’t) ignore.

Good or bad, they’re probably confused about it and need to know more. So in these posts, you’re going to get them up to speed on the changes, help them make sense of it all, and share your takeaways & next steps.

Post Type #6: “MYTH SLAYER”

In these posts, you’re going to debunk common myths to help steer your readers back on track so they can get the results they want. 

These are common myths in your industry that are likely holding your readers back because they’re confused or simply going down the wrong path and wasting precious time.

You’ll share up to five myths, then tell them what the “truth” is and what they should focus on instead.

Not only will you be helping your readers get on track, but you’ll also stand out as an expert with a fresh approach. 

Once you have a number of Foundation posts on a topic, you’ll want to move on to broader questions and more competitive keyword phrases with… 

Types 7-15: Authority Posts

What is an Authority post? Authority posts allow you to go into more detail and depth on a subject and address more than one related subtopic. These typically fall into the 1500-4000 words range. 

When to write them and how long it will take: Authority posts can be written at any time in your blogging journey but have a better chance to rank with related Foundation posts ranking first. Plan to set aside 2-5 hours to write them. 

If you’re confused about the difference between Foundation and Authority posts, this should help: 

In Foundation posts you’re giving a quick, focused answer to a question and in Authority posts you’re answering the question by tying together multiple related ideas (think: How-to and List posts).

The great thing about Authority posts is they’re just long enough to show your audience you really know you’re stuff but they’re not so long that it takes you forever to write them. In fact, we think of Authority posts as the “bread and butter” of our blog content. Most of our posts fall under this category.

Authority Post Examples

Post Type #7: “HOW TO” 

Think about one really specific task your ideal client is trying to do and create an epic step-by-step ‘how to” tutorial for it.

The key here is to keep these posts simple and practical. Pick a problem they may be having, a technique they may be trying to master, or a strategy they’re trying to understand.

Whichever topic you choose, be as clear and detailed as you can. So you’re not just telling them, “Do this, then do this.” You’re “showing” them each step by using examples, graphics, charts, anything you can think of that will help them follow along. 

One trick we use when we’re stuck for words is to simply write:

For example…

Or

Here’s what I mean…

That usually triggers ideas for examples, visuals, etc. Give it a try!

Post Type #8: “LIST POSTS” 

List posts are a popular go-to staple for every blogger because they’re an easy way to organize educational content whenever you want to share a collection of tips, techniques, strategies, and ideas. 

Readers love them too because they provide options for different ways to go about achieving their goals and allow them to pick and choose what works best for them. 

Post Type #9: “TOP RESOURCES” 

In these posts, you’re going to share your ultimate list of # BEST products and resources to help your readers achieve a big goal.

Think about something they’re struggling to do right now, then list all your favorite tools to help them do it.

For example, if you’re a social media expert, you can share tools for creating + sharing content. If you’re a health coach you can share your favorite resources for eating better. And if you’re a travel expert, you can share the best places to skydive.

They can be free or paid tools: books, apps, templates, freebies, podcasts, guides, videos, blogs, ebooks, courses…anything that will save your readers time, money, frustration, stress, and so on.

If it makes sense to include your own resources, products, or affiliate products, go for it! Just make sure any tool you include is the “best of the best” and ultra-relevant to the specific topic you’re covering. 

Post Type #10: “WHAT’S NEXT”

The What’s Next post gives your readers an action plan of steps to take before they complete a task or right after they’ve just finished a critical milestone. 

There are two types of What’s Next posts:

• What to Do Before
• What to Do After

For your “before” post, you’ll talk about something your audience either needs to do or is already doing but could use improvement. For example, if your audience is bloggers, you might share the steps they should take before they write their posts. Should they research keywords? Create a list of topics to write about? Help them prepare so they have the best chance of success.

Your “after” posts are similar, but cover the steps they should take after completing an important activity. For example, if your audience regularly does push-ups, what should they do after completing them to get the most out of their workout? Should they rest? Eat? Stretch? That’s what you’re going to clarify to help them visualize finishing the push-ups the right way.

Post Type #11: “TOP MISTAKES”

None of us likes to make mistakes. We want to avoid failure at all costs, mostly because we’re busy and don’t have time for anything less than the fastest, shortest route.

So when you point out common mistakes, your readers are going to pay attention because they want to know what NOT to do. More importantly, they’ll want to know what they SHOULD do instead. And you’re going to tell them!

As an expert who’s “gone before them,” you’ve done it the wrong way and you’ve done it the right way. So you’re also positioning yourself as an expert who can help them fix the mistakes – even before they make them. 

And you may offer a course, program or service that can help! 😉

Post Type #12: “EXPERT ROUND-UP”

The goal of this post is to build backlinks, increase your authority and visibility, showcase your expertise, and empower and inspire your readers.

You’ll be reaching out to influencers in your niche and asking them to answer specific questions, then “rounding them up” in your post. Then, once you publish the post you’ll let them know so they can share it with their audience (hence, the backlinks!).

Just be prepared to spend more time on it than other posts. It will be worth it! Not only will it benefit your readers but will also do a lot for you.

Post Type #13: “PRODUCT REVIEW” 

This post is a peek-under-the-hood of two competing products, an in-depth review that’s jam-packed with value. 

When customers are ready to buy, they’ll need help choosing the right brand. And your Product Review post will help them decide.

They’re going to love you for this one! You’re going to save them tons of time (and money) on a product that may not work for them, and help them get going with the right product.

Post Type #14: “THE INFOGRAPHIC” 

It’s easier to grasp big ideas visually, which is why everyone loves infographics. Even in the context of long-form content, our brains are wired to focus on graphics first.

So with this infographic post, you’re going to make it super easy for readers to engage with your post. You’ll also help generate traffic because infographics are super shareable on social media. 

(Extra credit if you add an “embed code” below your infographic so others can add it to their website too. That way the links will point to your post and you’ll gain SEO superpowers.) 

There are 3 types of infographics we recommend:

• List infographics – 8 tips for saving money, etc.
• How-to infographics – 5 ways to cook potatoes, etc.
• Statistical infographics – great for an overview or trends in your niche

To create your infographic, you can use Canva or other graphic tools like Venngage and Visme.

Post Type #15: “FAQ POST” 

Think about the most common questions you get asked by clients and others who are trying to learn about a specific topic you teach. Ever notice how the same questions pop up?

In this blog post, you’re going to tackle them all in an epic FAQ-style post. 

Spend some time brainstorming questions your readers may have, and don’t be afraid to include questions they haven’t necessarily asked but you know they’re secretly wondering. Think about the questions you had when you were first starting out. There’s a good chance your readers are asking them, too. 

Before we finish things up, be sure to grab this handy .pdf cheat sheet so you always have all 20 blog post types at your fingertips!

While there’s no “SEO trickery” you can do that compares to putting out very helpful content on topics people are searching for, once you get some Foundation and Authority posts ranking, you’re in the game, friend. That’s when you stand a much better chance at going after more competitive topics and you’re ready for the Mac Daddy of all blog posts… 

Types 16-20: Domination Posts

What are Domination posts? These are intended to become the voice of authority on your niche topic. The reader should never need to read another thing about this topic again; that’s how knowledgeable and complete it is. They’ll even want to bookmark it so they can refer to it again and again.

Think… 

• The Beginner’s Guide
• The Ultimate Guide
• Everything you need to know about [topic]

When to write them and how long it will take: Get ready to make some time in your schedule for these because you’re going deep. 🙂 But, it’s worth it if they rank and can bring in a lot of organic traffic.

One way we approach writing Domination posts is to work on them little by little behind the scenes (posting Foundation and Authority posts in the meantime) as we have time.

Many posts for broad, competitive topics that rank high on Google are 6k-8k words! So the time it takes you is however much time you need to make it the most helpful content out there. We’ve spent as much as 20 hours on a single post but when something like this ranks it’s worth it – especially when you consider how much ads cost.

And even if you invest your time in a domination post and it doesn’t go anywhere, you’ve done the work to get clear about this topic and you can “spin off” many other pieces of content (webinars, long-form videos, paid trainings, email sequences, and of course lots and lots of social media posts, etc.) 

Domination Post Examples

Post Type #16: “BEGINNER’S GUIDE”

These posts are for beginners as well as experienced or advanced professionals, so don’t assume your reader knows anything about the subject. Insert examples where appropriate and be sure the terms and concepts you use in this guide are included in your table of contents, using keywords throughout.

Beginner’s guides are chock full of information and your chance to create an incredible and comprehensive reference for your readers, old and new!

Post Type #17: “ULTIMATE GUIDE”

These posts provide a comprehensive resource; an in-depth, complete reference that readers will want to bookmark and refer to again and again. You’re going to take your readers from the very beginning to the very end here. 

When you do these right, you have a greater chance of ranking high in Google and establishing yourself as an authority.

Post Type #18: “EXPANDED HOW-TO”

Expanded How-to posts are similar to the How-to posts you’ve written in the Authority bucket. The big difference is that these are much more in-depth, include more links to other posts and resources, and give more examples. 

When you write these, you want to be thinking, “What else do they need to know in order to implement what I’m showing them?”

Post Type #19: “EXPANDED WHAT-IS” POSTS

These versions of What Is posts are longer than the typical version you’ve seen in the Foundation templates. That’s because you’re going after broad questions that require complex answers. 

If you remember, the typical what-is post answers a very niche, specific question such as “What is a Brand Promise?” 

Expanded What Is posts answer bigger questions like “What is Branding?”

Your answer will include multiple subtopics, mini-sections, definitions, and so on. 

Post Type #20: “THE EVERYTHING POST”

The Everything Post is all about telling your readers everything they need to know about a specific topic. 

They’re similar to the Expanded What Is and Ultimate Guide posts with a subtle difference:

These are “hub” posts that link to other posts you’ve written that zero in on a specific keyword related to your main topic. 

So in these posts, you’re going to incorporate other keywords and terms related to your main topic to help you get “low-hanging fruit” SEO traffic. 

The idea is to break your post into subtopics (e.g., the 10 “things”, 10 “secrets”). Each thing will mention a specific keyword and talk about it, then link to another post you’ve written on it. 

So you’re mentioning specific keywords in each of the 10 things, then linking to another post. In this way you’re letting Google know that your main topic or term is a niche that you dominate so you have a better chance to rank for it. 

52 Blog Post Templates You Can Use to Implement this Strategy

If you’d like to give this strategy a try, we have good news! We’ve created plug-and-play templates for each of these blog post types to save you dozens of hours each month blogging.

The Blog Post Vault is 52 pre-written blog post templates completely organized into the Foundation, Authority, and Domination buckets:

✅ 20 Foundation Posts ✅ 20 Authority Posts and ✅ 12 Domination Posts

You’ll have over 500 pages of blog post templates ready for you to pull from — simply follow the prompts, plug in your expertise, and hit publish!

Every template follows our proven post structure so you don’t ever need to worry about forgetting important details that encourage your readers to stay engaged and take the next steps with you.

They’re also formatted for SEO with loads of tips and tricks for best practices with your posts.

Pro-tip: use the templates in combination with ChatGPT to supercharge your productivity!

You deserve a stress-free way to get your business visible and reach your financial goals and blogging is still the best way to build your email list and drive traffic back to your website.

So we hope this post has given you the inspiration to take control of your blogging strategy and we hope you’ll join us in The Blog Post Vault, too!