When preparing blog posts, articles, or newsletter items, it’s one thing to settle on your topic and another to know how best to present it.
Let’s be honest; the same old thing gets stale after a while, and can be as laborious for you to compose as it is for your readers to consume. Grab your readers’ attention by testing out some of the other presentation styles listed below.
| 21 Interesting Ways to Vary Your Content Format | |
| 1. How to Step-by-step advice or tips are among the most valued by readers. |
2. Ask the expert A customer’s question is answered in the first person by you or your employee. |
| 3. Demystify Take a topic, process, or term that people are unfamiliar with and explain it simply. |
4. FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) Create a list of questions you actually get asked a lot and then answer them. |
| 5. SAQs (Should be Asked Questions) When out of our field, we often don’t know what questions to ask. So, you as the expert can provide a list of questions that your readers should be asking you. Or should be aware of when dealing with a competitor in your field. |
6. Lists and countdowns Everyone loves a good round-up, because it’s easy, light, and organized for readers to assimilate the information. Examples of this may be a Top Ten, a countdown, or even # Ways to.., # Steps to, # Secrets of, # Dangers of, Our Favourite/Most Popular, and so on. |
| 7. Checklists This is a concise list of the steps needed in order to prepare or complete a task. |
8. Cheat-sheets/pocket guides This may be a chart, table, or list containing rules, tips, or methods for doing something. |
| 9. Comparisons Present a problem and then compare two possible solutions – two products, services, or methods — for solving it. At the end, be sure to identify which one is best. |
10. Reviews List what you like and don’t like about a given product and give it an overall rating. |
| 11. Profiles Depending on your purpose, spotlight an important person in your industry or community, a celebrity, or even one of your employees. |
12. Interviews Publish a back-and-forth interview with an important person in your industry or community, or even your customers, employees, or company president. |
| 13. Case studies, testimonials, or human interest stories Let your readers see how you solved others’ problems or made our community a better place. |
14. Inspiration An encouraging example of someone who beat the odds or achieved something noteworthy (when such is relevant to your readers or industry). |
| 15. What others are saying On a given topic, feature references to other articles, or selected comments from experts or authorities. Or, you might even want to provide a highlight of what is being said on Twitter. |
16. Quizzes These are a lighthearted way for readers to “discover” something about themselves, and ideally match them up with the product offering that’s right for them. Teens’ and women’s magazines constantly use this format to engage and entertain readers. |
| 17. Surveys and polls Ask a question and get feedback you can use. |
18. News items A brief, factual report, with some concluding analysis from you. |
| 19. Feature a guest writer Your readers might appreciate hearing the perspective of someone else within your organization or community, or from someone from a related blog or organization. |
20. Video or audio clips Many of the above formats, like interviews or answering questions, lend themselves to being delivered by audio or video. |
| 21. Photos, illustrations, or comics Images are light and easy for readers to digest, but can still convey your message well. |
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For even more ideas, check out ProBlogger’s post 52 Types of Blog Posts that Are Proven to Work.
Do you have another format that you find engaging? Please share your comment with us.