Four kinds of great content for your blog

This is a guest post by Mariana Ashley.

An important aspect of being a good blogger is making sure you deliver great content. In order to do this, you'll want to make sure that you are consistent in publishing content and you'll also want to publish a variety of content for your readers. Really, what makes a blog seem stale is that the content the blogger publishes is fairly one-dimensional. For example, a tech blogger who simply posts press releases by various technological corporations is probably not going to last very long; traffic to his or her site will surely die out.

No, instead, what we bloggers need to do is provide a variety of content for our readers, so that way they are constantly entertained and informed, thus encouraging them to come back for more.

In my experience there are four kinds of content that bloggers would benefit from posting on their blog.

 

Breaking News Stories

If you can find a way to access a stream of news and updates, then you'll be able to offer your readers that same information as quickly as possible, thus making you a reliable source for the news related to your blogging niche. Of course, these means you'll have to be very good at scanning and tracking a bunch of different primary sources, such as industry leaders' Twitter accounts, for tips. But it's worth it if you can accomplish it, as your readers will expect your blog to be a source of excellent and up-to-date news regarding their interests.

 

Interviews Famous People

Interviews with experts in your field can create the impression for your readers that you are well-connected and willing to share your connections with your readers. If you can provide this kind of access to experts, then your blog will be seen as a source of great analysis from a variety of guests. Think of this part of your blog as the interviewing segment on a late show; try to think of the guests you interview as the kind who will impress your audience.

 

Helpful Pillar Articles

Pillar articles are articles that sit in you archives and draw new traffic to your site because they are so excellently written and offer extensive and in depth information for your readers. Pillar articles can be 'how to' articles, encyclopedic articles, or other informational articles that really benefit readers. Often they bring in traffic through search engines, which is a great way to get new readers to the site. If you can write a good pillar article, then you are truly an expert in your field.

 

Awesome Opinion Pieces

Finally, a great way to carve out a space for yourself in your blogging community is to write great opinion pieces on various issues within the community. A well-written and awesome opinion piece can really serve as a lightning rod for great discussion within your community. Obviously, in order to do this, you have to be confident in the kinds of opinions you have, and you have to be willing to engage in discussion that could be sometimes heated. But, if you can understand that discussion and argument are simply tools to solving issues, then you can create a great place (your blog) for these discussions by writing an awesome opinion piece for your readers to respond to.

Image credit: Rosen Georgiev

About the author
Mariana Ashley is a freelance writer who particularly enjoys writing about online colleges. She loves receiving reader feedback, which can be directed to mariana.ashley031@gmail.com.