Web Article Prototypes Keep Your Reader Engaged
If you’re at a loss as to what sorts of articles you can fill your site with, refer to
the Eight Most Popular Web Article Formats. Nearly all of these will work for the web because they’re broken into informational bits and bytes. Any article that can be presented in chunks or steps is well-received by web surfers.
Web Article Formats for Your Website:
The How-To
The “List of Reasons”
The Q&A
The Straw Man
The 5- or 7- Tips
The Interview
The Product Review
The How-To Article
Everybody wants to know how to do something, whether it’s How to Hammer in a Nail Without Busting Your Thumb, How to End an Extramarital Affair, How to Get the Most Money Back on Your Taxes, or How to Write a Fantastic Web Article. Just pick a hot topic that you’re well-familiar with, type in your “How-To” headline, and let it flow.
The “List of Reasons” Article
Convey your passion through the pages of your site. Get charged up about whatever it is that you do, and list some reasons out for them to read. “Six Reasons Why More than Half the US Votes Republican,” “Five Reasons to Start a Business in 2017,” “Seven Reasons Not to Buy Your Child a Pet Rabbit This Easter” or whatever covers your niche area and would prompt a discussion or a share on social media.
The Q&A Article
The Q&A, or Question and Answer, does a perfect job of answering those Frequently Asked Questions posed by your prospects and clients. Write an article and nip those questions in the bud. Post the link on your homepage, in an “FAQ” section of your website, from your Facebook page, and anywhere else where people go online to get good info. Q&A can also be a generic way to show that you have advanced knowledge of a subject.
The Straw Man Article
The term “Straw Man” is taken from the debate world. Straw Man is when you play Devil’s Advocate in your article by listing the opposing view, point by point, and then knocking down each point with your own rebuttal. This one is a little trickier if you’re not used to writing in argument form, but once you get the hang of it, Straw Man is pretty fun. For example, “Six Excuses Not to Get a CSA This Summer and Why They’re Totally Bogus.”
The 5- or 7- Tips Article
This type of article is very similar to the Reasons Why article, except instead of presenting a case for something, you’re just offering some good advice. Since the internet is full of information-hungry prospects, why not make their day with 5 or 7 tips that cover a topic you know inside and out? Five Tips on Keeping Cool in a Crisis; Five Tips on Choosing a Hearing Aid; Seven Tips for Organizing Your Workspace.
The Interview
The Interview Article is a great way to get your name out there in your own field while aligning yourself with other prominent people in the business. Email makes it easier than ever to quickly tap out a few good questions and have your spotlighted guest send back some thoughtful replies in writing.
Select someone who can offer advice that will prove interesting to your target audience. Make it someone who is at least semi-fantastic, even if only to some micro niche of eager nerds who make up a small cult following. It helps to know someone in PR for this, or at the very least, be bold and reach out past your comfort zone. What started out as an interview of your own mother could end up being your next celebrity cook-off starring Rachael Ray.
The Product Review
The product review is the way to go if you intend on earning money via affiliate income, which you really should if you want to go through all the bother of having a website. Social media has made it even easier to push your product reviews further out into the world, which could mean a nice, meaty chunk of earnings for you.
Where to Get Web Articles if You Don’t Want to Write Them Yourself?
If you’re looking to publish articles on a niche website but you have no desire or inclination to write them, you have a few different options for accumulating good content.
Pay a copywriter to write the articles for you.
This is probably the most professional, but also most expensive, option. A copywriter is a trained professional who will be able to quickly and efficiently research and write on any number of topics. If you do decide to hire a copywriter, ask for a few writing samples that are specific to your industry, trade, hobby or skill. Also make sure that the copywriter you choose is proficient in writing for the web. Keywords, H1 headlines and web-friendly article formats do take some specialized knowledge and experience to master.
Buy the articles as “PLR content.”
PLR stands for Private Label Rights content. It’s the term given to packs of articles written for a relatively low wage, which are then sold to multiple parties. Some people are concerned that the quality of a PLR article is lower than one which was written by a skilled writing professional. But the truth is that you really should edit your PLR rather than publishing it word for word on your site. This is for 2 reasons: 1, you don’t want to sound like a carbon copy of someone else out there, and 2, you should be branding your own business and infusing your own ideas into the article. That’s what will attract quality people to your site – you being you, in all of your communications.
Conduct online interviews.
A quick way to get a full web page of article content written in a hurry is to set up an interview of someone in a complementary field. So for example, if you have a website that sells paint supplies, you could interview the local one-stroke painting authority. It won’t take long at all to type up a series of compelling questions, and with any luck you’ll have a perfect article in your email within a few days.
Focus on product reviews.
The product review is a legitimate piece of web content that gets a lot of traffic from curious consumers who want to gather information before making a purchase. The great news is that if your product review serves as the final sales conversion, then you can hopefully get some clicks on the affiliate links that you’ve included along with said product review. Of course, images are really important, in this case especially.
Additional Tips to Writing for the Web:
Passive income comes from many different sources. It’s up to you which ones you choose to profit from your online marketing effort. If you’re truly interested in monetizing your blog or website, start signing up as an affiliate. Article publishing goes hand in hand with this.
Articles are the building blocks of all your website communication. With a simple pack of 5 articles, you can create an eBook, a week-long email series, a set of social media posts, and a mini how-to section of your website or blog. Just think of what you can do with 2, 10, 50 or 100 sets of five, topic-related articles.
A web article is quick and easy to write if you employ the tried and tested formula. Outline the topic, make your 5 or 7 points. Develop each section. Add an intro, conclusion, and author bio.
Don’t think in single articles; think in sets of five articles instead. This will increase the amount of content on your website and drive more targeted traffic so you can move on to promoting via social media.
Use a writing formula that works. If you’re at a loss for article topics, go for the “5 or 7 reasons,” “top 5 list,” “steps to success,” straw man argument, product review, or interview article.
Hate writing? There are plenty of solutions. Farm it out to a website copywriter or article writer. Buy PLR (private label rights) articles and edit them to fit your writing style and brand. Interview another expert in a complimentary field.
