3 Blog Structures You Can Use For Any Topic

The recipe for a good blog isn’t really a secret- it has to be purposeful, valuable, and either currently timely or evergreen. (This one is evergreen.) And while sometimes you might be tempted just to get down your thoughts and hit publish, the key to those thoughts feeling valuable to a reader is typically the blog structures.

Whether you’re not sure where to start your next blog or need an easy template to add variety into your feed, these three easy to use structures are here for you:

Note: Before I start, I want you to know that all of these formats have a short introductory paragraph like the one above. All you’ll need for that is some context for what you want to talk about, a keyword to implement in the first sentence, and a call to action about the content. Ask yourself, “what problem am I solving for my reader?” And then simply answer it.

The How To

All of these structures are pretty intuitive. But if you know how to do the process, you’ll know how to write this blog post. Just explain the process step by step. Break it down. Any details you can think of.

These are also easy to brainstorm content for because you can just think about processes that you know deeply. Think about the things you do on a daily basis; I, for example, write blogs.

Why use this format?
✔️ Easy and intuitive to produce
✔️ Establishes the writer as an expert/thought leader
✔️ Valuable to a potential audience
✔️ Usually evergreen

Listicle

As far as blog structures go, the listicle- or “List Article”- is one of the most readable formats. It allows the reader to skim over the article and still understand most of what it says. For example, if you knew what a listicle was or simply didn’t care, you could easily skip this paragraph and move on to the next. without missing context. The truth is, readers find them valuable even if only a few points are useful to them.

A listicle is kind of just a list, like a typical Buzzfeed article. If you were going to write the bullets around your subject, you could simply use those as your headers. And as an extra boost, formatting the things on this list as headers positively benefits your search appearances on google, or SEO.

Quick, kind of random tip: articles with odd numbers in the title tend to outperform ones with even numbers. When trying to decide on a number of listicle items, pick an odd number.

Why use this format?
✔️ Quick and easy to read and write
✔️ Easy SEO points
✔️ Higher click-through rates

Review (or Opinion)

While this blog post isn’t formatted in a list, there is still a true and tried template. For a review, you’ll examine both good and bad about your topic or product, and a recommendation may be just the positives (with a few caveats if we’re realistic and honest.)

There are a few ways you can do this, but I’ll offer two potential structures:

1. By sentiment
   – Intro paragraph topic or product explaination
   – If you feel this product is good, say all the good things first! Most important info goes at the top of the post.
   – Acknowledge and refute the oposite opinion. What have people said are negatives? And then explain why they’re irrelevent or unimportant.
   – Conclude, with your general sentiment summarized.
   
2. By category of evaluation
   – Intro paragraph topic or product explaination
   – Break down everything you reviewed about it. Everything the consumer might want to know. If it was a rain jacket, for example, you’d maybe evaluate “water resistance,” “warmth,” “durability,” “materials,” “sustainability,” “company ethics,” anything your reader would be thinking about when evaluating the topoic or product.

Why use this format?
✔️ Quick and easy to read and write
✔️ Establishes writer as a thought leader/expert
✔️ Room for collaboration/conversation with partners, clients or customers

And lastly, you never want to leave your reader hanging. Give them a little bit of a concluding thought, or something to do next. I’ll give you a few options:
1. Check out our blog for more posts like this (including how to create a keyword strategy, if you’re learning more about blogging)
2. Check out our community member subscription for business coaching and solutions-driven problem solving.
3. Follow us on LinkedIn for updates on what we are doing, including new content and upcoming events