1. Lists
If you’ve read any articles about best practices for writing headlines for your posts, you probably know that putting a number in your title is a great way to attract readers. The main reason for this is that people love to read list posts. They especially love to read top ten lists. So, if you can round up a list of similar things to rank and review for your audience, that post is probably going to earn you a boost in traffic and engagement.
2. Infographics
People love infographics. In fact, they are the most shared content format on the internet. The appeal is easy to see. Infographics take information and ideas and then convey them in a way that is easy to digest and visually appealing. The only downside is that the tools used to create infographics do take a bit of time to master. Once you’ve gotten past the learning curve though, you’ll find it’s pretty easy to generate infographics on a variety of interesting topics. If the process still seems too complex, curation is always an option.
3. Educational/How to Posts
If you want to create both traffic and engagement, teach your audience how to do something, show them how something works, or explain a concept to them. People love posts that they can use to solve a problem, or to gain a better understanding of something. In fact, even if they never attempt something on their own, how to posts earn social shares, comments, and traffic.
4. Inspirational Stories
Whether it’s your story or somebody else’s, people love posts that touch the heart. In fact, that’s blogs such as Upworthy and Omeleto are so popular. The create and curate content that is full of uplifting and inspiring stories. In fact, even if you don’t follow these blogs yourself, you probably come across these posts in your newsfeed because they are shared so often.
5. Case Studies
One way to boost traffic is to earn trust and build credibility with your readers. Including case studies in your blog is an excellent method of accomplishing this. What’s so appealing about case studies? It’s simple. On the internet, anybody can say anything that they want. You can claim that your product is the best thing ever. You can insist that your opinion is the correct opinion. Depending on the level of trust you’ve earned, there will be some people who will take you at your word, but others won’t, until you provide proof. Pony up a case study, and your audience will have the evidence it craves. You will fare even better if you can find a content creation tool that can help you create a visual display of your case study.
6. Video Content
If you can take any of the other types of content on this list and somehow incorporate that content into a video, you have a sure winner on your hand. In fact, if you want to get the most bang for your content buck, consider going back through old posts to see if you can create updated versions using video. Your followers who are visual learners will appreciate it, and they will be more likely hit the share button to recommend your post to others.
7. Ask Me Anything Posts/Influencer Content/Roundups
While it’s not technically a blog, Reddit is a website that contains hundreds of ‘subreddits’ which are essentially communities where people interested in specific topics post content, comment on that content, and then rank one another’s posts. The hottest topics are then curated to the front page. One type of post that you will almost always see on the front page is the ask me anything (AMA) this is where someone who has earned the interest of others fields questions from readers. Any kind of influencer content is going to boost traffic. If AMA posts aren’t your thing, you could try bringing on an influencer in your niche to write a guest blog, or bring a group of willing influencers together to do a roundup.
8. Reviews
Before they make a purchase, take a trip, or even go to eat at a restaurant, many millennials will seek out the opinions of others. Consider writing reviews on services, products, even publications that relate to your niche. Then, apply a ranking system to those reviews
9. Thought Leadership
Be bold! Make predictions. Have strong opinions about your industry and express them without fear. Let people know what you think about the state of your industry at the moment and what you think needs to be changed. Then, back those opinions up with credible data and meaningful anecdotes. You may receive from blowback and criticism. That’s okay. You’ll create lots of engagement and you’ll see an influx of traffic to your blog. If your thoughts and opinions bear fruit, you’ll also earn trust. Remember that people don’t react to milquetoast content, they usually just scroll past it.
