Article writing is a great marketing tool for small to midsized businesses. If done correctly, articles can establish expertise, increase brand awareness, and lead to a boost in website traffic.
One of the best things about articles is that there are so many different variations of this medium. They can even be published on various kinds of platforms.
Add them to your off-page SEO strategy and you earn quality links with article writing.
Creating numerous types of articles and getting them published on various platforms allows businesses to reach a wider audience, ultimately resulting in brand building and improvement in engagement.
What kind of articles get the best results?
Make sure the quality of the content and the distribution channel is solid. Take care of these two factors are you’re bound to get great results.
To make it easier for you to benefit from article writing, we’ve jotted down some of the most popular kinds of evergreen articles our customer hire us for from our article writing service.
1. Listicles
Listicles have always been one of the most popular types of articles in the field of content marketing. Many top-tier digital marketers and successful businesses use listicles.
Cracked and Buzzfeed are the two websites that attract hundreds of thousands of visitors through their content on a regular basis by using listicles. Here are some screenshots taken from their website.
The reason why a large number of digital marketers get listicles written by professional article writers is because they are easy-to-read and understand and hence, attract more audience.
From a reader point of view, they’re popular because they provide valuable and actionable information in as easy to read format.
In today’s fast paced and busy world, people want to get as much information as possible in a short span of time. In view of the changing reading habits, it can be assumed that people are more likely to skim through a content piece than reading it completely.
Listicles make it super easy for readers to learn, process, and retain the information without having to spend a lot of time reading the entirety of the article.
Another reason why people love to read listicles is because they know exactly what they are going to get just by looking at the title. Take a look at the following examples.
Nielsen Norman Group performed an eyetracking study, to identify how people read web content. The researchers used heat map to find out if there are any commonalities in reading behaviors. Surprisingly, they did spot a dominant reading pattern that looked like the letter F.
Based on that study, the researchers concluded that:
- Most users don’t read text thoroughly
- A large percentage of people read the first paragraph to get the gist of the content piece and some will read the second paragraph.
- Since most users scan the content vertically, after the initial paragraph(s) use easy to process information and interesting words for subheadings or bullet points to keep them hooked.
While list-based articles are great to attract audience, engagement solely depends upon the quality of your content.
This is why they say that not all listicles are equal. Get your listicles written by experienced article ghostwriters to make sure they get results.
2. How-To Articles
One of the best types of content for top and middle of the marketing and sales funnel is how-to articles.
This form of content attracts and engages the audience by educating them, answering their questions, and/or solving their problems. Furthermore, they help entrepreneurs and companies establish authority and win credibility by sharing expert knowledge.
As evident from the name, how-to articles describe the process or steps of doing something.
Due to their effectiveness, how-to articles are used in every industry. Here are a few examples of how-to articles from different industries.
3. LinkedIn Articles
While LinkedIn was launched as a professional networking platform that people used to find jobs and build professional relationships, it is no longer limited to just that. Over the years, LinkedIn has added many new features, one of which is sharing articles.
With more than 562 million users in over 200 countries, LinkedIn is an exceptionally great platform for business owners and marketers to position themselves as thought leaders, build their brand, and to generate qualified leads.
The platform also offers the unique opportunity to receive expert feedback on your posts. Since LinkedIn readers are mostly professionals, their feedback is more valuable than that of an average reader. Comments by industry experts can also help small business owners and marketers identify their shortcomings and mistakes as well as learn ways to overcome them.
Many renowned entrepreneurs, writers, and marketers are also actively publishing articles on LinkedIn. Take a look at the screenshots from Arianna Huffington and Jeff Bullas’ LinkedIn profiles.
The fact that such established figures are sharing their articles on LinkedIn is enough to make anyone comprehend the marketing benefits this platform offers. Having a professional community of readers on LinkedIn, make sure you publish the best quality work. Get your LinkedIn articles written from a reputable article writing service (like ours) to reap the benefits.
4. Viral Articles
As much as every company longs for it, very few are able to enjoy huge benefits that come with a piece of content going viral in the digital world.
While there is no secret recipe for creating viral articles, here is the summary of findings presented in a research article – What Makes Online Content Viral – jointly written by Jonah Berger and Katherine L. Milkman in 2012:
- Positive content is more likely to get viral than negative content
- A piece of content that gives practically useful tips and advice gets more shares – people like sharing content they find useful with their family, friends, and colleagues.
- Content pieces that evoke emotions, either negative or positive, is more likely to go viral than content that does not arouse emotions.
Many research studies have also found that having a number in the headline of a content piece is also a contributing factor.
Let’s consider an example of a viral article. This article published on Raptitude.com been shared by 15k people.
The headline of this article contains a number, evokes emotion, as well as incites curiosity of the reader – all these factors lead to more clicks, views, and shares.
Creating viral articles requires an understanding of the target audience, their psychology and behavior, as well as the ability to understand and analyze industry trends and what your competitors are doing.
If you are also struggling to create some viral content, get in touch with us.
Having worked with thousands of clients from all over the world, our experienced article ghostwriters understand the art and science of creating viral articles. Get your articles custom written by us to boost your business.
5. Articles for Marketing Directories
The platform you choose to get your articles published is as important as the quality of content. To reap the benefits of article marketing, make sure the platform has a trustworthy reputation among your target audience.
Article directories are great for businesses to increase exposure, content reach, and website traffic. There are countless article directories online. Some are niche specific while others publish articles related to all industries. Some are free whereas others charge for publishing your article.
No matter what article directory you choose, make sure it has a good online reputation or it may be counter-productive for your business. Getting high-quality articles published on reputable article directories helps promote your business without aggressive marketing or trying too hard to convert people.
By regularly sharing valuable knowledge, article directory submissions can help you increase brand awareness, build credibility, and improve SEO score.
If you want to skyrocket your web traffic and give a boost to your small business, find out the best article directories in your industry and get your articles published on them to improve brand recognition, skyrocket web traffic, and grow your business.
Following are some good article marketing directories for different industries:
- Tweak Your Biz – publish articles related to business, finance, marketing, management, growth, and technology
- Life & Experiences – publish articles about gardening, home décor and renovations, family, lifestyle, and many more.
- Living Better 50 – publish articles in multiple categories: health & fitness, beauty & fashion, home & food, travel, etc.
6. Magazine Articles
Magazine articles are amazing for businesses. They establish authority and expertise like no other platform.
They are also considered great way, for both individuals and companies, to establish a trusting relationship with their target audience.
When you help people by sharing valuable information, on a consistent basis, they start trusting your knowledge, opinion, and recommendations. This ultimately leads to increased web traffic, leads, and (in the long run) profit.
Since magazines are niche specific and already have loyal readership, getting articles published in them is also a great way to earn backlinks and generate qualified leads.
There are many different types of magazine articles. These include research articles, op-ed articles, round-up articles, and review articles, to name a few.
Here are a few examples of different types of magazine articles from different sources.
Increase Your Reach with the Help of Different Types of Articles Written By Experts
Content marketing is a highly competitive – you have to put your best foot forward to take advantage of the opportunity.
Use these different types of articles to add diversity to your content to cut through the noise, which eventually will help you increase your reach and gain new customers.
In addition to traffic and engagement benefits of article writing, links that are earned organically via different types of articles are more valuable and last longer than the ones earned through other activities.
We offer custom article writing services for all types and sizes of businesses. Get in touch with us today to discuss your article writing needs and business goals.
