Six Basic Types of Article Content To Consider

Sitting down to plan your content strategy is important however almost equally important is understanding what type of content your audience responds to, prefers, and also what fits your writing style and personality.

Here are six types of content to consider:

1. How To – this is perhaps the most common type of article structure and it’s often the first to come to mind when you’re thinking about formats. It’s a good format to use for many audiences because step by step content is easy to digest and generally valuable.  For an example of a How To article simply visit eHow and you’ll see thousands of them.
2. Review – Reviews are great if you’re an affiliate marketer.  The content must provide accurate, seemingly unbiased, information about a product or service.  
3. Lists – Lists are typically easy to write if you’re an authority in your subject matter and are willing to spend some time researching and compiling the necessary information.  For example, if you’re going to write a list about the top ten mistakes people make when shopping online, you’ll need some data to back up your information.
4. Tips – Tip content is a bit like a list however the tips should be designed to help someone accomplish something or solve a problem.
5. Pros & Cons – This type of content is fairly structured, like the above content types, and it is designed to help your reader make a decision. The pros and cons of bottled water for example, will help someone make a decision about whether or not to buy bottled water.  It works well for information sites, affiliate marketers and even retailers or service providers.
6. Fact or About Page – This type of content can have a less rigid structure however, the overall goal is to explain something. For example, an article on diabetes is just going to cover the basics about the disease.  You’d likely have a short introduction and conclusion with this type of content and then several subheadings throughout to break up the content into digestible pieces.  Visit About.com for examples of about and fact pages

Of course, there are many more types of article content you can write and your information doesn’t need to fit into a tight format or structure.  However, often if you can assess what type of content your audience responds to, it will help you optimize your content strategy.

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About the Author

In addition to authoring and ghostwriting more than thirty books (including an Amazon.com bestseller), Annette Elton has 20 years experience crafting compelling and engaging copy for business owners. She’s thrilled that her writing passion and knowledge enables others to build and sustain their dream business.

Visit Annette online at AllCustomContent.com

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