Types of Content Every Business Should Have

When you think about content marketing for businesses, the first type of content you’re likely to think of is the blog. Blogs are a great place to start any online marketing campaign: They provide websites with a steady stream of fresh content, they’re appealing to clients and customers, and they’re simple and straightforward to produce. If you want to produce content that is truly dynamic and attention-grabbing, though, you shouldn’t stop at the basic blog post.

If you’re trying to make your way as a freelancer, it’s important to try to diversify your talents as much as possible. Don’t be afraid to branch out and try a type of content you’ve never written before. After all, the more versatile you are, the more in-demand your talents will be! Even if you’re just getting started and don’t have a great deal of experience, there’s never a bad time to practice writing in different styles and tackling different formats.

If you’re trying to produce original work for a business, these are some of the types of content you might want to suggest:

eGuides

An eGuide is simply a longer, more in-depth examination of a topic than you would find in a typical blog post. In many cases, they are polished and professional-looking publications with illustrations and appendices. Quality eGuides are in high demand for businesses because they can use them as downloadable features on their sites or offer them as a bonus gift to subscribers. As a result, if you can create the basic text for an informational guide, you’ll be able to offer something important and rare to your business clients. As a general rule, eGuides are meant to stand on their own merits, and do not include explicitly promotional material about the business they are written for—seeing an overt sales pitch in the midst of an otherwise factual text can raise suspicions about its objectivity.

How-to Guides

If there’s one thing that almost everybody on the internet has used at one point or another, it’s probably the how-to guide. Whether you want to know how to jump-start a car, how to sand a wood floor, or how to water a houseplant, a clear and accessible how-to guide can be an invaluable resource. It’s also something that many businesses will want to use on their websites or post on their social media accounts, especially if they have products that their customers will need guidance in using, such as software. Writing how-to guides can be a terrific lesson in learning to write as clearly as possible, and it’s also a great type of content to offer to your clients.

Infographics

If you want to spread information on the internet, infographics are probably the fastest, most accessible, and most effective way to do it. People can read and absorb infographics quickly—and they’re more likely to share them on social media than many other types of content. You may or may not have the graphic skills to produce infographics, but remember that these features originate as scripts. In order to create a script that can serve as the basis for an engaging infographic, you’ll need to know how to do accurate research and then boil down a series of facts into a compact, easy-to-follow feature. As a rule, infographic scripts should include all the information that the final feature will include in the order that it will show it, along with suggestions for accompanying graphics.

Product Reviews

If you want to diversify any blog and make it more interesting for its audience to read, don’t underestimate the value of product reviews. A product review is simply a review of a certain product or service: what it is, how it works, and whether or not you recommend it. Video product reviews are especially popular on the web—think of all the videos you’ve seen where somebody test-drives a car, samples a new food, or tries a new hair color. As a bonus, product reviews offer businesses the chance to connect with other businesses and become more known as authorities in their industry. One caveat: Positive reviews tend to have more value for businesses than negative ones do, so it’s important to take the time to find a quality product to write about.

Videos

When it comes to engaging users on social media, it’s hard to top the value of a video. By the same token, though, it’s also especially challenging to produce an effective video. Video content requires more time and resources to produce than many of these other types of content, and the standards for quality are extremely high: If a video doesn’t have good production values and an effective hook right at the start, viewers aren’t likely to stick with it for more than a few seconds. But every video begins with a strong script—and those scripts are hard to come by. That’s where your skills come in. If you can learn to write a succinct, engaging video script, you’ll have an edge over a lot of other aspiring freelancers.

Lists

When you think about possible types of content marketing you could provide for businesses, lists might not come to mind immediately. That’s understandable. After all, lists are such an omnipresent part of the internet that it’s easy to forget that somebody has to create all of them! But lists are irresistible to readers, and they provide an inherent “hook” that gives users a reason to click. Think about some of the lists you might have seen:

• 5 Reasons New Zealand is the Perfect Vacation Spot.
• 10 Things You Need to Be Doing Before Bed Every Night.
• 7 Ways Smoking Affects Your Health.

Come up with a clever concept that revolves around a number, and you can produce a list that will prompt a lot of clicks. As a result of those clicks, your work will inspire gratitude from your client.

Interviews

An interview can make a great feature for any blog, whether the format is as a written article or a straight Q&A. You might interview the founder of a business, the inventor of a product, or a thought leader within an industry. By their nature, interviews are unique. Plus, they provide information in a way that can be much more accessible than a more distanced, objective format. The best interviews, however, require careful preparation and research. They also need interviewers who know how to ask the right questions. Whatever type of freelancing you’re hoping to get into, interview skills are one of the most valuable things you can learn.

Link Pages

If you’re an experienced freelancer, you already know how valuable well-chosen links to high-quality sites can be for the content you create. Link pages—or link roundups—are essentially collections of links to good sites around the web, usually grouped by a theme. For instance, if you’re writing for a bookstore, you might create a link page focused on organizing your books. Or, you could produce a roundup of reviews of some of the hottest bestsellers in the country. As simple as the format is, a link page is a valuable post for any blog. With this in mind, it’s well worth your time to learn how to produce a good one.

Podcasts

Podcasts are one of the most popular types of content on the internet. Depending on their style, many businesses may want to create original podcasts for their customers. No less than a video, a business podcast needs a solid script. Whether the podcast needs to be scripted line by line or it simply needs a basic outline to guide the hosts, a podcast script is an important resource that you can offer to your clients. If you’re struggling to get started, try listening to some podcasts produced by other businesses. Pay attention to how they flow, how they move from topic to topic, and how in-depth they are.

Memes

It’s impossible to deny it: Memes have taken over the internet. Whether they’re intended to be light-hearted snark or cutting social commentary, memes can be remarkably effective when it comes to communicating a message as directly and unambiguously as possible. They can also add a touch of humor and personality to a business’s social media page. Plus, users love to share them, which means they’re a great way to raise awareness of your brand. That said, it can be surprisingly difficult to come up with good ideas for memes. If you can master the art of the meme, you’ll be well on your way to being able to tackle any type of challenge your client may throw your way.

If you’re just getting started as a freelance writer, you probably have a lot of questions—and Writers Work has the answers. We can offer you the career training and online tools you need to break into the freelancing world. No matter what type of writing you’re interested in doing, we can make it easier to connect with potential employers. If you’re ready to launch your freelancing career, check out our website today!