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Where do I start, Dozie?
Welcome to today’s issue of Efikó, a weekly newsletter by me, Dozie Anyaegbunam, with a focus on content marketing, writing, social strategy, and living your best life. THANK YOU for being here! I appreciate you.
Hello 👋
TGIF!!!
How has your week been?…Good?… or just there.
Well, whichever - this is me sending love and light your way.
I am experimenting with the format of the newsletter. Let me know your thoughts.
Today, we’ll be talking about content formats beginner writers can learn (and own)
“Hey Dozie, I’m not sure where to start”
I have had folks ask me this question in different ways over the past three weeks.
Starting out as a writer can be confusing.
What niche do I write in? What sort of articles/text-based content do I master?
Now, it’s likely you’ll be writing different formats of text-based content for your client (or yourself). But you need to decide which content format you want to make your own.
That signature piece that once you hand it in, you get this sort of feedback from your editor:
Not all text is equal, and knowing your strengths is great for every content writer’s mental health.
The content types that follow are some of the best-known article structures out there, and what you’ll come across as you start writing.
Some are easy to create. Some are challenging. Pick your battles carefully.
Listicles: These are usually used to share tips, review products, or insights in a list, hence the name “listicle.” They can be long-form or short-form, depending on the number of items on the list. You are also expected to write in a narrative form.
Insight articles: These are 600 - 800 word articles that succinctly share an insight or idea. They can sometimes get to 1,000 words. You can think of them as a high-level summary of an idea. They are great for brand awareness.
Case studies: These are what they are. A case study that talks about a challenge and how a product or service tackles that problem. It rounds up with a results section.
Customer stories: Customer stories are the new case study. Instead of the usual problem, solution, results format, you get drawn into a story of the customer along with their challenges, big-picture beliefs, and how the product or service helps them win. Here’s an example 👇🏾
Buzz articles: I call these attention grabbers. If you plan to write for brands like Mashable, Cosmopolitan, and the likes. Sometimes, B2B brands use them to share a piece of research or statistic that’s controversial or newsworthy. I think of this type of articles as single-focus pieces (similar to the insight article) - lots of images and little text.
Thought leadership articles: Thought-leadership pieces are first-person narratives or viewpoints on an issue or insight. You however need some credibility to pull this off successfully. This is why it’s often written by senior leaders in an industry.
These six content types are a great place to start. Note that I didn’t mention anything about SEO here.
That’s because it’s expected that you infuse SEO into your writing strategy no matter the content type.
If you read one thing
This article on how to use repetition in your writing (along with examples) is a great weekend read.
Content tools
A content tool I discovered this week
Moz’s Title Tag tool is a nifty way to see how your title tag is likely to appear in Google’s search results.
Content writing jobs (Remote/Freelance)
And here’s a Google Docs link that also includes high-paying pitching opportunities
All the best folks. Please share with any of your friends/colleagues who might find this useful. 🙏🏾
My biggest takeaway this week 🚀
What I’m thinking about?
Do one thing well, and watch it compound.
What’s your biggest content marketing challenge?
Reply to this email. Let me know what you’d like me to cover next.
I read every reply.
Plus, if you would love me to review your writing and give you feedback, you can book a time here. Or just hit the reply button.
Thanks for reading this far. I am grateful!
Stay safe and sane.
I’ll be back on 9/24.
Dozie
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