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Have you ever ever written a sequence of posts to your weblog – a suite of posts which are intentionally connected in combination?
When you haven’t, I’m hoping I will be able to persuade you to offer it a take a look at.
Some bloggers really feel writing a sequence of posts is extra daunting than writing particular person posts. But it surely’s ceaselessly more uncomplicated to get a hold of concepts for a ten-post sequence than for ten stand-alone posts.
Right here at ProBlogger we’ve run numerous sequence through the years, together with 31 Days to Construct a Higher Weblog, which I’ll be coming again to later on this submit.
So why will have to you write a sequence of posts as a substitute of simply particular person posts?
How a Sequence of Posts May Spice up Your Weblog
Writing a sequence of posts, even a brief one, can also be helpful. Particularly, it will provide you with the chance to:
- Dig deep into a specific subject, showcasing your experience.
- Inspire readers to stay coming again for extra.
- Create quite a lot of inner hyperlinks between your posts (excellent for each search engine optimization and inspiring readers to dig deeper into your web page).
- Construct a complete piece of content material readers can bookmark, percentage, and stay coming again to (particularly you probably have an advent submit or an index of posts).
Even supposing your weblog is new, you’ll be able to nonetheless run a sequence. In reality, it may be a good way to get some cast cornerstone content material up there early on.
Two Other Approaches to Working Your Sequence: Which is Proper for You?
Whilst you take a look at a sequence of posts at the blogs you learn, you’ll almost certainly in finding they fall into certainly one of two classes:
Sort #1: Time-Restricted Sequence of Posts
This sort of sequence runs for a suite time frame, and each submit revealed at the weblog all through that point is (in most cases) a part of the sequence.
For example, a three-part sequence of connected posts might seem on a Monday, Wednesday and Friday. And at the following week, the blogger is going again to standalone posts.
We’ve finished this on ProBlogger with ‘Theme Weeks’ akin to Growing Merchandise Week — a sequence of 5 weblog posts on the right way to create merchandise to your target market.
This means works smartly if you wish to create cornerstone content material, or increase a work of sequence content material you could use later for an guide and even the root of a direction. (Extra on that later.)
Sort #2: Ongoing, Common Sequence of Posts
This sort of sequence can run indefinitely, with posts showing on a selected day of the week or month, and even at a specific level within the yr. And standalone posts seem as commonplace between installments of the sequence.
The sequence would possibly appear to be:
- A roundup of reports/posts to your area of interest every Friday. (We used to try this in our “Studying Roundups”.)
- An ongoing per thirty days sequence at the first Tuesday of every month. As an example, in the event you weblog about wholesome consuming, you could put up a brand new recipe at first of every month.
- An annual evaluate of your development to your area of interest every December or January.
If you wish to construct a way of consistency and group in your weblog, this is a excellent form of sequence to make use of. It may possibly additionally permit you to beat blogger’s block, because it will provide you with explicit issues to weblog about. (Neatly, a minimum of one of the vital time.)
Coming Up With a Nice Concept for a Weblog Publish Sequence
It may be tricky sufficient bobbing up with an concept for one weblog submit. So how do you get a hold of an excellent thought for a sequence?
For a hard and fast sequence with a restricted choice of posts, you could search for:
- An issue that you simply’ve already lined, however now not in a lot intensity. A chain may just provide the probability to in point of fact dig into the subject and read about other sides of it. We did this on ProBlogger with a sequence on visitor posting.
- Amateur-friendly subjects that will make a excellent advent for your weblog or area of interest. The posts themselves may just all be on other subjects, however you’ll be able to hyperlink them in combination via having them aimed very a lot at newbies.
For an ordinary, ongoing sequence, you could search for:
- One thing it’s worthwhile to weblog about just about indefinitely. It might be the week’s information to your area of interest, your per thirty days effects from internet online affiliate marketing, or commonplace errors you spot newbies making to your box.
- A selected taste of posts. You’ll want to have a weekly “Q&A” like Trent Hamm’s “Reader Mailbag” on his weblog The Easy Greenback, or a “per thirty days motivation” submit the place you gather in combination inspiring quotes.
When you’ve were given a number of concepts and aren’t which might paintings absolute best, why now not ask every other bloggers for enter? (When you don’t know many different bloggers but, the ProBlogger Fb team is a smart position to fulfill some.)
Structuring a Sequence of Weblog Posts
Optimistically, you already really feel assured about structuring particular person weblog posts. If now not (or you wish to have a handy guide a rough refresher), take a look at those posts from our material knowledgeable Ali Luke:
However whilst you’re structuring a sequence, you additionally must make structural selections about:
- The sequence as an entire. It is going to want a starting and, if it isn’t an ongoing sequence, an finish. Those may well be quick sections of a submit, or posts in their very own proper (for an extended sequence). For example, you could write a submit to introduce the sequence and give an explanation for what’s coming. You’ll be able to then replace this submit with hyperlinks to the other portions of the sequence.
- The person posts throughout the sequence. How are you able to construction those so that they ‘fit’ as portions of a coherent entire? You’ll want to:
- use a selected form of symbol, or emblem your pictures in a specific approach
- identify the posts constantly
- have a specific structure for every submit, akin to a handy guide a rough recap at first and a job or project on the finish.
Interlinking the Posts in Your Sequence
It’s a very powerful to hyperlink the portions of your sequence in combination so readers can simply navigate between them. Take into account, now not everybody will learn your sequence as you put up it.
Some readers can be busy, and can wish to meet up with the entire sequence later. However many extra (confidently) will come for your sequence in long run weeks and months via search engines like google or social media.
You’ll be able to interlink posts in any choice of tactics. Listed below are some you’ll be able to take a look at. (You could even wish to use two or 3 in every submit.)
- Create a tag or class for the sequence, which is what we did with our visitor posting sequence. Readers can then get all of the portions of the sequence via clicking that tag/class title. When you’re operating an ongoing sequence of weekly/per thirty days posts, that is almost certainly the easiest way to organise it.
- Put a hyperlink on the most sensible of every submit resulting in the former section(s), so readers can simply return to any posts they neglected.
- Create a web page or submit with hyperlinks to each submit within the sequence. You’ll be able to do that ahead of you run the sequence and replace it as you put up every section, or do it retrospectively.
- Put hyperlinks on the backside of every submit resulting in the following section, so readers can simply pass throughout the sequence. (Clearly, you’ll want to return and upload those in if you’ve revealed the later portions.)
- Upload hyperlinks to the frame of the submit every time you point out an issue you’ve already written about within the sequence. (You’ll be able to additionally return to previous posts and hyperlink them to later posts within the sequence.) This protects you having to copy your self so much, and makes it simple for readers to search out the tips they want at any given level.
An instance of hyperlinks to all of the posts within the sequence on the backside of the submit
Then again you select to hyperlink your posts in combination, you should definitely’re constant. And take into accout to test again after completing the sequence to peer if there are alternatives to paintings in some further hyperlinks.
Taking Your Weblog Publish Sequence Additional
While you’ve finished a sequence, or had been writing an ongoing sequence for some time, it’s value bearing in mind whether or not you’ll be able to repurpose your sequence into one thing else.
That would possibly imply:
- Bringing your posts in combination as a unfastened guide, most likely with some bonus content material. For example, in the event you’ve revealed ten per thirty days recipes in your weblog, it’s worthwhile to put the ones recipes into an guide and upload 5 further recipes you haven’t revealed.
- Publishing your posts as a product, akin to a paid-for guide and even an ecourse. (31 Days to Construct a Higher Weblog went from a sequence of posts to an guide, and now we’ve grew to become it right into a direction.)
You may also use a brief sequence as the foundation for an extended one, or an ongoing sequence as a chance to get readers concerned in your weblog.
I’d love to listen to how you’re the usage of a submit sequence, or what concepts you’ve for the usage of them one day. Go away a remark under to percentage your ideas with us.
For extra assist developing content material, why now not take a look at certainly one of my 7-day Content material Sprints the place I will be able to information and fortify you to create a plan and six new items of content material to your weblog in simply 7 days.
This text used to be up to date 1 December 2022.