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21+ WAYS TO MAKE YOUR CONTENT FEEL FRESH These text-driven formats can add surprise and variety. Derek Slater, June 2016

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Page 1: Great text:  21+ ways to make your content feel fresh

21+ WAYS TO MAKE YOUR CONTENT FEEL FRESHThese text-driven formats can add surprise and variety.

Derek Slater, June 2016

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INSPIRATION FOR CONTENT CREATORSEven well-written content becomes boring if it’s the same, day after day. But infographics and videos aren’t the only ways to add variety.

We’ve captured 21 24 different article formats that can make your stories feel fresh just by changing the way you present the text.

Flip through to find new ideas, try them, and come back for more. Send other examples to [email protected], and I might add them to the list (with a link and/or credit).

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AN ANNOTATED RESUMEWhat’s the hot job in your industry? Make a fake candidate resume, and ask one or two recruiters to comment on it.

It can serve as a platform for talking about careers or about the job itself.

Example: Is This Chief Digital Officer Right For the Job? (@connectedfuturesmag)

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A REVIEWMovie reviews, Amazon reviews, Yelp reviews, product reviews—the format is quite familiar.

But why limit yourself? Review a press conference, an industry event, an executive’s tenure.

Example: RAV4 review (@cnet)

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THE WHODUNNITIn a perfect world, every source you interview would be a dazzling storyteller.

In the imperfect real world, you can format the article itself as a mystery, carrying the reader along as sources provide clues, leading to the answer.

Example: Who’s really killing at your company? (@kwburnham)

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A HOW-TO FORMATTED AS A RECIPEStart with the list of ingredients.

Most articles that use a ‘recipe’ headline stop there.

Why not go all the way? Include directions such as a baking temperature and approximate cooking time. (“Let colleagues stew over proposal for three days.”)

Have fun with it.

Example: Recipe for a successful project

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A REPORT CARDThis is another time-tested format, popular in sports articles but applicable anyplace you can subjectively assess performance.

Example: Grading the Patriots

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A LONG LIST OF QUESTIONSDo your readers deal with complex topics?

Do they need help covering a lot of bases, making sure that they haven’t overlooked anything?

Could a set of questions break the monotony of your endless stream of advice or news articles?

Have you ever tried this format?

Why not?

Example: A walking tour: 33 questions to ask about your company’s security (@csoonline)6 of 24

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A CHECKLISTPeople forget stuff.

Help them remember.

Example: Unique things to bring to the beach

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TIME-LAPSE TEXTShow text changing over time, using strikethrough or highlighting.

Use this format to examine changes to privacy policies, marketing messages, political candidates’ claims, and more.

Example: How to ruin your B2B content marketing (one review at a time) (@readystatements)

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A NUMBERED LISTCan we say a few words in defense of the numbered list?

Listicles don’t have to suck. Lists are a great format that make information easier to consume and remember.

Go forth and create great, nonsucky, reported, insightful articles in this format.

Example: 5 retail transformation blunders (and how to avoid them) (@connectedfuturesmag)

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A BOOK EXCERPTBook publishers will often let you post an excerpt in return for a link to the publisher’s site or to the book’s page on Amazon.com.

This is a great way to get accurate content on a topic that is too specialized or technical for staff or freelance writers.

Example: Even the gorillas and bears in our zoos are hooked on Prozac

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A FAKE FORM LETTER OR CONTRACTWho doesn’t love paperwork?

This format can be used for humorous effect, or you could in fact publish useful sample forms.

Example: The chessplayer’s pre-nup

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Make your content interactive by leaving out important words.

Example: Remember Mad Libs?

FILL IN THE BLANKS

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AN FAQAn FAQ is different from the “endless list of questions” mentioned above.

In an FAQ, the publisher also has to answer the questions.

If you’re thinking “An FAQ? How 2000s!” then think again.

This format is fantastic for evergreen content, and it is a potential magnet for search traffic.

Example: Business Continuity: The Basics (@csoonline)

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FICTIONALIZATIONTruth may be stranger than fiction. Fiction is sometimes more honest.

Like anonymous sources or columns, a fictionalized treatment can be an excellent tool for addressing issues that people are reluctant to talk about on the record.

In the example here, the writer spoke with several sources, then used fictional characters to hash out the thorny topics the sources had raised.

Bonus points if you make it a screenplay.

Example: Mad About You

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A GLOSSARYWorking on a subject matter rife with technical terms or a high rate of change?

This content type is helpful to readers and easy to keep updated.

Example: A glossary of Big Data terms

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A glossary is typically wide and shallow; a primer lets you go deep on a single subject.

Example: A Hadoop Primer: What It Is and How It’s Used

A PRIMER

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A TIMELINEA timeline is great for rounding up information on a story that unfolds gradually. (It’s also an excuse to link to a bunch of your previous coverage.)

Example: Edward Snowden: A Timeline

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A diary, journal, or “live blog,” as some call it, is a real-time timeline! This format works well for live or nearly-live coverage of specific events.

Example: The Sports Guy’s NBA Draft Diary

A DIARY/JOURNAL

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“THE INDEFENSIBLE POSITION”The Indefensible Position is, or was, a recurring short feature in Esquire magazine.

It’s a beautiful way of making a point, while acknowledging that the point is at least slightly absurd.

The name itself may be copyright-protected, but you can borrow the spirit.

Example: Why Imitation Syrup Is Better Than The Real Thing

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ONE EXPERT INTERVIEWS ANOTHERThis is another great format for catering to specialized audiences or discussing specialized topics.

Instead of a journalist asking dumb journalist questions*, as sometimes happens in the Q&A format, you can get more nuanced questions and answers with this approach.

* Don’t be offended—I was a journalist too.

Examples: A conversation with Peter DruckerThe great IT risk measurement debate

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A POINT/COUNTERPOINTThis format lends itself to a more adversarial version of “one expert interviews another.”

However, the sources in a point/counterpoint don’t usually interact. You just need to find two people with opposing views, then let each make his or her case.

Example: Is emotional intelligence a good measure of leadership ability?

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A QUIZA quiz is, of course, more fun if it’s built with a whiz-bang interactive tool.

Don’t let that stop you. You can create a fine quiz with text alone.

In a magazine, we used to print the scoring key upside down. This probably won’t work for online readers. If it’s that important to hide the answers, put them on another page, a click away.

Example: Google versus Everybody (@csoonline)

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A HAIKUSeven - five - sevenPoetry’s a noble wayTo communicate

What? You aren’t a poet? Maybe some of your readers are. Hold a contest, and publish your best results.

Example: Salesforce Marketing Haikus

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