Build a better blog

NB: This is the 3rd installment in The Inspired Solo’s Build a Better Business Blog in One Month series. Designed to help solo lawyers and other professionals boost their blog’s performance, the series consists of a daily lecture and task (or tasks) that focus on one “blog improvement project” at a time. Each post in the series is tagged with “[BBBB1]“. You can start the program at any time. Catch up with other BBBB1 posts here.

Day 3 Lecture: Creating Pillar Content For Your Blog

What Exactly Is Pillar Content, and Why Is It So Important For Your Business Blog?

Pillar content — also known as “flagship content” — is essentially a longer article that you publish on your blog as a free resource for readers. While pillar articles are probably slightly more likely to be link bait (attracting a high number of incoming links), that’s not really the primary purpose of having them on your blog.

What is the primary purpose? Well, there are two, really, in my philosophy. One is the creation of the aura of expertise. Service professionals get hired by people who need experts and who perceive those professionals to be just the kind of expert they need. We use our blogs to show (instead of tell) the prospective client that this is exactly what we are: experts in our fields.

Flagship or pillar content helps create this aura of expertise by basically demonstrating that expertise free of charge right on our websites. Readers see these articles and because the advice is good and highly relevant to their individual needs, they are much more likely to pick up the phone, dash off an email, or use the site’s contact form.

The other primary purpose of pillar content is branding. Branding as a solo essentially boils down to selling yourself — a solo’s brand is always the solo him- or herself. We communicate our brands in many ways, of course, from the overall look and feel of our website and/or blog to our letterhead and logo. The pillar article probably does more than any of those marketing elements to express our brand on the web, because it is the solo — the solo’s expertise, in the solo’s words, in the solo’s own unique style. The article gives the potential client the fullest possible image of who the solo really is, and that goes a long way towards convincing the client that this is the kind of professional the client really wants to work with.

Want more definitions? Here are some quotes from the bloggers who (I believe) coined the respective phrases. First, from Yaro Starak (my former blog coach), the definition of pillar articles:

A pillar article is usually a tutorial style article aimed to teach your audience something. Generally they are longer than 500 words and have lots of very practical tips or advice. This article you are currently reading could be considered a pillar article since it is very practical and a good “how-to” lesson. This style of article has long term appeal, stays current (it isn’t news or time dependent) and offers real value and insight. The more pillars you have on your blog the better.

(Quoted from Entrepreneur’s Journey and Yaro’s Blog Profits Blueprint ebook, freely available for download with sign-up)

Chris Garrett uses the term “flagship content” and has this to say about it in his ebook Killer Flagship Content (free upon subscribing to his blog):

One way of looking at it is to think of Flagship Content is as the “go-to” resource for your niche. Just like Wikipedia is the lazy bloggers go-to reference for general research, your Flagship Content is the place everyone will link to when they think of your topic. When people visit your killer content and find it valuable, they will want to subscribe to your blog, sign up to your email list and come back again and again. And tell their friends. And buy your stuff.

Or, say, your services.

Choosing Topics For Your Pillar Content

When brainstorming ideas for your pillar content articles, think (always!) of the reader first. Here again, we need to first understand the concept of TR (targeted readership) — and I hope you’re beginning to see why this concept must come first, and is so important to a blogger’s success.

What is that TR looking for when she searches the web for help and guidance? Is she looking for understanding? For instructions? For a caution or warning of what not to do? Jot down some notes in response to these questions.

Next, think of your services. How do they tie in with this TR’s needs? Where is the nexus between what you do and what the TR needs or wants? Brainstorm as many of these points of connection as possible.

Finally, begin to narrow down those points of connection into article topics.

Tips for Writing Your Pillar Content

Pillar content should look and “feel” different from your usual daily posts. If the average blog post on your site is like a front-of-book magazine sidebar, the pillar content should be the feature article in the well. Pillar content should be longer, meatier, more substantial, and more well-researched than the typical blog post.

Some specific tips to keep in mind as you begin to draft your pillar content:

• Take your time with these. Aim for three articles over the course of the month.
• The best length for pillar content is a subject of debate, but it should definitely be longer than average post size — aim for 750-1500 words (much more than that, and you risk losing readers)
• Cram the article full of practical advice — tips readers can go out and use today
• It probably goes without saying but I’ll say it anyway: your pillar content must be related to your area of expertise
• On the other hand, pillar content should be useful without giving away the cow for free. Aim for carving off slices of your expertise and handing them out as samples in your pillar content — not flat-out teaching readers how to do what you do for themselves.
• Formatting is important: use ordered and unordered lists, headings, and (sparingly) emphasis
• Suggest further reading and other resources that the reader can rely on. Be careful with this: don’t recommend any resource you’re not very familiar with and comfortable endorsing, because that’s what you’re doing — endorsing some other site, blog, book, group, business, etc.

Example: How I Began to Create Pillar Content For The Tramadol Diaries

Here’s an example from my own blog at The Tramadol Diaries. This is a bit different from most business blogs because I’m not selling anything here — yet (although I do post articles with affiliate links in them, but that’s not the purpose of the blog). Instead, my goal is to begin to create a workable platform from which I can later sell a nonfiction book proposal to editors and agents.

The book I have in mind — a nonfiction self-help/memoir about my experiences with chronic pain — will be aimed at a very specific audience. I’ve narrowed down my TR into one primary group — middle-aged women struggling to cope with chronic pain — and several secondary TRs — including medical professionals who work with chronic pain patients and families and significant others of chronic pain patients who are looking for information on how to help their loved ones through medical crisis.

I started with these three TRs in mind, and went through the above process (TR needs, points of connection, topics) for each of them. I’m still in the middle of this process, because The Tramadol Diaries is a new blog. But you can see the fruits of my labors so far with this pillar article, “Seven Ways to Improve Your Communications About Chronic Pain To Your Doctors.” It’s clearly aimed at my primary TR — the patients themselves. It’s centered around a list format — seven tips — with strong use of heading tags and unordered lists. The thrust of the article is to communicate practical advice that the patient can use on her next trip to the doctor.

After publication, I found additional resources that I could recommend to my readers. These resources were added to the post in an emphasized “Update” section. Then, to up the profile on this post, I turned it into an ebook, which can be freely downloaded from the main page in the sidebar.

Task For Day 3: Begin to Create Three to Five Pillar Articles For Your Blog

Your task for Day 3 is to begin to create pillar content for your own blog. Using the example and tips above, begin to brainstorm your topic ideas. Plan your content carefully, and begin drafting ideas for your articles. Keep each of these in a separate text file for now. Work on each of them throughout the coming month. (Don’t worry — I’ll post occasional reminders so this doesn’t slip to the back burner.)