Blog posts vs. articles: What's the difference?

Clients have asked me, "What's the difference between a blog post and an article?" Great question! Since we've already talked a lot about article writing, I'm going to take this opportunity to talk about blog posts.

Anatomy of a blog post

Here are just a few of the elements that a good blog post will include:

Keywords: Think about the words and phrases that your ideal client might type into a search engine if they were looking for information about this topic.

Links: Demonstrate your expertise and solidify your credibility by pointing out relevant and useful resources on the Internet. Set up the links so they open in a new window.

Personality: A blog is a great place to bring more of your personal identity into your business communications. You can write more conversationally, share your opinions and give the reader a peek behind the scenes of your business activities. You may even choose to share details about your life outside of work.

But the most crucial element of your blog post is definitely its:

Point: Be sure that each blog post is making one clear point. A business blog is not the place for an aimless rant or random ramblings. Before you publish, ask, "What's the point of this post?" and, "Is that point important to my target market?"

Of course some of your blog posts will be announcements, promotions or just plain fun stuff. That's fine; that's what makes blogging so appealing! Just limit those posts so that the bulk of what you're publishing is valuable content for your readers.

Blog posts versus articles

All articles can be blog posts, but not all blog posts can be articles. Generally speaking, a blog post will be shorter, more informal and less structured than an article. See Section 20.1 of the Style Guide, Anatomy of an Article, for more details about the elements (e.g., introduction, conclusion and author resource box) that you can add to any blog post to turn it into an article.

This blog post is an excerpt from a brand new bonus chapter of The Customizable Style Guide for Coaches Who Write: Look Smarter, Write Faster and Get Better Results from Your Writing. The full chapter includes more blog post elements, tips on how to use other social media tools to make each blog post work harder for you AND a 5-point checklist that will improve every blog post that you write.

Writing Prompt: Look over your last few blog posts. Did you stick to one main point, or were you trying to write the blog post of a lifetime? Write a new blog post, with all of these tips in mind. Then send me the link!

Comments

[Sydni Craig-Hart]

Thanks for the post Linda! There is an important distinction between the two and I was just explaining this to a client yesterday. I have often broken down articles and presentations into blog posts for myself and my clients. Understanding the goal of a blog post and an article makes it easy to repurpose content.

[Linda Dessau]

Hi Jason,

Oh, I can really relate to those stops and starts!

Thanks for your comments; glad you enjoyed the post.

Best wishes,
Linda

[Jason W. Womack, MEd, MA]

I really enjoyed this post, and thank you in advance for the renewed feeling I have about re-engaging with my own blog.

I've been a "blogger" since 2002, and have found the waves, starts and stops of it all to be a fascinating and educational learning process.

Great work!