The almost endless macaron guide to types of blog posts

I dribbled. Well, salivated. Actually drooled.

 

But I had nothing witty, sage or tasteful to say. No words at all.

I was too busy trying to control my mouth excretions. Frankly, I just couldn’t believe … my tastebuds.

 

 

Ever since the “Sweet Assassin,” “Patissier of Pain” and “Dark Lord of the Pastry Kitchen,” Adriano Zumbo, created his first macaron tower on a Masterchef Australia challenge, I’ve been hooked on macarons.

They fascinate me: I lust after their taste, texture and crave their mystique.

 

Why?

They’re an enigma – unattainable (and unmakeable) by mere mortals.

OR … maybe it’s their simultaneously crisp-chewy-melt-in-your-mouth-ness.

OR … the kaleidoscope of colours and flavours.

OR … the miracle all these little treasures come from the same basic recipe.

In fact thinking about it, it’s everything about them.

Without question, the well-known scientific effect called “the yummy factor” definitely encapsulates their bewitching magic.

But what do macarons have to do with blogging?

 

Both are multi-flavoured

All blogs start as a creative shell – a blank canvas. Formed from a base recipe, the shell slowly morphs into different shapes, sizes and styles through the creative addition of flavourings.

What’s that? Flavourings are the pizzazz that’s added from the combinations of different types (formats or styles) of posts. From there your blog then starts catering to a multitude of tastes and cravings.

So do macarons.

After a quick internet search you’ll find there’s an almost limitless number of macaron flavours. One Seattle pastry chef set himself a 2010 New Year challenge to create 100 new flavours of macarons – “ranging from the more traditional (rose, passion fruit and lavender), to the more out there ones, including root beer float, peanut butter-stuffed pretzel and Guinness chocolate.”

This wild idea shows there is no limit to the macaron.

Blogs are the same. Use your imagination to come up with new flavour variations that suit you and your readers’ taste.

 

Cater to your [eaters] readers

Not all people absorb information by reading. In the age of attention-diminishing-disorder, short attention spans are the norm. Each of us is bombarded with literally thousands of messages each day, so make yours count.

Blog posts shouldn’t just be text based. Use video, podcasts, images, webinars, slideshows, cartoons, sketches and anything else that expressed your ideas, thoughts and emotions.

But I have no intension of  trying to reinvent the wheel. After researching I’ve found several existing (and brilliant) resources on blog post types, so I’ve curated two of the best for you to use.

I’d highly recommend you read the details on both by using the links to their home sites and bookmark them as must-have resources/worksheets for creating blog posts.

 

1. Very early brilliance

In an early  2005 post on Problogger, Darren Rowse lists 20 possible types of blog posts:

1. Instructional
2. Informational
3. Reviews
4. List posts
5. Interviews
6. Case studies
7. Profiles
8. Link posts
9. Problem posts
10. Comparison posts
11. Rants
12. Inspirational
13. Research
14. Collation posts
15. Prediction and review posts
16. Critique posts
17. Debate
18. Hypothetical posts
19. Satirical posts
20. 20. Memes and projects

Source: Problogger: Secrets for Blogging Your Way to a Six-Figure Income, Darren Rowse & Chris Garrett, 2008.

 

2. Upgraded and pimped

That list has since been expanded and enhanced (again on Problogger) in a 2011 guest post from Karol K – 52 Types of Blog Posts that Are Proven to Work :

Article style posts (aka standard blog posts)

1. How-to/tutorial posts
2. News posts
3. Definition posts
4. Standard list posts
5. Resource/link list posts
6. Profile posts
7. Case studies
8. Problems-and-solutions posts
9. Comparison posts
10. Stories
11. Controversial posts
12. Inspiring posts
13. Research posts
14. “What others are saying” posts
15. “What if” posts
16. Parody posts

Unconventional blog posts

1. FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) posts
2. SAQ (Should Ask Questions) posts
3. Reviews
4. Interviews
5. Ebooks
6. Special reports
7. Cheat sheets
8. Checklists
9. Infographics
10. Projects
11. Open questions to your readers
12. Starting a debate
13. Presenting an existing debate
14. Surveys and polls
15. Crash courses/gathering posts
16. Twitter posts
17. Income/traffic/expense reports (monthly)
18. Contests
19. Draws
20. Races
21. Quizzes
22. Software, tools, scripts, plugins, themes, services
23. Comics
24. Jokes
25. Icons and other graphical freebies
26. Presentations

Audio blog posts

1. Mp3 files (as a podcast)
2. Interviews
3. Talks
4. Teleseminars

Video blog posts

1. Talking head video
2. Screencast
3. Presentation video
4. Interviews
5. How-to video
6. Webinars

 

So…

Anything else you want to know about macarons or blog post types?

Photo credit: Daffydil via photopin cc

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