Hey, it's Sam Oh and in this lesson, I'm going to show you how to write informational blog
posts for an affiliate marketing site.
And by informational blog posts, I'm talking about how-tos, step-by-step tutorials, definition
posts, and basically any type of content where the primary intent is to learn.
On top of that, I want to show you how to generate affiliate commissions from
informational blog posts that may not seem to have commercial value at first glance.
Let's call these silent profit generators.
So let's get started.
Now, before I walk you through some blog post templates, it's important we discuss the first
and most important step to creating content for search – and that's search intent.
Search intent represents the reason behind a searcher's query.
And the reason why it's important is because you need to match intent in order to rank
high in Google.
For example, if we were creating a post about how to clean car seats for a hypothetical kids'
car seats site, what do you think our content should look like?
Should it be a step by step tutorial where you walk them through cleaning your kids'
convertible car seats?
Or should it have a different format?
Or wait… is this for convertible car seats, infant car seats, or booster seats?
Well, this was kind of a trick question because the intent for the query "how to clean car seats"
is actually about cleaning the seats in your car – not cleaning a kids installable car seat.
How do I know this?
Well, the way we identify search intent is by entering the query in Google and looking at
the top-ranking pages.
After all, search engines want to show you the most relevant result for a query
so the top-ranking pages are essentially a guide to what Google thinks best serves
the intent of a searcher.
So as you can see, the top pages for "how to clean car seats" are all about cleaning
regular car seats so creating a post on cleaning kids' car seats probably wouldn't
rank for this query because it's not matching intent.
Now, for argument's sake, let's say that intent was about cleaning children's car seats.
Because the keyword has the word "how to" in it, you might automatically think that you
need to create a step-by-step guide.
But what's interesting, is that the top 2 ranking pages are actually listicles with
a set of tips - meaning, an unordered list of methods to clean a car seat.
So if you want to compete, you should follow suit and create a post with a similar format
to improve your chances of ranking high.
We have a full SEO course for beginners where we go much deeper into matching search intent
and actually creating optimized content for search, so I highly recommend watching that.
I'll link that up and some SEO content writing tutorials in the description.
Alright, let's move on to a few blog post templates you can use for different types
of informational content.
And all of these content pieces will contain a title, introduction, body and conclusion.
Let's kick things off with the first post type and that's listicles.
Listicles are blog posts that contain non-chronological lists such as tips, product recommendations, tools,
techniques, myths, mistakes, or whatever.
For the title you can use any of these templates.
Let's turn them into working titles:
"11 Ways to Sneak Snacks onto a Plane"
"7 SEO Tips that Actually Work"
"4 Blogging Techniques to Grow Your Audience"
Titles for listicles are about as easy as they come.
Now, as for the introduction, your goal should be to build trust and excitement
in as few words as possible because most people are coming for the list points.
For example, if you're writing a post on 7 SEO tips that actually work, you might say:
"Ranking high in Google is more challenging than ever before.
But that doesn't make it impossible.
As you can see, our blog ranks for over 11,600 keywords in the top 10 of Google.
Today, I want to share a few simple SEO tips that helped us get there."
The intro is short and helps build trust because we have proof that we've already achieved what
the reader is hoping to achieve – higher Google rankings.
The last thing I recommend including in the intro is a table of contents with jump links.
This makes it much easier for visitors to navigate throughout your post, especially
since listicles need to be skimmable.
If you're using WordPress, there are plenty of free plugins to choose from, just search for,
"table of contents" in WordPress's plugins repository and you'll find plenty of free
options to try.
Alright, on to the main content.
In the most basic form, your main content will have a series of H2s or heading tags,
and content that complements the headings.
Now, depending on the type of listicle you're creating, your H2s will vary.
For example, if you're doing a series of tips to achieve a goal, you'd want to use short
and descriptive headings that would make the reader want to read your content.
For example, if your post was on 17 Weight Loss Tips, rather than having point 5 as "Eat
Spicy Foods," you might put "#5. Eat Spicy Foods to Burn More Calories."
Now, as for the content that goes under these headings, you may want to consider creating
your own mini-template.
For example, if your post is on weight loss tips, you might explain why your tip helps
with weight loss in one sentence.
Then you might explain how it works and cite some research studies.
Then you can end off the list point with two sentences that will help the reader put that
tip into action.
Consistency creates a predictable reading experience for your visitors and it also helps
you as a writer to avoid tangents which break flow.
So with a mini template in hand, it'll just be a matter of filling in the blanks for each
subheading and before you know it, you'll be onto your conclusion.
For list posts, I wouldn't overthink the conclusion.
The majority of people aren't even going to get here but it's still important to create
closure for people who do.
My recommendation is to briefly summarize a key takeaway and then recommend additional
content that's related to your post.
And internal links are good to use because they pass link authority and overall, create
a better user experience for your readers.
So here's a sample of what this template looks like.
Feel free to pause or rewind to make sure we're on the same page and then let's move
on to the next blog post template which are step-by-step tutorials.
Step-by-step guides are your typical "how-to" posts where you run through a series of
chronological steps to teach how to accomplish something.
Now, for the title, you can use one of these formats to get started.
So if we turn these into real titles, they might be:
"How to Build a Deck (7 Steps)"
"How to Start a Business (Even if You Don't have Money)"
"How to Find Email Addresses for Link Building (Fully Automated)"
Now, for the intro, write a short one using the PSP method, which stands for problem,
solution, and proof.
For example, let's say you have a step-by-step guide on how to do YouTube keyword research.
Your intro might read:
"Looking to grow your YouTube channel and attract more views?
The "trick" is to target topics with search demand.
This is the approach that helped us grow our YouTube channel from ~10,000 to over 200,000
monthly views in one year."
Now, the reason why the PSP method is effective is because people who are reading a step-by-step
guide usually come with a problem.
They're looking for a solution.
And if you have proof of that solution, you'll get their attention.
Alright, so with the intro in the books, we need to write the main content which will
be your step-by-step instructions.
And because step-by-step guides have a logical sequence of instructions, you can use your H2s
as the main steps.
For example, our post on YouTube keyword research might have H2s like:
"Step 1: Map out a hierarchy of topics."
"Step 2: Generate keyword ideas"
"Step 3: Check search intent"
…and so on and so forth.
As for the conclusion, just keep it short and sweet because step-by-step guides
tend to be quite long.
Again, I recommend adding internal links to other relevant posts so you don't leave readers
to want more at a dead end.
So from our hypothetical YouTube keyword research post, we might link to our guides on
YouTube SEO and getting more subscribers on YouTube – both are relevant to YouTube
keyword research and serve what a reader might want to learn next.
Here's a sample of what this template looks like.
Feel free to pause or rewind to make sure we're on the same page and then let's move
on to the next blog post template which is for the expanded definition post.
Expanded definition posts are somewhat similar to how-to guides.
But rather than being written as a logical sequence of steps, it's meant to give a high-level
overview of a topic.
Now, because these posts are expanded definitions, you'll want to make your title something like:
"What is or what are [concept or acronym]" and then any additional details about your piece.
For example, "What is an Oligarch: Everything you need to know."
"What are SERPs: Search Engine Results Pages Explained."
"What are NFTs? A Detailed Introduction to "Expensive JPEGs."
Now, the great thing about expanded definition posts is that there's a clear format you can
follow for the intro, main content, and conclusion.
In short, you want people to come for the definition and stay for the details.
So for the introduction, you'll want to keep it short and sweet by defining your concept
or acronym.
For example, our page on "What are SERPs" immediately gives the definition, shows
a supporting image, and then tells you what you'll learn in the rest of the post
with jump links to each section.
Now, for the main content, I highly recommend spending some time on your outline because
you only want to include the most important points that a person searching for "what is
[something]" would want to know.
For example, if we created a post targeting, "what are NFTs," you can start by searching
for ideas in Google's People also ask box.
So from this list, these could act as potentially good subtopics.
You can also look in the related terms report in Ahrefs' Keywords Explorer.
So based on these keywords, I'd probably want to talk about the meaning of fungible, which is
the F in NFT, I'd want to talk about how you can buy an NFT, and how to invest in NFTs.
Finally, look at the subheadings for top-ranking pages for your target query.
So this page talks about what they are, how they're different from cryptocurrency,
how they work, what they're used for, and so on and so forth.
So assuming we were creating a post titled "What are NFTs?
A Detailed Introduction to "Expensive JPEGs," we might have a main content outline that
looks like this, where our intro solves the "what" and the rest of the article will give
a decent introduction to the NFT space.
Now, for the conclusion, you just need to summarize the key learnings.
And again, I highly recommend adding internal links to other articles that a beginner would
want to learn more about.
Because if they've made it to the bottom of your expanded definition post, they'll likely
want to learn more since the content will typically be high-level.
The bottom line with all of these templates is that they need to match the intent of the searcher.
And the better you match it, the better your chances of ranking higher in Google.
Now, I've previously talked about how informational blog posts can be silent profit generators.
The way you do that is by creating product-led content.
And product-led content is simply content that helps people solve a problem with
the help of your product.
Now, since you, as an affiliate, won't own the products you recommend, you can think
of it as creating product-led content for other companies but posted on your own site.
For example, let's say you have a DIY home improvement site where you recommend various
tools like drills, drivers and other tools.
You might want to create a post on how to winterize your sprinkler system which gets
an estimated 2,700 monthly searches in Google.
Now, as far as I'm aware, you need an air compressor to winterize your sprinkler system.
So it would be super-natural to organically plug this product into your post.
And because air compressors aren't exactly a common household item like a hammer,
some of these people will likely take your advice and buy one through your link,
leading to a commission.
We have a full tutorial on product-led content that I highly recommend watching if you want
to learn how you can master silent profit generators for your affiliate site.
And that wraps up this module.
In module 5, we'll be talking about link building for affiliate sites.
Get good at this, and you'll have no problems generating consistent traffic from search engines.
I'll see you there.