Last Updated on May 16, 2023 by Anthony
Here at Connotations, we like to say that articles are our thing. We appreciate every opportunity to write articles because we know they do so much for clients. But do not confuse articles with blog posts. Both are written content, to be sure. But articles are designed to be more promotional while blog posts are more personal.
From a marketing standpoint, you might not draw a distinction between promotional and personal. That’s okay. Just know that your customers make that distinction, even if they do so subconsciously. The human brain can distinguish between promotional content and blog content designed to make a personal connection.
Not Sales Copy
Do not confuse promotional articles with sales copy, either. They also aren’t the same thing. A promotional article promotes your company or organisation as a trusted authority in your industry. It promotes the products or services you provide. But instead of being short, concise, and filled with sales language, articles are fully developed and well-reasoned. Articles can provide far more detail than a 200-word piece of sales copy.
Our article writing service is separate from our ad copy service. When you hire our writers to produce articles on your behalf, you get fully researched articles designed around your target audience. We write on topics your customers care about. We write in ways that help them understand the topic at hand more thoroughly.
Where Articles Are Published
Promotional articles are distinct and separate from blog posts and ad copy. The biggest difference between articles and blog posts is where they are published. Blog post publishing is pretty straightforward. Any blogs produced for your website are published on that website, usually in a dedicated blog section.
Articles are different. They can be published on any number of platforms, including:
- Your own website
- An external website
- A social platform
- A magazine or newspaper
- A mobile app
There really are no limits to where you can publish promotional articles. From our end, it makes a difference. We need to be aware of where our articles will publish articles so that we can create them in a certain way. Different platforms have different standards. Different audiences want to read different things. We must consider all the factors that might influence an article’s acceptance.
Topics for the Best Articles
Articles and blog posts do have one similarity: topics can be just about anything as long as they are relevant and interesting. If you are writing a personal blog, you could cover everything from your interests and hobbies to the latest in pop culture. You are more or less presenting an opinion on whatever topics appeal to you and your readers.
Topic choices for articles are just as broad. However, more care needs to be taken so that articles align very closely with your brand. It is also smart to choose topics that will appeal to the largest audience of people likely to buy your product or service.
For businesses and non-profits, coming up with topic ideas can be tough. Here are a few suggestions:
- Run a Search – Go to Google or Bing and ask a question you frequently hear from customers. Then browse the headlines of the first 5 to 10 results. One of them should give you some ideas.
- Check the News – Both general and industry news headlines offer a plethora of great ideas. Pick a topic that both relates to your business and is interesting to your customers. But do not simply try to rewrite the piece in your own words. Produce something original.
- Check Out Competitors – Yet another strategy is to check out what your competitors are covering. Take a look at their blog posts. Search for any guest posts they have out there. You don’t want to copy anything your competitors have produced, but you can certainly look at their material to get your own ideas.
The main thing to remember with promotional articles is intent. Your goal is to present information in such a way as to be helpful to your customers. You also want to present it in an authoritative way that sets your organisation apart as an industry leader. Offering relevant information, and doing so with authority, can only strengthen your brand.
Contact Us to Learn More
Connotations article writing service can produce the hard-hitting and informative articles that drive traffic and increase brand authority. We have been producing premium articles for more than a decade. We can do it for your organisation, too.
If you need high-powered articles to complement your blog, contact us to learn more. If you like, we can even combine blog and article writing services into a single package.