Write Pillar Articles

Some time ago I wrote the post “101 Blog Tips I learned in 2006“. It received a lot of attention and positive feedback, but since the tips included are short phrases going straight to the point many people asked whether I could expand and explain a little bit better some of them. “Write pillar articles” is one of the 101 tips, and below I will try to describe what are pillar articles and how your blog could benefit from them:

Characteristics of pillar articles:

they are longer posts
usually above 750 words
they offer a clear value to the reader
their content is timeless
their content is original and unique
they outline the expertise of the writer around a specific topic
they attract links from other bloggers

Pillar articles obviously consume more time and energy than traditional posts, they might require additional research around a certain subject or even the maturation of some ideas over longer periods (sometimes I will spend one week or more writing a pillar article as opposed to the 30-60 minutes I use for daily posts).

This extra work, however, is worth while. Pillar articles will give credibility to your blog and they will also contribute to increase traffic over the long term. When a reader comes across a well-written, informative and interesting article it is very likely that he will bookmark the website, subscribe to the feed or simply remember the site address to visit it again in the near future. If that was not enough pillar articles also have a higher probability of attracting links from other bloggers.

What are you waiting for? Start writing your next pillar article right now!

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Daniel Scocco on January 2, 2007 | Filed Under Writing Content

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42 Responses to “Write Pillar Articles”

ggwfung on January 2nd, 2007 7:48 am

this is the first time I’ve come across this expression, but it certainly seems appropriate. A lot of experienced bloggers put their “pillar articles” in the sidebar for easy access - they act as summaries of what the blog is about, and point to where it’s strengths are.

Nice post.
Cory Miller on January 2nd, 2007 8:52 am

Great post! And I loved the tips too.

This post reminded me of Brian Clark’s CopyBlogger also. Timeless, practical, awesome posts that rock.
Daniel on January 2nd, 2007 12:02 pm

ggwfung, I agree that there are other expressions that have the same meaning as “pillar articles”, listing those on the sidebar is definitely a good idea.

Cory, thanks for the nice words man.
mojo shivers on January 2nd, 2007 11:59 pm

Very smart advice, indeed. I shall have to remember that in the future.
Yaro on January 3rd, 2007 10:24 pm

I *think* I was the first person to coin the term Pillar Article in this post I wrote for Darren:

http://www.problogger.net/arch.....g-readers/

Which I also republished on my blogs.

If you want more details I write more about Pillar Articles in my Blog Traffic newsletter -

http://www.blogtrafficking.com
Daniel on January 4th, 2007 2:34 am

Yaro, I think you are right because I am pretty sure I came across that term over the Problogger.net site.

I am a feed reader and a subscriber of your newsletter also so I know how good is your stuff!
Josh Tillont on January 14th, 2007 11:44 pm

I just came across your blog a few days ago & wanted to let you know that I have really enjoyed it. It has original content (which can be hard to find these days)and makes you think about the basics again. One thing i have found is that on many occassions I get caught up in all the up & coming techie stuff & forget about the basics with both my blogs & web-sites. However, when I see a decline in ratings/traffic this is the area that will always pull me out of the “sand” and get it going again. Thank you for all the work you have put into this for others to learn..
LGR on February 24th, 2007 11:18 am

Thanks for the article. I have been wondering if I should continue with some longer posts, but I am sure you are right, that in the long term those pillar posts will be great to have.
marcia siegel on March 4th, 2007 4:30 am

i have never heard the term “pillar articles”. however, this is exactly what i do in my blogs. my goal is to help people in the area of self improvement. i try to present ideas and information with a new twist. i like to use current events to discuss an important technique for self improvement.
John Henry on March 11th, 2007 6:27 pm

I think I wrote a pillar article. The content is unique and useful to my audience as well as people interested in something new:

“2007 Nude Car Shows: Chevy. Ford. Mopar. Nudists.”

http://nudisttravel.blogspot.c.....mopar.html
wakish on March 15th, 2007 4:19 am

Yeah, i agree with this article..
But a pillar article does not necessarily need a 1week time to write it.
You can write a pillar article in some 2 to 3 hrs assuming that you have a previous/background knowlegde about that subject/theme.

Yours,
wakish
Daniel on March 15th, 2007 5:12 am

wakish, yeah someone could write a pillar article in 2 to 3 hours. I usually take 2-3 days for longer articles, not because I write slowly but because I like to meditate over the ideas, revise the words and etc.
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