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NOTE: This the final segment of a 7-part series that describes the main types of blog posting formats. See the index to this series for the complete list.

A series of blog postings is an excellent way to approach almost any topic that can be divided into fairly meaty sub-topics of about 500-1000 words each. A series is a collection of separate blog postings that are organized and linked together to form a greater whole.

This posting format works especially well for reference-style content such as backgrounders, tutorials, or other explanations. It can also work well for storytelling or analysis.

Example: You’re reading a series-format blog posting right now. I realized that this topic was far too complex to address in a single posting (even a long article), so I decided to divide it into a series.

ADVANTAGES: Readable, Comment-Friendly, Nonsequential Access

A well-crafted blog series is much easier to follow than posting the same content in long article format. Smaller chunks delivered on separate pages are less intimidating or overwhelming.

Also, breaking a long article into separate postings (pages) allows readers to easily comment on specific sections. This tends to encourage more (and more specific) reader comments.

A blog series can be accessed nonsequentially. That is, a reader may choose to enter the series at any point, work through the postings in any order, and choose to read either all or some of the postings in the series. This is a great strength in online media, since people will discover your content in nearly infinite ways.

For instance, it’s possible that one posting in your series might attract readers of one type (such as parents), while the next posting in the same series may appeal to an entirely different group (such as K-12 teachers). Packaging those postings as part of a cross-linked series, rather than separate articles, encourages readers to widen their horizons. This is one way that diverse communities of interest cross-pollenate.

Creating a blog series is a lot of work, but I think it’s worth it. Also, blog series are especially likely to attract links from other blogs and sites – often because this format is used to provide good basic reference material. (If you explain something well, other bloggers tend to link to your explanation rather than try to explain it better on their own.)

DISADVANTAGES: Readers May Miss Context, Navigation Takes Work

Since readers can click through a blog series nonsequentially, it’s possible that they might miss crucial context that supports the overall theme or point of the series. This could cause them to misunderstand an individual posting within a series, or the point of the series

Also, good navigation is crucial for a successful blog series. In my opinion, it’s not enough to simply have previous/next links at the end of each article, or to simply title successive articles Part 1, Part 2, etc. Planning and implementing thsi kind of work takes skill and attention to detail. It can be annoying. Still, it’s important.

TIPS

Write the entire series before posting any of it. This is a lot of up-front work, but I think it’s crucial to success. If you post any part of a series before you have completed the whole, it’s likely you will regret some of what you published earlier. You may miss opportunities for streamlining or making important connections. Sure, you can go back and revise a posting after you publish it – but it’s more professional to get it right on initial publication.

Once you’ve completed writing the series, add the navigation. I recommend starting with an index page (such as the index to this series you’re reading now). The index page offers the advantage of easy nonsequential navigation within the series, while providing a logical place to introduce the series theme and clarify the scope and nature of the whole work.

Also, each posting in the series should start with a brief introduction explaining that the posting is part of a series. That intro should include a link to the index page. This helps because, online, the one thing you can be sure of is that your content WILL be encountered and taken out of context! Therefore, in order to communicate effectively you must build in as much direct context as possible.

Also, if you like, you can add links at the bottom of each posting for the previous and next articles in the series as well as to the index page.

…It’s not absolutely necessary to do all these navigation/context tricks in order to publish a series in your blog. After all, there’s no blog rule book to follow or blog police to fear. However, my experience has shown that these techniques do indeed make a blog series much more user-friendly. If you don’t wish to go to the navigational lengths I’ve described here, at the very least provide some kind of consistent cross-linking between postings in your series. Your readers will appreciate it.

MAXIMIZE PUBLICITY

Almost every blogger wants publicity. There is nothing wrong with that, so don’t feel guilty about it and don’t let anyone guilt-trip you about it.

One especially cool thing about publishing a blog series is that it often creates a buzz. You introduce the series and outline the scope, and then on successive days or weeks publish new postings until the series is concluded. If you planned it well, people tend to get intrigued by the first item or two and look forward to the rest.

I know that whenever I publish a series in CONTENTIOUS, my baseline traffic climbs noticeably during and after the series publication, and it tends to settle down to a new baseline that’s slightly higher than the old one.

For maximum publicity, publish your series gradually – not all at once. The appropriate publishing interval is up to you – it could be daily, weekly, or whatever you like. Publish the index page and first article or two in the series at the same time. Then, as you post new parts of the series, make the relevant link on the index page live. At the end of each article, let readers know what’s coming next.

Title postings in your series in a way that indicates they are part of a series (part 1, part 2, etc.) This will make the series context evident to people who only read your webfeed or find your series through a search engine.

If you publish e-mail alerts, be sure to publish at least one alert just after you start publishing your series – sometime just after the first posting or two. This will help generate expectation among your readers, who will spread the word for you.

CONCLUSION: Format Does Not Equal Content

This series has focused on various common formats of blog postings. I did that deliberately, because I believe that the content sphere is where the creativity of bloggers can produce nearly infinite options. I did not want to limit bloggers’ creativity with blanket recommendations such as: “If you want to write news commentary, a short article is best.”

Still, format is important. It’s the package in which you deliver content to your audience. Clearly understanding the strengths and limitations of the various formats helps you choose the most effective way to communicate through your blog. You wouldn’t be blogging if you didn’t really want to communicate, right?

INDEX to this series.