There are many types of blog posts out there and over time we will help you learn the basics of how to write them all in our how-to guides. Today we are starting with how to write is a roundup blog post. We will tell you how to research your content, what kind of things to include and tips on making it SEO friendly.
What is a roundup blog post?
A roundup blog post is a type of blogging content that compiles posts from around the web on a particular subject. It’s usually written by one author or compiled with permissions from all of the authors and presents them in a list format to give readers who are interested an easy way to find related posts without having to conduct their own search. For example, you could write a post on family-friendly meal ideas, like this one.
Roundup posts are great for readers because they get updates on a subject without having to go through all the trouble of finding them. They’re also good for bloggers because they can show their readers that they are keeping up with trends and not just regurgitating what’s already been written about the topic already.
Plus they can be a great way to build relationships with other bloggers who get a backlink for featuring in the article. They are also a good way to promote your own blog posts, especially if the roundup post is on topic and attractive to readers.
How to decide on the type of roundup
Roundup posts are easy to create, but there’s more than one approach. Below we’ll outline three different ways you can do it so you’re not limited in how you want to go about writing yours.
Three ways to approach a roundup post are:
- Themes – roundups based on a theme or topic
- Contributors and how they are related to the niche’s subject matter.
- Categories, which can be by type of post (e.g., recipe roundup) or by major holiday events like Christmas time with gifts for men, women and kids as examples.
How to write a roundup blog post
When it comes to writing the roundup post, it is important to research the content you are going to be writing about. If it’s not something that you specialize in or have experience with, then spend time doing some background reading and researching on what goes into this type of task.
Once you have decided on the topic of the roundup, you are ready to start finding people to contribute to.
How to find contributors for a roundup post
Look for contributors with a lot of followers in the community that you are trying to reach. Check their follower count on Twitter or Facebook, and if they have many subscribers to their YouTube channel. These social media numbers indicate how much exposure your roundup post will get.
Don’t forget about niche websites as well! If you want to provide a well-rounded article, don’t limit yourself to the ‘big’ names in the niche. Reach out to contributors with a small following, but who have expertise in the niche you are trying to target.
Exposure for your roundup post may not be huge – it will depend on how many followers they already have and their social media activity – but at least it won’t go unnoticed!
Can you create a roundup of your own content?
You can definitely create a roundup of your own content. For example, if you have a food blog, you could get together all of your recipes that contain a certain ingredient such as garlic or broccoli. Then you could write a bit about the health benefits of the ingredient and use the roundup to offer recipes that use it.
Or if you were writing an ultimate guide to use Facebook for marketing, you could include a roundup of all the content you’ve already written about that topic. Summarise what the content is about and create an easy to follow link to the longer piece. This is good for the reader and for SEO.
Formatting and ensuring the post is SEO friendly
One of the easiest ways to format a post that links to other blog posts is to use a free plugin from Mediavine called Create. This lets you add a link, internal or external, and pulls information about it including a featured image. Then it creates a ‘card’ inside the list that includes a call to action button linking to the original article.
You could also make this manually with blocks in WordPress and buttons. Make sure you have permission to take an image from someone’s website and that everything links back correctly.
Tips to make your roundup blog post SEO friendly:
- Include a summary paragraph, so that people don’t need to read the entire article.
- Add images and videos within each section of the post for added visual interest.
- Include hyperlinks in between sections as often as possible–especially when it’s related to others so people can quickly move from one section to another.
- Include your keywords as often as possible, but don’t overdo it.
- Make sure the links you include are relevant and semantic–even if they’re from different sites, linking to other posts on your own blog will help increase traffic.
What to do after publishing the post
Most of the promotion of a roundup blog post is similar to other types of posts. but you do want to do one thing a little different – notify anyone featured in the post that it is live.
They might not but many people will share to their own audiences when they are featured or mentioned in a roundup. That helps you get access to a new audience for your post!
A great value post
Roundups are a great way to get your content out there and showcase other people’s work in the process. It also allows you to network with other bloggers or brands that may be interested in what you have to say about their topic of expertise! How could you use a roundup post on your blog?
