How to Write a Link Article (E-Course Part 7)

Posted November 12, 2010 | Laura Christianson

This is Part 7 in a 12-part e-course about the types of blog articles.

Link Articles

Link Articles are one step removed from list articles. A fallback for every blogger, link articles include multiple hyperlinks to:

a)  Articles on other people’s blogs

b)  Articles from your own blog’s archives

It’s wise to include a brief annotation for each link. Your annotation could include:

  • Why you chose that link (when you link to another post, it’s like putting your stamp of approval on it).
  • An excerpt from the post.

You’ll see lots of “Best of” link articles year-round on blogs, but they’re particularly popular at the end of each year, when bloggers showcase the best of everything in their industry from the previous year.

STRUCTURE OF A LINK ARTICLE

If you plan to publish a lot of link articles, you’ll want to create a stylesheet for how you’ll share links. When I write link articles, I use the following style:

1.  Title of the article to which I’m linking in boldface (with the URL embedded in the link)

2.  1-sentence explanation of the article’s topic

3.  Brief quote/excerpt from the article

4.  Full URL to the article

TITLES

Identify link articles with phrases such as:

  • Highlights…
  • Best of…
  • Top…

SAMPLE LINK TITLES

SEO FOR LINK ARTICLES

My friend Thomas McGee wrote a combination how-to/link article for Smashing Magazine, a hugely popular blogs for Web designers and developers, with more than 5 million visitors per month.

In his article, “Billboard Web Design: How to Win Your Audience’s Attention,” Thomas provided annotated links (complete with screenshots) to 29 websites.

Smashing Magazine is famous for its mega-link articles, and, as Thomas pointed out to me, his goal was “to create a resource so comprehensive and complete that readers would bookmark it and return to it time and time again.”

Had he broken up each section of his article into separate blog posts, it would have lost its comprehensive quality and would have forced people to hunt to find the other parts of the series. A long list (as long as it contains quality information) also has the potential to attract more links to your site, and more social bookmarking on sites such as Delicious or Digg.

I agree with Thomas – to a point. The key thing to remember is your readership. Smashing Magazine readers are tech-savvy designers and developers who revel in having easy access to dozens of creative design ideas on a daily basis.

But most blog readers aren’t interested in spending hours clicking through to 29 or 50 or 100 links. Sure, they may bookmark your post and have every intention of revisiting it at a later date (ostensibly, when they have more time). But my guess is that while most of us have good intentions of reading articles we’ve bookmarked, few of us ever get around to doing so.

Again, it’s important to know YOUR readers and to deliver what they expect. My blog’s typical reader is a technically-challenged Baby Boomer who has recently started blogging or who wants practical ideas for taking their social media marketing to the next level.

A 29-link post would likely freak out many of my readers. When I write link articles, I limit them to 5 or 10 links. When I write link articles that include 20 or more links, I usually package it as a PDF so people can download it, print it, and keep it on hand for reference.

YOUR ASSIGNMENT

  1. Get a picture in your mind of your ideal reader. How many links can your reader stomach in one article? (If you’re not sure, poll your readers.)
  2. Start collecting links to interesting, useful articles in your niche. (I bookmark quality articles on Delicious and organize them into “tag bundles” so I can find them easily. These bookmarked articles become the basis for my link posts).
  3. In the Comments area, share one topic for which you’re going to begin collecting links.

Coming next:

How to write a Profile

Previously in this Series:

Return to Posts

17 responses to “How to Write a Link Article (E-Course Part 7)”

  1. […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Laura Christianson, Laura Christianson. Laura Christianson said: How to write a link article – join me for Session 7 of my free e-course on the 12 types of blog articles http://ht.ly/38R5V […]

  2. […] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Laura Christianson, Laura Christianson. Laura Christianson said: How to write a link article – join me for Session 7 of my free e-course on the 12 types of blog articles http://ht.ly/38R5V […]

  3. Diane Beason says:

    Okay, I’m a little late to this game but I’m loving these articles. So far, I’ve just scanned the e-course articles you’ve posted but I can’t wait to read them in depth and start making my lists. Thanks for pulling this all together – once again, you’re helping me out! Thanks!!

  4. Diane Beason says:

    Okay, I’m a little late to this game but I’m loving these articles. So far, I’ve just scanned the e-course articles you’ve posted but I can’t wait to read them in depth and start making my lists. Thanks for pulling this all together – once again, you’re helping me out! Thanks!!

  5. Glad you’re finding the course helpful, Diane. As you know, I like experimenting with different methods of delivering content. Everyone who subscribes to my e-newsletter (Bright Ideas Blogzine) will receive the full e-course as a PDF once all the sessions have been posted on my blog.

  6. Glad you’re finding the course helpful, Diane. As you know, I like experimenting with different methods of delivering content. Everyone who subscribes to my e-newsletter (Bright Ideas Blogzine) will receive the full e-course as a PDF once all the sessions have been posted on my blog.

  7. […] How to Write a Link Article (E-Course Part 7) […]

  8. […] How to Write a Link Article (E-Course Part 7) […]

  9. […] How to Write a Link Article (E-Course Part 7) […]

  10. […] How to Write a Link Article (E-Course Part 7) […]

  11. Ivan says:

    I’m really late to comment, but your blog has a lot of useful information, will stuck around for some days 😉 merry christmas, Laura.

  12. Ivan says:

    I’m really late to comment, but your blog has a lot of useful information, will stuck around for some days 😉 merry christmas, Laura.

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