Writing for the web and writing for print media is completely different. But writers working for web have many misconceptions and one of these misconceptions is that they consider blogs and articles the same.
In this article, we will discuss the difference between a blog and an article.
We often use the words “blog” and “article” interchangeably so much that we have completely blurred the lines between the two terms. Today we’ll answer the very common question: What is the difference between Blogging and Article Writing…
And most importantly, how will it impact your content marketing strategy?
Blogging:
Blogging started as pages from the diary in the initial days of the internet. But today they have become a credible form of information and infotainment. Blogs published today are no different than articles and columns by people. In fact, it wouldn’t be wrong to call blogging another type of article format that is used on the web.
Articles:
Articles are usually written for print publications such as newspapers, magazines, research journals and more. The term ‘article’ comes from ‘articulate.’ This means to express an idea and to explain it to the people. Articles usually require citations from other sources or people. They need to be written in a professional tone and require a professional level of editing before getting published.
Difference between Blogging & Articles
| Blog Post | Article |
| Opinions, diary pages, and now a means of generating income | Well-research content pieces on a particular topic |
| Doesn’t always require research or citations | Requires research and interviews to be published. Have a byline at the end |
| Around 2000 words | Between 1000 and 8000 words |
| Built around SEO keywords | Keywords not important |
| Good spelling and grammar optional | Spelling and grammar are impeccable |
| Casual writing style | The more sophisticated writing style |
| No editor involved; self-published | An editor required to publish an article in print media and magazines |
| Content writers can write blogs easily | Articles require a certain level of expertise and experience |
In the last few years, blogs have become more like articles. They are well-researched, have interviews in them, and ready for publication. Blog posts now have interactive media in them including texts, images, and even videos. Now, some bloggers have started to add their podcasts on these blogging websites as well. Blogs present interactive content including videos, audios, and images. This helps the readers to engage with the blog. They need to include keywords so to get traffic through organic search rankings.
On the other hand, articles are written for print publications. They include research, interviews, citations and much more. People working on articles will require statements and from all various interviewees for feature articles. Articles also charge a lot of money and sometimes $100 or even more because they are read by a huge amount of publicity on a daily basis. But make sure whenever you start writing an article and when you get to the heading part, make one that makes sense.
Article for Web = Blogs
When you write articles for magazines, they are called articles. But when you write for websites, the headlines need to be more sophisticated. Just like blog-post headlines, and headline styles can make a big difference. Take Buzzfeed. They have some of the best articles on different topics. But all the headlines they use have the tendency to get more clicks.
Types of Blogs Written
- Curated content
- Opinion piece
- Feature article
- Expert opinions
- Skyscraper content
- Product review
All these types of blog content pieces serve a purpose and help the blog become more powerful and enhance product conversions.
The Sooner The Better
Most magazines have now gone online and that is why they are cutting jobs. A lot of people have been fired from their job for using vulgar language and this one is also a great idea. Some magazines went online-only. Their style got breezier and more casual.
Here are a few tips to improve sales and conversions while highlighting the difference between blogs and articles.
Some suggested steps:
- Plan It. What are you going to be writing about? Will it be a blog or an article? These are the first questions that you should ask yourself while writing for the web. When the client order you to create a post for them. Ask them their budget, requirements, and their prices for creating Urooj’s schedule.
- Explain Both. If you are writing an article for the client, tell him the difference between the two and then offer him genuine advice. When you write, the article charges will be way more than the writing for blogs. Because you will need to get out and ask others what they heard from a reporter or source.
Similarly, if you are writing for the web and a client needs a blog, then what? Well, writing blog copies is not much fun but you can make them more interactive for clients by adding relevant material.
- Sell articles at Prime Price: Clients who don’t quite know what they want, sell them on the idea that you should be writing an article for them, rather than a blog post, if they want their content marketing to be successful. Share the news of how Google is frowning on short keyword-driven posts.
- Sell blog upgrades. Similarly, you can sell content for existing blogs. This will help clients take their blog to the next level, and write reported-story, magazine-type feel for their reputation and visibility.
Costs & Charges
I recommend you try to pay for the articles in the best rates so that the floor for blog writing services — article rates remain between $0.5 to $1 for each word, depending on the length and complexity of the articles.
Many smaller websites will pay somewhere between $10 and $50 for each small article of fewer than 1000 words. But they will offer more impressive content including bonus material of learning to report a story, which lays the groundwork for getting better-paying articles in the future, from businesses or magazines.
There are plenty of clients out there who call the 300-word quickie posts they want ‘articles,’ but don’t know the difference between professional articles and blog posts. You can inform them while also submitting to them the actual difference between the two.
In fact, your job for the writers of the articles will become even better when you help them understand the topics. This is because each gig needs to be paid for in the best possible amount.