(Reading time: 3 – 5 minutes)
Here’s a question for you: “What’s the difference between a pillar content article and a series of articles, given that the information in the pillar article and the series is the same?”
Your answer is embedded in the question: The difference is in presentation.
Today, we’ll take a look at a tried-and-true device many academic authors use — even good ones! Colloquially, it’s called “shingling.” Done poorly it reflects poorly on the author. Done well it helps readers tremendously.
The basic premise is to overlap parts of one article as the jumping off point for another article. The overlap should not be a copy and paste. Instead, the overlapping content—the shingle—should provide context and continuity for readers, who may be jumping into the middle of your series.
Providing context allows the reader to understand the benefits of the article.
Providing continuity allows the author to understand the work in terms of a bigger picture, and points the reader to closely related material.
How to write shingled articles for blogs
There’s two basic tactics for writing shingled articles:
- Write first, break it up when you’re done, or
- wing it, write it as you go.
If you’re going to wing it, you should have an outline or at least some notion of where you want to take the reader before you start writing. This will help you from getting stalled out halfway through.
The WordPress post editor is not that convenient for this purpose in many respects. However, because you can get automatic backups via WordPress, it can be useful. Google Reader is viable alternative as well. If you are diligent about your own backups (or just don’t care), use MS Word, Notepad, whatever.
Here’s the procedure for cutting a long article into pieces:
- Create a long article, 1000 words or more, with at least two separate sections. Save this article. You can add to it later and present it as a “page,” or as a PDF file, or for some kind of premium content.
- Split the article along the section topics.
- Add an overall series introduction to the start of the first article. Summarize the entire series.
- Add an article introduction to each of the articles in the series. For the first article, this goes right below the series introduction.
- For the second and proceeding articles, summarize the preceding article. Don’t plagiarize yourself! Give the reader fresh motivation!
- Add a summary or closing statements directing readers to the next articles.
- At the end of the last article, summarize the entire series.
This same procedure can be used to write-as-you-go, with slight modifications. You may have to do a small amount revising or rewriting as you go, to ensure the overall series of articles retains integrity.
Show us what you got!
[Updated 1/28/2010]
Talk is cheap, action rules the day!
The first three authors that send me a link to a series of articles crafted according to my guidelines above get a link below. Valentina Bellicova scored the first, who’s next?
- MasterMind Power I: How 5 Boys Achieved Unparalled Success. Read how 5 small town boys achieved unparalleled success by masterminding. If they can do it, you can too. First of a 4 part series, don’t miss any of them.
- Here’s Carlos Velez’s candidate: The Wu-Tang Plan, Part 1. C.R.E.A.M: Carlos is Rarely Ever Anxious about Money.
- Marshall Craw weighs in with Power Budgets [1]: What Everyone Should Know. Why you need a power budget for your next energy project.
Step right up folks, this is a great technique, and part of Website In A Weekend’s Pillar Content. It’s not going away.
Hi Dave,
I am a big proponent of the series style of blogging and/or article marketing. Shingling is a new term for me and it makes total sense. So lets shingle on!
best…………..valentina
Valentina, we’re going to kill it with your MasterMind Power series in Jan-Feb 2010.
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..Search Your Blog Network With Google Custom Search =-.
Yea… Shingling is a new term for me as well. I like the idea of writing a series of posts, I just have never done that. I seem to write posts of about 500 to 700 words long. I spill my brain on to the computer screen and on to the next thought.
However, starting Friday I will have a series of 52+ posts starting called “My Grandma’s Blog”. It’s her life story spoken through her words. I’m really excited about this “shingled” post as it will give her family access to her diaries and hopefully will catch the eyes of a few of my readers.
Anyway, good stuff Dave and great idea.
Jason, get the first two articles structured and published, I’ll trust you with the conclusion and link to the start of the series.
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..DIY WordPress: Thesis Theme Custom Splash Page =-.
That’s really helpful advice for me, as some of the posts I have written are the first part of a series, and I have many more ideas in mind. Aaron wrote 2 really insightful articles on intros and conclusions that make a nice threesome with your post if you ask me. I learn a lot from you guys!
Carlos, write a series and grab one of these links!
I’m working on it! Thanks for the motivation…I’m using my Wu-Tang Plan series which I’ve procrastinated on. Thankfully I did an outline for part 2 on tuesday, which I think is turning into parts 2, 3, & maybe 4…yeesh. Aaron made me do it for one of the exercises on his blog, so it seems, between the two of you, that I am getting the swift kick I needed this week.
Thanks!
Same deal as Jason, get the first two structured and published, I’ll add a link to the start of the series.
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..MasterMind Power I: How 5 Boys Achieved Unparalled Success =-.
It’s on! check your email for links.
.-= Carlos Velez´s last blog ..The Wu-Tang Plan, Part 2 C.R.E.A.M: Can blogging Really Earn Any Money? =-.
Nice post for the multi part series concept. Its funny that part 2 of one of my series has great google page rank and gives me something to study :). Anyway, I’ve reconfigured part one of my Power Budget series. Working today on part 2. Take a look and see if I can grab your third spot!
Thanks for the encouragement.
.-= marshall | genverters.com´s last blog ..3 reasons for off grid software choices =-.
Excellent, looking forward to reading the whole series.
.-= Dr WordPress!´s last blog ..MasterMind Power IV: Some MasterMind Examples =-.
DOH! here’s the link I speak of:
.-= marshall | genverters.com´s last blog ..3 reasons for off grid software choices =-.