The Big 5: 5 tips for writing your first comparison article

As a brand new TAYA content manager, you have been tasked with writing an article comparing two or more products or services

You are familiar with the TAYA mindset and know and understand the importance of acting as a trusted advisor in your content to help consumers make the right buying decision.

But how do you do that if you work for a commercial company whose survival depends on how many sales are generated?

This can be especially tricky if, until now, you have written mostly for companies that did not use the TAYA method. In that case, you don't know any better than to focus on the positives of the product or service you're selling, and to gloss over the negatives as much as possible.

At Buzzlytics, we speak to new TAYA content managers every week who also struggle with this.

Therefore, in this article we will give you five practical tips for writing your first comparison article. You will learn how to be transparent about your own position, how to present all relevant information, and how to build your article logically.

We also show you how to use "rich media" to make your article more engaging and how to write a powerful conclusion that spurs your readers to action.

After reading this article, you can write your own comparison article that will help your readers make the best choice.

But first: why is it so important to write comparison articles in the first place?

A comparison article explaining how your product or service compares to other similar products or services is one of the most important articles you can write.

Indeed, making the right choice between two similar options can be very important to consumers, and many people are willing to do extensive research before tying the knot.

The reason? Buyer's remorse.

No one wants to make the wrong decision - especially if it's an expensive one. With a well thought out and detailed article, you help potential customers make the right decision. And in doing so, you build trust.

But how do you write such an article about similar products or services that resonates with your target audience and helps them make the decision that is best for them?

You'll read about that in the remainder of this article.

With a well thought out and detailed article, you help people make the right decision. And in doing so, you build trust.

One of the most important things to do in your comparison article is to mention why you are writing the article in the first place.

So let your reader know already in your intro that you are selling one, both or all of the things you discuss.

If you don't do this, and they find out for themselves, you will lose credibility and they will likely leave your site.

Suppose you sell heat pumps and start writing an article about different alternatives to a central heating boiler. Then you don't want to mention that you sell heat pumps only at the end of the article.

Your readers will then begin to doubt everything they have just read.

They will scrutinize all the negative things you have written about everything that is not a heat pump.

And all the positive things you wrote about the heat pump will be less impressive.

In short, you lose all credibility, and more importantly, a potential customer.

Heat pump supplier hoomie makes it clear at the beginning of its article on alternatives to a central heating boiler that it sells heat pumps.

If you want to be seen as the "trusted advisor," it is important to be as helpful as possible in your articles.

The point is to give consumers as much information as possible so they can make an informed purchasing decision.

Of course: you would prefer that they buy from you. But if you want to act as a teacher and advisor, rather than a salesman, you put your own needs aside and look at things from their point of view.

What do people want to know? Why do they ask these questions? What do they hope to accomplish by doing this? What is really the best choice for them?

In the example above, hoomie explicitly mentions that this is one of the goals of the article: "We list 7 alternatives to a gas central heating boiler, so you can decide for yourself which is the best option in your case."

Such a statement makes me feel that hoomie is honest with me, and honesty creates trust.

Of course, I remain wary (after all, this is a commercial party), but a little less so than if hoomie had not said this.

If you have the consumer's best interest at heart in your content, you need to remain as objective as possible. One of the most important (and most difficult) things to do in this regard is to admit when your product or service does not suit the reader.

Yes, this can cause you to lose a lead. But it also prevents an unsatisfied customer with all the consequences (negative reviews, bad word of mouth for your company, etc.) that come with it.

If you have the consumer's best interest at heart in your content, you must remain as objective as possible.

Third, it is important to structure your information in a logical way.

There are a number of reasons for this:

• People scan your article to see if it's worth their attention. So they don't start at the first paragraph.
• They look at how your article is structured.
• They want to know how in-depth and/or long your article is.

There are two ways you can structure your article:

• Comparison on specific points
• Pros and cons

The first way is to compare different products based on predetermined points.

This is a construction that TigerTough Seat Covers uses a lot in their items.

In this example of Carhartt vs. TigherTough Seat Covers, you can see that two products are compared based on packaging, materials, ease of installation and warranty, among other things.

Here, of course, it is important that you do not compare products only on points that suit you:

The second way is to list the pros and cons of each option.

This is what the aforementioned heat pump provider hoomie does in their article on hot water without gas. They discuss various options for getting hot water without a gas connection, give a brief description of each option and tell what the advantages and disadvantages of each option are.

With this method, you give equal time and attention to each option, regardless of whether or not you sell a product or service yourself.

If you've written a long article and don't want to lose your reader's attention, add some "rich media.

Consider videos, images, infographics, tables, or block quotes. These help break up long pieces of text and add context to your article.

At Buzzlytics, we make extensive use of block quotes (the "images" with a colored background) to make important things stand out even more.

Add "rich media" to hold your reader's attention.

A consumer reading comparison articles is in the consideration phase of the customer journey.

Your article might even be the last article he reads before contacting sales.

For this reason, in a comparison article, it is extra important that you offer him one or more follow-up steps in the conclusion. For example, a link to another article or a video, or a call to action to schedule an appointment with sales.

At Buzzlytics, we use the 4 R's to write effective conclusions for our articles.

These 4 R's stand for Resolution, Reminder, Reintroduction and Relevant Next Step. In our article on how to write a blog you can read what the 4 R's mean and find an example of a conclusion written using this method.

With these five tips, you'll be all set to write your first comparison article.

What's most important to remember: your readers are looking for objective, transparent and reliable information to make an informed decision. Your comparison article can help them do this - whether they buy from you, or from the competitor anyway.

At Buzzlytics, we teach our clients' content managers to write comparison articles that position the company as a trusted advisor, not a salesperson.

Want to further improve your skills as a TAYA content manager? Then also read our blogs on how to write a good blog and which blog topics contribute to traffic, leads and sales.