Well, the question is still fresh in people's minds – is there a difference between blog and article?
If you are a content writer, this question must have crossed your mind. Many people tend to confuse both terms. They think they mean the same thing. But in reality, blogs and articles are different from each other. Due to this confusion, many entrepreneurs marketing their brands through content writing in the USA fails to reach their desired audience.
So, what exactly is the difference? We have a few points for you to let this confusion slide but first;
What came first blogs or articles?
Well, articles were born hundreds of years ago, while the blogs are the infants in the world of the elderly.
SEO keywords
When you are writing a blog, you need to add some keywords for it to go viral. If you are writing a blog on the richest USA singers, then marketing your content by adding SEO keywords such as Singers of the USA, richest singers for driving more traffic to your blog will be crucial. But as far as the articles are concerned, you are free from the cage of SEO keywords. Even when publishing the article on the internet, SEO keywords won't be a necessity.
Opinions
When writing blogs, you can give your personal opinions. Blogs are mostly built from the writer's opinions. But when it comes to articles – articles are mostly comprised of reports, statistics, and information. If you are writing your content about the USA's most successful entrepreneur's marketing strategy, then your article will need statistical data, budgeting, and other information related to that business. But when writing a blog, all you need is your personal opinion, and then BAM, you have your blog ready, all set to sail in the seas of blogs.
Editing
Though every content needs editing, the word has been around that articles are most likely to go through a solid editing phase as articles need to be error-free. At the same time, blogs are not much needed for editing. The lack of editing is considered a key feature of blogging. The grammar and spelling are optional when articles don't stand a chance with a bag full of grammar and spelling mistakes. Consider you are writing a blog on best-rated restaurants and an article about the USA's best athlete. Which content will be marketing better with proper editing?
Length and styling
The most common difference between blogs and articles is the length and style. Blogs range from 300 to 1000 words, and articles are quite lengthy. The word range varies from 1500 to 5000.
The writing styles also vary. Blogs are meant to be creative and easier for people to understand.
Articles use journalism style and tone and are not preferably creative. If you are writing a blog on how to write creative content and an article on the USA's best marketing companies, you can write blogs creatively. Whereas a serious and sophisticated tone will be required for the mentioned article.
Interviews and research
When writing a blog, you don't need interviews or research. You write in your own opinion. Articles require thorough research and interviews. Writing about a textile firm in the USA and marketing that content correctly will need accurate data and information. Hence the interviews and research.
Structuring
Blogs tend to be catchy, and you have to bring out the creative beast inside you. You are allowed to add short sentences and ellipsis – be flexible and add a little glitter over it; nobody will stop you.
Articles are more of a serious one and can't come off as dramatic.
Particular orders of publications
Blogs are posted in a backward chronological order while the publication dates of the articles are recorded.
Publication Medium
Blogs are posted within the blogs sections of a website, while the articles are published in magazines, newspapers, and other online versions like time magazine and the New York Times.
Scope
Articles are written from a broader perspective and include every aspect of a topic. Blogs are narrowed down to a lesser version of articles – a few aspects will be included. For example, you saw a blog written on a high schooler losing weight, and the next day you see an article under the name "USA's teenager aiming to lose weight for her prom- isn't it body shaming?". After reading the article, you will realize that it covered all the aspects of the topic. And not just the view of that teenager but also how body-shaming isn't good for society. This way, content marketing will be better also.
Earning
Pay rates are low for blogs—usually $5-$20 per piece. Articles pay starts from $.10-$1 per word and up.
Subscriptions- which one allows this?
For blogs, you are allowed to subscribe. You will see an RSS button to subscribe, which will keep you updated on the posts through emails. You can also drop a few comments on the blogs. Articles don't provide you with an RSS button to subscribe it. And they don't allow you to drop comments as well.
Point of view
As discussed above, the blogs are written with a personal perspective. So, blogs use the first person's point of view. Whereas the articles are more informative and based on facts, they use second- and third-persons points of view.
Main purpose
As articles are more informative, they are written to educate their readers. After reading, those people will have a wider perspective on that topic due to the real facts written in the content. For example, reading content about the marketing tactics of the USA's famous YouTuber will help you with promoting your YouTube account. Blogs are from the author's perspective, so they might not have the same impact on you as the articles.
When it comes to marketing your content, make sure you know whether you are writing an article or a blog because the marketing tactics can change very slightly for either of them. Well, now we hope that some of your confusion might have been cleared after reading this blog. Good luck with your articles and blogs!