Looking for ideas for your next blog post?
You should try writing a product comparison post.
It’s basically just an article where you compare two (or more) popular products against each other. And it works like a charm in virtually every field.
Are you a travel blogger?
You could compare hotel chains, airline credit cards, or pit Airbnb against VRBO.
Food blogger?
You could compare blenders, weight loss programs, and recipe books.
Digital marketing blogger?
You could compare courses, website plugins, and SaaS tools.
As you can see, writing a product comparison post works in basically any niche.
And here are three reasons why I think you should give writing product comparison posts a try:
1. Product comparison posts are super helpful for readers
As bloggers, perhaps our biggest job is helping people save time by making the information they need more convenient.
In a crowded Internet, people have shared many ideas. But we can make readers’ lives better by presenting content in a convenient format.
Product comparison posts are a great example. By providing the information readers need all in one place, we can help them skip or reduce the tedious work of researching various solutions.
2. Product comparison posts are a great way to educate yourself
We all know using the best tools is essential. But finding the time to research different options is tough — and usually gets pushed to the back burner.
Writing a product comparison post allows you to kill two birds with one stone. You get a great blog post you can proudly share and a chance to become more knowledgeable about products that can help you and your readers.
3. Product comparison posts can make money
Many companies have affiliate programs bloggers can join that pay you for generating leads. If you write a definitive product comparison post about two relevant products and share it with your readers, you might convert a few people into paying customers — and earn a commission for yourself.
So, now that you’ve read about the benefits of these articles… want to give it a try?
Here’s how to write a definitive product comparison post
Follow these 4-steps to write a product comparison post that will convert massive amounts of leads:
Step 1: Pick two products or services your readers are interested in
Think through these questions to find the best products to compare:
- Think of a problem your readers might face, and two solutions they might consider.
- Think of a tool your readers might already use, and an alternative they might like to try.
- Think of a tool you currently use, and some alternatives you’d like to try.
Step 2: Pick some facts about the products to highlight
As the name implies, your goal in a product comparison post is to highlight differences. One of the biggest mistakes you can make with this type of article is writing general product reviews and never pointing out any key distinctions.
I’m not saying you have to pick a winner or make a one-size-fits-all recommendation. On the contrary, it’s usually a game of pros and cons.
For example, one product might have more features, while the other product is cheaper. Which is the better product for the reader? It depends on what they value more: Features or cost savings. Your job is merely to point out these differences.
Here are some areas you can highlight:
- Pricing
- Key features
- Regions where the product is available (when applicable)
- Reviews (if possible)
There will also be some topic-specific differences you’ll want to highlight.
For example, this review of Daily Harvest and Green Blender, two popular smoothie delivery services, points out the differences in the size of the smoothies; whether the recipes are organic, gluten-free, or vegan; and whether the ingredients are shipped fresh or frozen.
Step 3: Do your research
Now that you have a good idea of what areas you want to cover, you can go on a scavenger hunt to find the answers. Company websites are where you’ll probably want to start, but Google is a big help too — if you know the right tricks.
When you search a keyword followed by the name of the product’s website (“keyword” + “product’s website”), Google can often point you to the best pages for answers faster than you can find them by browsing.
A side-note about finding product reviews:
Reviews and ratings are an incredibly valuable data point to include in your product comparison posts because they quantify how satisfied customers tend to be with a product. However, finding scores to share can sometimes be difficult‚ especially if you don’t know where to look.
Food Delivery Guru has a great post comparing Blue Apron against Hello Fresh (two meal kit delivery services that send customers pre-portioned ingredients for cooking easy homemade meals.) Since retailers like Amazon don’t sell these meal delivery subscriptions, you might think there would be no way to show reviews. But Food Delivery Guru gets around that by featuring the companies’ Trustpilot scores.
Trustpilot is a website where customers can post reviews for products they’ve tried. There are many sites like it, and you can find these sites by Googling what you’re looking for—i.e., “Hello Fresh reviews”.
Look for a reputable site that has a considerable number of reviews for both of the services you’re comparing. For example, if one product has a terrible rating but only three reviews, it would probably be unfair to use those metrics as the basis for a comparison.
Step 4: Write the post
You can be creative in the outline you choose to use, but remember, your job is to make the information easy to find and understandable.
Here’s a basic outline I’ve found to be useful:
- Acknowledge the problem the reader is facing
- Mention the tools that could solve the problem
- Quickly explain how the post will help readers pick the best option for their unique situation
- Offer a side-by-side comparison chart for an easy overview
- Write a short review of product 1 highlighting unique features
- Summarize the pros of product 1 using bullet points
- Write a short review of product 2 highlighting unique features
- Summarize the pros of product 2 using bullet points
- End with a conclusion that suggests which product is better for specific groups of people based on their circumstances (e.g., “If you’re looking for the cheapest option…”)
Do I have to limit myself to only two products or companies?
Absolutely not.
Kindlepreneur has a great article that helps aspiring authors pick the best book writing software for their needs. Although the name doesn’t explicitly say it, this blog post is really just a definitive product comparison post. In the write-up, the authors actually compare five different tools you can use to write books.
To keep the post from becoming overwhelming, the authors do a few things really well:
- They highlight mutually exclusive differentiators (like which book writing software works for which device), helping people quickly narrow down their options.
- They keep their overviews for each of the five products short.
- They use a lot of bullet points to communicate important facts with less text.
Over to you
Now you have some great reasons to consider giving a product comparison post a try, clear steps for how to write one, and several examples of great articles you can reverse engineer.
If you have any questions, be sure to post them in the comments!