Explainers are one of the most widely used forms of ‘evergreen’ content. In this unpublished extract from the latest edition of the Online Journalism Handbook, removed due to word limit, I explore why they are so popular, what types of subject are suitable, and how explainers are structured.

What is ‘evergreen’ content?

“Evergreen” is a term used to refer to stories that have a longer shelf life than standard news stories, generating a more steady (compared to news) number of pageviews year-in, year-out — especially if they relate to a consistently popular search term (think “How to replace a light bulb”). 

Unlike news stories or features inspired by a news event, these tend to be ‘timeless’, in the sense that they could have been written at any time — and indeed might still be useful years into the future. How-to articles are just one common form of evergreen content; lists also work well — and certain types of reviews too (although their shelf life will depend on the type of product).

The challenge is picking a topic that hasn’t already been done already: the more specific, or the fresher, the angle the better.

Writing another “How to replace a light bulb” article isn’t something that’s going to be worth your time — but “How to pick the most environmentally friendly light bulb” or “Here’s how I made a dress out of light bulbs” just might find its niche of search traffic on the web. 

Explainers as evergreen content

One form of evergreen content which has been particularly successful online is the explainer. Explainers are feature articles that explain the background to a particular topical issue or event — but because those issues or events often recur, the explainers are regularly updated and enjoy a new lease of life.

Typically this format leads on — then answers — questions that people might be asking as they come across the latest update in an ongoing news event (and, crucially, questions that they may be typing into search engines: explainers are often heavily optimised for search). 

Sometimes the explainer addresses ‘What’ and ‘how’ questions. Headlines that begin with “What you need to know about…” or “Everything you need to know about…” are commonly employed. As one writer puts it:

“The eye-catching ‘Here’s How/Here’s Why’ (etc.) headline is not just an explanatory mode of address that aids in unpacking the news for a reader lost in a deluge of coverage — it is also a tool optimised to grab attention in a platform ecology crowded with content” (Hurcombe 2022)

The listicle (structuring the information into a numbered series of pieces of information) or charticle format (the same, but with a chart for each item) is also often used.

Sometimes explainers are part of a regular series that focuses on a particular topical subject each day or week, such as The Guardian’s The Briefing or Vox’s explainers.

What makes a good subject for an explainer?

Good candidates for an explainer include:

• A developing news story (as in the case of HuffPost UK’s Myanmar Coup: What You Need To Know)
• A news story which includes important context/complexity (the BBC’s How many people are sleeping on the streets?)
• Proposals that need explaining (The Guardian’s Royal charters: what are they and how do they work?)
• New technologies or research which includes important context/complexity
• An upcoming news event (World Cup 2018: Everything you need to know in seven charts or Everything you need to know about the West Midlands Mayor)
• A factcheck

The story might be complementary to one you are working on, too. For example if you’ve done an investigation and there are complexities that need explaining, you might write a separate explainer to link to (and make the most of your background research).

Structuring an explainer

Explainers are often divided into short sections using subheadings (in the case of listicles those subheadings are numbered). Those sections are likely to relate to different aspects of the issue, thing or story you are explaining.

These might be:

• Sub-questions related to the main headline (“Who has scored the most goals?”; “Where are Suu Kyi and senior leaders?”)
• Key facts (“Hardly anyone has a mobile“; “England may struggle but the Premier League dominates”)
• Key actors (“The democratically elected leader” and “The military” are the first two subheadings in Myanmar Coup: What You Need To Know)
• Key events (“The coup” and “The international reaction” are two further subheadings in the same piece)
• Key themes (How will Brexit affect your finances? has ‘the pound’, ‘mortgages’, ‘house prices’, ‘wages’ and so on)
• A conversation — as explained in this post

You can use Google Trends to help you identify ‘related queries’ that people looking for one thing are likely to also be searching for. Ash Percival, Entertainment Editor at HuffPost UK, says they used this approach when planning explainers around the TV series Line Of Duty:

“With the show having many links to the past and many returning characters, we prepared explainers on key details and figures to help jog readers’ memories. With these, we see huge numbers in search traffic, as we angle headlines to what we think readers will be searching for and stuff them with key words. For example, ‘Who Is Lee Banks? Who Is James ‘Jimmy’ Lakewell? Line Of Duty’s Latest Links To The Past Explained’.”

Find out more

You can find examples of explainers in my Pinboard bookmarks. A playlist of videos on explanatory journalism more generally can be found here.