• by Ray Schultz , February 5, 2023

Video ranks as the top form of online content for editors. But guest-written articles are even more popular, judging by The State of Contributed Content 2023, a study by Influence&Co. 

Of the editors polled, 97.5% plan to publish the same amount guest content or more in 2023, up from 93.3% who said the same in a 2021 survey. And 86.8% now publish at least one guest post per week, while only 13% feature none. 

Editors also expect to publish these forms of content in 2023: 

• Videos—76.7% 
• Podcasts—62.8% 
• Newsletters—60.5%
• Webinars—53.5% 
• Infographics—37.2% 
• Twitter & Slack Chats—11.6^
• Other—2.3%

One caveat: This study is based on a survey of only 46 online publication editors, but it may serve as a snapshot.  

The study also reviewed thousands of pieces, and determined that the average headline word count for the most-shared content was 10.5. The average word count was 792.

It also found that Wednesday is the leading day for social shares of content, with Tuesday and Thursday almost tied. Saturday appears to be the worst day, followed by Sunday.  

Meanwhile, the editors say great guest content has these attributes: 

1. It’s high-quality and non-promotional. 
2. The topic is fit for the publication’s readership.
3. It shares original, expert-level, real-world insights.

Influence&Co. is a division of Intero Digital.