From the point of view of constructing for monetization, it's better to go the two article, path of writing the information in an actionable format, that is, the 'what/how' funnel. Create a useful article about "what" issue involved in a niche, as a guest post leading to your site content, or as content on the site leading to a landing page. The content serves as a presell linking to a resource on "how to" solve that issue, which could be another presell article, or the order page. This gives the motivated visitor a reason to go to the next link, as part of the "taking action" process of solving their problem.