Blogging For Business – Show ‘Em A Gun

Preparing good speeches, says National Speakers Association President Lou Heckler, quoting NSA founder Bill Gove, means using all three of the "3 P’s".  As a professional ghost blogger and blog trainer, I’d venture to say, the 3 P’s can serve as a perfect template for blog posts.

Premise
What is this blog post really going to be about? The title and opening paragraph of your blog post are for introducing the "cast" (what you’ll be discussing) and "showing ’em a gun" (meaning a controversy, myth, or statistic) to arouse interest and curiosity in readers.

Problem
In films, the tension derives from the hero or heroine encountering obstacles and setbacks.  What problems and issues are your readers encountering?

Payoff
In this "third reel", you offer your unique proposition for solving the problem.  This is where you use the "gun" you showed ’em at the beginning of the blog post.

As you’re planning your speech, Heckler reminded us at NSA, you need to decide what your goal is.  What do you want your audience to think, feel, or do? In blog posts, this is the basis upon which you design your Calls to Action.

Brian Halligan, co-author of Inbound Marketing points out some key mistakes for business bloggers to avoid.  One of the lowest- converting (meaning least effective at gaining new buyers for a product or service) is "Contact us." That’s too general, says Halligan. (What exactly do you want your reader to think, feel, or do?) Have people fill out a form instead of just emailing, he advises. That way, you capture users’ contact information in a database of people who may not be ready to buy just yet.

Whether it’s a film or a blog post you’re planning, the 3 P’s is a good template for delivering a concise message with emotional appeal, and…some bang!