If It’s Not All Right, It’s Not the End in Blogging for Business

A rather wry, yet strangely encouraging statement I came across the other day reads:

“Everything will be all right in the end.  And if it’s not all right, it’s not the end.”

From a blog content writing point of view, I asked myself, how do we judge whether it’s “all right” to “have done” with today’s post, leaving further elucidation for another day, another blog post?

The simple, but not-so-simple-to-implement answer, I think, is this:  Stop when…

When you’ve said what you set out to say.  When you feel readers will have “gotten it”.  When you feel that the one concept you’ve chosen to convey today  has been explained.  When you’re satisfied you’ve offered a clear call to action.  When you’re sincerely convinced you’ve offered the kind of information that will appeal to your target audience.

“As you compose – think who will read what I write? With your target reader in mind, express why your message is relevant and important, ”comments  Bob Coss on writingtips.com.

Then, tell the readers what you think they need and want to know about only the topic of today’s post and no more. Attempting to cover too much ground in a single blog post, we lose focus, straining our readers' attention span. Gary DeAsi and Evan Stone advise financial planners not to be afraid to write in tried-and-true blog genres including

1. Collections and top lists
2. Reviews
3. Predictions
4. Motivation
5. Trouble-shooting
6. Interviews
7. Editorial/ Personal reflection

Done that? Then it’s all right and it can be the end (for today, anyway).