Unleash the Combined Power of Statistics and Stories in Your Blog

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“Every 55 seconds someone in the US develops the disease,” Jason Abady, community engagement manager for the Central Ohio Alzheimer’s Association, let our audience know. In fact, I thought later, Abady had used this one simple but startling statistic to engage his audience.

Abady’s presentation confirmed a long-held belief of mine: nothing speaks quite as loud as numbers. In teaching business owners and professional practitioners how to create content for blog posts, I stress the power of using statistics in blogs.

  • Statistics can serve as myth-busters, dispelling false impressions people may have regarding your industry.
  • Statistics grab visitors’ attention.
  • Statistics can be used demonstrate the extent of a problem (just as Jason Abady did in his talk), opening the door for your to show how you help solve that very type of problem.

Statistics relate to the theory of social proof, meaning that, as humans, we are more willing to do something if we see other people doing it. (That, I suspect, is what is in play with the Alzheimer’s Walk, which brings numbers of people together in an activity, rather than merely soliciting individual donations.)

There’s another side to this story, based on my own experience at Say It For You, training blog content writers and working with business owners and professional practitioners: Statistics alone, although powerful, are not enough to create positive results in a marketing blog. True, what blogging does best is “deliver” to blog sites customers who are already interested in the product or service provided by that practice, business, or organization. The blog content assures readers they are not alone in their need for solutions to their medical, financial, or personal challenges.

As John Pullinger observes in the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society, “Statistics provides a special kind of understanding that enables well-informed decisions. As citizens and consumers we are faced with an array of choices. Statistics can help us to choose well.” However, as blog marketers, it’s important for us to remember that the first choice that people make when presented with a statistic, is whether to take action at all.

Numbers give us quantifiable information, but when it comes to communicating how things can actually impact readers’ real lives, some form of humanizing or grounding the data is often effective, Barnard Marr explains in Forbes.

One way to boost the power of a statistic is to turn it into a story. The story then becomes a call to action for readers. In fact, one big, big part of providing business blogging assistance is helping business owners formulate stories. Online visitors to your blog want to feel you understand them and their needs, and the story enhances the potential value (to them) of your product or service. In his presentation, Jason Abady did exactly that, sharing the story of his own grandfather as an Alzheimer’s patient.

Unleash the combined power of startling statistics and inspiring stories in your blog!

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Trivia Scores Points in Blogging for Business

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With all this staying at home dictated by the COVID-19 situation, I’m particularly grateful for the TV game show Master Minds. Of course, at Say It For You, I’ve long touted the advantages of using trivia in blogging for business. Trivia can help spark curiosity and interest in readers, at the same time helping business owners and professionals explain what they do and how they believe it should best be done.

I know I’m not alone in enjoying trivia. In fact, I have a theory about quizzes in general, which is that our curiosity is most intense when we’re testing our own knowledge. That’s why tests, games, and quizzes are hard to resist, including those incorporated into blog marketing.

I’m going to use some actual questions from the show to suggest different types of businesses or professional practices which might use those questions as a jumping-off point for their blog post message, but challenge you to find your own connections (you’re invited to share your best ideas in the comments)…

Housed in the Smithsonian, what color is the Hope Diamond?
A natural for a jeweler’s blog, this material might be used for a post about the importance of estate planning or to promote company that installs burglar alarms.

The inhabitants of which U.S. territory drive on the left side of the road? (Virgin Islands)
Just for starters, this piece of trivia could be used to promote driving lessons or auto sales.

When putting on your shoes, where are you most likely to see an aglet? (laces)
This one’s a natural for a shoe merchant or designer, but could be used for a sports equipment company as well.

If you pour a handful of salt into a glass of water, what happens to the water level? (stays the same)
This tidbit might be used to promote cookbooks or cooking equipment.

What national park contains the tallest peak in North America? (Denali in Alaska)
A car company or travel agency could definitely use that one for a blog Q&A.

Which poisonous plant was, in the Middle Ages, thought to utter a shriek when pulled from the ground? (mandrake)
This would be perfect for a garden shop blog, but could be used by a landscaper or grounds maintenance company.

For me, watching those episodes of Master Mind has reinforced the importance of trivia in blog content writing. Trivia allows readers to have the fun testing their own knowledge, while showcasing the expertise of the business owner or practitioner.

When it comes to using trivia to spice up blog content, as Ben Bailey (host of another of my favorite trivia quiz shows) might ask – “You in?”

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In Blogging for Business, Trivia is Hardly Trivial

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When it comes to blogging for business, trivia is hardly a trivial matter. There are four basic ways in which trivia can be used as blog content writing tools:

  • defining basic terminology
  • sparking curiosity about the subject
  • putting modern-day practices and beliefs into perspective
  • explaining why the business owner or practitioner chooses to operate in a certain way

Albert Jack’s book, Red Herrings & White Elephants, traces the origins of phrases we use every day. (In this post, I’m going to suggest ways in which different types of businesses or practices might use pieces of trivia, but I challenge content writers to come up with their own ideas as well.) Needless to say, finding ideas for blog posts isn’t all about trivia – the trivia are just jumping-off points for the message.

If something “goes by the board”, it means it is cast aside and lost. On the old wooden ships, author Jack explains, the “board” was the side of the boat, and anything falling off the ship and lost forever had “gone by the board”.
This idiom is perfect for the blog content of any practice or business that wants to emphasize its attention to detail, showing how they make sure to clean up after the job and tie up all the “loose ends”.

To “have someone over a barrel” means that person is at the mercy of third parties and cannot change the circumstances surrounding them. The saying originated in medieval Britain, where it was standard practice to drape a drowning person face down over a barrel to try to clear their lungs of water. Since the victim was totally reliant on other people to determine their fate, when you are “over a barrel” you feel helpless to improve your situation.
This saying would be perfect for a personal injury attorney fighting for people who have been wronged by others, or perhaps for a financial advisor who helps people gain control over their debts.

A “dark horse” is something of unknown quantity or somebody whose abilities are not yet fully known but soon will be. The expression comes from the novel The Young Duke, published in 1831, in which the two favorites in a horse race are beaten by a a relatively unknown third horse.
One obvious application for this expression would be an investment company blog, but the concept could apply to the employee training and hiring field as well.

To “keep something at bay”, such as danger or illness, means to fend it off. In ancient times, Jack explains, the bay tree was thought to posses protective powers.
As a content writer, I can see this expression being used for a blog on healthy lifestyles (Vitamins? Cooking? Exercise?).

Fact is, when I’m offering business blogging assistance, I talk about the need to create as much fresh material as possible. In blogs, content needs to inform, educate, and entertain. While trivia may be just one of many tools content writers can use to introduce interest and variety, I’ve found that trivia are hardly “trivial” when it comes to blog marketing!.

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Letting Your Blog Verbs Breathe

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Even if you’re not into verbifying your nouns (the topic of my latest Say it For You blog post), at least let the verbs you do use, b-r-e-a-t-h-e, is my advice to content writers. “Don’t smother verbs”, Mary Cullen writes in 87 Advanced business Writing Tips That Actually Work. 

The three cautions Cullen offers are:
  1. Use clear words rather than using punctuation to emphasize your point.
  2. Don’t smother verbs by changing them into nouns (this is called nominalizing, the opposite of verbifying).
  3. Don’t overuse adverbs; instead, use stronger verbs.
Weak sentences frequently begin with “There is” or There are…”, Cullen explains.  Cut to the chase, she advises.  Find the real subject – and the real verb expressing what’s happening – and start there. Just as over-introducing a speaker takes away from, rather than enhancing, the impact of the talk itself, in your blog content, get to it, I teach at Say It For You.
Composing a blog post can be like creating a resume, in that it’s better to opt for strong, positive verbs. More verbs make for more dynamic blog content. Verbs connote activity and excitement, advises Bits.blogs.nytimes.  

“Good writing has a point, a goal – to sell something, to convince someone of something, or to explain how to do something, but whatever the point, the goal informs every line., says Dustin Wax of lifehack.org.” Strong verbs move readers in the direction of that goal.
Powerful writing is compelling, demanding attention, Wax continues, in any of three ways
  • the force of the argument
  • the importance of the topic
  • the strength of the language
My point today – now you’ve discovered the strength verbs can lend to your content, don’t sabotage that strength with adverbs and cumbersome wording – let your blog verbs
b-r-e-a-t-h-e!
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Verbifying For Blog Marketing

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‘It’s an interesting question and there are opposing sides in the business world about whether ‘verbifying’ a brand or product is a good thing or not,” observes Mike Hovan of Fast Company. Lawyers hate it (verbifying might risk the legal power of a trademark); marketers believe it represents the ultimate compliment, showing a personal connection between consumer and brand. Whatever your take, verbifying is certainly being done. “We ballpark, we partner, we eyeball, fast track leverage, and we green-light,” Hovan points out. Even outside of business, we water the flower bed and box up clothes.
Verbifying nouns is hardly new news, the author of one of my favorite blogs, grammarly.com   explains.
In fact, the practice dates back as far as 1871!  Common examples (yes, each of these was born as a noun!) include:
  • dress
  • fool
  • host
  • drink
  • mail
  • sleep
  • style
No one knows why some nouns mutate into verbs while others do not, says Helen Sword in Opinionator. “We horse around, outfox our enemies, parrot a phrase, and mouse over a hyperlink. However, we do not penguin or giraffe,” she adds.
As a blog content writer, I spend a lot of time thinking about ways to use words. My conclusion is that verbification can serve a positive role – more verbs make for more dynamic blog content.  Why?
  1. Verbs connote activity and excitement more than nouns.
  2. If a verbified noun catches on, readers will repeat it to others.
  3. Blog writing is best when informal and conversational, and verbifying helps accomplish a humorous, light tone.
Especially when it comes to boosting smaller companies. I believe verbification of the business brand can be an actual goal of the marketing strategy
Try this blog writing verbification challenge: Find a noun that applies to your product or service, one you can turn into a verb.  Then, introduce it in a blog post and then repeat frequently in posts, tweets, and promotions.  Stir and serve….
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