Lyrics are poems meant to be heard and understood in real time, says lyricist Sean Hartley.  “A song lyric that needs to be studied to be understood has failed. Most lyricists strive to be simple and clear,” he adds, “to express the feelings of the heart and the head in a way that is effortless, original and succinct.”

“Over the Rainbow”, “Moon River”, and “Summertime” are good examples, Hartley says. Those songwriters used vivid, colorful language, not for the sake of sophistication, but to be more easily memorable and understandable.

I think business blog writers’ “best practices” should incorporate the same simplicity principle.  After all, social networking is a form of conversation, and, to use Hartley’s expression, if we want to do business, we need to be heard and understood in real time.

Keeping blog content relevant to the topic and up to date with what’s happening in the field – and in the news – is one courtesy we can extend to our readers. Going light on jargon and technical terms without “dumbing down” the material shows respect for  readers’ intellect – and for their time.

A Readability Index Calculator can tell you how you’re doing on simplicity. The most-used calculator is the Flesch-Kincaid, which tells you what grade in school a person would need to have reached to be able to understand your content. At Say It For You, we aim for different levels readability depending on the target audience for each client’s business or professional practice.

For any document to be easily understood, as juicystudio.com points out, the writing style should be clear and simple, direct, and familiar to the intended reader. But layout and design are also important factors in the readability of a document, juicystudio.com continues. As a corporate blogging trainer, I couldn’t agree more. Having a simple navigation path on the blog site is essential, so that viewers don’t have to play hide-and-seek to connect to your website, contact you, or get more information.

Whether it’s business blog posts or song lyrics – the memorable ones are the ones most easily understood!

If you’re to enjoy any success in content marketing through business blogging, I’m convinced, three things need to happen:

• Readers perceive you as an expert in your field
• Searchers see your blog as a go-to source for ongoing information
• You clearly state a perspective

All too often, I find, that third factor isn’t paid the attention it deserves. As a corporate blogging trainer, I remind newbie writers that there’s no lack of information sources  – and no lack of experts (purported OR real). In our blogs, therefore, we need to go beyond presenting facts, statistics, features and benefits, and broadcast a firm stance. Doing that not only presents you as being that much more authentic, I explain to writers –  it helps readers put all that information into perspective.

Since this week’s Say It For You posts are based around radio commercials, I’ll use the Weather Tech ad as a great example of “stance” and authenticity.  “Does it really matter where a product is made?” the narrator asks.  Yes, it does, it matters a lot, he continues. “Providing American workers with good jobs allows people to buy things, and that’s good for our economy.” The WeatherTech tag line ends the commercial: “Complete protection, completely American made.”

I like that ad.  I like it a lot, as a matter of fact. No question there’s a real person in there with a real, strongly-held point of view. Yet, far from coming off as a “because-I-said-so” statement, the ad explains the reasoning behind the owner’s point of view.

Friend and fellow blogger Phil Steele laments that too many business blogs serve as extended advertisements, and suggests that business blog writing would be better aimed at taking a bird’s-eye view of one’s industry, and only then relating back to one’s own business. That rule is important for any business, I find, but it’s even more important for doctors, accountants, lawyers, life coaches, and others offering personal services, who need to use their blog to explain their unique approach in their area of practice.

Blog to broadcast your stance along with your brand!