More French wines get sold when French music is played in the liquor store, and more German wine sales happen when German music is playing in the background, we learn in Marketing News.

No one has a greater need to stay aware of the role of the non-rational in consumer decision-making than business blog content writers, I would say. Books like Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking Fast and Slow offer many such examples of non-rational consumer behavior.  From my point of view as a corporate blogging trainer, I think the take-away for us is to go beyond calls to action and harness the power of suggestion.

“Consumers will prefer whatever beverage they taste after seeing a Coke image.” Just think about that statement from the business blog writer’s point of view: When online visitors read your blog, it’s because they’re already “thirsty” (seeking information, product, or services that relate to your topic)! Not only does that offer you the chance to reinforce those readers’ sense of urgency, but the content writing itself can create “atmosphere” and “background music”.

Once the basic connection has been established through the blog post title and some attention-getting statement or statistic, we blog content writers have our real work cut out for us – creating the emotional connection with readers using the right “background music”.

Communications consultant Milo Frank has a message every blog content writer needs to hear. Imagery helps make SEO marketing blogs more engaging. In business communications, the author admits, there’s room for technical, precise language, but the key factor is to get readers to “see” and “hear” as well as read your message.

Of course, actual images – video clips, photos, stock art – can add impact to Indianapolis bloggers’ work, but aside from those actual pictures and sounds, freelance blog writers can paint pictures through words.

Have you worked on the “background music” for your marketing blog?
 

“Why people buy is not the same as why people don’t buy,” asserts J. Walker Smith of thefuturescompany.com, adding that “This is a difference that matters more than ever.”

Since one important function of any SEO marketing blog is converting lookers to buyers, and since I train Indianapolis blog content writers, Smith’s statement really piqued my interest.

The things that motivate people to buy are product features they want, Smith says. But, it’s not so simple, he cautions, when people don’t buy. Somewhere in the process, a company’s ethics, reputation, and commitment to social responsibility all become “table stakes”.

So, how can we as blog content writers make use of these insights from J. Walker Smith?  How can we tip the scales for our business owner or professional practitioner clients towards the “buy” side of that buy-or-not-buy continuum?

Since the first stage of the typical customer’s screening process involves features and benefits, our Say It For You blog content writers must take care of that task first.  When readers arrive at your business blog, it’s because they already have an interest in your topic and are ready to receive the information, the services, and the products you have to offer. But, from the get-go, it’s up to you to assure them that they’ve come to precisely the right place to get what they’re after.

Taking on that second ethics-reputation-commitment piece within a brief, informal blog post can be challenging.  What I’ve found, though, over the years, is that blog writing is the ideal tool when it comes to establishing emotional connection to readers. Marketing blogs, I believe, are most effective when they are at their most conversational, most personal, most revealing of the corporate culture and history – and most passionate.

As blogger Steve Guise puts it, “Passion is contagious and humans are attracted to it.”