Listening with “half an ear” the other day to a QVC announcer touting a pants suit, I caught one of those interesting word tidbits the professional blog writer in me so appreciates. I was reminded once again that, in running a business or a professional practice, we sometimes forget how much help the right words can be. And, of course, as I’m always telling newbie freelance blog content writers in Indianapolis, words, along with pictures, are our only tools of the trade.

Praising the velour fabric of the pants suit he’d designed, that QVC special guest announcer casually let drop these words: “Just look at this fabric. It has real quality, and I don’t mean spelled with a ‘K’.” 

No further explanation was offered, and none was needed. And that’s precisely, I reflected, what a word tidbit does in an SEO marketing blog post – it makes a big impact or clarifies a concept so that readers are instantly “on the same page”. The implication on QVC, of course, was that “Kwality” would be “cutesy”, a description unworthy of the high quality that this QVC garment offered.

Marketing adviser Spork agrees: “Low quality ads,” he says, “send the wrong message about a company’s inherent value,” When it comes to blogging for business, high quality includes

• Using proper grammar and spelling
• Properly attributing curated material to its author
• Making it easy for readers to navigate your website
   

Howdoyouspell.com defines the word “quality” as “an inherent or distinguishing characteristic”.
In today’s social media-rich world, distinguishing anyone or anything is hardly an easy thing to achieve.  As we blog content writers in Indianapolis know all too well, “traditional” marketing messages are part of the competition for consumers’ eyeballs and eardrums along with new media. That’s why, in corporate blogging training sessions, I emphasize that “winning search” through business blog writing is simply not enough.

As Linda Mansfield of Restart Communications defines quality in marketing, you have to make sure that the people who are the ‘face’ of your company are approachable, likeable, knowledgeable, and available.”

Whether you’re posting regular blogs or using a business blogging service to “say it for you”, keep your eye on the goals of sincerity and excellence. That means QUALITY spelled with a “Q”!

The other day, a really nice thank you card arrived in my mail.  The message began, “On behalf of the American Marketing Association, I would like to say thank you for your membership”. Enclosed was a card listing the top five benefits of membership in the organization.

Mind you, I didn’t need to be resold on the AMA; after all, I’d just renewed my membership for the third time. But did that little card serve as a satisfying confirmation that I’d made a good buying decision?  You bet. And, as a business blogging trainer and professional content writer in Indianapolis, getting that card reinforced something I’ve been teaching about effective blogging for business, namely that, in addition to being a vehicle for attracting new customers, blog posts can be useful in customer appreciation.

Port-to-Port Consulting owner Damon Richards talks about addressing issues with existing customers through a corporate blog. "While the primary purpose for business blogging is to provide useful information to prospective customers so they will want to do business with you,”, Richards says, “a useful added benefit is the ability to send messages to your existing customers…"

Damon was referring to technical information of which he wanted both new and existing customers to be aware before his support staff engaged with them, I train those providing blog writing services in Indianapolis to use corporate blogging for business to share business owners’ and professional practitioners’ own "attitude of gratitude" for the trust their clients have placed in them.

“Your brand is ultimately what your consumers perceive and how they share that perception with others,” is the way Bob Chenoweth expressed it in a guest blog post..” And blogging gives you the opportunity to boost your brand in the minds of both followers and finders,”, he adds.

Using blog writing to thank customers is not necessarily about combating “buyers’ remorse”.
(I had none when it came to my AMA membership.) But restating those top five benefits made me think about becoming even more involved in taking advantage of those benefits and telling others about them as well.

On my Say It For You website, I explain that in business blogging, it’s not only the readers who benefit, but the business owners as well. I call that the “training benefit”. When you blog (or work with a professional blog content writer to produce posts), you’re verbalizing the positive aspects of your business in a way that people can understand, reviewing the benefits of your products and services and keeping them fresh in your own mind.

When you’re involved in the creation of an SEO marketing blog, it’s as if you’re constantly sending yourself a thank you note.  And who doesn’t like to be thanked and appreciated?