“Congo is bigger than it looks,” Mental Floss Magazine informs readers.  “Although it looks pretty small on a Mercator map, Congo is the world’s 12th largest nation.”

As a professional ghost blogger, I must say I liked this article – a lot.  First of all, not only did it present all sorts of interesting information on the topic (the Democratic Republic of Congo), but information most readers wouldn’t be likely to know.  In similar vein, I tell blog content writers that including what I dub “startling statistics” makes the material more engaging.

“Most Americans don’t know it,” the article continues, “but they own precious slivers of Congo in their laptops, cell phones, and iPods.” (Tantulum stores electricity in digital cameras, and Blackberrys use tungsten to vibrate; Congo is the world’s leading source for each of these minerals.) A generous sprinkling of fascinating trivia keeps blog content writing fresh, I teach in corporate blogging training sessions.

“The country has only 300 miles of paved roads.” Using little-known background details in SEO marketing blogs is a great way to establish authority while capturing searchers’ interest.

But, I advise Indianapolis blog writers, be sure to include information that is actionable. For example, the Mental Floss article taught me something I plan to keep in mind when shopping for electronics:

In 2010, the U.S. government passed a law requiring American companies to disclose whether their products contain minerals from rebel-controlled mines (rife with violent crime and child labor).  Consumers, I learned, can choose not to buy products that don’t say “conflict mineral-free”.

What I liked best about the Congo feature story was one of its sub-titles: “Congo is bigger than it looks.” Corporate blogging might be described in precisely the same terms.
Business blog writing is short by definition, offering just enough to convey to the reader that he/she’s come to the right place. On the other hand, what can be done is to offer different kinds of information in different blog posts. In a way, each time you post (or have your professional ghost blogger post), you’re adding to the overall power of the blog.  Individual blog posts are little, but blogs – they’re a LOT bigger and more powerful than they look!

As a blog content writer, I’d been doing it for a long time, even teaching it to others in corporate blogging training sessions.  I just didn’t know the name for it.  Then I read “Business Blogging Mistakes and their Easy Fixes” in HubSpot, and learned that it’s called “content curation”.

As a freelance blog writer, I’ve always known that linking to outside sources is a good tactic for adding breadth and depth to my blog content.  Linking to a news source or magazine article, for instance, adds credibility to the ideas I’m expressing on behalf of Say It For You client companies.

And, when you link to another blog content writer’s comments about the subject you’re covering, that’s a way to reinforce your point and also shows you’re staying in touch with others in your industry.

HubSpot takes the concept even further, explaining that content curation means “selecting and aggregating information into one place that creates more value for information consumers.”

One of my best friends had to take courses for two years to become a curator in the art museum in Philadelphia. Her function is to enhance the experience of museum visitors by providing more background information about the artwork they’re viewing. She didn’t create the art, yet she’s adding value to the art experience.

That’s why the “curation” is so appropriate to describe how, in blogging for business, Indianapolis bloggers can really enhance and add value to the online consumers’ experience. While the information itself may not be original, as HubSpot points out, the aggregation of resources is very valuable to the readers. 

The wonderful thing about it all is that while curation is benefitting the readers, it’s also benefitting the people doing the blogging. That benefit takes two forms, I’ve found:

• As a corporate blogging trainer, I find that the biggest fear business owners have when it comes to maintaining a company blog is the fear of running out of ideas. Curating lets writers, every so often, use (of course with proper credit given) others’ ideas.
• One of the side benefits of blogging for business is what I call the “training effect”.  As you’re repeatedly communicating with readers about your business (whether on your own or using the services of a professional ghost blogger like me), the very exercise of planning the content trains you to talk effectively about your own business.

Thanks to HubSpot, I now know what to call the concept I’ve known all along: The cure for blog content writer burnout is content curation!