Better Know Who they Are, Says Business Blogging Trainer

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All the best jokes have something to teach.  For the freelance blog content writers I train, the following anecdote (shared by humor speaker Ron Culberson at a recent National Speakers Association meeting) holds some important lessons related to corporate blogging for business:

A woman attending a conference turns to her neighbor and says,

“This is the most boring conference ever.  I’m going to skip the keynote address that’s coming up next and go to the beach.”


Man: Do you know who I am?


Woman: No.


Man: I’m the division president and I’M the keynote speaker!


Woman: And do you know who I am?


Man: No.


Woman gets up and leaves….

One of the very first principles of SEO marketing blogs is targeting.  Not only must the content you include in your business blog (or, in the case of Say It For You clients, the business blog content created by your freelance blog writer) offer valuable and up-to-date information, you must make clear to readers that the information has been assembled here specifically for them.

Corporate blog writing (your “keynote address”) will succeed only if:

  • It’s clear you understand online searchers’ concerns and needs
     
  • You and your staff have the experience, the information, the products, and the services to solve exactly those problems and meet precisely  those needs.

If readers find themselves asking “Don’t you know who we are?” those searchers are going to do what that woman conference attendee did – get up and leave. 

I think that joke about the conference joke serves as as excellent caution to all of us who are content writers in Indianapolis.  We’re using business blogging to “win search” and now, well, we’ve won – we’ve been found.  They’ve seen us. And here’s the lesson: 

It’s at this point that the real work of a professional ghost blogger begins, not where it ends.

We have to demonstrate to those potential customers and clients that we’ve seen THEM!

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What’s Half of Eight in Business Blog Writing?

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If ever there was a perfect example of a marriage between science and art, I think it’s to be found in blogging for business.  In fact, we blog content writers in Indianapolis do it all the time – let our creativity run free, all the while staying within the best search engine optimization practices “playground”.

Effective SEO marketing blogs are centered around key themes relating to a particular business, professional practice, or organization. I call these leitmotifs, because they’re like the recurring musical phrases that connect different movements of a symphony.  The “science” aspect of blogging for business relates to building equity in keyword phrases within related categories over time, encouraging search engines to index your blog at or near the top of search results.

But, in writing for business, as business owners and freelance blog content writers soon learn, continually covering the same few topics can become a tedious task, not to mention that tedious content is sure to fail at engaging readers’ interest.

Enter the “art” of blogging, which professionals offering business blogging assistance will explain involves incorporating variety around those central themes. Through the i.e’s and the e.g’s, (the details, comparisons, opinions, stories, testimonials, tidbits, statistics, and visuals) we have the chance to present the “same old” content in a fresh new light.

Two weeks ago, at our meeting of the Indiana Speakers’ Association, incoming NSA president Ron Culbertson, offered a number of different answers to the one simple question:  What is half of eight? (If the only answer that occurs to you is “four”, that could be a sign you need business blogging help.)
 

Other answers around the leitmotif of 8:

0      (only the top loop of the 8)
3      (only the right half of the figure)
E    (only the left half of the figure)
Eig  (the first three letters of the 6-letter word)

As an Indianapolis business blogger, I’m always on the alert for out-of-the box blog content that stays within the categories for which my Say It For You clients want to win search. After I’ve won their eyeballs with science, I need to engage ‘em with artfulness!

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One Day, One Game in Business Blog Content Writing

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“Danny Grainger gives a last-minute haircut in the Pacers locker room.  Five men help Boomer make his grand entrance just before tipoff.  Cooks spend two days preparing food for 14,000 people – including popping hundreds of pounds of popcorn…It all goes into making an Indiana Pacers game at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.”

In “One Day, One Game” , the Indianapolis Star offers fans a behind-the-scenes view of what goes into the making of a Pacers game. That very personalized type of feature story is designed to help fans feel a strong sense of connection with the team.

That article makes for an excellent model for.corporate blogging for business. To forge a personal connection with online searchers, business owners and freelance blog content writers can use “One Day in-the-Life-of-My-Business” content in corporate blogs.

  • Just what does it take to gain the professional designations you have? Put that in your SEO marketing blog.
     
  • Just what steps go into preparing the “finished” service or product your customers receive from you?  Images and photos help online searchers “get the picture”, and anecdotes help them get a better picture of you!
     
  • Just what experiences have you had that drove you to choose your industry or profession? Just what aspects of your world are you trying to change by doing what you do?
     
  • Just who on your staff is responsible for “making the popcorn “ in your business?  Who’s “preening Boomer? By personalizing the corporate blog writing, Indianapolis freelance content creators can help make blog visitors feel part of the club.

“The voice of a writer is usually easier to hear in first person,” says William Cane in Write Like It Matters. When offering Say It For You business blogging assistance, I talk about expressing “first person passion”:  If you had only eight to ten words to tell me why you’re passionate about what you know, what you do, and what you sell, what would those words be?  

What goes into the making of YOUR products and services? Populate your blog content writing with passion.  Give ‘em the One-Day-One-Game view of what makes you who you are!

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Tie In Tidbits and “So What’s” in Blogging for Business

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Last week in my Say It For You blog, I used examples from three different websites, all related to bedroom furniture companies, to illustrate three different blog content writing “lessons”:

Consistently posting blog content to capture prospects’ attention at the precise moment when those prospects have a need (Furniture Today)

Using blog posts to share company news and announcements (American Freight)

Reinforcing customer loyalty and gaining credibility through publishing testimonials as part of a corporate blog (Bedroom Furniture Portland)

Today, though, I want to use a bedroom furniture blog post to illustrate a business blog writing technique that was not used very effectively.

First, let me explain that, in corporate blogging training sessions, I often recommend including interesting information on topics related to your business (or, if you’re a freelance blog content writer, related to the client’s business). If you can provide information most readers wouldn’t be likely to know, so much the better, I add.  Tidbits and “startling statistics” are important in blogging for business, because that information helps engage online readers’ interest.

The La Pallissa bedroom furniture company blog started out with some fascinating information, enhanced with photos:

 “Ready to learn something today?  A Masia is a type of rural construction common to the Iberian Peninsula, particularly during the ancient Kingdom of Aragon…”

So, what’s the problem here?  If the information is so interesting and unusual, why do I think La Pallissa writers might use some business blogging help?  Because the information is never tied to the reader’s problem or need.  Because there’s no call to action. Because there’s not a word of that blog content that says why the writer cares about that information or why that information could make a difference to readers.

We’re never told that the Aragonians were used to sleeping on stone, rather than expecting the kind of firm softness that modern and luxurious La Pallissa products would provide. All the blogger does is end with the question: “What do you think of this earthy and modern architectural specimen?”

A reminder for Indianapolis blog content writers: Online searchers must be assured they’ve come to the right place to find the information, products, and services they need. Without guidance, those searchers are unlikely to make the connection between Aragon home construction and the bedroom furniture they might buy! 

Create a clear thought path – from those fascinating tidbits in your business blog writing to the benefits online readers stand to gain, Tie your tidbits to the answers to readers’ “So what?” and “Now what?” questions.

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How To Write a Love Letter – or Blog for Business

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“When it comes to writing a love letter, remember: It’s not a card.  It’s a letter,” cautions Tom Chiarella in a wonderfully sentimental Readers Digest piece.

Sometimes, in corporate blogging training sessions, I find myself issuing a similar caution: " When it comes to blog content writing, remember: It’s not an ad.  It’s a blog.”

As a professional ghostwriter of blogs for business, I’m keenly aware of the fact that when people go online to search for information and click on different blogs or websites, they don’t want to “be sold.” Sure, readers know the providers of the information are out to do business, and that the business owners and professional practitioners sponsoring the blog would like to convert them into clients or customers. But, if the material is valuable and relevant, the readers will stick around, so long as the blog doesn’t come on too strong in its Calls to Action.

Blogs, I explain to newbie freelance blog writers in Indianapolis, are more like advertorials than advertisements.

And, while blogs aren’t love letters, either, a lot of what Tom Chiarella had to say, I found, could be applied to writing for business and can be used by anyone who provides business blogging services.

“First, sit. Letters take time.  Writing takes a while.  Three lines can’t do the work of three paragraphs.” Crafting your message when blogging for business takes time and discipline. A website cannot tell your story completely, nor can it engage your potential and current customers with fresh content in real time. Blogging is more effective than any other medium at communicating your story in a timely manner, spread over time.

“Be loyal to the past you share. Use detail to show what you remember and that you remember.” Blog content writing reveals your story.  Why this business or profession?  How did you get started?  What connects you and your readers?

Remember, it’s not an ad.  It’s not a website page. It’s not a long article.  It’s a blog.

 

 

 

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