Fnu Lnu, a term used by authorities to identify unknown suspects, is actually an acronym for First Name Unknown, Last Name Unknown, a John Doe, as it were. When you’re selecting keyword phrases to use in your website and blog content, it’s useful to remember that you are the fnu lnu in the equation.  Online searchers don’t know your name – or the name of your business!

In fact, unless your business name is precisely the service or product you provide ("St. Louis Cosmetic Dentistry" or "Cincinnati Heating Services Specialists" or perhaps "Best Doggie Care in Des Moines"), at Stage #1 of their search, what the majority of consumers are likely to have typed into the search bar are words describing:

• Their need
• Their problem
• Their idea of the solution to their problem
• A question

Blogging for business, then, means introducing yourself to strangers.  Not that it isn’t a good idea to email links to your blog posts to existing customers and clients, but, for developing new relationships, your blog will be your central prospecting tool.

To convert those "strangers" to friends and customers, then, address your blog posts to them, and write about them.  Fact is, they’re going to care about your name only if and when they know you care about their problems and needs, and that you have just the means to take care of them.

Because of the relevant, recent, and frequently posted content you’ve been delivering to the blogosphere, search engines have delivered prospects to your fnu lnu door.  Now that they’ve arrived, introducing what you sell, what you do, and what you know about – with your business name attached! – is what you get to do as the reward for all that diligence.

This is the stage when "Aha!-I’ve-Come-To-Just-The-Right-Place", readable, engaging blog content counts most. Getting from fnu lnu to Joey’s Body Shop, Maggie’s Hair Salon, or Hendricks Bankruptcy Law Office – that’s the getting-to-know-you business blogging goal!

Talent advisor Jason Davis defines voiceover as "the art of using the voice to sell, inform, or entertain on radio and TV, narrations, and cartoons." While my own voice, I fear, is far too nasal to make for great listening, I’ve developed an interest in the art ever since someone dubbed me the "voiceover lady" in describing my work as a professional ghost blogger.

On second thought, Davis might not rule me out as a voiceover trainee. In answer to a wannabe’s question, he explains that while clear speech is essential, it takes much more than a great-sounding voice to succeed in voiceovers. In fact, he adds, the skill lies in "the ability to take someone else’s words (the script) and make them sound believable and sincere".

What really resonated with me was what Jason Davis added next in explaining voiceover:  It takes "a strong desire to do this and the ability to persist".  " Bingo!" I thought. "That’s exactly true of business blogging, where, I’ve always said, one of the requisite qualities is "drill sergeant discipline". Since frequency of posting new content is important in achieving web rankings, perseverance comes very much into play.

Back to Davis’ basic definition of voiceover as using the voice to sell, inform, or entertain, he might have been referring to business blogs. Blogs, in many ways, represent the "voice" of the business. In blogging for business, providing visitors with valuable information takes the lead, with any "selling" happening as a result. The more engaging and informative the content in the blog, the more likely it is for "click" – to the shopping cart or contact page – to happen.

I admit I was startled when an acquaintance labeled me "the voice-over lady".  The more I think about it, though, the more appropriate a label that seems for a professional ghost blogger!