I don’t make a practice of forwarding any of the joke-list email messages that, after circulating around the globe, spreading from distribution list to distribution list, seem to want to set up housekeeping in my inbox.  (Enough with the jokes and puns, already!)

Over the holiday weekend, however, I received a message which, while undeniably corny, I think carries an important lesson for us business bloggers.  The email, which came all the way from Israel, is titled "An Exercise Program For Everyone".  Here’s a program, the introductory paragraph assured me, that does not require all that much strenuous activity:

• Beating around the bush
• Jumping to conclusions
• Climbing the walls
• Swallowing your pride
• Hitting the nail on the head
• Pushing your luck
• Bending over backwards
• Jumping on the band wagon
• Climbing the ladder of success
• Picking up the pieces
• Starting the ball rolling
• Wading through paperwork
• Passing the buck
• Throwing your weight around

"Whew! That was some workout!", the message concluded, encouraging me to "Sit down, rest, and exercise caution." (Told ‘ya it was corny!)

But, just think about our English language and what a rich patchwork of expressions it is, with folklore from our own history and from other cultures and languages built into quaint expressions such as the ones on this list.  English offers a near-endless variety of ways to convey our message in our business blog posts.

True, as a professional ghost blogger, I’ve built an entire business based on the fact that most entrepreneurs (as they readily admit) lack the time and discipline to keep posting enough content to be successful at marketing their business through blogging.

Some business owners and employees, however, want to do their own writing. They ask for my help in the form of coaching on how to create engaging blog content that can drive home their message without being too sales-y. One challenge they – and all of us bloggers – face actually increases as time goes on:  How can we keep our content as fresh in blog post #213 as it was in post #Two?

That’s precisely where the lesson of the "Exercise Program For Everyone" lies. Worried about repeating yourself in talking about what you sell, what you do, and what you know about? To keep it fresh, exercise your own English language Capture a point you’ve made often before by using a new expression that "hits the nail on the head."

Before readers "jump to conclusions", debunk their myths.  "Start the ball rolling" with startling statisticsa, and "throw your weight around" by sharing your experience and expertise in your field.

For a business blog exercise program, there’s no need to circle the globe or even the gym. After all, you’ve got the ever-changing English language as your content-freshening appliance!

 

Sometimes we role play, my career mentees and I.  At Butler University College of Business, where I serve as an Executive Career Mentor, one of my functions is helping students prepare resumes and train for job interviews.

One favorite technique I use is to instruct students to imagine me as a rather hard-boiled Human Resources manager at XXZ Corporation.  I’ve just scanned dozens upon dozens of resumes; this is my ninth interview of the day – I’ve seen and heard it all!  Then imagine, I tell the students, that my reaction to every statement on your resume, every statement you make in your interview, is “So I should care about this  WHY?”

Be sure the things you choose to say, I caution career mentees, whether on your resume or in your interview, aren’t about what you’ve done or about what you want, but about what they need. Don’t just tell me you spent the summer of ’08 working in a local store. Tell me how you saved your employer money, time, and hassle. Tell me how you streamlined procedures, how you raised more money for a charity, how you promoted the cause or addressed a long-standing problem for your employer. In other words, tell me why I should care about what you’re telling me!

As an “Executive Blogging Mentor”, I would have precisely the same advice to offer business owners and professionals launching a business blogging tactic as part of their overall business marketing strategy. Offer information about what you sell, what you do, and what you know about, of course.  That’s one thing business blog posts are all about.

Bottom line, though, it’s about them, the readers, and their needs. Share how you solved problems for customers or clients in the past.  Share special insights searchers might not have heard anyone else express in just that way.

For your blog to function as an effective marketing tool, imagine searchers who’ve clicked on your blog post asking themselves the question: “So I should care about this WHY?”