Since this appears to be my month for quoting blogger Seth Godin, I found another provocative post of his, this one about marketing.  Godin says that if you’ve created something worth talking about, it probably hasn’t been done before, which means it needs a name.  Godin names unique  things "baxters", and he puts in that category everything from the service you get at a spa after your massage is over, to the free course in between the main meal and dessert. 

When I looked up the term "baxter" in Wikipedia, what came up was a 2005 film directed by comedian Michel Showalter.  That movie defines a "Baxter" as the nice, dull guy in a romantic comedy, the one who ends up dumped by the girl. This use of "Baxter" almost seems like a direct opposite of the uniqueness Godin was talking about! The Free Dictionary defines "Baxter" as a female baker (perhaps it was unusual to find female bakers at some point in history?).

In any event, I continue to think that one of the very important purposes of any business blog is to demonstrate to readers how that business is unique.  Business coach and author Jim Ackerman urges entrepreneurs to to find a "point of only-ness", meaning one statement that differentiates that business from all similar businesses.  It has to be done, Ackerman, stresses, in a way that appeals to the customers that business is targeting.

As a professional ghostwriter of business blogs, I think that "only-ness" message is a key goal of each blog post.  Potential clients arrive at your blog, and now that they’ve found you, they need for your unique proposition to come across loud and clear. In other words, each blog post has to demonstrate what your "baxter" is, so that searchers will understand the benefits of doing business with you as opposed to your competitors.

In 1893, the chef at the Savoy Hotel invented the dessert Peach Melba to honor opera singer Nellie Melba. That same famous chef, August Escoffier, invented Crepes Suzette to honor French actress Suzanne Reichenberg, while the Salisbury Steak was created in 1886 by James Salisbury as a treatment for gout and bronchitis.

Ask yourself – what’s the "baxter" in my blog?

Lorraine Ball of RoundPeg and I are trading guest blog posts.  RoundPeg is devoted to "helping small businesses become big businesses." Yesterday I blogged about Variety Is The Spice Of Blogs, and I had asked Lorraine to blog about how she uses Twitter to promote blogs.

I have been actively using Twitter as my primary Social Media connection for almost a year, and I can’t imagine my daily routine without it. I have learned how to be funny, sarcastic and somewhat smart in 140 characters or less. I have made friends around the globe, and feel more connected to a number of local folks as well.
 
As I explored Twitter I expected those things would occur, but I have discovered an interesting side benefit. I am becoming a better writer overall. The restrictions of the 140 character limit have trained me to look at every word and consider the value each word adds to a sentence.  This new habit has drifted over to my blog and business writing as well.
 
I am even looking at headlines differently.  While content rich headlines work well for Google search they don’t work when I try to promote a new post on Twitter.  Commenting on this dilemma, it was clear Louis Gray  wasn’t sure which strategy was a better choice when he said:
 
“As Twitter’s impact on immediate traffic expands, it should be interesting to see how many blogs change their approach to headlines and to see if they are in any way reducing longer-term traffic benefits from SEO for instant returns”

For me, the small business marketing space in Google is very crowded. It is hard to get noticed or rise to the top. I have had more success promoting my blog through Twitter, so I am likely to continue to down that path, working to make my headlines more Twitter-friendly.
 
I use Twitter feed to send my new posts to twitter.  The shorter headlines have helped catch the attention of friends and followers who visit, read, and ReTweet. Some of my most well trafficked posts have catchy titles which are short enough to Tweet, ReTweet and even Re, ReTweet. For example:
 
Mistakes are like Sandcastles
Discount Tire Gets My Vote
Twitter is Not Broccoli
 
In some ways this is simply a return to better writing.  Advertising copy writers and journalists have for years relied on catchy titles to entice the reader.  For awhile Google, and SEO strategies  in general distracted us. Today Twitter and other social media which focus on the human interaction are challenging us to become better writers once again.