Titling to Catch the Ear

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“It’s important to realize a good title is vital — it can make the difference between an editor reading your piece and relegating it to the slush pile,” Estelle Erasmus tells authors in Writer’s Digest. “A compelling headline displays an angle that makes it stand out. Even better if the title evokes emotion or even anger,” Erasmus adds.

Printed content is actually perceived with the reader’s ears as much as with the eyes. Just as the visual cues we get from the face of a speaker influence what we hear (a phenomenon called the McGurk Effect), readers can be “tantalized” by the way the title of your blog post “sounds” to them.

When our eyes process information, we attach meaning and reasoning to it, while, when we listen with our ears, we are paying attention to the tone of the speaker’s voice and whether it is loud or quiet, an essay in Cram.com posits. In fact, as a team of neuroscientists revealed in 2018, our ears make a subtle noise when our eyes are moving.

The role of blog post and newsletter titles in attracting readers is crucial. It’s the first thing that your audience will see when they come across your blog or open your e-newsletter, and it’s what will determine whether they will click on your link or move on to the next thing, aicontentfy advises.. Whether in monthly newsletters or or social media posts, it’s the titling that determines whether the reader progresses to the content of the piece itself.

Visual and auditory senses play a crucial role in receiving information and remembering content,” the National Library of Medicine explains. Poets might use sound devices such as onomatopoeia (words that imitate sounds), so that reading the poem aloud recreates an auditory experience.

Years ago at Say It For You, I began calling attention to the idea of using certain literary devices in  titles with an eye to making them more “catchy”.  In addition to alliteration (repeated consonants) and assonance (repeated vowel sounds), one creative writing technique is “threesomes” such as “right fit, right place, right now” (from WorldBusinessChicago.com).

Not only should your newsletter or blog post title be eye-catching – – in order to tantalize, make it “ear-catching” as well!

 

 

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Featuring the Seconds-to-None in Your Blog or Newsletter

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“Secondary characters add depth and interest to the world your main character inhabits, helping to make the tale more memorable,” Ellen Bulkema writes in the writersinthestorm blog. As a source of support for the protagonist of a novel, secondary characters can also be used to present an obstacle or challenge, or to serve as teachers or guides. Supporting characters don’t need as much detail as you’d give to primary characters, Bulkema admits, but can help clarify the mindset and relationships in the setting.

In a business or practice, the employees, who, while seemingly “secondary” to the business owner or practitioner him or herself, are key to the customer experience. Featuring those players in blog posts and newsletters help humanize a company and create loyal fans. As Disney Parks’ Thomas Smith explains, “…we like to go behind the scenes to show the dedication and inspiration that make our park experiences so magical for our guests.”

A corporate blog is the “space for your company employees to help prospects , providing customers with practical solutions,,” greatcontent.com explains. “It will help customers relate to you even more because they will see human faces and names behind the blog posts.” Sproutsocial agrees. “Real people are the key to authentic relationships,  Consumers want to learn more about the people behind their favorite brands.”

At Say It For You, our writers understand that, because the employees are the ones in the field and on the phone with customers and clients, they know the strengths and best uses of the company’s products and services and it is they who can best supply the anecdotes that are so useful for marketing content. One way we involve employees is to highlight specific accomplishments in a blog or newsletter. When readers learn about an employee’s enthusiasm and how that person put in extra time and effort in serving customers, that cements the customer’s relationship with the company or practice.

Featuring those “seconds-to-none” employees in the company’s or the practice’s communications can be a gift that keeps on giving.

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“Facing Up” Blog Content is a Great Idea

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Webpages with lists of staff are often one of the most-viewed pages on a company’s website, yet some companies don’t have any people represented in detail, Karen Carlson of LRS Web Solutions regrets. “They say it’s too much work to maintain, they receive spam emails, or that they’re worried other companies will pilfer their best employees.” While acknowledging those very risks, Carlson emphasizes that “The bigger risk is leaving your business faceless.”

AARP editors agree, recognizing eight senators, among them Thomas TIllis of North Carolina caretaker for his grandmother, and Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, caretaker for her son who has cerebral palsy. The photos, along with the stories, serve to make real legislators’ tireless efforts to improve the U.S. healthcare system.

“Today’s users want to do more than just purchase from a company,” Carlson explains. “They want to put faces with names.” At Say It For You, we translate that into “authenticity blogging“, using the content to provide readers an intimate look at what goes into providing your products and services. After all, it’s the employees who are in the field and on the phone with customers and clients. Although often employees see blogging as just one more task to make their work load heavier, my team members want to interact with those employees and, in fact, highlight their accomplishments and insights along with their photos.

For some business or practice owners, a combination blogging plan turns out t be just right, with my Say It For You team providing professionally written content, thus maintaining the regularity and research needed to win search engine rankings, but with employees providing their very special touch when their time and their regular duties allow.

Blog content marketing based solely on the features of products and services is simply not likely to work. Yes, for blogs to be effective, they must serve as positioning statements and describe a value proposition. But blogs cannot do that without connecting. Showing the “faces” and the people behind those faces has the power to “amp up” the connective power of marketing content.

“Facing up” your blog content is a very good idea!

 

 

 

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Use Unlikely Comparisons as a Teaching Tool

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“From turtle doves to lords-a-leaping, the price of the ’12 Days of Christmas’ just hit a record high,” CNN observed in what I found to be a wonderfully effective use of an unlikely comparison to make an important point. In fact, every year, PNC Financial Services publishes the Christmas Price Index, measuring the average change in price for each of the items in the classic Christmas song. The tongue-in-cheek index, CNN explains, is meant “to highlight market changes over time while educating consumers about the economy”.

Years ago, I’d read a review of a band playing at a restaurant near me on Halloween, telling how this band was able to keep the crowd dancing and singing along. The reviewer had mentioned something that I continue to think is good advice for content writers: “It was especially fun to see Tammy dancing with Elvis, and a ladybug dancing with a monster”. To help capture interest, we suggest at Say It For You, put “ingredients” together that don’t seem to match.  In fact, suggesting a totally new way of using your product or service may open up new possibilities for that potential customer to do business with you.

“Turns of phrase catch readers by the curiosity,” I realized years ago. Putting ingredients together that don’t seem to match is not only an excellent tool for creating engaging business blog content, but also a good teaching tool. Going from what is familiar to readers to the unfamiliar area of your own expertise, allows your potential customers to feel smart as well as understood.

The caveat though, is that, when it comes to blog content writing, misdirection needs to end up by offering direction; if it’s overdone or too far-fetched, it can come across as “bait ‘n switch”. The unlikely comparison must clarify and help readers get the answers they came to find.

The 12 days of Christmas price index being up again concept sparked my curiosity, but, since turtledoves and French hens are not on my shopping list, the fact they’ve risen in price doesn’t really reflect my own buying patterns. Still, learning that 2023 was the first year in history in which the cost of buying all the gifts in the song passed $200,000 – that got my attention. I was now ready to learn about retail sales, wage growth, savings rates, and consumer sentiment….

Try using unlikely comparisons as teaching tools in your blog posts.

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Arming Your Blog With the 4 A’s

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“Use the four A’s – Acronym, Analogy, Anecdote, Alliteration – to catch the reporter’s ear and help the reader remember what you said,” Janet Falk of Falk Communications and Research advises business professionals going to a conference.

Acronyms
While Sharif Khan, writing in the American Marketing Association’s Business Writing Tips for Professionals thinks readers might find company acronyms annoying, at Say It For You, our content writers use acronyms to add variety, presenting information to readers in a different way.

Analogies
Matching our writing to our intended audience is part of the challenge we business blog content writers face. Using an analogy to link an unfamiliar concept to something that is familiar can help the reader better comprehend what we’re trying to say. For example, blogging can be compared to a parhelion (an atmospheric optical illusion consisting of halos of light around the sun, showcasing rather than obliterating the shine). Approaching the same topic in different ways can help your content appeal to different audiences, still highlighting the central message.

Anecdotes
Stay alert for anecdotes about customers, employees, or friends who are doing interesting things or overcoming obstacles. Real-people stories of you, your people, and the people you serve are always a good idea in your business blog. Anecdotes and examples lend variety to the blog, even though the anecdotes are being used to reinforce the same few core ideas.

To demonstrate that you understand the problems the online searcher is dealing with, it can be highly effective to relate how you personally went through the same failure stages. Next best to the business owner or professional relating an “I” experience which drives their passion, is anecdotes and testimonials from employees, customers, or vendors..

Alliteration
Using alliteration (consonant repetition) and assonance (vowel repetition) in blog titles has the effect of making those titles more “catchy”. In a sense, readers’ are both seeing the repetition and “hearing it”. Making a subtle but strong impact on readers is is precisely the focus of our content work at Say It For You is all about.

Content writers, try arming your blog posts with the 4 A’s!

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