Clear Explanations Beat Vague Cultural Allusions

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“Even if you’re not a man of words, you probably agree that plumbing slogans can make a huge difference in advertising your business and attracting customers,” Or Rozenberg writes in Workiz.com. Among the examples Rozenberg offers are “Let us do your dirty work”, “Don’t let your money go down the drain”, and “Got a leak? We’ll take a peek!”. Good plumbing slogans, he says, are memorable, with the “kind of rhythm that gets stuck in your head”.

So far, so great, I thought – good content marketing advice. I appreciated “making the flow go” and caught the reference to “all systems go” in “all cisterns go.” But, when I got to “Because a good flush beats a full house”, I got lost. (Call me old fashioned, but the only card games I know are euchre and gin rummy, and I just didn’t understand the play on words.)

Interesting – almost seven years ago, in this Say It For You blog, I cautioned: “Know your reader when using allusions in business blogs.” It’s not that allusions themselves aren’t useful. In fact, they can:

  • get readers thinking about your subject in a new way
  • get a point across without going into a lengthy explanation
  • cement a bond between writer and readers based on shared experiences and
    knowledge

However, if a reader doesn’t know the underlying story, literary tale, or other reference point (just as I don’t know poker), the result is frustration, not illumination. It’s as if the writer expects the reader to possess certain knowledge and grasp its importance and – well some just don’t. I get it – you want to liven up your blog content. But be reasonably certain that the reference is obvious and that your target readers are likely to be familiar with the concept you’re trying to convey (among other things, we as content writers need to gauge our readers’ level of education).

Whether or not you’re in the plumbing business, be careful when using allusions. After all, the last thing you want is for your online visitors’ interest and trust in you “go down the drain”!

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Blogging About Other Ways to Reach the Goal

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“The MFA (Masters of Fine Arts) is just one of many ways to develop voice and skill as a writer,” Emma Komos-Hrobsky explains in Poets and Writers Magazine. In fact, the author goes on to name no fewer than 21 educational opportunities in the form of writing classes and seminars offered by organizations around the country.

“There’s one common mistake we often make when it comes to setting goals,” James Clear writes in blog.idonethis.com: We set a timeline, but not a schedule. “We need to focus on the practice, not the performance,” he adds.

How do these lessons about reaching a goal apply to content writing? “If you’ve ever googled instructions for how to perform a specific task, then you know the importance of high-quality how-to content,’ Julia McCory writes in seachengineland.com. By giving them content that’s actually helpful, you prove your expertise and building trust and affinity with your readers, McCory explains.

However, she cautions, it’s important to realize that a teaching mindset is entirely different from an information-sharing, entertaining, or analytical mindset. To be successful, you need to:

  • use detailed explanations
  • give step-by-step instructions
  • offer lots of examples
  • put yourself in the readers’ shoes

    At Say It For You, we’re always conscious that readers of our business or practice owners’ blog posts have many alternatives from which to choose. For a health coach focusing on weight loss, for example, potential clients might choose diet meal delivery, cosmetic “fat freezing” procedures, or personal trainers. One of the main challenges of content marketing is differentiating the product or service from alternative choices open to the prospect.

While the Poets and Writers Magazine article is valuable is that it reassures readers that a number of viable educational avenues exist, one point I often stress in blogging training sessions is that you need to do more than present a list of alternatives; it’s important that you voice an opinion, a slant, on the information you’re serving up for readers.

By all means, blog about alternative ways to reach a goal, but, by suggesting questions readers can ask themselves when choosing among many options, you can help them arrive, on their own, at the conclusion that the solution you’re marketing is the optimal choice.

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Does it Cost More to Make a Blog Post Than a Blog Post is Worth?

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“Does it cost more to make a penny than a penny is worth?” is just one of the many questions asked in Great American Trivia, by Publications International. Ltd. The answer – yes, in fact, it does! But don’t look for the penny to disappear anytime soon, the authors predict- more likely it will “change with the times”….

Introduced to our economy in 1792, the penny started out as all-copper coin. Beginning in 1857, it has been an alloy of copper and zinc. In 1982, the mix changed to 97.6% zinc with 2.4% copper plating. For awhile, that made economic sense, but with zinc and copper prices having increased,” U.S. taxpayers are still not getting their money’s worth, the authors note.

What about the costs of blogging?

“You might be surprised to hear this, but you can start a blog for nothing through several different blogging platforms,” writes Neal Schaffer of the Rutgers Business School.” Even if you decide to pay for a custom website, domain name or photography, these costs are relatively nominal compared to the amount of money you can potentially generate from your content,” newbie entrepreneurs are reassured in a Forbes Advisor piece. “That being said, many people aren’t exactly enamored with doing all of that on a personal basis,” Schaffer explains, and “you might need hire some professionals to help out, whether through editing your content or evaluating and working to improve Google analytics scores.”

Blogs have grown into a new and effective marketing strategy, Woman Entrepreneur writes:

  • Offering tips, updates, and other new content gives people a reason to come and to return to your website.
  • A blog improves your search engine ranking.
  • A blog allows you to show your expertise and to gain trust and credibility

The downsides:

  • Creating new content takes a significant amount of time and a constant stream of ideas.
  • It can take time to see results.

At Say It For You, we suggest a very practical “litmus test” be used by prospective clients: What is the number of new customers that would need be attracted to you – and what is the resulting amount of money in new sales – that it would take for your business or professional practice to cover the costs of our content marketing services for one year?

Companies that blog get 97% more links to their websites, and 77% of internet users read blogs, optinmonster reports. Does it cost more to make a blog post than a blog post is worth?

Like the U.S. penny, don’t look for content marketing blogs to disappear any time soon….

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Blog Content By and For the Unquenchably Curious

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This week’s Say It For You blog posts are based on the book What Makes Flamingos Pink, by Bill McLain, “a colorful collection of Q & A’s for the unquenchably curious”…

One thing it’s always a good idea to include, I tell content marketers, is interesting information on topics related to their business or professional practice. If you can provide information most readers wouldn’t be likely to know, we explain at Say It For You, all the better. So long as there’s a real “back story” demonstrating valuable lessons learned and why that information should matter to the web visitor, tidbits can prove to be enormously useful tools….

The color of most birds is a matter of genetics, McClain explains in the book. Bluebirds are blue by nature, cardinals red for the same reason – their inherited genes. Famingos are different – they are pink because their diet is heavy in natural pigments called carotenoids. Wisely, the author is quick to show readers the relevance of that information – “When we eat carrots or beets, we are also eating carotenoids,” he explains. ” But no matter how many beets and carrots we eat, the only way we can turn pink is to blush or get a sunburn,” he adds.

One big goal of the writing we do for our business owner and professional practitioner clients is positioning them as experts in the eyes of both their existing clients and their web visitors. While good blog post content can and should be entertaining, it’s important to remember that most online searchers are not pursuing a recreational activity, but instead are on a fact-finding mission. You can hook them, we teach at Say It For You, with humorous and fascinating trivia tidbits, but the material you serve up needs to be meaningful to that audience and – actionable.

The factoid about flamingos’ pink coloring is an example of how trivia can be used in content marketing to accomplish a variety of initiatives: defining basic industry terminology, sparking curiosity about the subject, putting modern-day practices and beliefs into perspective, and explaining why the business owner or practitioner chooses to operate in a certain way.

Always remember, though – they may be “unquenchably curious”, but online visitors are rarely unquenchably patient. Structure the content so as to address the two questions “So what?” (why it might matter) and “Now what?” directing them to the next step.

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Guest Post: 5 Best Ideas for Driving Organic Traffic through Blog Posts

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Are you wondering if blogging is actually worth it for your business? Blogs may seem time-consuming to create, especially for a small business owner, but they have shown to be extremely beneficial for driving traffic.

Why are blog posts important for online businesses?

Obviously, this article is all about encouraging more organic traffic through blog posts but what other benefits do blogs bring?

Firstly, the more articles your website has published, the more keywords you are likely to rank for. Increasing keyword ranking will contribute to your website’s SEO rankings and authority within your niche. With a blog, you’re able to address more questions and thoughts that your target audience is looking for and are therefore more likely to rank higher within their search results.

Secondly, blog posts are essential to the educational part of your funnel, the top entry level. People come to blogs for answers to their queries and will start pushing them through your funnel. Helping to create warm leads by getting them to sign up to your email list or explore and purchase your products and/or services.

Thirdly, unlike social media posts that have a short life span, results from blog posts can get better with age. Over time, your articles may attract more links, more shares, and gain higher SERP positions. Blogging will provide long-term results and ensure a continued flow of traffic, leads and potential sales.

This is only a touch on all of the potential benefits you will find from blogging. So, what are the best ways to start?

5 best ways to boost organic traffic with blog posts

1. Writing List Posts
Our first recommendation is to write list posts, exactly like the post you are reading right now. Want to know the specific data behind the success of list posts? In a recent study reported by Conductor, a global SEO agency, 36% of the participants noted that they were more likely to click on list posts and list headlines.

Here are some examples of good list headlines that are sure to increase traffic:

  •  10 ways for using the Pomodoro technique in everyday time-management
  •  3 open-source alternatives to Adobe Photoshop
  •  5 free workout programmes for busy people and their benefits

If you want to increase your search rankings, your list posts have to offer something unique and valuable. This is typically done by following these  recommendations:

  • Offering expert advice based on your personal experiences. Referring to existing case studies and data.
  • Sharing valuable anecdotes and tidbits relevant to your topic.
  •  Including practical recommendations addressing topical issues.

 

2. Sharing Third-Party Resources and Links
When blogging, it’s easy to see other bloggers as your rivals. This attitude, however, is destructive and unhealthy if you’re planning to blog professionally.

Collaborating with other bloggers is one of the most effective means of growing organic traffic and is a cornerstone of white-label link building. A great way to achieve this aim is by writing and curating a resource page.

A good resource page should do all of the below.
? Include links to respectable blogs, and third-party products and services.
? Disclose if you’re partnered with other blogs or are sponsored by the companies that you are linking to.
? Be topical; you should update your resource page at least once a month to keep track of the latest issues and provide value to your readers.
? Include your remarks and comments about the content you’re linking to.

Some platforms (e.g., Hubspot) are so large that their entire resources page only includes links to their own resources and tools. This is simply not feasible for smaller bloggers. Because of this, don’t worry if your resources page needs to link to other popular blogs. Other blogs are not out there to ‘steal’ your readers. Your readers will appreciate you trying to provide as much value as possible and will return to your blog for more. In addition, resource pages can be a great place to connect with other bloggers and perhaps gain links back to your blog and grow your rankings.

3. Writing Detailed Reviews
Let’s face it, everybody likes reading a good review. But what exactly should you review? Well, practically anything goes. Book reviews are incredibly popular right now as reading is seen as a highly prestigious and thoughtful hobby in a world that is overwhelmed by information. The average time spent reading books in the US has remained consistently around 15 minutes per day since 2014.

Other great review options are online platforms, tools and courses. Online learning is experiencing a huge boom right now due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, a lot of people simply don’t know what courses or online universities they should choose. You could (and should) become a very valuable guide in a rapidly expanding industry.

Reviews of products are also encouraged. There are always new and emerging products and brands within every niche. Product reviews will always have a place in blogging and gain organic traffic from the people looking specifically for reviews before purchasing anything. This can also easily lead to affiliate sales and sponsored review posts in the future.

If you want to write a captivating review, follow the below guidelines:

  • Include links to respectable sources of secondary data.
  • Clearly mark your own subjective opinions.
  • Don’t be afraid to share personal stories and anecdotes.
  • Always remain critical but don’t nitpick.

4. Using a Keyword Ranking Tool
Two of the most widespread mistakes made by bloggers are failing to integrate new keywords into their posts and not getting rid of keywords that are no longer valuable. You’ve already made the same mistakes if you’ve done at least one of the following things:

  • Only use a single spreadsheet including all your keywords.
  • Do not check the keyword statistics for your older posts.
  • Do not use any third-party tools to monitor the rankings of your current keywords.

If you’ve recognised your blogging practices in the above list, then it’s time for a change. Luckily, two of the best keyword ranking tools that are available to bloggers are completely free.

  •  Ahrefs provides free monthly updates to its keyword database and can search keyword popularity across different domains. The tool also focuses on non-conventional metrics such as keyword difficulty and the estimated organic traffic provided by each new keyword
  • MOZ can be used to easily generate infographics about specific keywords and is a great daily tracker of keyword popularity.

Make a habit of spending at least 10-15 minutes per day to check the status of your keywords and update your SEO spreadsheets and documents. This is not only a great time management exercise but is practically a guarantee of achieving solid organic traffic figures.

5. Guest Posting Featuring Opinion Leaders
We’ve already discussed that bloggers become stronger by cooperating and writing extensive resource pages. The same principle also applies to guest posting and inviting opinion leaders to give valuable tips on a specific subject.

A good guest post:

  • is written by a well-known personality and includes the distinct features of this personality’s style.
  • offers a unique perspective on a topical issue (e.g., new updates to the Google algorithm).
  • credits all contributors and details why these people are considered experts in a given field.
  • includes links to the guest contributor’s other publications.

We know that guest posting might seem a bit scary. After all, you’re willingly relinquishing creative control to a person you might not have met before. Nonetheless, it’s a great way to grow traffic and increase the authority of your web page.

You can also provide high-quality, guest post content to other websites yourself. This helps to establish you and your business as an authority in your niche and can bring organic traffic from other blogs.

Another way to collaborate with opinion leaders is by creating interview-type posts or list of snippets from multiple personalities. The wealth of information in these posts can attract a lot of attention from potential visitors and links from other bloggers.

Conclusion:

In our opinion, the optimal time to start growing your organic traffic is right now. With the rise in teleworking and similar digital services, more and more people turn to bloggers to adapt to the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic. If you follow the above strategies, you’re sure to become a valid opinion leader in your own right and strongly grow your loyal following.

Author Bio
           

 Catherine Smith is an online Marketing Manager at PhD Centre, specializing in PhD thesis writing. She is passionate about researching and writing on various topics, including Education, Marketing, and Technology.

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