Using Log Lines to Create Blog Content

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For those who are new to the craft of screenwriting, the log line is a 25-word brief description of what the movie is about, Peter Fox explains in the Writer magazine. No matter what film you’re reading about, Fox adds, in the log line you’ll find at least one of the five pillars of cinematic conflict:

  1. Problem of conscience.
  2. It’s not fair.
  3. Facing the mountain.
  4. Stand and deliver.
  5. Life or death.

Classic films might have characters that endure all five of these conflicts, the author explains. However, it’s important, before film writers begin to create a movie, for them to identify the core of the character’s struggle and then build the content around that core or “pillar”.

How can this log line wisdom translate into blog marketing?

Problem of conscience – In blogging on behalf of a charity, it’s important to demonstrate that donated funds are handled responsibly and used to forward the stated goals of the organization. But, even in content marketing of products and services, as study.com explains, it’s important to assert your personal authority and to appear as an expert in the subject you’re writing about.

It’s not fair – Identify what problems your readers are experiencing and create content that aims to solve that one single social or business “unfairness” or problem. If you cannot provide a solution, in your blog, recommend articles, eBooks, tools, apps, or services that might help, Fabrizio Van Marciano of magnet4blogging.net suggests.

Facing the mountain – For the same reason most college-bound students are tasked with writing an “overcoming challenges” essay, recounting a time when they faced a challenge, setback or failure. Using blog content to recounting obstacles a business owner or professional practitioner overcame can help prospects embrace and engage with the content.

Stand and deliver – In the movie of that title, the phrase “stand and deliver” expresses the concept of maintaining one’s position and acting independently.

Life or death – While credible blogs hardly tout the purchase of any product or service as a life-or-death decision, content writers can offer reader “decision aids”, helping searchers understand the possible consequences of delay in implementing the recommended commitment or involvement.

At Say It For You, we firmly believe in the Power of One, with a single message directed to a single audience segment. Just as in movie-making, In blogging for business, it’s a good idea to start with the log line.

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Things-You-Never-Knew Content Marketing

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“Time to take a look at how amazing (and a bit freaky!) we all are,” says Patricia S. Daniels of National Geographic. And we want to do this why? To: 1. discover healthy living 2. improve function 3. explore the latest discoveries. The special issue offers no fewer than 100 things you never knew”, in the form of “tidbits” of information about the human body..

Things-you-never-knew tidbits are super-valuable when it comes to content marketing. For one thing, tidbits showcase the knowledge and expertise of the business owners or practitioner, while at the same time softening the effect of any strong opinions expressed in the article or blog.

In content writing, word tidbits and tag lines are both designed to help readers remember something– a concept, a company, a product, a service. But, while a tag line may be catchy, even memorable – it’s pure advertising, revealing little to nothing about product or service, the company or the experience in store for the buyer. The right word tidbit in contrast, can capture the sense of the owners and how much those owners care about continuing their decades-long relationship with customers.

The “things-you-never-knew” concept is successful because it relates to the fact that web visitors tend to be curious creatures, particularly when it comes to testing their own knowledge and learning more about themselves. In fact, “self-tests” tend to engage readers and help them relate in a more personal way to the information presented in a blog or other marketing content On the other hand, online searchers are looking for more than just information; they need perspective. Yes, the National Geographic issue is designed to help readers become aware of these fascinating details of bodily function, ls, they need help discovering what to do about those details in order to achieve a more healthy lifestyle.

Business blog posts, for example, much like those individual things-you-never-knew pieces in National Geographic, should be designed to spark reader curiosity, playing on our natural desire to self-test, then offer technical information “in chewable tablet form”.

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Great Attributes of Great Financial Advisors and Great Blog Posts

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Business blog content writers, I couldn’t help thinking, would do well to focus on developing those great attributes that dimensional.com believes are signs of great financial advisors.

Purposeful – they have a clear mission to serve clients and help them reach their goals.
Particularly in the opening lines of a business blog post, it’s important to be purposeful, leaving no doubt in searchers’ minds that they’ve come to the right place to find the information, products, and services they need.

Authentic – they reveal their true selves to clients.
Use emotional content to evoke feelings that drive people to share and to act. Reveal your own cherished beliefs, creating a feeling in your audience of being connected with you and the people in your business or practice.

Empathetic – they know they cannot effectively serve clients without genuinely relating to them.
Researchers at the University of Bath created a measurement for ads called the Emotive Power Score to gauge if the ad is going to change feelings about the brand. Readers of bogs seeking iformation to support their hobbies, interests, and beliefs will seek “empathetic” content.

Intellectually curious – they continue to learn and to search for solutions, are open to new ideas and committed to honing their own knowledge and skills.
How can we ghost bloggers write for business owners and professional clients without being trained in those fields ourselves? The answer is constant curiosity and learning.
As content writers, we offer our clients’ blog visitors a more personal and even a more analytical perspective on the information they might find on the company website.  Often, precisely because we’re industry “outsiders”, learners, we are actually better able to approach the subject in ways online searchers will understand.

Use questions to better understand needs before suggesting action.
While in a blog post, you’re often providing answers to questions that your potential customer might ask, the very fact that it’s in the form of a question allows readers to feel you’re helping them form them form their own opinions.

Honest – set reasonable expectations about outcomes.
Blogging honestly about your business’ capabilities and “incapabilities” helps set reasonable expectations tha prospects appreciate.

Disciplined – they don’t let media messages or market swings drive impulsive actions.
Drill sergeant discipline is required for content marketing, with web rankings are based at least partially on frequency of posting new content.  And, while successful marketing blog content writers don’t aim for “trendy”, they can tie blog content to current events.

Great attributes of great business leaders make for really great business blog posts!

 

 

 

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Blogging Starts and Grows Because of Trust

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“In business, we need our customers and potential customers to trust us….otherwise they simply won’t want to invest time and resources into us and our business,” Safarz Ali writes in the Business Influencer. How do you prove that you are trustworthy? Ali suggests the biggest three ways:

1. Show, don’t tell. Live up to your promises and use client case studies to prove it.
At Say it for You, we emphasize that case studies chronicle a customer or client who had a problem or need, taking readers through the various stages of using the product or service to solve that problem.

2. Practice honest communication, brushing no issues under the rug.
Problems with customer service are going to arise, but those very situations offer you an opportunity to shine by making things right. Empower Then use writing for business as one excellent vehicle to tell about your own mistakes and the way you offer outstanding customer service by making things right.

3. Prove you know your customers.
Your blog can’t be all things to all people, any more than your business can be all things to everybody.  The blog must be targeted towards the specific type of customers you want and who will want to do business with you.  Everything about your blog should be tailor-made for that customer  – the words you use, how technical you get and how sophisticated your approach..

The top five best communication traits of a successful leader, Rebecca Weintraub and Stan Lowes think, are these:

1. walking the talk
The typical online searcher is leery of hype and unrealistic claims, and honesty in content writing has power.

2. authenticity (understand yourself first)
To demonstrate that you’re unique, you need to explain what you care about and what it’s like to work with you.

3. embracing a communication culture
Use your blog to demonstrate your full engagement and concern for your customer’s welfare, and allow real-time feedback from your target audience.

4. storytelling
You have to have a point, conveying the reason you’re sharing the story.

5. listening
When I’m ghost-blogging for a business, I need to keep up on what others are saying on the topic, on what’s in the news, and about what problems and questions have been surfacing that relate to what my client sells and what it does for its clients.

Blogging starts and grows because of trust!

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Blogging to Offer a New Look

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The 2023 Harris’ Farmer’s Almanac offers “A New Look at Warren G Harding”, who, for decades, had been labeled by many historians as our worst president. During his 882 days in office, Harding had indeed made some bad choices. Several of his cabinet appointees took bribes; his extra-marital affairs were well-known. Reporters called him lazy and doubted his intelligence. However, now that presidential records from the early 1900s have been digitalized and available, author Veda Boyd Jones explains, “a more balanced view of President Warren G. Harding has emerged.”

Some of Harding’s notable accomplishments as president include:

  • creating the Veterans Bureau
  • creating the Bureau of the Budget
  • reducing the national deficit
  • appointing four Supreme Court justices, including William Howard Taft
  • putting in an 84-hour work week, including working lunches
  • being the first to visit Alaska , correctly predicting it would become a state

“No matter what size of business you have, you may be presented with a situation where you have to answer some undesired questions or clear up some misconceptions,” the Digital Echidna blog explains. ” While the Web can be your greatest enemy, it can also be your greatest ally. It affords you the opportunity to get your message out, immediately, without the need for a third-party distribution….  explain, apologize, and then lay out exactly what is being done to rectify the situation and ensure it doesn’t happen again.”

Blogs are an ideal vehicle for damage control, we teach at Say It For You. By putting your own “spin” on reports about your company or practice, we teach at Say It For You, you can exercise control over the way the public perceives any negative developments concerning your business or practice. Of course, if you don’t blog frequently, you won’t attract negative comments, but neither will you attract the attention of search engines who deliver readers to your blog site.

Just as the authors of the 2023 Harris’ Farmer’s Almanac used updated information to counteract negative perceptions of former president warren G. Harding, your blog can offer a new look at a situation within your company or practice. Blog to offer readers a new look!

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