The Power of Blogging on Paper

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notes on paper
Paper can be our valuable ally when our mission is learning something, the authors of Mental Floss magazine explain – in fact, we “get empowered by taking notes on paper,” as many scientific studies prove.

Interestingly, while the blog posts that I and my Say It For You writers create are meant to be read online, there are some valuable tips in this article about note-taking that can be used to organize business blog content.

Mental Floss describes three basic methods for taking handwritten notes – the Outline Method, the Cornell Note-taking System, and the Mapping Method. Each can be used in formatting informative blog posts to make them more engaging and easier for readers to understand.

The Outline Method
This method uses topic titles, followed by indented subtopics (either numbered or with bullet points.

The Cornell Method
This method uses a chart-like method, with each page divided into two columns with one row at the bottom. Students would use the larger right-hand area to record notes, then later add questions and comments of their own in the left-hand column, with an overall summary in the bottom section.

The Mapping Method
This system is nonlinear, with the main topic inside a bubble, and spider legs that lead to secondary thoughts or sources.

As a business blogger, I’m kind of partial to bullet points, and from what I’ve been told, Google and other search engines like them, too. Online searchers who have found our blog posts, remember, aren’t getting the information out of our mouths; we have only our written words, with perhaps some charts or pictures, to engage their attention. The fact that lists and bullet points are generally a good fit for blogs is something I have always stressed in corporate blogging training sessions. What I’ve found over the years is that lists help keep both readers and writers on track.

The “mapping method”, I think, can be adapted for blog series, where you’re exploring different aspects of the same topic in a group of three to four posts. A recent series for a hospital supply corporation blog, for example, offered four different blog posts about bariatric surgery, each of which emphasized one aspect of the topic, The first discussed all the preparation needed on the part of both the patient and the family members leading up to the surgery. Another post compared different methods being used in bariatrics; a third post discussed the psychological aspects of this type of life-changing surgery.

Each blog post, of course, is meant to be shared online. But for us blog content writers, we can get empowered as we plan by taking notes on paper.

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Start a Blog Conversation About Soda

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small companies

 

If you’re a big brand like Coke or SunChips, your brand is being talked about and you need to address the topic head-on, and only then spread out to more general conversation, says Gary Vaynerchuk in his book The Thank You Economy. On the other hand, he points out, if you’re Sally’s Orange Soda and no one’s talking about you, you need to do the reverse, meaning that you create a general soda conversation first.

Since most of the business owners and professional practitioners for whom we Say it For You writers are creating content fall closer to the Sally’s Orange Soda end of the spectrum, I found this Vaynerchuk observation particularly apropos.

Kevin Phillips of Impactbnd.com has some good ideas for business blog topics that fall into the “general conversation” category, including:

  • comparisons and pros and cons
  • how-tos and tutorials
  • classifications
  • laws and regulations
  • myths and misconceptions

What starting general conversation topics for blogs does not mean, Phillips is quick to explain, is providing amusing, interesting material that has nothing to do with your company’s field of expertise. The important things, he learned, are 1 .answering the questions the audience is asking and 2. asking yourself what the root problem is that your products and services help solve.

An interesting tidbit of information can form the nucleus for a “general conversation” provided that

a) the new information relates to something with which readers are already familiar

b) your reason for including that information in your past is readily apparent.

Suggesting new ways of thinking about things with which readers are already familiar makes for good general conversation fodder as well.

At some point, content writers must remember, all that “general conversation” about soda needs to lead back to Sally’s Orange Soda, positioning that small company as the “go-to” place for information and services.

If you’re a giant, you can start the blog conversation with you, is Vaynerchuk’s message. If you’re Sally, start a more general, informational conversation, but bring the readers “back home”.

 

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Blogging to Differ

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differences between two thing

Some people think graveyards and cemeteries are the same thing, but they’re not, Jakub Marian, author of the book One Hundred Most Commonly Mispronounced English Words points out. Graveyards are on church property; cemeteries are not.

With July Fourth around the corner, Writing Explained wants readers to appreciate the difference between “half-mast” and “half-staff”. When a flag near civilian structures or homes on land is flown low on its pole, at ”half-staff”, that signifies a mournful salute, often for fallen soldiers, police officers, or politicians. The phrase “half-mast” means the same thing for flags on a ship or on a naval base..

“Companies all over the world regularly struggle with explaining the benefits of their products, William Craig observes in Forbes. One way to empower customers to make a decision, he says, is to help them understand the differences between various terms. As an example, Craig discusses two terms that tend to be used interchangeably and wrongly in the field of nutrition: probiotics and prebiotics. The first term has a “sizeable head start” in terms of marketing, he observes, but the scientific consensus is shifting towards the second. It’s important for companies competing in the nutritional supplement arena to double down on efforts to better educate the public.

As blog content writers, we’re part of that same struggle to educate both prospects on clients on the differences between various terms – and between one business’ products and services and those of its competitors. Demonstrating the differences, and, even more important, why those distinctions matter, becomes a core function of our content writing.

A couple of years ago, the AARP magazine featured a piece called “Knowledge is Power”. The author’s idea was that we should “put words in readers’ mouths” so that they can feel confident about protecting themselves from fraudsters. At Say it For You, we believe the same principle can be applied when it comes to empowering readers by teaching them the correct use of the terms that apply in that field of interest.

As I work with clients, whatever the nature of their business or professional practice, I always advise that we use the blog to provide information – especially new information – related to their field. Buyers feel empowered to make a decision when they feel they understand the terminology. Blogging to differ is a good idea!

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Start By Being on Their Side

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being on the side of the reader

In his 30-second “elevator speech” introducing himself at our InfoConnect2 networking meeting, fellow member Cody Lents shared something I think blog content writers need to hear.

Most sales processes, Cody said, go as follows:

  1. Here’s what we have to offer….
  2. Here’s how it works…..
  3. Here’s how it can help you……
  4. What do you think?…..

In contrast to that features/benefits model, Cody’s message to a prospect runs more like this: “I understand you have some problems with ……. Let’s figure it out together.”

Cody’s words reminded me of a post I published six years ago, called “Business Blog Readers Need Content Writers to Get One Thing Straight”. Recommending anything, I reminded blog content writers, before you’ve demonstrated you’ve done your homework and that you understand the readers’ needs, well that is not likely to have them following any of your calls to action.

There’s just so much information out there for searchers to use, so many bloggers telling  what they have to offer, how it works, and how they can help. What needs to come across loud and clear is that the business owners or practitioners understand the readers and those readers’ specific needs and problems.

Another aspect of putting ourselves in prospects’ shoes comes into play when our blog post is sharing industry and company or practice news and announcements. Readers must buy into the idea that this news is going to be important to them. In a way, the blog content writer is playing the role of an advisor, and people look to advisors for more than just information, even if the topic is highly relevant to their needs. Readers will be saying to themselves, “OK, I get it, but how does that news affect me?”

When it comes right down to it, the whole blog marketing thing is not really about search engine optimization, although that may be one motivating factor for starting a blog. What I believe it IS really about is providing those who find your site with a taste of what it would be like to have you working alongside them to help with their challenges and issues. (That’s true whether the business owner or practitioner is writing his or her own blog posts or working with professional content writers at Say It For You.)

You’ve gotta start on their side!

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Blog to Show Both Sides of an Issue

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  • two sides of an issue
    Are the oldest fossils really rocks?
    Is insomnia always dangerous?
    Is nervousness natural and healthy?
    Is eating potatoes as bad for teens as digital technology?

These are just a few of the debatable topics covered in recent issues of both Psychology Today and Prevention Guide. But whether the topic of your own blog marketing efforts is health or geology, the blog content itself, I teach at Say It For You, needs to use opinion to clarify what differentiates your business, your organization or professional practice from its peers.

Often, when I’m tutoring students at the Ivy Tech Learning Center, they will have been assigned
an “argument essay”. After selecting and researching a topic, the idea is that the students must present differing viewpoints, selecting the one they are out to “prove” is correct. Still, the finished essay must reflect both sides of the “argument”.

The same model holds true for business blog posts, I believe. It’s a good idea to offer perspective on different points of view when it comes to an issue within your industry or profession, explaining why you support one of the different possible approaches.

Last year, in fact, I titled one of my own blog posts “New Blogging Means Being Controversial”. The concept is that you can increase traffic and build engagement with controversial content, so long as your point of view is backed up with data – and, so long as you present arguments for both sides.

Of course, a big part of the “both sides” thing has to do with your target audience, I explain to blog content writers. More than ten years ago, I wrote about an article I’d read about the Alice Cooper rock music group, which (at least for back then) was sort of “over the top”, with electric chairs, fake blood, and a boa constrictor all part of the act. The author made the point that Alice Copper was focusing on the kids, using the principle “if the parents hate it, the kids will love it.”

So, yes, in your marketing blog, speak to both sides of an issue. Having done that, however, do all you can to speak to “your” side, and “your” target readers.

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