Master Chefs and Master Content Writers Stay Up on Current Things

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After winning the “Beat Bobby Flay” cooking competition in 2017, Indianapolis restaurateur Steve Oakley explained that what keeps him inspired after twenty years in the restaurant business is – reading a lot. Looking at a book is inspirational to him, along with “just talking with customers about experiences they have”, Oakley explains. Dean Sample, a former employee of Oakley’s (now a head chef in his own right) had this to say of his former mentor: “To be doing it as long as he has and still have that interest and still trying and experimenting with different things all the time, it’s pretty impressive. He stays up on all kinds of current things in the world of chefs and restaurants.” The other part of being a chef, Oakley now tells IndyStar reporter Cheryl Jackson, is that “if you want to be recognized, you have to get out there in different ways. You can’t just limit yourself to cooking in your restaurants…you’ve got to get out, meet the people, and shake their hands”.

Blog content writers can do no better than follow the Oakley “playbook”. In fact, “reading around”, we often stress at Say It For You, is a crucial habit. You need to keep up with what others are saying on your topic. What’s in the news? What problems and questions have been surfacing that relate to your industry or profession (or that of your client?). Not only do you need a constant flow of ideas, but you can improve your own writing skills by reading books about writing. And, in the business of blog marketing, books about selling and marketing help keep your skills sharp.

Notice that Steve Oakley’s “content” is refreshed by more than reading. Getting out and meeting the people, talking with customers about experiences they have is crucial when it comes to keeping blog content relevant. In Journalism 101, I was taught to “put a face on the issue” by beginning articles with a human example . A case study takes that personalization even further, chronicling a customer or client who had a certain problem or need, taking readers through the various stages of how the product or service was used to solve that problem. What were some of the issues that arose along the way? What new insights were gained through that experience, on the part of both the business and the customer?

Master chefs and master content writers stay up on current things!

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Blogging One Aspect at a Time

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Latest trends
“Make your first blog post all about the latest trends for the coming season and you’ll be providing relevant content,” George Todorv of Thrivemywaycom tells wanna-be fashion bloggers. In fact, whatever your industry or field, blog readers are likely to enjoy learning about current trends. A recent issue of The Old Farmer’s Almanac mentions “flavors we’re craving”, including maple syrup with edible glitter and flash-frozen cups of coffee. In the field of home décor, the Almanac mentions walk-in closets being converted to offices, and multifunctional, flexible rooms. Using your business blog to describe recent trends is especially appropriate for businesses in industries undergoing changes – new legislation, new discoveries, new technological advances.  But, whether your topic is clothing, food, or interior design, readers like to feel “in the know” about what’s popular.

How-tos
“Articles about how to upcycle clothes and use them to create new outfits will always go down well,” Todory continues. In fact, as Neil Patel observes, more than one billion Google searches per day are in the form of a question, so outlining all the steps a reader needs to accomplish what they’re trying to do is a great blog content tactic.

Ideas, concepts, and opinions
“Talk about sustainable vs. fast fashion and you’ll be connecting with what people want,” Todory suggests, alluding to the variety of styles and approaches in any category of business. In fact, blog posts, to be effective, can’t be just compilations of even very useful information. It is opinion that humanizes a blog and differentiates a business, professional practice, or organization from its peers. One aspect of blogging is to put your own unique slant on best practices in your field.

In the news
“Use your fashion blog to deliver a commentary on the latest styles on show at places like Paris Fashion Week and the Met Gala”, Todory suggests, alluding to the tactic of tying blog content to current happenings in the community and beyond, showing readers that you’re “with it”.

These are just four ideas from the list of 21 different types of blogs Thrivemyway mentions. As we well know at Say It For You, there are dozens and dozens more. Just remember to blog one aspect at a time!

 

 

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Do-You-Know and Can-You-Guess Blog Marketing

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“Do You Know Who Invented These Life-Saving Vaccines?” the editors of Mental Floss Magazine ask readers. (Who created the rabies vaccine?) “How Much Do You Know About Black Cats?” (Are there more male than female black cats?) “How Much Do You Know About Jeopardy? (How many clues are written for each session?)”Can You Guess the Gadgets Star Trek Invented?” (TiVo was not.) (“Can You Define These Colonial-Era Slang Words and Phrases?” (What does it mean to describe something as macaroni?)

“Interactive content creates a two-way dialogue between two parties, seopresser.com explains. Quizzes grow your list in several ways, Chelsea of herpaperroute.com adds, because:

  1. In order for them to see their results, they must sign up to your list.
  2. Readers will be segmented depending on what answers they click on.

At Say It For You, we’ve found, even if readers are not required to sign up for your list, quizzes are a very good strategy in blog marketing. Blog readers tend to be curious creatures and “self-tests” tend to engage and help readers relate in a more personal way to information presented in a blog.

Another aspect of quizzes is that they offer variety. Since one of the biggest challenges in blogging for business over long periods of time is keeping the content fresh, quizzes help vary the menu.

To me as a content writer, there are three even more important aspects to quizzes in blog posts:

  1. People are looking to their advisors for more than just information; they need perspective. In other words, quiz questions and answers can to offer a different perspective on fact sets readers have forgotten.
  2. When readers strain to remember something and then find the answer, they tend to repeat that fact set in their conversations with others.
  3. Our curiosity is most intense when we’re testing our own knowledge, making tests, games, and quizzes hard to resist.

All in all, “Do-You-Know?” and “Can-You-Guess?” are great tactics for blog marketing.

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Reading and Writing – for Blog Content, You Can’t Have One Without the Other

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“If you want to be a writer, you must do two things above all others: read a lot and write a lot.” That advice from none other but bestselling author Steven King is perfect for blog content writers. In fact, I’ve been teaching at Say It For You, in order to create a valuable ongoing blog for your business, it’s going to take equal parts reading and writing.

Reasons “reading around” is so important for bloggers:

  1. You need to keep up with what others are saying on your topic. What’s in the news? What problems and questions have been surfacing that relate to your industry or profession (or that of your client).
  2. You need a constant flow of ideas. Yes, ideas for blog content can come from everywhere, but those ideas aren’t going to jump right onto your page!
  3. You can improve your own writing skills by reading books about writing (duh!). One favorite of mine is Brandon Royal’s The Little Red Writing Book.

  4. “Tidbits” liven up content. These are nothing more than pieces of unusual or little-known facts that you can use to explain your own products, services, and culture. Again, I have a favorite – The Book of Totally Useless Information, by Don Voorhees.
  5. You’re in the business of blog marketing, so books about selling and marketing are important. Remember, there’s almost no end to information available to consumers, so our job is to help readers absorb and “buy into” that information. New fave? The Challenger Sale, by Neil Rackham.6. In reading around, you gain insight into your customer base and their motivations for reading your blog in the first place. A scholarly article on the motivations recent college grads’ have to read blogs reminded me, of example, to keep tailoring individual blog posts or series to different segments of the client’s customer base.

For all of these reasons, at Say It For You, we teach blog content writers the importance of “reading around” and then “curating” others’ material for the benefit of readers.

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5 Ways to Talk About Tile

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TV reality show personalities Drew and Jonathan Scott have long been favorites of mine, so I was delighted to find their new lifestyle magazine, “Reveal” at a neighborhood newsstand.

At Say It For You, our content writers are always seeking to vary the ways we present information on a single topic in many different ways. Not only are we on the lookout for different “templates” in terms of platform graphics, but different formats for presenting information about any business or professional practice.

Well, I found, the Property Brothers have that technique down pat. In this single magazine issue, there are five different articles, all relating to just one aspect of home decor – tile!

1. the Tile Files
To help readers “know their options”, Drew and Jonathan present an overview of seven different tile types, including ceramic, porcelain, terra-cotta, class, cement, Natural stone, and peel-and-stick, listing the pros and cons of each.

The point of using lists of options, I explain to blog content writers, is to provide valuable information, to readers, suggesting different ways in which the business owner’s products – or the practitioner’s services – might be of particular use to them, perhaps in a way they hadn’t considered.

2. the Shape of Things
Here Drew and Jonathan delve into their subject in greater detail, first listing the different shapes in which tiles or sold. This “listicle” doubles as an advice column, since certain shapes, the brothers explain, work best for certain applications. “Mermaid” or scallop-shaped tiles, we learn, are sold interlocked for easier installation on kitchen backsplashes or behind bathroom vanities. “Square Zelligs” are glazed, often non-uniformly shaped, ceramic tiles best used for countertops and shower walls “for people who like a little character and don’t mind a snag here or there.”

Offering advice that’s out of the ordinary is actually great advice for business blog content writers. Drew and Jonathan are offering advice readers can use right now. More important, the authors are explaining the reasons behind each piece of advice.

3. the Trends
In this article, the Property Brothers collate advice from four different prominent designers. Barbie Palomina, for example likes using tiles on ceilings as well as on walls and floors. Gabrielle Aker likes mixing three complementary colors of tile to create a sunrise effect.
Kathryn Berschback installs tiles with prints and patterns in a butler’s pantry, while Zzoe Gowan “mixes and matches: patterned and solid tiles.

Since we are hired by clients to tell their story online to their target audiences, we need to do intensive research, as well as taking guidance from the client’s experience and expertise. Interviewing experts allows us dig deeper into the topic, offering added value to readers by bringing in expert insights.

4. All About Grout
This piece falls into the “how-to” category, with practical tips and cautionary advice for DIY readers. “While figuring out the right mix of cement, water, and sand may seem like more of a practical decision than a pretty one,” the authors caution readers that the grout they select is going to be permanently visible between the tiles. That means that both the color of the grout and the amount of spacing between tiles will have a big impact on the finished appearance.

As effective blog content writers, we can demonstrate to our readers how to dodge dangers and avoid costly and embarrassing mistakes. The Property Brothers’ articles are the kind home remodelers might cut out and keep. In the same vein, effective blog content should offer cut-out-and-keep, useful and actionable advice.

5. Install Intel
Before you invest in tile, the Property Brothers advise, find an installer with credibility. The Tile Council of North America (TCNA) certifies installers and keeps them up to date on the most current standards and practices around the installation of tile.

The success of your blog marketing efforts, we explain to Say It For You clients, will be very closely aligned with your positioning yourself as a go-to source of trustworthy information. Using factual proof involves offering statistics about the problem your product or service helps solve; credentializing proof cites your years of experience, and degrees earned.

At Say It For You, our content writers are on the lookout for different formats for presenting information about any business or professional practice. Those five different Reveal Magazine articles, all about tile, yet all different, serve as a great example of imaginative ways to deliver information to blog content audiences.

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