Archive for category: the Say It For You blog

Say It For You is “going grizzly” this week, using the March 2013 issue of Backpacker magazine (no, I’m not a backpacker, but as part of the “reading around” I prescribe for all Indianapolis blog content writers, I “mine” different types of publications).

“Know Your Bears” compares and contrasts four ursine types: the black bear, the grirzzly, the polar bear, and the pizzly. Along with a one-paragraph physical description of each, readers are given information that includes height and weight, diet, and habitat.

The strength of this particular Backpacker offering, I found, lies in its organization. Seeing those four columns, each topped by an image of one of the bear types, helped me process the information easily.

In SEO marketing blogs we can use the same tactic to engage readers. In fact, one blog content “re-purposing” technique is to call attention in a business blog post to “old” information that we haven’t highlighted for awhile, but presenting it in a new light or in a new format.

Taking our example from the “Know Your Bears” piece, we can present material we’ve discussed before, but organize it differently, from both a concept point of view and in the visual presentation. Some formats to try might be:

• Question /answer
   
• Alphabetized lists and glossaries
   
• Surveys
   
• Tie-ins with current news items

The really powerful punch Backpacker adds to the height-and-weight and physical stats of each bear type is a “Killer Stat”.

• The average black bear encounter is about 21 times less likely to result in injury than one with a grizzly.
   
• Over the last 15 years, 50% of fatal grizzly attacks in North America have ended with the bear feeding on the victim.
   
• In Alaska and Canada combined, polar bears killed eight people in all of the 20th century.

Sometimes, after months and years of composing content, we business blog writers can feel we’ve told readers everything we know a long time ago. But by adding a few new items, re-organizing some old ones, and using some startling “killer statistics”, we can keep our blogs fresh and new!

 

There’s something enticing about a title promising to “bare the truth”, especially when it concerns a topic on which we didn’t expect there to be any secrets to speak of.  The “Special Report” about (of all things) bears, in (of all places) Backpacker magazine made me think that Indiana blog content writers might make more frequent use of that truth-about-… technique.

The 12-page magazine article about grizzlies contained enough valuable and little-known ursine information to stock two dozen blog posts. But in corporate blogging training sessions, I stress the importance of keeping each post focused on only one aspect of a business or professional practice – one product or service, one guiding principle, etc.  

Yet the material was organized around three main themes, or, as I refer to them in this Say it For You blog (borrowing a phrase from classical music), leitmotifs. As we continue to write about our industries, our products, and our services, we’ll find ourselves repeating some key concepts. In fact, as I offer business blogging assistance, I’ll tell you that’s what you should be doing to keep your blogs focused and targeted. The variety comes from the details you fill in around those central themes, examples of ways the company’s products can be helpful, or examples of how the company helped solve various problems.

The 3 tactics in Truth About Bears include:

De-mystifying:
“Have the biggest predators in North American managed to survive unseen in North cascades National Park?  Cascades grizzlies barely hang on”, readers learn. “We pushed bears so deep into the wild that they have grim prospects for breeding, or even finding each other.”

Addressing misinformation in a company's blog shines light on the owner's special expertise, besides offering information that is valuable to readers. De-mystifying matters can make your blog into a "go-to" source for readers seeking information in your field.

Myth-busting:
Are bears always afraid of fire? Is it true that bears can’t climb trees? Are bears really unable to run downhill?

Myth debunking is a great use for corporate blog content. That's because in the natural course of doing business, misunderstandings about a product or service often surface in the form of customer questions and comments.

Offering actionable information:
Dream of seeing a bruin in the wild? No matter what part of the country you call home, “The Black Bear Finder” details where hikers should go for a bear-spotting hike within a day’s drive.

A Call to Action an image or text that tells your readers what action they should be taking next on your site. In fact, as a professional ghost blogger, I'd say the ultimate challenge blog content writers face is getting readers to "see" themselves using the products and services described in the blog posts and providing them with options for using the information you’ve provided.
 

How can you use "the-truth-abouts" in blogging for business?