Archive for category: the Say It For You blog

“Gone are the days when speaking publicly meant only that – speaking,” says Jean Palmer Heck, teaching speakers to shoot videos audiences will want to watch. The same cautions might be added to the list of how-to-write-a-blog rules, I’d remind business owners, practitioners, and freelance blog content writers.

Begin by establishing the setting with a wide shot. The wide shot establishes place, temperature, and general environment, explains Palmer-Heck.

In online content writing, the opening lines need to establish that readers have come to the right place to find the information they were seeking. Those opening lines establish the general “setting” for the specific focus of that day’s business blog post. Establishing the setting includes clarifying the “slant” of the post – will readers find “how to” information? A list of sources for products? Some cautions and “don’ts? General definitions and categories?

Use close-ups for emotional connection and impact. It’s the details – of nature and of human faces that stimulate emotional responses in viewers.

“Blogging consists of one person — or one company — communicating directly with consumers in an unfettered, unfiltered manner. In that sense, blogs are a more personal form of communication,” observes Practical eCommerce’s Paul Chaney. In fact, as I explain to Say It For You freelance blog writers, blog posts have a distinct advantage over more static website copy precisely because of that razor-sharp focus on just one story, one idea, one aspect of the business or practice. And the “closer up” the focus in business-to-business blog writing, and the more personal the approach, the greater the impact.
 

One mistake amateur videographers make is panning in and out, “zooming” too much. Heck advises turning off the camera before zooming in, so that the focus is on the close-up scene itself, not on the camera’s movement.

In SEO marketing blogs, I remind freelance blog writers in Indianapolis, it’s the recurring “leitmotifs” that connect the various “zoom-ins” of the individual blog posts. In writing for business, the variety comes from all the details you fill in around these central themes.

The leitmotifs in blogs establish the setting which is the company’s or the professional’s signature style. The “zoom-ins” then help blog writing stay smaller and lighter in scale, making for blog posts audiences will want to read!

 

Retirement planners have three roles, Marty Martin explains in the Journal of Financial Planning:

Listener

Connector

Resolver

Seems to me, keeping those same three roles in mind would help blog content writers plan an editorial calendar for the SEO marketing blog of any business, professional practice, or organization.

Listener

The goal is to uncover the facts and discover the emotions. When your client tells you the source of his or her concern, switch to the facts, and normalize the feelings (“It’s not unusual for people to feel a bit nervous about retirement.”)

Once the basic connection with online searchers  has been established through the blog post title and the keyword phrases, we blog content writers have our real work cut out for us – creating an emotional connection with readers. We need to assure them we ‘re listening.  We understand the issues, and they are hardly “alone” in their need for solutions to their problems.

Connector

The goal is to help the client connect the dots of the different types of data – their pension, their Social Security, their IRA, etc.-  plus connect the clients with other professionals for special planning they need.

As a freelance blog writer, I’ve always known that linking to outside sources is a good tactic for adding breadth and depth to my blog content. Linking to a news source or magazine article, for instance, adds credibility to the ideas I’m expressing on behalf of Say It For You client companies. When you link to another blog content writer’s comments about the subject you’re covering, that’s a way to reinforce your point and also shows you’re staying in touch with others in your industry. By connecting readers to other sources,  Indianapolis bloggers can really enhance and add value to the online consumers’ experience.

Resolver

The goal is to guide clients to decisions.  You strongly suggest your client make a specific decision, yet acknowledge it is the client’s decision, not yours.

A call to action is 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. Providing several different options for readers (Read more, Subscribe to blog or newsletter, Download a document, Contact, Take a survey) guides readers to decisions while acknowledging they may not be ready to buy just yet.

Use business blog writing to showcase business owners’ and  practitioners in all three roles – as listeners, as connectors, and as resolvers!