Being a Business Blogging Maven

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The word “maven” (pronounced may’-vin) comes from the Hebrew word for “one who understands”, and I’ve often heard it used as a synonym for “expert”. 

Yet, according to Chloe Rhodes, author of A Certain Je Ne Sais Quoi, (one of my favorite “reading around” books, a maven “refers to someone who gathers information and passes his knowledge to others”. Rhodes’ picture of “gatherers” who then pass along the treasure they’ve gleaned, I think, exactly fits what SEO marketing blogs are supposed to be about.

Not to put an overly lofty spin on corporate blog content writing, I believe that the secret to success for any business doing blog marketing lies in offering valuable information to online visitors.

Web designer Mark Carillion, quoted in Employee Benefit Advisor Magazine, has something valuable to say about that. “The guy who gives out the most information freely is the guy who ends up winning the traffic war," Carillion claims.

Actually, coming across as “mavens” with the connotation of being “experts’ causes concern to some business owner and professional practitioner clients of Say It For You – they don't want to come off boastful and self-serving in their blog, or be perceived as using hard-sell tactics to promote themselves.

That’s why I think Chloe Rhodes is so on to something important for Indianapolis blog content writers.  While we all need to “sell ourselves to potential clients so that they choose to work with us rather than the competition, it’s much more palatable to be “mavens” who gather valuable information from others and then pass that information along to readers.

So, as I work with business owners on their blog marketing strategy, I’m finding at the start of the conversation that most are already fully aware that blogging has become an indispensable part of any business tool kit.  And now, understanding the true nature of the “maven” role makes them feel good about blogging for business, too!
 

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Big Enough, Small Enough Blogging for Business

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I know, I know.  One of the cardinal rules I keep stressing about how to write a blog is that blogs are not ads. That doesn’t mean, though, that we blog content writers can’t learn a thing or two from great ad copy.  The other day, I did just that when I heard a Barth Electric radio commercial. 

The tag line went,

“Big enough for the Indianapolis Airport, small enough for your mother.”

“What a great example of writing for business,” I thought, particularly when it comes to corporate blog writing. In fact, while providing blog writing services, I like to tell business owners and practitioners that I’m helping them “meet strangers”.  Those readers who, until they find your blog are unfamiliar with your business or practice, I say, need some framework in order to judge whether you’re a good fit for their needs. Are you “too big” to care about a smaller client?  Are you accustomed and equipped to take on larger assignments? Just where do you “fit” within your industry or profession?

One of the most important functions of a business blog, I explain to Say It For You clients and to newbie freelance content writers, is assuring readers they’ve come to the right place, to a company or professional who fits their “size” and their needs.  Blog writing, with its constantly changing content and more personal, conversational style, is perfect for conveying that sense of “fit”, and helping readers “size you up”, I add.

Although I think the Barth tag line does a superb job of capturing that “right-sizing” concept, it’s still just that – one line. A business blog, by contrast, consists of many, many posts spread out over a long period of time, clarifying, adding, proving, restating, giving examples, testimonials, stories, “building the case” over time.

What are you big enough for? What are you never too big for? Blogging for business is the perfect way to take a tag line and “fill in the blanks”!

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Teaching Business Blog Readers to Mind-Trip

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The wonderful little e-newsletter from performers Christian and Katalina is a perfect example of something I stress to blog content writers in Indianapolis: Don’t be afraid to “give away” your knowledge.

It happens often at Say It For You blogging services interviews: When I’m discussing with business owners or professional practitioners what kind of content they want brought to their potential customers, those owners express fear of “giving away the store”.  If they demonstrate the steps that make up their process, they fear, would-be customers might decide to do it themselves instead of becoming clients.

Apparently Christian and Katalina aren’t concerned their readers will turn into competitors.  The entire content of the newsletter, in fact, consists of teaching readers like me a magic trick that will have our friends believing we have super-powers. And, as a corporate blogging trainer, I understand why that was a smart move on the entertainers' part.

C & K know I like magic shows, (or I wouldn’t be signed up for their newsletter to begin with!) Could I follow the steps to mind-trip my friends into believing I’m starting a new career as a gambler because I can tell whether the coin hidden in their hand is heads-up or tails-up? Um….maybe, but never with the pizzazz and expertise of the masters, which is what makes C & K’s shows so interesting to me.

Similarly, I can reassure business owners getting ready to launch an SEO marketing blog that the only people who are going to notice their blog are the ones already interested in that topic. “Giving away” knowledge showcases the owners’ experience and expertise rather than threatening it in any way.

So, go ahead – give your readers a mind-tripping “peek behind the curtain”, show them how it’s done.  More often than not, readers want to get it done, not by themselves, but by the expert you’ve shown you are!

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Say It For You Reads Around – Part Three

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This week’s Say It For You blog posts are devoted to sharing ideas from my “reading around”; The Little Red Writing Book, by Brandon Royal is a great example of how sharing content, or “curating” material from other people’s blogs and articles, magazine content – and books is one sure-fire strategy for idea generation.

Part of learning how to write a blog, I explain in business blogging training sessions, is learning how to sustain your blog content writing over long periods of time without losing reader excitement and engagemen. Erin McHugh’s answer in The 5 W’s: Why?  is offering lesser-known information to add interest and to demonstrate the business owner’s or professional practitioner’s special expertise.

Royal offers another idea for anyone providing blog writing services – using similes and metaphors to enliven the writing itself.

In presenting SEO-friendly information to establish common ground, confirming to readers they’ve come to the right place to find the products, services, and information they need, you can add metaphors. That way, you’re helping readers “appreciate the information picturesquely”, as Joseph Pulitzer used to describe it. And, even though literary techniques such as similes and metaphors touch on creative writing, Royal suggests, there are still uses for them in everyday writing.

As a professional ghost blogger and corporate blogging trainer, I couldn’t agree more. Most business owners and professionals can think of quite a number of things they want to convey about their products, their professional services, their industry, and their customer service standards. Still, I’ve found over the years, the problem is those ideas need to be developed into fresh, interesting, and engaging content marketing material.

Metaphors and freelance blog writers go together like a horse and carriage (Oops! That was a simile!)  Joseph Pulitzer had three suggestions for his journalists on how to present information to the public. All three are relevant for Indianapolis blog content writers:

“Put it before them briefly so they will read it,
“clearly so they will appreciate it,
“picturesquely so they will remember it (Here’s where the metaphors are so effective),
“accurately, so they will be guided by its light.”

 

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Say It For You Reads Around – Part Two

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This week, I’m using my Say It For You blog posts to share ideas I got from “reading around” in a few of my favorite tidbit-type books. That’s because one sure-fire strategy for idea generation, I’ve found, consists of scouring other people’s blogs and articles, magazine content – and books. That strategy seems to work no matter what business, what professional practice, or what organization you’re blogging about.

Part of learning how to write a blog, I explain in business blogging training sessions, is offering usable, interesting information. On the one hand, the information needs to be highly relevant to the reader’s search.  On the other hand, how can you sustain blog content writing over long periods of time, yet avoid dishing up the same-old, same-old stuff?  The trick, I think, in corporate blogging for business, is to find lesser-known information that can add interest and demonstrate the business owner’s or professional practitioner’s special expertise.

One of the chapters in The 5 W’s: Why? by Erin McHugh offers an answer: use the famous and the less-famous.  Mchugh lists inventors with whom all of us are familiar, such as Isaac Newton, Ben Franklin, and Thomas Alva Edison. But in addition to listing the invention for which each man is best-known, the author lists the less well-known accomplishments of each..

Readers all know that Isaac Newton discovered the laws of gravity.  Few know, however, that Newton invented the reflecting telescope.  Readers already associate Eli Whitney with the cotton gin, but seldom associate Whitney with the inventing of mass production principles.  Stories of Benjamin Franklin’s experiments with lightning are legendary, but did you know he invented bifocals? Were you aware Edison invented the mimeograph machine?

For anyone providing blog writing services, the ability to accomplish two goals in each blog post can make the difference between engaged readers and those who bounce quickly away, having found nothing new and exciting.

  • Establish common ground, confirming to readers they’ve come to the right place to find the products, services, and information they need, and that the people in this company or practice are knowledgeable and passionate.
     
  • Offer lesser-known information, adding a layer of “new” to themes you covered in former posts, or perhaps a new insight you’ve gained about that existing information.

As a professional ghost blogger, I continue to use reading around to help me illustrate points about my topic.  How can you put your own reading around to use, combining the old with the new  to tell the story of your company, your practice, or your organization?

 

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