Shocking Secrets for Your Corporate Blog?

/0 Comments/in /by

Admit it. The headline “10 Shocking Secrets of Flight Attendants” gets your attention. It certainly did mine. The Mental Floss magazine article offers an inside glimpse into the life of a flight attendant. Always on the lookout for ways to add interest in blog content writing, I found a lot to like about the piece.

“If the plane door is open, we’re not getting paid. The clock doesn’t start until the craft pushes away from the gate,” explains Heather Poole.

Significantly, (and this makes for a good teaching point for Indianapolis blog content writers), Poole makes sure to show how the information about the pay system for flight attendants relates to readers: “Flight delays, cancellations, and layovers affect us just as much as they do passengers – maybe even more.”  In corporate blogging training, I’m always encouraging the use of fascinating “tidbits” and statistics to engage online readers’ interest. But that’s not enough; readers need to know why you’re taking up their eyeball time – in what way does the information have relevance to them?

“We will notice if you try to sneak a dead body onto a plane.” With this “shocking secret”, Poole is following two rules of thumb for effective business writing of any type, including corporate blogging for business.

  • She’s relating to a recent news story (a Miami passenger who tried to board a flight with his dead mother inside a garment bag, because it was too expensive to transport a corpse). As a professional ghost blogger for business, I know that one way to ensure blog content is fresh is tying the content to current events.
     
  • She’s using the information to showcase the good customer service flight attendants try to offer. Talking about deaths that occur during a flight, Poole explains, “On those very rare occasions, the crew will do everything possible to manage the situation with sensitivity and respect.” At Say It For You, we realize SEO marketing blogs have to be focused on readers’ needs, yet at the same time the content must showcase the expertise and the caring of the business owner or professional practitioner.

What “shocking secrets” and “flights of fancy” can you find to share in your corporate blog writing?

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

Naming Corporate Blogs and Horses Isn’t the Free-For-All It Seems

/0 Comments/in /by

“Horse names aren’t the free-for-all they seem to be,” Mental Floss magazine lets us know.  Apparently, names for Kentucky Derby entrants can’t:

  • Exceed 18 characters
  • Consist solely of initials or numbers
  • Be in poor taste
  • Have obvious commercial connections

 

What’s in a name when it comes to horses?  Well, last year Kentucky Derby bettors threw down a combined $112 million in wagers.

Now, I’m no big bettor – either on horses or on anything else. But, based on my experience with SEO marketing blogs, I’d bet at least some of those race attendees chose which horse to back based on the appeal of that horse’s name.

Whether or not bettor statistics would bear out that theory of mine, it’s obvious a lot of thought goes into the naming of horses.  As a corporate blogging trainer in Indianapolis, I tend to read through rosters of racehorse names with blog post titles in mind.

In fact, the rules of thumb for choosing titles in blogging for business, things I stress in corporate blogging training classes, are not too far from those on the Kentucky Derby entrant list:

Length: There’s no “can’t exceed” rule when it comes to the number of letters in a blog post title, but, as netbuilders.org points out, Google results will reveal only the first 69 characters, and that includes spaces, while Yahoo will show up to 72 characters. (The title of this Say It For You post is 65 characters long.)

Initials and numbers: Numbers in blogs help debunk myths, and statistics can provide factual proof of the problem your product or serve helps solve.  Titles such as “15 ways to…”  “The 7 secrets of….” can stimulate readers’ curiosity. On the other hand, blog post titles consisting solely of initials and numbers wouldn’t be of much help in the SEO blog marketing department.

Taste: While the tone freelance blog content writers adopt can (and should) be more conversational and less formal than the tone of your website or company brochure, it’s better not to risk offending the fussiest of readers by using poor grammar or just plain bad language. Claims about the company’s products and services should come across as reasonable and provable, with the use of special effects technology kept in modest proportion.

Commercial connections: When people go online to search for information and click on different blogs, they’re aware of the fact that the providers of the information are out to do business. But as long as the material is valuable and relevant for the searchers, they’re perfectly fine with knowing there’s someone who wants them for a client or customer.  It’s not OK to name your horse Pepsi-Cola, but it’s perfectly OK to connect your blog post with the name of your company – or use the name of your company in the title itself.

Blogging for business is more of a free-for-all than horse-naming, it seems. Within the boundaries of good grammar and good taste, and whatever compliance rules may apply within a particular industry, blog content writers in Indianapolis can allow their creativity to roam free!

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

3 Indiana Business Blog Writing Tips from 3 Indiana Marketing Mavens

/0 Comments/in /by

 Don’t default to creating marketing materials that are nothing more than larger versions of your business card, pieces that focus on your experience, your education, and your services, advises Marketing Bootcamp instructor Angela Phebus.  “Remember,” Phebus says, “what your prospective clients actually care about is the RESULT they will experience if they work with you.”

As a corporate blogging trainer, I make the same point.  While business blog posts are part of a company’s marketing plan, blogs are not the same as advertisements, billboards, or even brochures.  What freelance blog content writers do is help business owners communicate to readers a vision of themselves feeling safer, healthier, more comfortable, better looking, happier, or wealthier. SEO marketing blogs are all about What’s In It For Them!
 

 


 In “Twelve Tips for Writing Better Marketing Brochures”, another local marketing maven, Al Trestrail, offers more valuable advice for content creation: “Putting helpful information in your brochure will encourage the reader to keep it, refer to it often, or pass it on to other people”, Trestrail explains.

Indianapolis blog writers can accomplish some of the same things by including helpful, usable information.  The “teaching” aspect of blogging consists of confirming information readers already know, but capturing concepts in a whole new light.  An “I didn’t realize that…” response might encourage readers to “favorite” the post, and, hopefully, pass it on to other people.
 

  

 


Why would I want to buy what you’re selling if you don’t have ‘curb appeal’? asks Susan Young of AimFire Marketing. From your storefront to your website to the way you dress for Chamber luncheons, people do notice the way you’re representing yourself and your business.

From my viewpoint as a professional blog writer, the corporate blog writing equivalent of curb appeal includes

  • Appropriate grammar and spelling
  • Clear navigation paths when readers want to follow a Call to Action
  • An uncluttered, well-organized blog page
     

Need business blogging help? Take a tip from Indiana marketing mavens.  Better yet, take three!

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

Activating the Power in Your Business Blog Writing

/0 Comments/in /by

This week, I’ve devoted my Say It For You blog posts to sharing writing wisdom from Brandon Royal’s The Little Red Writing Book, talking about “downhill” structure (putting the conclusion at the beginning of the piece) and about how examples and details make SEO marketing blog content more memorable and engaging.

“In general, the active voice is preferred to the passive voice because the active voice is more action oriented,” urges Royal. “Not only are passive sentences are less direct, but they often fail to mention the doer of the action,” he adds.  By saying Today the computer files were erased, for example, the writer’s goal may be to hide the identity of the person who made that terrible mistake.

Few business blog writers are trying to hide the identity of the business or professional. In fact, the opposite is the case – the very purpose of the blog content is to showcase the accomplishments of the business and products and services it brings to customers. That’s why using the active voice makes so much sense in corporate blog writing.
 

Author’s agent blog:

     Passive: Book contracts will always be reviewed before the author signs them.

     Active: As your literary agent, we carefully review book contracts before you sign them.

(In business blogging, the words “we” and “I” can be keys to keeping the content active.)

 

Jewelry store blog:

     Passive: Our jewelry is worn proudly by all types of people, from homemakers to business
executives.

     Active:  From homemakers to business executives, people of every type are proud to wear ABC
             jewelry.

(Indianapolis blog writers can follow this simple rule: To “keep active”, make people, rather than things, the subjects of the sentences in your blog content).

 

Estate planning attorney blog:

     Passive: Building and properly equipping a comprehensive plan with expert advice will help assure that both you and your loved ones will be protected.

     Active:  At XYZ Law, we help you build a comprehensive plan to protect yourself and your loved ones.


Nonprofit organization blog:

     Passive: Without sufficient financial support from donors, many diseases in less developed
              countries cannot be treated.

     Active:  Without sufficient financial support from donors, doctors don’t have the resources to treat diseases in less developed countries.


(It’s difficult for readers to picture the situation from the general subject of “many diseases”, but they readily picture “doctors”. Skillful blog writing professionals create images in readers’ minds.)

“Gain active power,” advises Brandon Royal. Freelance blog writers certainly have much to gain by “staying active” when writing for business!

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

The Devil is in the Details in Business Blog Writing

/0 Comments/in /by

“Examples and details are the very things people remember long after reading a piece…most writing suffers from superficiality – it is too general,” states Brandon Royal in The Little Red Writing Book.

As a corporate blogging trainer, I can’t help but agree.  Successful blogging for business is all about detail.  Corporate websites provide  basic information about a company’s products or a professional’s services, but the business blog content is there to attach a “face” and lend a “voice” to that information by filling in the finer details.  And it’s those very details, more than any list of professional credentials or corporate accomplishments, that end up winning the hearts of online readers.

TheWordFactory.com names three categories of detail that can improve your writing:

Examples – These consist of little stories, anecdotes, and testimonials.

Freelance blog content writers can interview business owners and employees to “mine” stories that showcase the way the company was built and the owners’ and workers’ unique “slant” on their industry.
 

Explanations – These are definitions or supporting examples.

Being a Certified Environmental Drycleaner (CED) certification from the Drycleaning & Laundry Institute International means we must demonstrate knowledge regarding environmentally appropriate ways of operating drycleaning equipment, disposing of hazardous wastes, and industry-related EPA and OSHA regulations.

Evidence – Statistics help prove your points to decision-makers.

Disproving common myths is one important purpose of blog writing. In fact, that’s one important point I make whenever I’m offering business blogging assistance – false beliefs about products and services often get in the way of prospects taking action.

THE MYTH:          Bankruptcy leads to divorce.
THE REALITY:     Bankruptcy isn't the problem – not being able to pay the bills is. Filing bankruptcy often strengthens a marriage by relieving the financial stress.
 

“There are details that maybe aren’t vital, but they are what makes a character who they are,” says Jon Bradbury in “How to Use Details in Creative Writing”, mentioning a building that had 10 floors, and “white high heels that matched her white dress”.

What special details can you include in your SEO marketing blog that people will remember, details that attach a “face” and give a “voice” to your company or practice?

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail