Blog Writing Arithmetic: Add Curb Appeal, Subtract Distractions

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Realtors quoted in the Indianapolis Star and New York Times reporter Matt Richtel each offer advice to consumers that I think all Indianapolis blog content writers should heed:

“Curb appeal,” report the realtors, “is critical to attracting the public.  If prospective buyers don’t love it from the curb, they won’t even schedule an appointment.”

In blogging for business, curb appeal starts with the title of your blog. Even if the search engines have delivered readers to your link (on page 1 of Google, for instance) the title must be appealing to readers, and, ideally, short enough to be shared on social media sites. In fact, having engaging titles in SEO marketing blogs is the equivalent of applying fresh paint and new handles to the front doors of a house you want to sell.

The New York Times article, on the other hand, is reporting on cars.  The increasingly complicated “infotainment” systems on the dashboards in cars distract drivers and cause accidents, federal traffic agencies are beginning to realize. .

For business owners, distractions are plentiful, and many a blog, begun with the best of intentions, ends up neglected or with the effort totally abandoned. With SEO marketing blogging on the rise, more and more business owners and professional practitioners are running out of time and hiring freelance blog content writers to take up the slack.

Those providing business blogging services, on the other hand, need to avoid distractions on the blog page itself.  Anything that takes readers’ attention “off the road”, away from the message and the Call to Action is distracting.  Overdoing the visuals with complex charts, graphs, and diagrams, even too much Flash technology on a blog page can divert attention away from the core message of the blog.

Focused blog content writing for any business or practice adds curb appeal and avoids distractions.  Remember, business owners want online visitors coming past the “curb” and into their website.  We writers want those readers keeping their eyes on the road to all the valuable information, products, and services business owners and practitioners are eager to provide!

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Can Memorable Business Blogs Improve Customers’ Memory?

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“All bloggers would like to get more interaction and participation from their readers and visitors,” says vandelaydesign.com.  (As a blog content writer and corporate blogger trainer in Indianapolis, I found nothing new in that observation.)

Imagine my delight, though, to learn that, aside from the obvious conclusion that engaging readers through our business blog writing helps increase the response to our Calls to Action, we freelance blog writers may be helping protect against dementia in seniors!

Getting social, according to a 15-year study of older people in Sweden, may prevent dementia by providing emotional and mental stimulation. Subjects in a University of Michigan study did better on tests of short-term memory after just ten minutes of conversation with another person.

What are some of the ways Indianapolis blog writers can encourage more interactivity through our corporate blog writing?

Vandelaydesign.com advises displaying the most recent comments in the sidebar of your blog. In corporate blogging training sessions, I go one better by advising blog content writers to periodically compose an entire blog post around a question posed by a reader.

Two other Vandelaydesign suggestions include putting a link on your blogsite that says “email to a friend” and adding a “share on Facebook” link.

Two tactics I often incorporate into my Say It For You blog writing services include using “tests” and surveys to engage readers and help them feel they are part of a conversation with my business owner clients.

Engaging in conversation can provide mental stimulation for people of all ages. It’s nice to know, though, that memorable business blogs can help improve customers’ memory!

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Which “Wow!” Do You Want for Your Business Blog?

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“When journalists write pieces, they write so a person can look at the headline and say ‘Wow, that looks interesting.’ When somebody reads a retirement document, you want them to say, ‘Wow, I learned something today.’” 

Employee benefit advisers say their biggest challenge is overcoming the apathy that many employees have toward saving for their retirement, and that the secret is in the way the message gets presented.

In “Using Blogs to Educate your Stakeholders,” Kat Liendgens says that same thing applies to corporate blogging for business. When you make sure, in your business blog, to educate your users not only about new features and products, but about the benefits of those products and features, she explains, you’re ensuring continued buy-in.

“Wow-that-looks-interesting” headlines that stoke curiosity constitute tactic #1 in freelance blog writers’ anti-apathy strategy.  “Gappers”, according to advertising maven Michel Fortin, are headlines that make readers want to close the gap between the problem named in the headline and the solution. (I’ve used a variety of that tactic in this Say It For You post by posing a question.)

When it comes to creating “wow-I-learned-something-today” content, as a corporate blogging trainer, my mantra is a simple one:

“The more you know about, the more you can blog about.”

 In other words, in order for us freelance blog content writers in Indianapolis to deliver high-quality website materials, articles, and corporate blogs, we simply must keep educating ourselves, reading everything from newspapers and magazines to billboards and advertisements, and listening to everything from TV and radio shows to casual conversations.

Blogging for business, I repeat, is a matter of enriching ourselves so that our content can be richer.  Anyone providing business blogging services should be able to state “Wow! I learned something today!” – every day!
 

 

 

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Re-Gifting in Your Business Blog

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“Do you have to be told never to re-gift promotional items?” asks regiftable.com.

Apparently one Chinese exchange student did need to be told. The student had given his American host, N.Y.Times columnist David Brooks, a gold tie as a thank-you gift.  The tie was one that had been handed out by Gov. Mitch Daniels during a trade mission to China, and the tie’s label proudly proclaimed that fact!

 

It’s not that re-gifting itself is a no-no, explains regiftable.com.  In fact, the practice is gaining in popularity. But, just as with corporate blogging for business, there are certain rules of the road that all re-gifters would do well to observe. As a corporate blogging trainer. I can see parallels between re-gifting and the practice of content curation in business blogging.

Regiftable.com advises asking “Is this going to work?”, re-gifting items only to people who are not likely to see the original giver.

When it comes to blog content writers in Indianapolis, I teach exactly the opposite approach.  When you link to someone else’s comments about the subject you’re covering, that reinforces your point and shows you’re in touch with others in your field.  But you must identify and link to the source you’re quoting, so that all the readers of your blog content DO “see” the original giver!

Regiftable.com cautions re-gifters to “always spring for a new card or gift tag”.

At Say It For You, we couldn’t agree more. Merely quoting others in your SEO marketing blog adds value in the sense of aggregating resources for the benefit of your readers. Still, that’s hardly enough; business blogging service providers need to add their own “spin” to the material based on their own business wisdom and expertise.

“Never feel guilty once you’ve done it,” advises regiftable.com.

Guilty?  Of course not!  By curating or “re-gifting” content, properly attributing that content to its source, then adding our own thoughtful commentary, we professional business bloggers demonstrate our own confidence. We have something special to offer within a very competitive business environment!
 

 

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Citing Statistics Doth Not a Corporate Business Blog Call to Action Make!

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My Say It For You business blog writing advice pieces this week were all triggered by items in the latest copy of Scientific American Mind magazine.  One corner of one page features only a headline, which was taken from a CNNHealth story:

“Insomnia costs U.S. $63 billion annually in lost productivity”
 

Citing startling statistics like this one is, without doubt, one tactic blog content writers can use to capture readers’ attention.  But my experience as a ghost blogger for business – and as a corporate blogging trainer – has shown me that statistics, even the startling sort, aren’t enough to create positive results for any SEO marketing blog.

Why not?  The fact that a serious problem exists (even if the searcher suffers from that very problem) is not enough to make most readers take action. And in the final analysis, of course, the success of any blog marketing effort depends on that action. As Health.com puts it, “People who have trouble sleeping rarely see their problem as an illness that requires treatment.”

True, as I stress in corporate blogging training sessions, blog content writing has one enormous advantage over traditional “push marketing” tactics. What blogging does best is deliver to corporate blog sites customers who are already interested in the product or service they’re providing!

While it may not in itself galvanize customers into action, including “startling statistics” in corporate blog writing can serve several functions:
 

  • Assuring readers they are hardly “alone” in their need for solutions to their medical, financial, or personal challenges
     
  • Assuring readers they’ve come to the right place for help, and that this blog content is being offered by a business or professional practice that knows the field and is “up” on recent developments in it.

Once that basic connection has been established through the attention-commanding statistic, the blog content writing can focus on creating the emotional connection with the reader.  At Say It For You, in fact, we believe that more intense connection is what blog writing services should be all about!


 

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