Take a Blog-Writing Tip from 10 Notable Deaths

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Elizabeth TaylorThe obituary section of the news is not a place freelance blog content writers would normally go for ideas. Still, there’s something worth noting in articles such as “10 Notable Deaths” by Associated Press – the reporters manage to drill down to the essence of each person’s accomplishments.

As a ghost blogger in Indianapolis, when I offer business blogging assistance, I often refer to blogs as the sound bites of the Internet. In short segments, business owners convey to readers the essence of their accomplishments.  Corporate blog writing means telling readers about the essence of your special knowledge, insights, and beliefs, as well as about the products or services you offer.

In using “10 Notable Deaths” as a model of condensed writing for business, I’d point out that the AP reporter used only 16 words to describe Andy Rooney, 26 for Betty Ford, and 19 for Jack Kevorkian. Still, I found, the obits were hardly impersonal or dispassionate; each managed to evoke a larger portrait, with a taste of the “style” of each notable person.

Elizabeth Taylor is described as “the violet-eyed American film goddess whose sultry screen persona, stormy personal life and enduring fame and glamour made her one of the last of the classic movie starts and a template for modern celebrity.”

Kim Jong IL’s obit lists him as “North Korea’s mercurial and enigmatic leader, whose iron rule and nuclear ambitions dominated world security fears for more than a decade.”

In corporate blogging training sessions I explain that it’s not enough in business blog writing to offer information about the subject.  The information needs to be put into a framework, into context, so that readers can see why it’s relevant to them and to the subject.

Elizabeth Taylor “became a template or model of film celebrity. Jong IL’s nuclear efforts “dominated world fears”. Kevorkian was the “defiant proponent of doctor-assisted suicide”.

Indianapolis bloggers, take a tip from the 10 Notable Deaths.  Online searchers know what they need, but they lack expertise in your industry.  They need your help drilling down to the essence of what you know, what you do, and how you can be of benefit to them.

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The Really Important Stuff in Blog Writing

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“The really important stuff is at the top,” Dennis the Menace points out to Santa Claus.Dennis the Menace In corporate blogging training, I might point out the same thing.

Blog titles, as content writers in Indianapolis know, can be really important stuff. Titles have a triple function – engage readers, offer an overview of the topic of the post, and incorporate keyword phrases to attract search engine matches.

As a fellow blogger puts it in her Nicky Blog, when people read your headline, you can expect two kinds of responses:

– Oh wow, sounds interesting. I want to know more… OR – Ah, boring.

Since the first is obviously the desired response in blogging for business, Nicky explains, catchy headlines are a must. SEO experts say, she adds, that no more than 7-8 words and no fewer than four words should be used, with Google showing up to 69 characters.

As Santa’s looking through his list, Dennis can’t resist adding “But all the stuff in the middle is important, too!” “Let me guess,” says Santa with a smile. “All the stuff on the bottom is also really important.” Of course it is, Santa understands.

Freelance blog writers understand that, too. Even SEO marketing blogs with the catchiest of titles will disappoint readers unless the post itself delivers on the title’s promise, with new and interesting information that readers can use.

Whether you’re creating a Christmas list or blogging for business, the really important stuff is at the top, the middle, and the bottom as well!

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Learning to Bunt in Your Business Blog Writing

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bunt“The bunt isn’t a game changer, like a homer or a triple.  Instead, it nudges things along – keeping the ball as far as possible from where your opponent wants it to be,” is just one of many of the lessons from her Dad that Sandy Hingston recalls in FamilyDigest.

When I offer business blogging assistance to Say It For You clients, I often need to remind business owners new to blogging that it isn’t the sort of marketing tactic likely to “hit it out of the park”.  On the other hand, consistent business blog writing, very much like bunting in a ball game, will almost certainly nudge things along.

Sandy Hingston’s dad taught all his kids that bunts are things of beauty, “means to an end, a strategy, brains over brawn.” As a professional ghost blogger offering corporate blogging training, I think Mr. Hingston’s teachings are quite fitting when it comes to writing for business in the form of blogs.

“Remember: control.”
A blog can give a business the ability to exercise journalistic control.  Blog content writers have the ability to put out news about the business with the business owner’s own slant on it! If there’s ever any negative news about the industry or the company, I teach Indianapolis blog writers, the blog is the perfect place to field questions and comments head-on.

“He makes me do it again and again and again.”
Material that is recent and frequently posted is more likely to be indexed by search engines. Like bunting practice with Sandy’s dad, SEO marketing blogs succeed in large part based on continuing to post new content every few days.

“Brains over brawn.”
Blogging for business is one way small business owners with small marketing budgets can compete, using “pull marketing” to meet strangers and increase their customer base without mounting expensive advertising campaigns. According to Chris Baggott of Compendium Blogware, because blogs are specific, relevant, and personal, they tend to be more successful than traditional websites in targeting and attracting the right kind of visitors, those who need and want what you have to offer.

No, as I remind freelance blog writers and their business owner clients who are in a rush to make the cash register ring, blogging for business is rarely a game changer. But as a means to an end, part of an overall, long-term marketing strategy, it can be a thing of beauty!

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Ways to Lose in Business Blog Writing Even When You’re the Best

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There are ways to lose in business – even when you’re the best, explains Whalelosing Hunters’ sales trainer Barbara Weaver Smith.  Since SEO marketing blogs are one tactic businesses use to lead to sales, several of Weaver’s observations can be of great use in corporate blogging training.

Your service is too specialized. If your prospects are unfamiliar not only with your company, but with the services or products you provide, explains Weaver-Smith, you have two selling jobs to do!

When it comes to corporate blog posts, online readers likely to find your blog through organic search  will be those who already have a need for what you have to sell and for what you do. On the other hand, at Say It For You, we’re convinced  blogging for business is the perfect tool for introducing readers to newer products and services with which they’re less familiar, but which can solve problems for them.

Your story is too complex. If your service or product is highly complex, says Weaver-Smith, it may turn off buyers, who might seek simpler solutions elsewhere to avoid having to deal with a many-step, high-commitment process.

This is an issue with which freelance blog writers deal all the time.  One recommendation I offer in corporate blogging training sessions is to focus blog content writing on the end results of your process rather than on its steps. “People rarely think of your actual brand first.  They think about what they want,” emphasizes blogger Ryan Karpeles.

Your business blog writing must give online searchers a “feel” for the desired outcomes of using your products and services. While customers may lack experience with the latest processes or technology in your field of expertise, they know what their own needs are. Write about outcomes, I teach Indianapolis blog writers.

You underestimate buyers’ fears. When you’re totally focused on the great advantages that you provide with your products and services, cautions Weaver-Smith,
You forget that 99% of buying decisions are made based on irrational, emotional issues.

Now, there’s a truth every blog content writer needs to keep in mind!  Blogging for business , with its conversational, personal tone, is actually a great way to provide reassurance to buyers fearful of making the wrong choice.  In fact, business blogs take their cue from Joan Rivers, asking “Can we tawk?”

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Leitmotifs are the Turtlenecks of Corporate Blog Writing

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black turtleneckThese days, when company owners express doubt about their ability to keep generating new content for their corporate blog posts, I talk to them about leitmotifs and about Steve Jobs. According to Walter Isaacson’s biography of the late CEO of Apple Computer, Jobs owned some one hundred Issey Miyaki black turtlenecks. Jobs, by all accounts, liked the idea of having a “uniform”, not only for convenience’s sake, but because of its ability to convey a signature style.

In corporate blogging training sessions I teach that effective blog posts are centered around key themes, just like the recurring musical phrases that connect the different movements of a symphony.  As you continue to write about your industry, your products, and your services, you’ll naturally find yourself repeating some key ideas – in fact, that’s exactly what professionals offering business blogging assistance will say you should  be doing to keep your blogs focused and targeted.

In writing for business, as blog content writers soon learn, the variety comes from the e.g.’s and the i.e’s, meaning all the details you fill in around these central leitmotifs.  Indianapolis blog writers might use different examples of ways the company’s products can be helpful, or examples of how the company helped solved various problems.  It’s these stories and examples that lend variety to the blog, even though all the anecdotes reinforce the same few core ideas.

Like the Jobs turtlenecks, freelance blog writers will find, leitmotifs in blogs help develop a company’s signature style, which is part of any company’s branding. Focus (just as in building an entire wardrobe around one type of garment) helps corporate blog posts stay smaller, lighter in scale, and more flexible than the more permanent content on the typical corporate website.

You might say leitmotifs are the turtlenecks of corporate blog writing!

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