Finding Before Solving in Blogging for Business

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Find the Answer - Magnifying Glass
“Unfortunately,” reflects my friend and admired sales training expert Tim Roberts, “traditional salespeople are tethered to ‘what we know’”.  Roberts is well aware that it takes many years of trials and tribulations for a salesperson to develop good problem-solving skills, yet he’s here, he says, to challenge and encourage finding before solving. In fact, finding a problem that your customer hasn’t considered, is what makes a salesperson valuable, he stresses.

There are two required skills needed for an effective inquiry conversation with a prospect, Roberts explains:

  • vulnerability
  • transparency

Are there lessons here for business owners and professional practitioners “conversing” via their blog with readers? As a Say It For You blog writer and blogging coach, I think so. Last summer I made mention of what Stav Ziv of the Moth storytelling organization had to say about the two elements of successful storytelling:

  1. there’s no “wall of artistry” or stage curtain between storyteller and audience (transparency)
  2. storytellers share their own human failures and frailty (vulnerability).

The lesson I drew from Ziv’s description is that true stories about mistakes and struggles are very humanizing, adding to the trust readers place in the people behind the business or practice.

What I think is important for blog writers about Tim Roberts’ “finding-before-solving” concept is that it opens up a whole new content direction both for us as writers and as a conversation starter with readers.

Wait a minute – isn’t answering readers’ questions what blog posts are designed to do?  Searchers turn to the Internet because they’re looking for something – a product, a service, or information.  When the query relates to what you sell, what you do, and what you know about, those readers find your blog. But, what if your blog post was raising questions and inviting input from readers, rather than offering answers?

Blogs, as I so often stress to business blog writers, are not advertisements or sales pieces (even if increasing sales is the ultimate goal of the business owner).  Whatever “selling” goes on in effective blogs is indirect and comes out of business owners sharing their passion, their special expertise and their insights in their field.  When blog posts “work”, readers are moved to think, “I want to do business with him!” or “She’s the kind of person I’ve been looking for!”

Finding may well belong before solving, not only in selling, but in blogging for business!

 

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The Logic and Logistics of Blogging for Business

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Logic on Multicolor Puzzle.
“Writing is very much about the order of ideas presented and the emphasis given to them,” Brandon Royal explains in The Little Red Writing Book. There are two general things readers expect:

  1. to see ideas unfold logically
  2. to have writers give the most important ideas the most coverage

There are different “floor plans” for pieces of writing, including a chronological structure, where you discuss the earliest events first, then move forward in time, and an evaluative structure, in which you discuss the pros and cons of a concept. Different blog posts might use different “floor plans.” But no matter which approach, readers will expect to see those two things – logical presentation, and emphasis on the most important ideas.

“If your presentation is clear and structured, it will be useful and entertaining; if it is disorganized, your work will be confusing and of little value,” is the caution Lanterna Education offers its International Baccalaureate students. Laterna recommends the following sequence for students giving oral presentations:

  • Introduce the overall theme
  • Explain how each key idea will relate back to that overall theme
  • Explain what your audience should know by the end of the class
  • Review each idea, explaining how it taught something new to the class

In answer to the question “How long do users stay on Web pages?” Jakob Nielson of the Nielsen Norman Group says the following:  Users often leave Web pages in 10-20 seconds, but pages with a clear value proposition can hold people’s attention for much longer.

“As users rush through Web pages, they have time to read only a quarter of the text on the pages they actually visit (let alone all those they don’t). So, unless your writing is extraordinarily clear and focused, little of what you say on your website will get through to customers,” Nielson warns, offering sobering stats that bear out the importance of the two items on Brandon Royal’s reader expectation list.

Is it all about logic and logistics! What about emotional appeal? Isn’t that what makes readers take action? Certainly, but first fulfill reader expectations of order and emphasis, then give heart to the writing with anecdotes, metaphors, stories, and humor!

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Blogging From End to Beginning

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the little red writing book

 

“Strategically, the summary or conclusion should come at the beginning of an expository piece, not at the end,” explains Brandon Royal in The Little Red Writing Book. Royal is referring to a top-down approach, where readers understand from the beginning what the main idea of the piece is, then are given the supporting facts or details.

The author compares two kinds of writing:

  • Expository writing (the primary purpose is to explain and inform)
  • Creative writing (the primary purpose is to persuade or entertain)

Blog content writing, I suppose, is a blend of both expository and creative. Certainly one motive for business owners or professional practitioners in maintaining their blog is to persuade readers to use their products or engage their services. Yet informing readers and answering questions is a primary goal as well.

A well-conceived blog post will proactively interpret information in ways that are not only understandable, but usable by readers, “unwrapping” and drilling down to the core of the message. But, how are searchers to know they’ve come to the right place? Once readers have actually landed on your blog, it takes a “grabber” to hold interest and keep them moving through the information (That’s where the concept of putting the summary at the beginning instead of at the end comes in.)

Unlike novelists, we blog content writer simply cannot afford to focus on arousing curiosity by being enigmatic in our titles and in our opening lines. If we fail to assure readers that they’ve come to the right place to find the information that satisfies the needs that brought them online to find answers, they’ll bounce away from our site before we get to share our thoughts!

The way Brandon Royal sees it, “We should think about giving the reader a destination first before giving him or her the directions on how to get there!”  Blog post opening lines set the tone and arouse curiosity, but in business blogs, it’s best not to sustain a sense of mystery for very long!

 

 

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Spend Time Adding Blog Value, Not Subtracting Typos

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book Get Noticed in a Noisy World

 

“Don’t hire a proofreader for your blog,” is Michael Hyatt’s advice in the book Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World. Why not?

1. It will delay “shipping” – Perfection is the mother of procrastination.
2. Blogs are not books – you can make corrections later and then immediately republish.
3. Even proofreaders don’t catch every typo.

Wait a minute! Not two weeks ago in the very Say It For You blog, didn’t I repeat my rant about “spinach-in-the-teeth” bloopers in blog content, warning content writers how important it is for us to pay attention to grammar and spelling in our blog posts?

As part of that very post, I bolstered my argument in favor of being finicky about grammar and spelling by quoting Christina Wang of Shutterstock.com, who writes “No matter where you work or what you do, everyone needs to know how to write effectively for business these days.”

Like Tevya (of Fiddler on the Roof), who was fond of saying, “On the other hand,” I concede  there are valid points on both sides of most arguments, including the grammar-Nazi/ frequency of posting content dilemma.

On the one hand, “Stay focused on your writing and your output,” Hyatt advises. “Churn out the posts. The more your write, the better you will get.” Does correct spelling and proper grammar really matter?  After all, your blog is supposed to reveal the real you!

On the other hand, as Copyblogger’s Brian Clark explains, there are certain mistakes that detract from your credibility. And truth be told, the “real me” has a very real opinion in favor of fastidiousness about proper writing.

I do approve of Michael Hyatt’s three-step precautionary advice to blog content writers:

  • Read through each post twice.
  • Read it out loud.
  • Publish it as a draft and read it fully formatted on the blog site itself.

I even, at least generally speaking, approve of Hyatt’s summation: “Spend time writing content that adds value rather than obsessing over every typo, misspelling, and grammatical error.”

True, but….We blog content writers do want to get noticed in this “noisy” online world, but not for all the wrong reasons!

 

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Blog Selling With a Story

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sell-with-a-story
When Peter Guber’s book “Tell to Win” came out five years ago, talking about “the hidden power of story”, I immediately had a “Bingo!” sensation. As a freelance SEO copywriter reading the intro to that book, I couldn’t help thinking that if the power of story is to be directed towards the marketing strategy and tactics development of any business, there’s nowhere it’s a better fit than in corporate blog writing.While business blog posts are part of a company’s marketing plan, blogs cannot function as ads or billboards Blog posts will be at their most effective when presenting stories. The stories themselves become calls to action for readers.

The other day I came across a new book on the same theme: Paul Smith’s Sell With a Story: How to Capture Attention, Build Trust, and Close the Sale. “If you’re trying to influence buyers’ decisions,” Smith asserts, “using facts and rational arguments alone isn’t enough. You need to influence them emotionally, and stories are your best vehicle to do that.”

Stories, Smith explains, make it easier for buyers to remember:

  • you
  • your ideas
  • your product (the story actually enhances the value of your product)

The many advantages of stories, Smith advises, include:

  • highlighting your main idea by moving it to another context
  • giving you a chance to be original
  • adding an element of fun

Use stories to explain what you do, Smith says. (You know you’ve got it just about right when the story helps your mom, your spouse, or your kids understand what you do for a living, he says.)

Use stories to explain whom you’ve helped and how, and to dispel any negative perceptions, the author advises.

No, blogging for business isn’t about fiction. Still, successful content writing for blogs is all about the power of story, I’ve found over the years. In fact, one big, big part of providing business blogging assistance is helping business owners formulate stories. Online visitors to your blog want to feel you understand them and their needs, but they want to understand you as well.

Blog selling through stories helps forge that emotional connection between you and your potential customer.

 

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