Archive for category: the Say It For You blog

Online readers with specific how-to or what-to questions can find an array of possible answers on an array of sites such as Ask.com or Yahoo!Answers.

We blog content writers, though, should go quite a few steps beyond that who-knows-anything-at-all-about-this-topic format, I thought, having come across the “Now What?!?” page in Real Simple Magazine. Actually, I realized, that page offers some examples of the why’s and how’s of using Q&A in business blog posts.

“Curate” material from different authorities, adding your own “take” on the matter. In answer to the question “How can I save an oversalted dish?”, Bethany Parker auotes Ken Origer, chef at Clio’s restaurant in Boston (who suggests folding in pureed beans) and Alice Walker, chef at a New York City cooking school (who advises serving over-salted meat over an unsalted starch. Parker adds her own advice (accompanying the food with a sweet, bubbly wine). Very importantly, she explains her thinking to readers (bubbles cleanse the palate of salt).

As I stress in corporate blogging training sessions, curation of others’ content is a great strategy, but only if you add your own viewpoint and give readers the benefit of your own professional experience.  That way, readers connect with YOU, and with your business or practice.

Use compelling CTAs (Calls to Action).  Real Simple Magazine does: “”Have a disaster that needs solving? Scan this page and share your problem or go to realsimple.com.”

In writing for business, one goal is to make clear what opportunities will be lost if readers don’t respond – and in timely fashion.  

The one aspect of the Real Simple “Now What?!?” page that doesn’t serve as a good model for blog content writing is that it deals with three different topics on the one page. I prefer to use “the Power of One”, focusing each blog post on one central concept, leaving other topics for other posts.  Start with the “Pow!” opening line, discuss your topic, then tie back at the end, I say.

Question-answer is actually a very good format for presenting information to online readers. But there’s no need to wait until readers actually write in their questions.  Every practitioner hears questions from clients; every business owner fields customer queries daily. Sharing some of those in blog posts reminds readers of challenges they face and issues they’ve had with their current providers of products and services.

Answer/Ask is a great way to write business blog posts!

Hiring the right person for any job is a challenge, as any business owner or professional practitioner will readily admit. Hiring a quality freelance writer to help expand your online marketing – well that can be a challenge and a half. That’s why Derek Singleton, a managing editor at SoftwareAdvice, came up with a checklist marketers can use to “make sure they hire the right candidate the first time around.”

As owner of content marketing company Say It For You, I was very interested to measure my own standards for writers against Singleton’s list. I learned that Software Advice is in the matchmaking business, helping people find the right software for their organization. I liked the fact that Singleton’s article does something I recommend to blog content writers – offer valuable information that may or may not be directly related to the product or service you’re marketing.

“Since freelancers are not actually a part of the day to day processes at your company,” Singleton explains, “it’s important to really get to know them upfront – specifically their writing experience and how well (and often) they communicate.  Red flags in these areas can signal the candidate may not be a good fit down the line.”

The Software Advice Cheat Sheet for Hiring Freelance Writers names four key qualities:

• Able to write authoritatively
• Adaptable
• Internet-savvy
• Familiar with business and marketing concepts

“Red flags” would tell you not to hire those writers who:

• Use poor grammar in emails
• Aren’t responsive
• Present content that isn’t accurate or original

While I’d offer a heartfelt “Amen!” to every one of the points Singleton makes, I was particularly impressed with the question he poses to the business owners when they’re hiring freelancers: “Are you doing your part?” Writers can’t succeed, he explains, “unless you’ve clearly communicated the project requirements and created a feedback loop”.

The way I think of business owners and practitioners and their blog content writing is this:  Blogging bestows a “training benefit”.  When you blog, you’re verbalizing the positive aspects of your business or practice, putting your recent accomplishments into words, and reviewing the benefits of your own products and services.

So, are those “training benefits” lost to business owners or professionals who hire freelance blog content writers to be their “voice”? Really, the answer is “no”, at least not if things are done right, with your blogger becoming a true part of your marketing team. The very process of choosing themes, sharing strategies, and planning for content creation involves both the owner and the writer, creating a 2 + 2 =5 synergy effect.

Bottom line message from Say It For You to prospective clients is this: Sure, we can provide top-notch content writers with all the Key Qualities and none of the Red Flags. But please understand: out-sourcing your business blog is not a wake-me-up-when-it’s-over deal. Hiring right is just the beginning of the process – working together with your freelancer is what’s going to make the difference.