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The Big 5 for Content Writing

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“A writing conference is a perfect mix of all the ingredients you need to grow as a writer,” Scribd.com asserts. Novelists will start out learning the importance of the Big 5.

  1. Who is your hero?
  2. What do they want?
  3. Why do they want it?
  4. Why can’t they have it?
  5. What happens if they don/t get it? (the stakes)

At Say It For You, we teach content writers to help business and practice owners discover the answers to those very same Big 5 questions about their target audience. To a certain extent, online searchers have found the blog. A certain number of them have stayed long enough to assure themselves that the information you’ve provided is generally a good match for their needs. Now, however, you’re hoping those prospects will choose to become your clients, buyers, patients, or customers.

  1. Who is the target reader? What is their education and sophistication level? Where are they “hanging out”? What organizations do they belong to?
  2. What do they want? Status? Health? Knowledge? Technical advice?
  3. Why, in today’s world, is it important for them to find a solution?
  4. What factors stand in the way of their getting their “it”?
  5. What are the stakes? Why is it crucial for those readers to satisfy those needs?

Some special observations are in order about those “what-happens-if-they-don’t-get-it” stakes. People getting “scared” into action is an important topic in marketing, but at Say It For You, we are not fans of business owners using fear tactics in galvanizing customers into action. Instead, our recommendation to content writers would be to aim towards helping readers envision the potential comfort and relief that that using your advice, products, and services can bring.

On the other hand, it’s important in all marketing to convey a certain sense of urgency, using a “why now?” approach. Knowing the “whys” behind the “whats” – what your target readers want and what factors stand in the way of their getting it – allows you to offer marketing content that provides Big 5 answers!

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There Are More Than One Boy-Meets-Girl Blogging Arcs

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“At its very heart, I believe that there is only one story arc in the world,” writes Sonali Dev. “There’s a character in an uncomfortable situation and they must find a way to resolve it.” The narrative arc refers to the structure and shape of a story, the sequence of occurrences in the plot. A good arc is vital if you want to engage your readers from start to finish, advises reedsy.com. Boy meets girl, boy fails girl, boy gets girl again is one classic example, the author says. Adding complexity to a basic story arc is part of what differentiates one story from another, even when they’re ostensibly dealing with the same ideas.

In fact, in creating blog content at Say It For You, we often use a softer version of the “hurt and rescue” story arc author D. Forbes Ley suggests salespeople use to close deals – identifying ways in something valued by readers might be in jeopardy, and then emphasizing two points::

  1. The business owner or professional practitioner understands readers’ concerns and needs.
  2. The business owners or practitioner has the experience, information, products and services to solve exactly those problems and meet precisely those needs.

Using those two points as basic content building blocks, there are a number of ways bloggers can follow Sonali Dev’s advice and “add complexity” to the story arc:

  • debunk a “myth” or false impression relating to your field
  • tie the content to a front-page news story having to do with a problem your company or practice helps solve
  • share a true story
  • use statistics to prove the extent of the problem
  • relate a celebrity story that illustrates the problem – or the solution you propose

Whichever of these “arc” tactics you select for any one blog post, a tip offered by Writer’s Digest contributor Estelle Erasmas should be kept in mind: “Focus on one specific point in time rather than on an entire life story.” Yes, your readers may in fact be seeking a way out of an uncomfortable situation, but might also be in search of information on how to perform a certain task, or looking to satisfy their curiosity on a particular subject.

There are more than one boy-meets-girl blogging arcs!

 

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How-I-Learned Blogging for Business

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“All authors improve their writing skills the more they write,” Mark Shaw reassures book writers in the Author Learning Center, including learning how to connect with their audiences. Meanwhile, writer Madeline Sharples offers tips on how to choose a different perspective for your story. Terry Doerscher tells new writers to ask themselves “Why am I writing this book?” to gain clarity on length and writing style. Meanwhile, in Writer’s Digest, journalist Alison Hill shares “10 Dos and don’ts of Writing a Piece of Journalism”., including some fundamental rules such as: Be truthful. Be objective. Use multiple sources. Human interest stories, Hill explains, emphasize entertaining, educating, and engaging the audience. “After being an independent poet touring the world the better part of a decade, I’ve decided it’s time to give back to this magical art form and the broader community that has carried me so far. It’s my turn to provide some of the life-changing opportunities that spoken word has gifted to me,” Sierra DeMulder writes at the Jason Taylor Foundation. 

These quotes are all examples of How-I-Learned sharing of information and tips freely offered by “pros” for the benefit of “newbies”. In blogging for business, sharing your experience is a great way to build an audience, the wordpress.com team explains. “If you’re an expert on a subject or know something that others might find useful, you can attract a sizable following.” At Say It For You, we’ve learned, addressing real-world challenges that readers face is a path to success in blog marketing.

One point I’ve consistently stressed in these blog content writing tutorials is how important it is to provide valuable information to readers, while avoiding any hint of “hard sell”.  It’s helpful to collate helpful hints from a variety of experts, offering those as a “gift” from the business owner to blog visitors. Even more impactful, though, is sharing valuable lessons learned by the professional practitioner or business owners based on their own hard-won experience and expertise. In fact, in business blogs, it’s a good idea to actually write about past mistakes and struggles, blogger Beccy Freebody posits, because it’s much easier to connect to someone who has been where you are.

How-I-learned content can be how-you-connect blogging!

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White Meat or Dark? Carving Up Blog Content

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Uncle Ned prefers a thigh, while your sister Julie has first dibs on a drumstick. Very much like your Thanksgiving turkey, any blog content topic can be approached in a variety of ways.  Like guests at the Thanksgiving table, within your target market, each reader’s need for information, products or services was born in a slightly different space and has traveled a different path. Not every approach is going to work for every reader.

In fact, in order to add variety, at Say It For You, we like blog content writers to experiment with:

  • different formats – how-to posts, list posts, opinion pieces
  • different vantage points, “featuring” different employees and different departments within the company.
  • different segments of the customer base

In fact, what I’ve learned over the years of freelance blog content writing, is that most business owners have more than one target audience for their products and services. And, while there may in fact one market segment or demographic that has proven to yield the greatest number of raving fans for them, they also have “outliers” who bring in just enough revenue to matter. What can be done with a business blog, then, is to offer different kinds of information in different blog posts. There is, of course, one over-arching topic (just as all the guests are around your thanksgiving table), but there’s something on your blogsite to satisfy each one’s tastes.

Just as, at most Thanksgiving dinner tables, relatives “catch up” on each other’s doings, on their opinions about what’s going on in the world, and about what they’ve been doing, reading, and thinking – a business blog is a forum of sorts. Providing information about products and services may be the popular way to write corporate blog posts, but blog visitors want to know what differentiates that business, that professional practice, or that organization from its peers. And, just as Dad might tell those gathered at the table about a great documentary he’s seen or a book he’s just read, you can “borrow” the wisdom of others to reinforce your point and add value for readers by aggregating different sources of information in one business blog.

White meat or dark? At your thanksgiving table or in your blog, carve up the content to offer something for everyone.

 

 

 

 

 

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Blogging One Aspect at a Time

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Latest trends
“Make your first blog post all about the latest trends for the coming season and you’ll be providing relevant content,” George Todorv of Thrivemywaycom tells wanna-be fashion bloggers. In fact, whatever your industry or field, blog readers are likely to enjoy learning about current trends. A recent issue of The Old Farmer’s Almanac mentions “flavors we’re craving”, including maple syrup with edible glitter and flash-frozen cups of coffee. In the field of home décor, the Almanac mentions walk-in closets being converted to offices, and multifunctional, flexible rooms. Using your business blog to describe recent trends is especially appropriate for businesses in industries undergoing changes – new legislation, new discoveries, new technological advances.  But, whether your topic is clothing, food, or interior design, readers like to feel “in the know” about what’s popular.

How-tos
“Articles about how to upcycle clothes and use them to create new outfits will always go down well,” Todory continues. In fact, as Neil Patel observes, more than one billion Google searches per day are in the form of a question, so outlining all the steps a reader needs to accomplish what they’re trying to do is a great blog content tactic.

Ideas, concepts, and opinions
“Talk about sustainable vs. fast fashion and you’ll be connecting with what people want,” Todory suggests, alluding to the variety of styles and approaches in any category of business. In fact, blog posts, to be effective, can’t be just compilations of even very useful information. It is opinion that humanizes a blog and differentiates a business, professional practice, or organization from its peers. One aspect of blogging is to put your own unique slant on best practices in your field.

In the news
“Use your fashion blog to deliver a commentary on the latest styles on show at places like Paris Fashion Week and the Met Gala”, Todory suggests, alluding to the tactic of tying blog content to current happenings in the community and beyond, showing readers that you’re “with it”.

These are just four ideas from the list of 21 different types of blogs Thrivemyway mentions. As we well know at Say It For You, there are dozens and dozens more. Just remember to blog one aspect at a time!

 

 

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