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Blogs are Flip-Flop Interviews

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In the book Stop Hiring Losers, Minesh and Baxi devote an entire chapter to a list of interview questions employers should pose to job candidates. “Why are you leaving your current job?”, for example, is designed to identify past problems a candidate might carry over into a new job. On the positive side, that question can reveal the fact that the candidate sees the new position as an important forward career step.

When you think about it, blog posts are interviews, too. But, in the case of blogs, things are “flip-flopped”, because it’s the blog reader (the “candidate”) interviewing the business, rather than the other way around. At Say It For You, we teach content writers that searchers have some sort of need and are recruiting help!  Just as in a face-to-face interviews, those searchers read what you put out there in your blog posts and evaluate that content in light of their own needs.  Their scanning your blog is the equivalent of them interviewing your business to see if you’re a good fit for them.

Many of the questions Minesh and Baxi recommend that employers pose to job candidates are those blog readers are mentally posing to you when they are reading your content:

  • Why should we employ you rather than one of the other candidates?

Your unique selling proposition (USP) is a succinct, memorable message that identifies the unique benefits that are derived from using your product or service as opposed to a competitor’s. Your blog offers you the chance to constantly refine and improve your USP.

  • What would your co-workers say about you?

Testimonials and client anecdotes in your blog are ways of answering this question.

  • What contributed to the best working conditions you ever experienced?

Your blog posts should include stories about how you successful solved clients problems in the past, expressing the satisfaction you gained from helping customers overcome obstacles. Offer advice about how users can gain the greatest benefits from your product or service.

  • What is the biggest mistake you’ve ever made in your career?

I teach freelance blog writers to include stories of their clients’ past mistakes and failures. Such stories have a humanizing effect, engaging readers and creating feelings of empathy and admiration for the business owners or professional practitioners who overcame not only adversity, but the effects of their own mistakes!

  • What are you most proud of on your resume?

Although at Say It For You, I remind owners and practitioners that blogging is not boasting, it’s good to offer “credentializing proof”, alluding in blog posts to your years of experience, weaving into the text mention of your degrees, quoting articles you’ve written – and even citing awards you’ve won. In addition, people tend to be comfortable associating with professionals and business owners who give back to their community.

When you think about it, blogs are nothing more than flip-flop interviews!

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In Blogging, Keep Functional Alternatives in Mind

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They aren’t really the same as your product or service, but it’s important to analyze how your product or service compares to them, Jeanette McMcMurtry reminds entrepreneurs in Marketing for Dummies, referring to functional alternatives.

What are functional alternatives?
Let’s face it – there are products and services out there that aren’t exactly like the stuff you sell or the services you perform, but which lead to the same, or at least some of the same, outcomes for clients and customers.

Examples:

  • For a health coach focusing on weight loss, functional alternatives potential clients might choose include diet meal delivery, dietary supplements, cosmetic “fat freezing” procedures, and personal trainers.
  • For an orthopedic surgery practice, functional alternatives for potential clients include nonsurgical kinetics, psychological pain management clinics, and cryoanalgesia (using cold to block pain).
  • For a fitness studio, functional alternatives include home exercise equipment sellers, yoga or pilates studios, and online fitness course providers.
  • If you own a hotel, AirBnb and dimilar businesses are functional alternatives.

You need to decide how you compete with functional alternatives to your business or practice, McMurtry explains, then build action items into your marketing plan.

In blog marketing, as we know at Say It For You, content creation must be built around a thorough understanding of your target market. What are their goals? What choices do those prospects have in achieving those goals? In what way are your products/services substantially different?

Years ago, I met Jeff Bowe, owner of a private equity group called Actum. I remember him saying “When you walk into a room, everyone should know you for one thing, and that one thing needs to be very, very clear – to you and to your target audience.” In blog writing, it is crucial for business owners and professional practitioners to differentiate themselves from their functional alternatives.

Do you…do things faster? Operate at a lower cost? Make fewer errors? Offer greater comfort or less pain for the customer? Provide a more engaging experience?

In blogging, keep functional alternatives in mind!

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Blog to Their Whys

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In order to retain good employees, Minesh and Kim Baxi explain in the book Stop Hiring Losers, practice using motivators. By clarifying both the “why” of your own interactions as a business owner, you can work to understand the individual “whys” of others, leading to positive results for all.

The authors define 6 defining attitudes or world views:

1. LEARNING-motivated employees can be given the opportunity for advanced training, along with the opportunity to train new employees.

2. MONEY-motivated employees can be rewarded based on performance outcomes with gift certificates or trips.

3. BEAUTY/HARMONEY-motivated employees can be given the opportunity to decorate for corporate events or redesign workspaces.

4. ALTRUISM-motivated employees can be given the opportunity to represent your company in community and fundraising events.

5. POWER-motivated employees can be given titles and the opportunity to attend leadership seminars.

6. PRINCIPLE-motivated employees can be given the opportunity to represent the company as spokesperson for a social cause.

There is a strong parallel between success in motivating employees and success in blog marketing, we’ve learned at Say It For You. The secret is knowing your particular audience and thinking about how they (not the average person, but specifically “they*) would probably react or feel about your approach to the subject at hand.

For example, while you may point out that your product or service can do something your competitors can’t, that particular “advantage” may or may not be what your audience is likely to value. For example, even if your target audience falls in the money-motivated category, are you the least expensive (that might appeal to a cost-conscious group) or the most expensive (your audience might prize luxury and exclusivity)?

When building a plan to connect with an audience, Francesca Pinder of Brussels event planning firm Spacehuntr cautions, consider not only age, gender, and nationality, but where your target readers “hang out”, what they read and watch, and what they’re saying on social media.. Interviews, focus groups, and a lot of very alert listening can help you understand what causes they support.

In creating blog content, speak to your target audience’s whys!

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Plain Language for Feds and Blogs

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“The Federal Government’s writing must be in plain language/ By using plan language, we send a clear message abut what the government is doing, what it requires, and what services it offers. Plain language saves the Government and the private sector time, effort, and money.”                                                                                                                                 – 1998 memorandum from President Clinton

Clinton specifically mentioned four characteristics of logically organized, easy-to-read documents:

  • common, everyday words, except for necessary technical terms
  • “you” and other pronouns
  • the active voice
  • short sentences

At Say It For You, I’ve often mentioned each of these recommendations, because “easy-to-read” is obviously a quality to be desired in blog marketing:

Basic, common language:
When it comes to blogging for business, keeping it basic means using understandable language. Only to the extent that you’re providing a very specialized service aimed only at \ professionals in your field, should you use industry jargon.

“You” and other pronouns:
While, in a way, all blog content writing is about the “you”, the targeted readers, and their wants and needs, as a corporate blogging trainer, I stress the importance of first person business blog writing because of its one enormous advantage – it shows the people behind the posts.

The active voice:
“Grammatically speaking, voice refers to whether the subject of a sentence is on the giving or receiving end of the action, As a general rule we bloggers need to focus on “staying active” in our content, using sentences that have energy and directness, using the active voice.

Short sentences:
Why, generally speaking, is it better to use short sentences in blogs? Short sentences have more of a “pow” factor, can be quoted and shared more easily on social media sites, and tend to keep readers’ attention on the message. That said, varying the length of your sentences adds interest to the writing.

Today’s communication has become less formal than in the past, Tony Rossiter notes in the book Effective Business Writing. That does not mean that written communication is any less important, the author hastens to add. And, with more than 7 million blog posts being published every single day, our challenge as business blog marketers is to get read, saving both ourselves and our readers time, effort, and money.

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In-Your-Neck-of-the-Woods Blogging for Business

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Listening to the morning weather report on TV, I often hear Al Roker say, “That’s what’s going on around the country. Here’s what’s happening in your neck of the woods”.

In blogging for business, that Roker model is a good one to follow, we teach at Say It For You. Your blog is a way to educate leads and customers by helping them stay generally informed on industry trends and developments, Hubspot explains. Once you are perceived as an expert or “thought leader” in that industry or profession, you can then go on to explain your own products and services, and your very own “neck of the woods” approach.

Hubspot offers examples of blogs that describe the general industry climate before bringing matters down to a local level:

Manufacturing
Manufacturing blogs are used to inform readers about best practices news, and trends in manufacturing, supply chain distribution, and logistics. The Marlin Steel blog, for example, talks about what robotics and automation mean for US manufacturing jobs (national picture), but also provides information on how to use specific steel tools.

Healthcare
In Six Month Smiles’ Chair Time blog, industry experts, doctors, and hygienists write about developments in their field. Potential customers can learn about specific services they may be interested in paying for on a local level.

Ecommerce
The M.M. LaFleur blog discusses general issues of women in the workplace, but then narrows down to specific advice about what to wear to different business occasions.

In fact, the function of “news” in blogs is to inform readers of “what’s-going-on-and-how-do-we-fit-in”. In a blog post, you might cite material from the news story, relating it to new developments in your own industry or field. The idea is not to regurgitate what’s already been said, but to showcase your own expertise and experience, offering a new perspective on that topic.

According to strategist Neen James in Speaker Magazine, a Subject Matter Expert or SME (pronounced “smee”) knows something. A thought leader, by contrast, is known for something. In their blog content, business owners and professional practitioners can first bring their audiences up to speed on general industry issues and developments. Through “in-your-neck-of-the-woods blogging for business,” they then become known for translating that knowledge into usable, actionable steps their readers can follow.

 

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