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Blogging Assumption-Free

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Follow the Guidelines sign isolated on white backgroundI’ve been doing some heavy thinking about assumptions, and it’s Daniel Herndon’s fault.

“Assumptions can be good or bad, but either way they inform our beliefs and opinions,” Herndon says. Assumptions inform the decisions we make, and often they can be productive, he admits. But what about when our assumptions are counterproductive? he asks. (That’s precisely the question I haven’t been able to stop turning over in my mind ever since his thought-provoking newsletter hit my inbox.)

What if our assumptions are keeping us from doing something great? (Read these examples from the Herndon post– you won’t be able to get them out of your mind, either!)

  • What if your parents are not always right?
  • What if you don’t have to change your oil every 3000 miles?
  • What if you don’t have to go to college to get a good job?
  • What if some things don’t ‘happen for a reason’?

I’ve been “translating” this assumption-challenging attitude into my own field of blog content writing.  “What if all those rules we were taught at all those webinars and seminars and ebooks and “15 things” lists are actually stopping us from writing truly great content?” is what I’ve been asking myself.

  • What if blog readers don’t have as short an attention span as we thought?
  • What if they don’t all read at a sixth grade level?
  • What if you don’t need to keep the content “above the fold”?
  • What if searching Google AdWords isn’t the best starting point for creating posts?
  • What if being almost obnoxiously opinionated on issues in your field is just fine?
  • What if you went ahead and gave away all your how-to “secrets” in your blog and your readers still wanted you to provide services for them?
  • What if keeping below 65 characters wasn’t the most important thing about writing a title for a blog post?

What if you had your ideal prospect sitting right in front of you, and you were going to take three minutes to teach him one thing he needs to know how to do? What if you were going to take three minutes to share with her a valuable insight, or express and explain your point of view on a controversy that’s in the news?  No blogging platform, no SEO, just talking.

Now sit down and do something great. Write your blog post directly to that one man or woman.  Assume they’re going to read it – every word.

Next time you’re getting ready to write copy for a blog post, ask yourself Daniel Herndon’s question: “What if what you believe and take for granted is actually a false assumption?”

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Strangest-Things Blogging for Business

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You wouldn’t believe some of the strange things that get sent in the mail, says David Moye, writing in the Huffington Post. In fact, Moye explains, Ripley’s Believe It Or Not runs an annual Strange Mail Contest.

The 2014 contest winner, for example, was a 19-pound tree trunk with a horseshoe embedded in it.  Ripley vice president of exhibits and archives Edward Meyer chose the entry not only for its size and weight, but also because of its uniqueness. Runners-up included a prosthetic arm, an animal skull, a mailbox, and a roll of toilet paper.

Mental Floss Magazine’s latest issue lists “14 Unusual Items You Can Get at Libraries”, including:

  • umbrellas (Cornell U. Library offers umbrellas than can be borrowed)
  • American Girl dolls (the Arlington Public Library has eight dolls available to borrowers)
  • Surfboards (Inverloch Library in Australia)
  • art for your office (Aurora Library in Illinois) has 30 sculptures available to borrow for up to 8 weeks)
  • knitting needles (Morse Institute Library in Natick, Mass.)
  • puppies (Yale Law Library)

While all these things are available for temporary use, for us blog content writers, the real and “permanent” takeaway, I believe, is that strange and unusual tidbits tend to engage readers’ curiosity and interest. If we open our minds to it, I’m convinced, we can make very good use of on-the-surface-useless information. The whole idea is to provide information most readers wouldn’t be likely to know, and then tie the tidbit to our own topic.

What are some of the strangest things you’ve encountered in your business or practice?

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Blog Writing for the Rando?

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“I may be a rando when I cross your field of vision,” says Luc Sante.  Randos, he explains, are people who show up at your party uninvited or who Jumbled wooden letterpatronize your favorite hangout but who have no connection with your crowd. To put it another way, a rando is Not One of Us.

As business blog content writers, of course, we’re trying to target the “right kind” of readers, those with an interest in our topic, value our products and services and are willing to pay for them. But what about all those others, the “random” readers? Shouldn’t your content be structured so as to engage them as well?

When he first began to use the Internet, Sante recalls, his impression was that every time you clicked on a link, it took you somewhere else, “until you were miles and maybe years away from your point of departure”.

FutureNow‘s  Brendan Regan teaches business owners to “optimize a marketing outreach from the driving point to the landing page and on through to conversion.” In other words, for any business blog to enjoy bottom-line success, there needs to be a smooth process, a navigation path that begins when a customer first becomes conscious of your existence to when you’re closing a deal.

Given the way organic search works on the Internet, some of those readers just becoming conscious of your existence might well be “randos”. That’s because, every once in a while, there’s a “disconnect” between what a searcher wanted and what he or she actually finds.  When this anomaly results in bringing someone to your blog who really doesn’t “belong” there, it’s not necessarily bad news.  That “mistake” might even result in you converting a searcher-gone-astray into a buyer!

Am I saying you don’t need to write with a very specific target audience in mind? Not at all.  In fact, your understanding of your target readers has to influence every aspect of your blog.  By doing that, you’ll have an enormous advantage over less-targeted competitors.

Meanwhile, though, welcome the randos who “wander” into your territory.  You just never know…
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Blog About Both Kinds of Goodwill

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Fountain pen writing GoodwillWhen you’re looking to buy or sell a business, Troy Patton of Archer Investments explained at the Financial Planning Association, one really important factor to weigh is goodwill.  How much of the business’ goodwill is “enterprise” and how much is “personal”?

Professional business valuator Linton Kotzin agrees. “Segregating the intangible value of a company between personal and enterprise goodwill is becoming increasingly relevant,” he says, explaining that personal or professional goodwill attaches to a particular individual, while enterprise goodwill is derived from the characteristics of the business itself, regardless of who owns or operates it.

Content marketing through blogs needs to consider both those aspects of the company’s – or the professional practice’s goodwill. There are many different possible forms a blog post can take, of course. Hubspot, in fact, lists no fewer than 44 “fantastic types of content”, including:

  • How-to’s
  • Case studies
  • Charts and graphs
  • FAQs
  • Question/answer sessions
  • Guides
  • Glossaries
  • Opinion pieces
  • Surveys
  • Quotes
  • Quizzes
  • Book summaries

Patton’s presentation on valuing a business or practice, though, made me realize how important it is for us blog content writers to focus on creating “goodwill value” on both the enterprise front and the personal front.

Blogging for business has the potential to reach different groups, including new (recent transaction) customers, repeat customers, other companies’ customers, potential customers, and strategic partners (including vendors, colleagues, professional associates).

All of those readers need to know about enterprise value. In other words, have they come to the right place to find the particular kind of service or product they need, and is that product or service competitively priced and of good quality?

But that’s only the half of it. It’s the personal goodwill that’s going to invite readers to “connect” and “buy in”. If you’re to enjoy any success in content marketing through business blogging, I’m convinced, personal goodwill needs to be operative. Not only must searchers see your blog as a go-to source for ongoing information (the enterprise value of the business), but they need to feel engagement with the people who provide the product or service. Of course, the typical website explains what products and services the company offers, who the “players” are and in what geographical area they operate. The better websites give at least a taste of the corporate culture and some of the owners’ core beliefs.

Blog about BOTH kinds of goodwill!

 

 

 

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Different-Strokes Blogging for Business

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eLooking for ways to help your blog content appeal to different segments within your market? Look no further than the very different presidential marriage proposal tactics chronicled by Jeff Wilser, in Mental Floss magazine’s “10 Presidential Marriage Proposals”.

As a blog content writer, strive for subtlety. Harry Truman snuck in his proposal to Bess while talking about the weather:  “I guess we’ll all have to go to drinking whiskey if it doesn’t rain very soon.  Water and potatoes will soon be as much of the luxury as pineapples and diamonds.  Speaking of diamonds, would you wear a solitaire on your left hand should I get it?”

The art of writing a good advertorial, write.co explains, is getting the right balance between story and sale. Use a subtle touch in your sales message and in the calls to action in your blog.

Persistence is a virtue:
After meeting Lady Bird in Austin Texas, Lyndon Johnson needed to return to D.C. where he was working as a congressional aide. Over the next ten weeks, the couple exchanged no fewer than 90 letters before Johnson returned to Texas to give his love her ring.

A good blog requires persistence to maintain frequency. Even years ago, in the process creating my company Say It For You, I realized that the main key to business blogging success was going to be simply keeping on task.

Research your target audience, finding out what they need and like.
Richard Nixon hated ice-skating, but went skating with Thelma “Pat” Ryan and her friends because he knew she loved it.

We’re there to engage those blog readers and show them we understand the dilemmas they’re facing.  In fact, a business blog is the ideal vehicle for going right to the heart of any possible customer fears or concerns and laying the groundwork for understanding and trust.

Offer a taste of the benefits:
Dwight D. Eisenhower gave Mamie a miniature version of his class ring from West Point.  That made her want a full-sized rock.

By offering a “content-tasting” on your blog, and doing that regularly and frequently, you’ll be earning the right to convert at least some “tasters” into buyers!

In the art of business blogging, it’s important to use different strokes for different readers!

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