Blogging Your Claim To Fame

“After reading this,” is Stephen Lang’s hope for his Big Book of American Trivia, “you may consider yourself a little more knowledgeable, maybe even a little more appreciative, of this vast, enchanting land.” With over 3,000 questions and answers, this book certainly allows readers to self-test, which is one way in which readers tend to initially engage with the content in business blogs. In fact, content writers, we teach at Say It For You, can use trivia in different ways:

• for defining basic terminology
• sparking curiosity about the subject
• putting modern-day practices and beliefs into perspective
• for explaining why the business owner or practitioner chooses to operate in a certain way

  You can use trivia to help readers get to know the people behind the business/practice:
  – What Oscar-winning actress announced in June, 2011, that she was homeschooling her children? (Angelina Jolie)
  – What man said “I don’t know anything about cars,” then ended up being head of General Motors? (Edward Whitacre, Jr. )
  – What songwriter donated an Oscar he’d won to his hometown? ) Johnny Mercer)

In his book Tell to Win, Peter Guber points out that people want to do business with people. One important function of a business blog, we teach at Say It For You, is helping online visitors get to know the people behind the business (or the professionals behind the practice). Why did those owners choose to do what they do? What are they most passionate about?  What are they trying to add to or to change about their industry? What community causes are they involved in?

           Sharing failures as well as successes:

• In April, 2009, Barack Obama caused controversy by bowing. To whom? (The King of Saudi Arabia)
• What famous astronaut was cut from the TV show Dancing With the Stars”? (Buzz Aldrin)
• What one-name pop singer declared “The Internet’s almost over”? (Prince)

“There can be success in the stories, but they have to be grounded in failure.” Stav Ziv said in Newsweek, talking about The Moth nonprofit dedicated to the art of storytelling. So how does all this apply to blog marketing for a business or professional practice?  It brings out a point every business owner, practitioner, and business blogger ought to keep in mind: Writing about past failures is important.
True stories about mistakes and struggles are very humanizing, adding to the trust readers place in the people behind the business. What tends to happen is the stories of failure create feelings of empathy and admiration for the entrepreneurs or professional practitioners who overcame the effects of their own errors.

Why share tidbits? Your blog readers may consider themselves a little more knowledgeable, maybe even a little more appreciative, of your value proposition – and of you!