Business Blogging to Help Readers Maintain Control
In this time of Coronavirus anxiety, it was good to read the TIME piece “Fear can Fuel You” by Hallie Levine. Anxiety in short bursts and in the right amounts, Levine observes, may have gotten a bad rap, because healthy stress can motivate people to:
- fulfill tasks
- accomplish goals
- achieve results
- improve memory
- improve short term concentration
Some strategies for hitting the anxiety “sweet spot” (not too much or too little) include:
- combining mindfulness with exercise (focus on breathing and on the surroundings
- keeping on the move when otherwise in a sedentary situation
- maintaining control over as many aspects of the situation as possible
- deep breathing
Even before the current pandemic moved to the forefront of everyone’s consciousness, I have been interested in the functions – both positive and negative – fear plays in blog marketing. Behavioral psychologists tell us that, of the two dominant buying motives (desire for gain and fear of loss), the fear of losing something is a greater motivator.
In keeping with that very advice, many blog content writers focus on appealing to consumers’ fear. Every instinct tells me otherwise. Having spent thirteen years both in writing these Say It For You blog posts and in corporate blogging training sessions, I believe our marketing goal is to appeal to a “better kind” of customer – the kind that buys for the right reasons and then remains loyal.
Remember, I tell business owners and professional practitioners, it is interested people who are showing up at your blog in the first place. Your task is to help those searchers get to know you and your company in a positive way. In fact, the entire tone of the blog, therefore, needs to be consistent with the company’s image and corporate identity. Ask yourself: Does your content represent you the way you’d like to be perceived?
On the other hand, as Neil Patel of Kissmetrics stresses, all human behavior is driven by the need to avoid pain, and of the two, we do more to avoid pain. But Patel’s advice is in keeping with my own thoughts: “Show your prospects all the dangers on the road from A to Z, and how your product or service is the weapon they need to defeat those dangers and discomforts.”
It all goes back, I think, to Hallie Levine’s idea of helping your readers feel they can maintain control over as many aspects of the situation as possible. Your focus as a content writer should be firmly on showing them how you can help with exactly that.
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