Letting the ideas Do the Work in Your Blog

“By the end of three minutes, your audience will already be leaning yes or no on your proposal”, Brant Pinvidic writes in The 3-minute Rule. You know your product, service, or company is amazing, but they don’t know how it works or why it’s so great. You need to give them more knowledge in less time, the author explains, not selling, but letting the ideas do the work. 

Given the concern today about the rising price of oil, I was particularly taken by the story Pinvidic shares about an oil company executive. (This was taking place back when oil prices were one quarter what they are now.) Pindivic was coaching the presenter, whose goal was to show investors that his company, unlike others, had found a way to keep drilling even if oil were to fall to $32 a barrel (the price was $40 at the time) The problem – it was only after 17 minutes of presenting (by which time the audience had fallen asleep) that the speaker explained how his company could keep drilling at $32 a barrel of oil..

The revised presentation began with the most important idea, the essence of the proposal: Our company can keep drilling profitably even if crude prices drop below $32 a barrel. Next came the “why” and the “how”: We have clear leases on proven wells with ample reserves. The valley location gives takers quick access to major highways to the Port of Houston. The new presentation ended with perspective and context: Our competitors must stop production below $37 a barrel.

In a nutshell, Brant Pinvidic is urging marketers to stop selling and to let the ideas do the work: “Don’t state and prove. Inform and lead.”

At Say It For You, I often refer to blogs as the sound bites of the Internet. In short segments, business owners convey to readers the essence of their accomplishments. Corporate blog writing, I explain, isn’t advertising, Blog content writing means telling readers about the essence of your special knowledge, insights, and beliefs, as well as about the products or services you offer. However, just as Pindivic stresses, the most important idea (and there should be just one core “thesis” for each blog post) needs to reassure readers they’ve come to the right place for the solution to their problem or the answer to their question.

While your topic may have little to do with oilfields, your audience needs your help “drilling down” – and quickly – to the essence of what you know, what you do, and how you can be of benefit to them. Stop selling and let the ideas do the work!