How To – and How NOT to – Use Quotes in Your Corporate Blog Writing

Quoting others in your SEO marketing blog – good thing or bad? As I’m fond of saying in corporate blogging training sessions – it depends!

On the positive side, when you link to someone else’s remarks on a subject you’re covering, that can:

• Reinforce your point
• Show you’re in touch with trends in your field
• Add value for readers (by aggregating different sources of information in one business blog)

On the other hand, as is true of all tools and tactics, “re-gifting” content needs to be handled with some restraint and using proper protocol (attributing content to its source).

As a longtime member of the National Speakers Association, I read many columns offering advice for speakers, and the other day, I came across one article that is worth sharing with Indianapolis blog content writers. The piece is called “How to Use Quotes in Your Speech”, and it’s written by Andrew Dlugan.  Using quotes in your material, says Dlugan, can reinforce your ideas (“A quotation is more powerful than simply repeating yourself in different words”), and add variety to your logical arguments (“Audiences get bored if you offer a one-dimensional shring of arguments of the same type.”).

Dlugan offers a caution I want to emphasize to business bloggers: Avoid closing your speech with a quote. “Your final words should be your own.” I agree.  Curating others’ work – bloggers, authors, speakers – is a wonderful technique for adding variety and reinforcement to your own content.  Remember, though, when it comes to writing SEO marketing blogs, you’re trying to make your own cash register ring.  It’s your voice that has to be strong throughout the post, so readers will click through to your website or shopping cart. (In the case of Say It For You ghost blogging clients, the blog writer must become the voice of each business owner or professional practitioner.)

And speaking of search engine optimization, Dave Smith of realestatebloglab.com issues a different sort of caution about quotations: Don’t use double quote marks in blog post titles, he says.  Double quote marks at the beginning and end of a phrase tells the search engine to look only for those exact words in that exact order, severely limiting your ability to “get found” through category or organic search.

In corporate blogging training, I compare quotations to seasonings, warning blog content writers to avoid “over-salting” the meal!