The Three-Legged Stool in Blogging for Business

The laminated student guide “Writing Tips & Tricks” by quickstudy.com I found on a carousel at the FedEx store might have been made to order for my Say It For You corporate blogging training sessions. This week, I’m devoting my blog-about-blogging to sharing scraps of wisdom from that guide.

“Ask yourself what you want the reader to know about your topic….Think of three details or three examples for each idea.”  Quick Study is referring to student essays, typically much longer, much more formal, and more detailed than corporate blog posts. In fact, the sample outline format contains three main ideas, each with three details and examples.

In business blog posts, by contrast, I recommend a razor-sharp focus on just one story, one idea, one aspect of a business, a practice, or an organization.  Other aspects can be addressed in later posts. Focused on one thing, I tell business owners and practitioners, your post will have much greater impact, since people are bombarded with many messages each day. Respecting readers’ time produces better results for your business.

That doesn’t mean blog content writing shouldn’t make use of the “the three-legged stool” idea, with three examples or details supporting the main idea of each post.

Another interpretation of the 3-legged stool concept comes from public speaking maven  Jim Endicott.  Just as it takes three legs to keep a stool balanced, every oral presentation must use three elements to be effective: visual presentation, content, and delivery, Endicott explains..
 
Engaging blog posts need to contain more than well-structured sentences. Pictures and charts add interest and aid learning, and evoke emotions. How can the term “delivery” apply to blogs? To me that means the “voice”, the way the message comes across. Whether it’s business-to-business blog writing or business to consumer blog writing, it’s opinion that clarifies the difference between that business, that professional practice, or that organization and its competitors.

Keep your blog content writing balanced with the three-legged stool!