The-Truth-About Blogging for Business

There’s something enticing about a title promising to “bare the truth”, especially when it concerns a topic on which we didn’t expect there to be any secrets to speak of.  The “Special Report” about (of all things) bears, in (of all places) Backpacker magazine made me think that Indiana blog content writers might make more frequent use of that truth-about-… technique.

The 12-page magazine article about grizzlies contained enough valuable and little-known ursine information to stock two dozen blog posts. But in corporate blogging training sessions, I stress the importance of keeping each post focused on only one aspect of a business or professional practice – one product or service, one guiding principle, etc.  

Yet the material was organized around three main themes, or, as I refer to them in this Say it For You blog (borrowing a phrase from classical music), leitmotifs. As we continue to write about our industries, our products, and our services, we’ll find ourselves repeating some key concepts. In fact, as I offer business blogging assistance, I’ll tell you that’s what you should be doing to keep your blogs focused and targeted. The variety comes from the details you fill in around those central themes, examples of ways the company’s products can be helpful, or examples of how the company helped solve various problems.

The 3 tactics in Truth About Bears include:

De-mystifying:
“Have the biggest predators in North American managed to survive unseen in North cascades National Park?  Cascades grizzlies barely hang on”, readers learn. “We pushed bears so deep into the wild that they have grim prospects for breeding, or even finding each other.”

Addressing misinformation in a company's blog shines light on the owner's special expertise, besides offering information that is valuable to readers. De-mystifying matters can make your blog into a "go-to" source for readers seeking information in your field.

Myth-busting:
Are bears always afraid of fire? Is it true that bears can’t climb trees? Are bears really unable to run downhill?

Myth debunking is a great use for corporate blog content. That's because in the natural course of doing business, misunderstandings about a product or service often surface in the form of customer questions and comments.

Offering actionable information:
Dream of seeing a bruin in the wild? No matter what part of the country you call home, “The Black Bear Finder” details where hikers should go for a bear-spotting hike within a day’s drive.

A Call to Action an image or text that tells your readers what action they should be taking next on your site. In fact, as a professional ghost blogger, I'd say the ultimate challenge blog content writers face is getting readers to "see" themselves using the products and services described in the blog posts and providing them with options for using the information you’ve provided.
 

How can you use "the-truth-abouts" in blogging for business?