Painting a Blog Post in Two Lines

/0 Comments/in , /by

 

One way to bring a character to life in your story is to paint that character “in two lines”, Writer’s Digest Editor-in-Chief Jessica Strawser suggests to authors of stories and novels. You can reveal a character as seen through another character’s eyes or through dialogue, and even through “voices” or thoughts going through a character’s mind, Strawser adds.

What we’ve found at Say It For You is that a big, big part of providing content marketing is helping business owners formulate and then tell their “stories”. Certainly, online visitors to a company’s or a practice’s blog want to feel that the owners or practitioners understand them. But those prospects want to understand who those service and product providers are as well, and it is through character-revealing stories that an emotional connection can form between provider and the buyer.

While blog marketing can be designed to “win search”, once the searchers have arrived, what needs winning is their hearts, and that is precisely what content writers can achieve best through “painting” the character of the business or practice, showing why the owners are passionate about delivering your service or products to customers and clients.

As seen through another character’s eyes…
The history of the company and the values important to its leaders are story elements that create ties with blog readers. The best content writing client testimonial I ever received reads as follows: “Say It For You helped me, a numbers guy, put into words what I knew in my heart but couldn’t verbalize…”

As seen through dialogue…
We all love to eavesdrop just a little and any good narrative should contain some dialogue, including character-revealing quotes from the business owners. Anecdotes and customer testimonials help readers sense “character” through dialogue.

As seen through thoughts going through a character’s mind…
At Say It For You, we recognize what I’ve dubbed the “training benefit” of blog content creating. In the process of verbalizing positive aspects of a business or practice in a way that people can understand, leaders are constantly providing themselves with training about how to tell their business story!

Blog content writing is a way of “painting” the character of a business and its owners.

 

 

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

Blogging One Ear Per Stalk

/0 Comments/in /by

 

 

Corn plants have the innate ability to grow more than one ear per stalk, James Fung, CEO of the Indiana Crop Improvement Association, guest at our morning networking meeting, explained. But years of research and experimentation have taught farmers that it is better to allow each plant to dedicate all its resources to producing one really good ear of corn, instead of wasting water and nutrients to produce multiple, less viable ones, Fung revealed.

As a lifelong city dweller, I realized, I hadn’t devoted much thought to the agricultural genealogy of my produce purchases. But, from my perspective as a blog content writer, the “one-ear” concept really resonated. In fact, the one-ear-per-stalk idea is remarkably in tune with a content writing principle we embrace at Say It For You – The Power of One. Deliver one message per post, we tell newbie content writers. Focused on one thing, your post has greater impact. Direct each blog post to just one segment of your client’s readership.

In a sense, focusing readers’ attention is the whole point of blog content writing. Fellow marketer Jeff Goins agrees: “The simple reason a lot of blogs struggle to succeed is a lack of focus.” That focus consists of three elements, Goins adds – the subject, the theme, and the objective. “Focus is the feature of effective writing that answers the question ‘So what?’”,

Just as each corn plant should be allowed to dedicate all its resources to producing a single, quality result (as opposed to quantities of results), no blog – and certainly no blog post – can be all things to all people. Each post must be targeted towards the specific type of customers your clients want and those most likely to want to do business with them.  The appeals, as well as the way they are presented, can be chosen specifically for that existing or potential customer – the words you choose, how technical you get, how sophisticated your approach, even the title of each blog entry – must focus on the ONE.

The marketing takeaway coming straight from the Indiana cornfields? Blog one ear per stalk!

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

Using Log Lines to Create Blog Content

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

 

For those who are new to the craft of screenwriting, the log line is a 25-word brief description of what the movie is about, Peter Fox explains in the Writer magazine. No matter what film you’re reading about, Fox adds, in the log line you’ll find at least one of the five pillars of cinematic conflict:

  1. Problem of conscience.
  2. It’s not fair.
  3. Facing the mountain.
  4. Stand and deliver.
  5. Life or death.

Classic films might have characters that endure all five of these conflicts, the author explains. However, it’s important, before film writers begin to create a movie, for them to identify the core of the character’s struggle and then build the content around that core or “pillar”.

How can this log line wisdom translate into blog marketing?

Problem of conscience – In blogging on behalf of a charity, it’s important to demonstrate that donated funds are handled responsibly and used to forward the stated goals of the organization. But, even in content marketing of products and services, as study.com explains, it’s important to assert your personal authority and to appear as an expert in the subject you’re writing about.

It’s not fair – Identify what problems your readers are experiencing and create content that aims to solve that one single social or business “unfairness” or problem. If you cannot provide a solution, in your blog, recommend articles, eBooks, tools, apps, or services that might help, Fabrizio Van Marciano of magnet4blogging.net suggests.

Facing the mountain – For the same reason most college-bound students are tasked with writing an “overcoming challenges” essay, recounting a time when they faced a challenge, setback or failure. Using blog content to recounting obstacles a business owner or professional practitioner overcame can help prospects embrace and engage with the content.

Stand and deliver – In the movie of that title, the phrase “stand and deliver” expresses the concept of maintaining one’s position and acting independently.

Life or death – While credible blogs hardly tout the purchase of any product or service as a life-or-death decision, content writers can offer reader “decision aids”, helping searchers understand the possible consequences of delay in implementing the recommended commitment or involvement.

At Say It For You, we firmly believe in the Power of One, with a single message directed to a single audience segment. Just as in movie-making, In blogging for business, it’s a good idea to start with the log line.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

Backward Blogging

/0 Comments/in , , /by

 

 

This month’s Hunt’s Headlines tip is a great reminder for content writers of every ilk: Read your copy backward. Huh? Reading backward forces you to focus on each individual word without the surrounding context, Hunt’s first boss taught him.

Even though we have access to a stockpile of online grammar and spelling tools, Clifford Chi of hubspot.com admits, typos are inevitable. Chi posts pics of juice bottles labeled “orignal” and a prescription label directing the patient to “take one capsule by mouth nightly 2 hours before ded.” Meanwhile, Gur Tirosh of historybyday.com shows us a “no enrty” sign, a banner touting a high school commited to high standards, and a street sotp warning message.

Big deal? Do content writers need to be overly concerned with bloopers in blog content? Michael Hyatt, author of Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World, doesn’t think so. Blogs are not books, Hyatt reasons, and you can make corrections later and republish. At Say It For You, we tend to side with the view expressed by Brian Clark of copyblogger.com, who says that certain types of errors “can make you look dumb”.

Has the thinking changed? Are blog readers more likely to overlook typos and grammar errors? Hmm…Back in 2008, when the Say It For You content marketing company was in its infancy, I observed that Americans appear to fall into different camps when it comes to writing bloopers, ranging from the functionally illiterate to grammar-Nazi reformers. Although blog audiences tend to be scanners rather than readers,  I suggested that there will inevitably be those who notice bloopers and form a negative impression of the products and services you offer.

Can spelling and grammar mistakes make you seem more “human” to your blog readers, as one reader of the marketinginsidergroup.com blog suggested? Er….not really, is my take on that one – even back in 2017, I wrote that even though your blog is supposed to reveal the “real you”, and should be informal in tone, the “Real Me” has a very real opinion on the subject of grammar and spelling, convinced that customers like to buy from people who are in command of language tools.

Proofreading is as challenging as it is important, Mary Cullen writes in the instructionalsolutions.com blog. “It’s the final touches needed that ensure a business document is correct, consistent, and professional.” Cullen recommends taking a 24-hour break from the content before proofreading it, then reading it aloud to highlight awkward sentences.

Thanks, Todd Hunt, for reminding us content writers that it can be very forward-looking of us to proofread our blog posts backward!

 

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

The Other Side of Showing What It takes

/0 Comments/in , , , /by


In Tuesday’s post, we discussed the importance of “bragging” to make readers aware of “what it takes to do what you do and how much effort you put into acquiring the expertise you’re now going to be able to use for their benefit…”

The other side of “showing what it takes” involves how-tos and useful pieces of advice, explaining what steps will be involved in readers accomplishing a particular goal. One aspect of blogging is putting your own unique slant on best practices within your field, calling attention to rules and safety procedures of which readers need to be aware.

Actually, from a content writer’s point of view, giving instructions is a lot harder than first appears. There is no end to the technical information available to consumers on the internet. Our job, therefore, becomes helping readers understand, absorb, buy into, and use that information.  One way to empower customers to make a decision is to help them understand the differences between various industry terms, as well as the differences between the products and services of one business compared to those offered by another.

The advice Entrepreneur Magazine’s Ultimate Small Business Marketing Guide offers starts with giving away information to get clients. “By providing visitors with free and valuable information and services, you entice them to return to your web site often.” Ironically, many business owners are initially afraid to share “too much” information with prospects until after they’ve become clients. At Say It For You, our experience has been that providing useful instruction to prospects instills confidence in the provider and cements the relationship.

Blog content is part of the BRAN analysis process prospective clients use when choosing a provider of any product or service:, and taking readers through that process is a way of “showing them what it takes” to achieve the results they want or the answers they seek.

B = What are the benefits?
R = What are the risks?
A = What are the alternatives?
N = What if I/we do nothing?

“Bragging” makes readers aware of what it took for the business owner to be able to offer such a high level of expertise and experience. Taking prospects through BRAN analysis shows what it will take on their part to achieve the hoped-for outcomes.

Blog content marketing addresses both sides of the “what does it take?” question.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail