What Are They Afraid Of? It’s Important to Know

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In planning your novel, Moriah Richards advises authors in Writer’s Digest, knowing the broad strokes of history will help you determine what details to include in your story:

  •  What’s the worst disaster these people ever faced?
  • Are they afraid of that happening again?
  • What would they do to prevent it from happening?
  • Is there something that made them feel ashamed?
  • Is there something they’re proud of?

Richards is alluding to the fictional worlds writers create, but the same questions can help blog marketers understand their target readers’ concerns, fears, and collective memories.

“Some common advice for beginning freelance writers is to read sample copies of the magazines they wish to pitch, Robert Lee Brewer notes, suggesting freelance writers study the “voice” and “tone” of articles in their target magazines.

Similarly, at Say It For You, we advise blog writers to get a sense of “worst disaster” perceptions by studying blog posts on the subject, looking for slants that haven’t been covered and drawing on their own memories and experiences.

Author Steven James teaches budding novelists to maintain suspense in their writing. “Building apprehension in the minds of your readers is one of the most effective keys to engaging them early in your novel and keeping them flipping pages late into the night. ”Of the six techniques James suggests writers use to create suspense, the one that appealed to me most as a corporate blogging trainer was this: “Put characters that readers care about in jeopardy.”

There are many things readers care about that can be put in jeopardy – health, self-confidence, safety, career, appearance, property, the proper education of children. On the other hand, while I agree that allaying readers’ fears is a powerful tool, I believe too many marketing blogs are meant to scare consumers into action.

At Say It For You, we advise taking the middle ground, identifying the need, and assuring searchers they’re not alone in this dilemma or need. The message is that you have the experience and expertise to deal with their “worst thing that’s ever happened”. 

 

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Single-Topic Publications and Ghost Blogs: Sisters Under the Skin

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Don’t eschew specialty magazines, is Don Vaughan‘s advice to writers looking for assignments. You don’t have to be a subject matter expert to write on specialty topics, he says – all you need is an innovative idea specific to the topic.

At Say It For You, we agree. Since our blogging clients are guaranteed exclusivity in their marketplace, we often find ourselves writing content on topics in which we’ve no prior experience or training. I couldn’t help chortling at Vaughan’s remark about the Portable Restroom Operator publication, which has been “chugging along since 2008”. (One might wonder, Vaughan observes, what there would be left to write about after two or three issues on the subject of toilets!)

Most specialty magazines, Vaughn explains, are eager to receive pitches from skilled writers with intriguing ideas that:

  1. touch on unexplained aspects of the magazine’s them
  2. offer new approaches to frequently reported topics

Specific tactics that Vaughan recommends for non-specialist magazine writers can be useful for blog writers:

  • profiles of innovators in the field
  • aspects of the topic’s history
  • reflections on important anniversaries of the industry (or, in the case of blogs, of the company or practice)
  • new product reviews
  • profiles of prominent people who have benefitted from the product or service you offer
  • news about developments in the industry

“On rare occasions,” Vaughan observes, “good story ideas may arise from not being knowledgeable about the publications’ topic (bloggers, read “client’s topic”). He shares the story of one writer who broke into writing for Guns and Ammo Magazine with a pitch about the first and only time he’d ever shot a gun. Human interest stories can be a source of out-of-the-box story ideas, showing how professionals addressed a very ordinary situation.

In blogging, as in writing for specialty magazines, creativity and intention count more than technical expertise!

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Blogs are About Value, Not Pricing

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An article in Mental Floss magazine about a 300 year-old Stradivarious violin reminded me of an ongoing discussion having to do with whether product or service pricing should be mentioned in blog content….

In discussing the upcoming auction of the Strad, author James Stewart makes some salient observations about pricing and how it relates to value. Factors that add to the value of this particular violin include:

  • the fame of the violin maker family
  • the identity of former owners of the instrument (Seider taught violin to Albert Einstein using this violin)
  • the association with the 1930’s filming of The Wizard of Oz at MGM Studios

Due to this combination of value-enhancing factors, it’s estimated that the violin might fetch $15 to $20 million in the upcoming auction.

“Today’s consumer is bombarded with advertisements in all media, direct mail offers, and telemarketing offers,” observes Dr. Richard Murphy of Jacksonville, University. “There are numerous factors involved when we begin to discuss the issues of value, cost and price. The value of anything is perceived by the customer, not the manufacturer or the vendor.” A Forbes article mentions one of Warren Buffett’s most famous quotes: “Price is what you pay; value is what you get.”

One question facing blog marketers is whether prices should be mentioned at all in the content. Ten years ago, Marcus Sheridan of social media examiner.com observed that, instead of addressing the No. 1 consumer question up front, business owners often decided to wait until a later stage of the sales process. “People like to know how much stuff costs,” Sheridan warned.

At Say It For You, we don’t think price is the No. 1 consumer question on the minds of web searchers who land on our clients’ blog posts. Instead, what your business blog writing needs to do is answer questions, offer perspective and thought leadership, while giving searchers a “feel” for the desired outcomes of using your products and services.

Think about it: When you visit an online shopping site, or even when you go into a local store to buy something, often all you can see are products on the shelf (or, in the case of an online visit, pictures of products) with names and prices.  Too often, there’s nobody to talk to and no other information available, (there may be customer reviews online).

At our content writing company, here’s how we view the issue of “putting price first”: Buyers want more than just product and service descriptions and prices. Blog content writing is about introducing readers to business owners, explaining the owners’ specialty or niche within their field, their special “philosophy” about their area of practice or their industry, and their unique approach to providing client services.

Blogs are about value, not pricing!

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In Horseracing or Blogs, Ask for Permission

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Barbara Bush agreed; Margaret Thatcher didn’t. The point, Jake Rossen explains in the Mental Floss article titled “Hoof-Hearted; the Reason Racehorses Have Such Weird Names”, is that most governing bodies for thoroughbred racing set certain parameters for names, and when you opt to name a horse after a person in tribute to them, you have to ask permission.

Similarly, there are rules authors and blog content writers need to know about fair use and attribution. Whenever you want to directly quote, excerpt, or reproduce someone else’s work in something you are writing, you should consider whether or not you need legal permission to protect yourself and your business from potential future problems, the Vervante blog reminds us.

Vervante lists instances when you need to cite your source:

  • You’re quoting someone else.
  • You’re mentioning statistics that you didn’t collate yourself.
  • You’re using another person’s thoughts or ideas that aren’t your own.

The most common way we cite our sources (whether it be an article or a website) within our blogs is by paraphrasing and hyperlinking back to the page where the information originated (precisely what I’ve done three times in this very blog post).

Unfortunately, Jane Friedman explains, quoting or excerpting someone else’s work falls into one of the grayest areas of copyright law. There is no legal rule stipulating what quantity is OK to use without seeking permission from the owner or creator of the material. It’s fine to link to something online from your website, blog, or publication. Linking does not require permission. One guiding principle – if your use is not likely to affect the market for the original work, you’re probably OK.

“At first, it might seem odd that we should direct to other websites the users we’re always struggling to attract to our own domain,” rockcontent.com wryly comments, but “realizing the importance of referrals from other pages to the success of yours will change your mind”, the author adds.

Since the purpose of this Say It For You blog is to help content writers improve their craft, I consider linking to other websites to be my way of paying tribute to those authors’ expertise and knowledge.

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Helping Them Pass the Test in Your Blog

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One thing we’ve learned over the years at Say It for You is that blog readers tend to be curious creatures.  What’s more, their curiosity factor is highest when they are learning about themselves.  As blog content writers, we’ve noticed that “self-tests” tend to engage readers and help them relate in a more personal way to the information presented in a marketing blog. Popular magazine editors appear to agree as well, because current issues are full of tests, games, and quizzes.

A recent four-page article by Kimberly Lankford in the AARP Magazine titled “Can You Pass the Penny-Pincher Test?” is a superb example of how content writers can engage readers using the format of Q & A. After revealing the best answer for each of five thought-provoking multiple-choice questions, the author offers a paragraph or two of useful explanation.

Example: What’s the easiest way to stop yourself from making impulse buys? Answer choices: A) Freeze your credit cards in a block of ice. B) Don’t go online or visit shopping malls. C) Tape a gallery of your unfortunate purchases to your refrigerator door. D) Put appealing purchases on a wish list first.

Answer: D. Put items you think you want on a wish list, then make a final decision a few days later. (The author goes on to explain that turning a one-stage purchase into a two-stage purchase forces a person to use a different decision-making strategy. When you return to a list later, you start considering minuses along with the pluses of that purchase.

In the course of offering these explanations, the author cites various studies and offers quotes from financial planning and psychology experts. Because of the clever test format, which includes a “Give yourself a grade” section, the content comes across as fun.

Quizzes provide effective ways for you to encourage readers to interact with your site, Lyn Wildwood of bloggingwizard.com explains. There are personality quizzes, trivia quizzes, and “how-well-do-you-know” subject quizzes. However, “running an online quiz is not easy feat,” Wildwood cautions. “It requires a keen understanding of your audience.”

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