So What’s the Deal with Business Blog Posts?

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“So what’s the deal with Japanese whisky?” is the intriguing title of a feature article in Mental Floss Magazine. Reporter Kyle Chayka holding a glass of whiskyorganizes the article around four questions; I think that precise format could be adapted to any business blog post introducing a product or service.

Background material:
“Wait…How Did Whisky Ever Land in Japan?” The author explains that a young man studying chemistry in Glasgow returned home to start Japan’s first distillery. In this part of the blog post, the content writer would talk about the origins of the company, and about the particular consumer or business need that company is able to satisfy.

So What Makes It Different from Scotch?
Technically, not much, explains Chayka, but Japan’s distillers “take time to make it correctly rather than making it quickly and cheaply.” In this portion of the post, the content writer would explain the differentiating features of the product or service, comparing it to competitors’ offerings.

What Does it Taste Like?
“Japanese distilleries also use rare Mizunara oak for their barrels, which imparts a hinty of coconut,” the author explains. When you’re composing business blog content, I tell writers, imagine readers asking themselves – “How will I use the product (or service?” “How will I feel?”

How Should I Drink It?
“Highball” in Japan is synonymous with a whisky soda. So mix away! But if you like drinking it neat, a great starter blend is Nikka’s Taketsuru Pure Malt 12 Year,” is the author’s advice.  This section of the blog post would offer helpful hints relating to the product or service. In every business or profession, there’s no end to the technical information available to consumers on the Internet. But it falls to us business blog content writers to break all that information down into chewable tablet form, telling readers “how to drink it”.

So What’s the deal with business blog posts?  Give ‘em the background, differentiate, give ‘em a taste and then give them advice!

 

 

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How Long is Too Long for Business Blog Posts?

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short pencilThe average American, according to readingsoft.com, reads between 200 and 300 words per minute with a typical comprehension of 60%.

How long can a presenter at a meeting hold your attention?  If the topic is of interest to you and she’s a good presenter, you can focus for seven to ten minutes at most, according to Mr. Media Training. If people have a short break, they can start over with another 7-10 minute period.

Neil Vidyarthi of Social Times thinks attention spans have dropped to five minutes, and that it’s the fault of social media “ruining our minds”. Samuel Chan is even more pessimistic: “Web surfers have a painfully short attention span, one that matches the goldfish’s nine seconds short attention span,” he dolefully remarks.

For us freelance blog content writers in Indianapolis, do these national stats matter?  “Yes,” says Chan, “It matters, but only up to the point where it reminds us brand owners, businesses, advertisers and marketers how limited a time we have to capture our audience’s attention.”.
Chan’s advice?  “Ignore what these statistics are yelling at you.” Focus instead, he says, on creating compelling content. Offer digestible chunks of information.

If you didn’t already know this, there are tests you can put your blog through to see how you’re doing in terms of readability – are you reaching the right people and doing it by using words and sentences to which they can relate?  A Readability Index Calculator can give you the answer (the most frequently-used is the Flesch-Kincaid).

In coaching new business blog content writers, I like to recommend something that is not driven by statistics: Stay excited – we do that by continually “reading around” and “listening around”.  Readers can sense our excitement.

When it comes to effective blogging for business, we need to exercise “portion control” in the length of paragraphs, of blog titles and of entire blog posts. The professional ghost blogger rule I try to keep in mind and one I teach to business owners is this: Stick to one central idea, and then say it until it’s said.

Simply put, make each blog post as short as possible, but no shorter!

 

 

 

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The Royal “We” in Business Blogging

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“When Roman consuls spoke of public issues, they did so on behalf of all those with whom they shared power, and Royal Gold Crownso they used the royal pronoun ‘we” instead of the singular,” Doug Lennon explains in The Little Book of Answers.  Then King Richard I began to use the “royal we”, implying that he was speaking for his subjects as well as for himself. It’s improper, Lennon cautions, for nonroyals to use the plural.  (That’s why, when Margaret Thatcher referred to herself as “we”, she incurred nothing but ridicule.)

Why, then, do I so like for Indianapolis freelance blog content writers to express themselves as “we”?

  • Using first person pronouns (“I” and “we”) helps keep the blog conversational rather than either academic-sounding or sales-ey.
  • “We” shows the people behind the posts, introducing the personality of the business owner or team ready to serve customers.
  • Using “we” allows statements of opinion, establishing the business owner or professional as a thought leader:  “At ——-.we believe…”  “Here at ———-, we always…”  “At ______. We’re convinced that….”
  • We freelance blog content writers “speak” not for ourselves, but on behalf of the companies and professional practices we’re marketing. Richard I spoke for his subjects; we’re writing for our clients.

On the other hand, shouldn’t content creators learn anything from the icy reception Margaret Thatcher earned by using the “we” word? Yes, but it’s got little to do with putting ourselves – or our clients – out there as royalty.  In fact, all content writing for marketing blogs is second person-driven, meaning that it’s all about the “you”s (the targeted readers who are the potential customers) and their wants and needs.’

The royal “we” in business blogging just keeps things up close and personal!

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Softly, Softly Advertising by Blogging for Business

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company name“An advertorial is ‘softly softly’ advertising,” cautions write.co.nz., by using a news or human-interest story to sell your product or service. The art of writing a good advertorial, write.co explains, is getting the right balance between story and sale. To do it right, the author warns, your advertorial must start and finish with the story, putting the sales message in the middle, never lower than the third paragraph.

Imagine you’re writing an advertorial about your new sports therapy clinic, says write.co. If you’re promoting the clinic as a whole, the story might be about the growing popularity of holistic therapy clinics. If, on the other hand, you’re promoting a particular service, the story might consist of facts and figures about that service. But if you’re promoting the clinic’s staff, your story might consist of a personal profile.

There’s a parallel here with business blog content writing. Sure, when people go online to search for information and click on different blogs or on different websites, they’re aware of the fact that the providers of the information are out to do business.  But as long as the material is valuable and relevant for the searchers, they’re perfectly fine with knowing there’s someone who wants them for a client or customer.  The secret of successful business blogging, I found, is just that – not coming on too strong, staying in “softly, softly” mode.

As in the example write.co offers about the sports therapy clinic, each separate blog post should have a definite focus on only one aspect of the business or practice. In designing blog content, we need to present the “condensed” version of the information, then offer as one CTA (call to action) with the ability to click through to a landing page on the business’ or practice’s website to obtain more information. In fact, blog posts have a distinct advantage over the more static website copy, because you can have a razor-sharp focus on just one story, one idea, one aspect of your business in today’s post, saving other topics for later posts.

The story ties it all together – the answers to readers’ questions, and the solution you’re proposing.  You set the scene, introduce the characters, have them encounter, then overcome the obstacles.

Keep softly, softly advertising by blogging for business!

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You Can Pretty Well Ask Them to Applaud

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“You can pretty much ask the audience to applaud anything and they will,” observes professional speaker Judy Carter. “Let’s have some Successapplause for the dessert chef who gave us cake and pie!”

Why does such a simple, even “corny”, ploy work? It’s because people like to be on the joke, Carter explains, and mentioning something obvious and inclusive accomplishes that goal.

In blogging about a business or practice, getting readers involved is always a good thing, and as is true in a speech, establishing common ground is always a good starting point. On the other hand, I’m not sure you can pretty much ask readers to do anything (in the form of a Call to Action) and be assured even some will follow along. For one thing, online readers don’t have the reinforcement of other audience members physically surrounding them.

That’s precisely why good content creates commonality. What problems do readers share, problems that can be solved using your products and services? You can pretty much get readers to “applaud” in relief that their issue is a common one, and that they’ve come to the right place to make the situation better.

As readers progress (typically not a systematic read, but a scan) through the post, they should encounter more than one CTA. Those ready to buy should be able to do that right away. Incremental buys need to be offered. Those readers who need more information before making a decision should be able to pick up the phone and easily reach a knowledgeable rep. For those not quite ready for even a phone conversation, perhaps the blog can include a brief video they can watch. The CTAs themselves can be scattered through the text, so if a reader feels ready to act or to find out more after reading only a particular snippet – that’s great – offer that opportunity!

In blogging for business, you can pretty much ask them to applaud, and – they just might!

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