Tidbits Add Interest and Strengthen Your Slant

/0 Comments/in , , /by

 

 

In this week’s Say It For You blog, I am focusing on fascinating knowledge tidbits from The Book of Bizarre Truths.  Including  interesting snippets of knowledge in blog content not only serves as an attention getter,  but can actually strengthen your “slant” on the topic your want to discuss with your readers.

In fact, I have a strong opinion about “slant”. When blogging for business reveals your unique philosophy, your “way of being” within your field, potential customers and clients feel they know who you are, not merely what you do, and they are far more likely to want to be associated with you. For that very reason, one important facet of my job as a professional ghost blogger is to “interview” business owner and professional practitioner clients, eliciting each one’s very individualized thoughts. But even if the format of a blog post isn’t interview-style question-answer, when we tell the story of a business or a practice to consumers, we “frame” that story a certain way.

That’s a good thing, because when online readers find a blog, one question they need answered is “Who lives here?” Providing information about products and services may be the popular way to write corporate blog posts, but in terms of achieving Influencer status – it takes opinion, we’ve learned at Say It For You. Darren Rowse of problogger.com agrees: “There are many factors that set great bloggers apart from the rest, but one that I’ve seen continually cropping up over the last few years is that they often have and are not afraid to express strong opinions,”

One big advantage of including information tidbits is that they “soften” the effect of the strong opinions business owner or practitioner might express in the blog, while at the same time helping to explain the reasoning behind the “slant”. For example, this tidbit about Henry J. Heinz could be perfect for several kinds of blogs: As Heinz was riding an elevated train in New York back in 1896, he noticed an advertisement for a shoe store offering 21 different styles of shoes. Captivated by that ad quantifying the product offering, Heinz decided on the now-famous “57 varieties” motto.  Any type of business  might  to refer to Heinz 57 in order to tout its own wide variety of products or services.  On the opposite side, a specialty boutique, a private school, or a country club might use this tidbit in a blog, suggesting the contrasting exclusivity of its offerings and its clientele.

Incorporating tidbits in content marketing can add interest while strengthening your slant!

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

“That’s Just It” Blogging for Business

/0 Comments/in , /by

 

“You know what descriptive writing is, The Writer’s Resource authors Day and McMahan say. “It makes you smile or sigh, brings tears to your eyes, makes you say to yourself, ‘Yes, that’s just it'” Good descriptive details are welcome in almost any kind of writing, they add. “Amen to that”, we believe at Say It For You. Blog content writing might be high-quality and informative and still not engage with readers, absent the kind of personal connection that gets prospects emotionally involved. Even in B2B marketing, there’s always a person saying “Yes, that’s just it!” who will be key to doing “a deal”.

But how is it done? You don’t need to add a slew of words to a page to achieve impact, Day and McMahan suggest, just the most specific ones. You feel terrible about something? In what way? Are you humiliated, guilty, fearful, frustrated, sickened, sad? Consult a thesaurus if you need help narrowing down the word choices to find the “That’s just it” way to express your idea, they advise. In blog content, emotional “capital” can include biographical stories showing problems solved or narrowly avoided in the course of building the business or practice and evocative descriptions of situations solved by using the product or service.

To put power into business blogs, use “close-ups” for emotional connection and impact, because it’s the details that stimulate emotional responses in readers. In fact, blog posts have a distinct advantage over more static traditional website copy precisely because of that close-up effect. And the “closer up” the focus, (and that goes for business-to-business blog writing every bit as much as B-to-C), the greater the impact. Introduce real people into the content, helping each find “That’s just it” words to convey their thoughts to readers:

  • real employees delivering the product or service to the public, portraying them as real people with real lives of their own, dealing with real frustrations, but who take real pride in their work
  • real business owners who overcame real hurdles to launch and to continue growing their business
  • real customers who have been helped in real ways

“Advertising is ubiquitous in modern society, and while many people have some understanding of the power it wields over our everyday choices, few realize the subtle nuances of advertising that cause it to be so effective,” formationmediaco.uk writes. “The power of an advert becomes that much stronger when it is personally attached to your own daily life…Understanding how to use language in adverts is a skill in itself and you’ll know when you get it right; the customers will come flooding through the door.”

Descriptive writing with “that’s just it” words can make them smile, sigh, and hopefully – buy.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

Business Blogging With Adjectives

/0 Comments/in , , /by

 

Pay attention to proper spelling and grammar, Joanne Adams says in Grammar, and “people who read your writing will know, without a sliver of doubt, that you are somebody who really knows their $h*t”. One thing Adams thinks we ought to know about adjectives, for example, is that they come in three flavors: absolute, comparative, and superlative. In describing a team of runners, for example, you’d probably describe them all as “quick” (absolute). Two might be “quicker” (comparative) than the others, while one outstanding runner is “quickest” (superlative).

Making comparisons, in fact, is an important function in blogging for business. An effective blog clarifies what sales trainers like to call your “unique value proposition” in terms readers can understand. One excellent way to do that is by making comparisons with things with which readers are already comfortable and familiar. Effective blog posts, we’ve learned at Say It For You, must go from information-dispensing to offering perspective.  Before a reader even has time to ask “So what?” we need to be ready with an answer that makes sense, blogging new knowledge by presenting it in a framework of things readers already know. (Telling me that Moringa leaves are healthy isn’t as powerful as telling me they have four times the calcium of milk.)

“Everything isn’t awesome,” Cristine Struble observes in Fansided. Using one adjective to describe all types of events, experiences and things degrades both the adjective and the object described. Some words can better define an experience, emotion or action better than others. Why use one word over and over when a dictionary is filled with descriptive words? The lesson – when it comes to using adjectives in your blog to describe your products and services, don’t overuse the superlative.

Blogging maven Neil Patel teaches “How to Avoid the Destructive Power of Adjectives in Your Marketing Copy”. In fact, Patel observes, “adjectives are a copywriter’s nightmare. With the right adjectives, you’re persuasive and memorable. With the wrong ones – you lose your readers’ attention, he warns. If you’re trying to paint a picture with words, you need adjectives, Patel admits, but flowery or bombastic words make you sound insincere. Is what you’re offering really second-to-none, state-of-the-art, and unparalleled?

Patel’s practical suggestions:

  1. If the meaning of your sentence doesn’t change when leaving out the adjective, leave it our altogether.
  2. Use stronger nouns if that means you can leave out an adjective.
  3. Avoid adjective modifiers such as “very” and “really” – use specific adjectives.
  4. Offer specific technical details telling the real benefits of the product or service (what pain does using it avoid? )

Business blogging with adjectives can be a good idea, but stick with the absolute and the comparative, never overusing the superlative.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

Blog Posts – Info in a Flash

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

 

“There’s nothing like flash fiction to teach you how to write an engaging story ” Breathe Magazine tells readers looking for “activities for a happy and healthy mind”. Author Kit de Waal, judging a microfiction writing contest, says she looks for “a whole story that gives me depth and breadth, with a beginning, middle, and end, but not necessarily in that order.” The best microfiction, she adds, gets people talking and starts ideas in their heads.

While marketing blog posts are nonfiction, some of the tips offered by de Waal and other microfiction contest judges certainly apply.

  • “Focusing on a single idea is a really good technique.”
    When it comes to blogging, we at Say It For You firmly believe in the Power of One (one outcome, one audience, one writer, one client, and – one message per post, with a a razor-sharp focus on just one story, one idea, one aspect of your business.
  • “Pieces without a beginning, middle, and end don’t work.”
    In business blog writing, for the opening, you may choose to present a question, a problem, a startling statistic, or a gutsy, challenging statement. Later, on the “back end” of your post, your “pow” closing statement ties back to the opener, bringing your reader full circle.
  • “Editing and revising is the hard part, but it is important. Work with language and imagery.”
    The second hardest part of blog writing is cutting your own work down to size, cutting out the non-essentials.

  • “Readers must be made to think and talk about what you’ve told them.”
    For blogs, the “first take” message is crucial, showing online readers they’ve come to exactly the right spot to find the information they need.

  • “Choose three words at random and weave them into a story.”
    Blog readers tend to be scanners, and searchers will select the most important words, the ones relating most directly to what they came online to find in the first place. Choosing those keyword phrases should hardly be random, instead being the result of research about your target audience.

  • “Find your ideas in weird sources.”
    In order to create a valuable ongoing blog for your business, it’s going to take equal parts reading and writing.You need to keep up with what others are saying on your topic, plus keep up with your marketing and selling skills, as well as finding unusual or little-known facts that you can use to to explain your own (or your clients’) products, services, and culture.

“Flash fiction attempts to condense a story into the fewest words possible, telling big, rich, complex stories quickly and concisely, Catherin Sustana writes in ThoughtCo. Marketing.  blog posts, while not fiction, are a means of providing readers with valuable information, and doing it “in a flash”.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

Your Blog is Part of Your Customer Feedback Loop

/0 Comments/in , , , /by

According to one Forbes study, 86% of consumers will actually pay more for a better customer experience, Devin Pickell, writing for helpscout.com, reminds business owners and practitioners; one of the best ways to put your customer first, Pickett urges, is implementing a customer feedback loop. Constantly collecting feedback from customers and readers and following up on that feedback allows you to improve areas causing user frustration and do more of what’s working well. Customers need to “feel heard”.

Agreed. As part of the business blogging assistance I offer through Say It For You, I’m always talking to business owners about their customer service.  The challenge is – EVERY business says it offers superior customer service! (Has any of us ever read an ad or a blog that does NOT tout its superior customer service?)  Fact is, individual blog posts can become a valuable part of each content writing client’s own customer feedback loop.

  •  Blog content should include stories specifically illustrating why your company’s customer service exceeds the norm.
  •  Surveys and self-tests can be used in blog content to find out what negative, “pet peeve” experiences may have caused reader to contemplate changing providers.
  • Messaging must offer the opportunity for personalized service – both before and after a purchase (yes, even in the online product purchase world of today).
  • Customers value the ability to gain new insights and learn new skills. Blog posts that take the form of tutorials and step-by-step instructions tend to be valued by readers.
  •  In Journalism 101, I was taught to “put a face on the issue” by beginning articles with a human example  A case study takes that personalization even further, chronicling a customer or client who had a certain problem or need, taking readers through the various stages of how the product or service was used to solve that problem. What were some of the issues that arose along the way? What new insights were gained through that experience, on the part of both the business and the customer?
  • The navigation paths on your blog site had better to be “easy to digest”. I caution new clients. You may have hired us for business blogging assistance, but keep thi important factor in mind: At the very moment that an online reader decides they’re ready to learn more, that they have a question to ask, or that they’re ready to take advantage of your products and services, you must make it convenient for them. They may want something, but not enough to spend extra energy to find it!

Whether you use survey tools, life chat, social media monitoring, or analytics tools, HelpScout reminds owners, what’s important is that you actually collect feedback so that you know what you’re doing well and what to improve upon.

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail