10 Blog Posts for 10 Reasons

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HR World’s John Edwards tells his small business owner readers no fewer than ten reasons to outsource their payroll. I must Enter the weekly time sheet concepts of work hours reportingsay, he presents a compelling lineup.

As a corporate blogging trainer, I couldn’t help but think Edwards’ article could actually be turned into ten separate blog posts, with each adding an anecdote or statistic to pack a punch with online readers.

For example, “productivity” is one of Edwards’ 10 reasons, and he elaborates as follows: “Payroll management is a time-consuming activity.  With this burden removed, your employees can focus on doing more productive thins, and you may even be able to trim your staff’ size.”

That statement is the perfect lead in for a story about how a small business owner was able to reduce the size of his workforce and still increase productivity and sales. Blog posts should include stories about how you solved client problems in the past, and lessons you’ve learned through your experience that you’ll be applying for the benefit of new customers and clients.  In other words, rather than listing all ten reasons at once, a blog post might be devoted to only this one aspect of outsourcing the payroll.

The HR World website then goes on to list “accuracy” as one of the 10 reasons to outsource the payroll. “Payroll mistakes can be painful, angering employees and – more ominously – the government.  A good payroll-services provider is far less likely to make a serious error than your in-house staff.  Furthermore, if a big mistake is made, you can seek financial restitution from the provider – something you can’t do with your own employees.”

This paragraph practically begs for a real-life example of a business owner who made a serious payroll mistake, “made the government angry” and paid a big price.

The lesson here is “Elaborate, elaborate, elaborate”.  Put “teeth” in your statements by making the scenario real for potential customers and clients. Those “10 Reasons”?  Turn ‘em into ten blog posts, and for each one, include story along with statistics.

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Help Blog Readers Know the Difference Between Related and Causal

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Man Hand writing Cause and Effect concept with markerIn statistics, variables are considered related if, when the value of one increases or decreases, so does the value of the other (even if it’s in the opposite direction). But does that mean one caused the other?  Not necessarily.  Only after investigating whether one action causes the other, explains the Australian Bureau of Statistics, can we “put in place policies and programs that aim to bring about a desired outcome.”

The article gives three examples of questions about whether the difference between two things is simply incidental versus one causing the other:

  • Is there a relationship between a person’s education level and their health?
  • Is pet ownership associated with living longer?
  • Did a company’s marketing campaign increase their product sales?

In writing blog content, citing causal statistics certainly is one method used to capture readers’ attention.   “Insomnia costs U.S. $63 billion annually in lost productivity“ is a great opener for a furniture store blog about mattresses, for example.  And if the content also contains a human interest story about how Jimmy’s lack of sleep caused him to flub an all-important job interview, that combination packs a real punch with blog readers.

Statistics can actually serve as mythbusters.  If there’s some false impression people seem to have about your industry or about a product or service you provide, you can bring in statistics to show readers that the numbers they’ve been hearing about may be related, but that one factor is not the cause of the other. From there, you can offer more relevant solutions to their issues.

In everyday life, people routinely make causal claims that would require a counterfactual analysis to confirm, says explorable.com. “Thanks to a new diet, your neighbor lost thirty pounds. But did your neighbor not also take up jogging? To assess the claim that A caused B we need to consider a counterfactual: What would have happened if A had been different? To evaluate whether your neighbor’s dieting caused his weight loss, we need to consider what would have happened had he not dieted, and so on.”

In the natural course of doing business, misunderstandings about a product or service often surface in the form of customer questions and comments. 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.

How can you use myths and “counterfacts” to enhance your credibility as a business owner?

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Blog Humor is Stubbornly Provincial

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Two smiling clowns isolated over a white backgroundJoe Wong is that Chinese American chemical engineer who became a career comedian, coming to fame after appearing on the Late Show with David Letterman and on the Ellen DeGeneres Show. Wong now hosts TV shows in China.

In the New York Times Magazine, Christopher Beam talks about some of the challenges implicit in bringing humor into communication with the public. When Wong first started, stand-up comedy barely existed in China, and the media was largely state-run. “Humor,” says Beam, “is largely provincial. Comedic tastes differ by regions, and most jokes don’t translate well.”

You don’t need to be in China to face challenges when using humor. Humor can be a real “hot potato” in blogging for business. First of all, there’s a moral dilemma when it comes to any kind of marketing.  On the one hand, humor can be a way to connect with your audience and “humanize” your brand or company. On the other hand, we don’t want to allow the “joke” to overshadow the message, or come across as mean-spirited towards the competition.

While, unlike China, we have no “provinces”, humor really is provincial in that it doesn’t play equally well with different audiences. Humor may have the same impact as a strong headline in terms of grabbing attention, but it can also divert attention from your main task and it can offend. An interesting study was conducted by the Saimaa University of Applied Sciences to find out the impact of humor on consumer purchase decisions. The finding? Humor attracts attention, but does not increase persuasion.

Remember, as a blog content writer, your mission is to introduce readers to the products, the services, and the people in the company or the professional practice. Humor can add spice, but, as is advisable with spices in general, it is best used sparingly.

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Blog Writing for the Rando?

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“I may be a rando when I cross your field of vision,” says Luc Sante.  Randos, he explains, are people who show up at your party uninvited or who Jumbled wooden letterpatronize your favorite hangout but who have no connection with your crowd. To put it another way, a rando is Not One of Us.

As business blog content writers, of course, we’re trying to target the “right kind” of readers, those with an interest in our topic, value our products and services and are willing to pay for them. But what about all those others, the “random” readers? Shouldn’t your content be structured so as to engage them as well?

When he first began to use the Internet, Sante recalls, his impression was that every time you clicked on a link, it took you somewhere else, “until you were miles and maybe years away from your point of departure”.

FutureNow‘s  Brendan Regan teaches business owners to “optimize a marketing outreach from the driving point to the landing page and on through to conversion.” In other words, for any business blog to enjoy bottom-line success, there needs to be a smooth process, a navigation path that begins when a customer first becomes conscious of your existence to when you’re closing a deal.

Given the way organic search works on the Internet, some of those readers just becoming conscious of your existence might well be “randos”. That’s because, every once in a while, there’s a “disconnect” between what a searcher wanted and what he or she actually finds.  When this anomaly results in bringing someone to your blog who really doesn’t “belong” there, it’s not necessarily bad news.  That “mistake” might even result in you converting a searcher-gone-astray into a buyer!

Am I saying you don’t need to write with a very specific target audience in mind? Not at all.  In fact, your understanding of your target readers has to influence every aspect of your blog.  By doing that, you’ll have an enormous advantage over less-targeted competitors.

Meanwhile, though, welcome the randos who “wander” into your territory.  You just never know…
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Show ’em the Juice is Worth the Squeeze

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Touting the tax planning advantages of tax-deferred annuities at our Financial Planning Association meeting, Tim Hays of Jackson National Life Fresh Oranges and Juicetalked about the relatively high fee structure that kind of investment typically carries. Is the juice worth the squeeze, he asked, going on explain why, in fact, it is.

Hays’ presentation made me realize how important it is for us blog content writers to focus on helping readers arrive at that same conclusion after considering the costs and benefits of the products or services described in the content.

Of course, in business blogs, it would be wonderful if all we needed to do was write about positive developments in our business or practice and about all the benefits that come from using our products and services. Problem is, prospects, are skeptical, having been exposed to the barrage of advertising messages that’s become part of our everyday existence. How can you demonstrate that the “juice” is, in fact, worth the “squeeze”?

Remind readers of their own concerns, calling to mind the costs, the risks, and the problems that drove them to seek information in the first place.  In other words, remind them they’re already suffering from a “squeeze”.  Only then can your blog content offer the “juice” and demonstrate that you and your staff have the experience, information, and the familiarity with the newest and most effective solutions available.

To be sure, there’s a little more “squeeze” to come for them (in the form of whatever time, expense, and trouble your new buyers will need to incur (in making the switch from their current provider to you). You might say your focus as blog content writer is to keep their focus on the end result, showing that the juice really is going to be well worth the squeeze!

 

 

 

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