Using Log Lines to Create Blog Content

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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.

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Backward Blogging

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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!

 

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Did-You-Know Content Teasers

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Tidbits of information can turn into content marketing treasure, we’ve learned over the years at Say It For You. Did-you-know content “teasers” not only spark interest when used in blog post titles, but can be used to describe your way of doing business, clarify the way one of your products works, or explain why one of the services you provide is particularly effective in solving a problem. A recent edition of the Farmer’s Almanac Gardener’s Guide proves my point…

  • Heirloom varieties of kidney, navy, and pinto beans, once considered a subsistence food (what you ate when the cupboards were bare) are now considered “gourmet”. Do not add nitrogen to the soil, because legumes “fix” nitrogen from the air around their roots.

Business owners and professionals stay abreast of trends in their fields by subscribing to trade journals and consumer magazines, scouring websites and newspapers, and by talking to colleagues and customers about the “latest and greatest”. Content readers, on the other hand, largely expect their service and product providers to have done all that work for them, keeping them up-to-date on trends and putting the information into perspective.

  • White asparagus is simply green asparagus that has been grown in the dark (sometimes under black plastic), because plants turn green only when their chlorophyll is exposed to sunlight.

(There are actually three different varieties of asparagus – green, white, and purple, each with a unique flavor.) Offering little known facts and explanations related to your own topic can engage readers’ interest, enticing blog visitors to keep coming back.

  • “Stand-ins” include Mexican mint marigold (stand-in for tarragon), lovage stand-in for celery), Vietnamese coriander (stand-in for cilantro) and salad burnet (substitute for cucumber).

Offering helpful hints is a way of engaging visitors through your blog articles. Find complementary businesses or practices, I advise content writers, asking those business owners or practitioners for tips they can offer for you to pass along to your readers. The best tips and hints, I added, are related to some a topic currently trending in the news, especially one affecting your industry.

 

  • Hummingbirds need an enormous amount of food relative to their size, so it may not be so much a matter of variety of plants but the quantity that attracts them.

In content marketing, quantity counts. It is difficult to get “traction” with an inconsistent or slow content publication schedule,; the “frequency illusion” refers to the fact that the more times time readers are exposed to your message, the more of a presence you will have in their minds.

  • All plants have specific needs pertaining to the amount of sun and water, type of soil, and growing space. Poor placement causes problems.

Find the right niche for your blog. When you demonstrate your own passion for a topic, readers will be more invested in what you have to say, Semrush.com advises new blog content creators.

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How Will They Experience Your Blog Post?

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Ellen Dunnigan

 

At a recent Drive Indy event, executive coach Ellen Dunnigan emphasized the mantra “Intentionality is the hallmark of influence”. Keeping in mind the formula P+A=MA (purpose + Audience = My Actions), before entering a room or beginning an encounter, you must predict, Dunnigan advises,  how they are likely to react to your presence. Your presence includes the way you look, the way you carry yourself,  the words you choose. How do you intend for the person or people you will face to experience their encounter with you?

Always ask yourself, Dunnigan urges, what the single most important point (of the meeting, the encounter, the speech) will be. Translated into content creation, that very concept is expressed as “The Power of One”. Each blog post should have a razor-sharp focus on just one story, one idea, one aspect of your business, we teach at Say It For You. Focused on one thing, your post has greater impact, since people are bombarded with many messages each day. The Power of One also means targeting one audience per blog post. The more focused a blog is on connecting with a narrowly defined target audience, the more successful it will be in converting prospects to clients and customers.

In dealing with an employee whose dress or manner of speaking with customers needs changing, a member of the Drive Indy audience asked Dunnigan, how can I best approach that encounter? Again, intentionality is the saving force, was the speaker’s answer. In preparing for the meeting, focus on the “single most important point”, predicting how the employee is likely to experience the encounter.

“Executive presence” means showing up – at the head of a room or on a web page, as confident and competent, respecting your audience while “predicting” their response to the information or advice you’re providing. “It’s your rant, but it’s all about them,” as I stressed in my last Say It For You post. People generally don’t like to have their assertions and assumptions challenged, even if they respect your expertise and have a need for your products and your guidance.

How will your readers experience the blog post you’re preparing to publish?

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It’s Your Rant, But It’s All About Them

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A “rant”, (venting a complaint in an angry, loud voice), is defined in the Oxford English Dictionary as a “a high-flown, extravagant, or bombastic speech or utterance, a piece of turgid declamation, a tirade.” While oral tirades are still with us, Daniel Seidel writes in Slate, the last decade or so has seen more and more written rants, “a form that has blossomed on the Web.” A good rant, Seidel thinks, expresses a real passion, often one enflamed by a feeling of powerlessness. Still, many rants are humorous, with a tongue-in-cheek tone. Whatever the tone of aa particular rant, he adds, there is neither the expectation nor the desire for a response. “It would be simplistic to think of blogging as a kind of sublimated ranting,” Seidel remarks, “but blogs do form a part of our cacophonous culture.”

Not all blog posts are rants, of course. There are, however, three “rant”- like content piece types that our writers at Say It For You have found useful:

  1. An “if only” best business practice that you wish everyone with whom you do business would adopt. The content makes the point that doing things in a certain way would make the lives of both the provider and of the customer so-o-o much easier and business dealings so much more efficient!
  2. A device, program, or source of information that the owner wants t make sure everyone knows about, something that would make doing business s much smoother and more efficient
  3. A mistake that you see others making over and over that you believe is a big barrier to their success.

(To be most effective, even if a rant post is focused on a single idea, the content should be broken down or “chunked” into bullet points or numbered steps to make the concept easy to remember, as demonstrated above.)

Needless to say, rant blog posts can elicit strong reactions on the part of readers (either because you’ve touched a nerve (what you’re complaining about may be their pet peeve, as well), or because they totally disagree and want to prove you wrong. Worse, your rant risks rubbing readers the wrong way, making them feel as if they are incompetent or uninformed.  People generally don’t like to have their assertions and assumptions challenged, even when they come to your blog seeking information on what you sell, what you do, and what you know about!

If you’re moved to include a rant or two in your content marketing, the cardinal rule to remember is that it’s all about the readers, not about you. How will they experience your rant?

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