Blog Topics Have Ninety-Nine Lives

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“How often do we celebrate the life of a cat?” asks Kostya Kennedy in the special LIFE issue of Cats – Companions in Life. Drawn by the pictures of adorable kittens to purchase the magazine, I found quite a number of valuable blog content writing pointers. The entire issue, with all the articles focused on cats, is proof of the fact that the same general topic can be approached in a myriad of ways. In fact, in order to add variety to a blog, I teach content writers to experiment with different formats, presenting the same business or practice from different vantage points, purposely tailoring the content to different segments of the customer base. We need to remember that, even within smaller segments of a target market, individual readers’ need for information, products or services was born in a slightly different space and has traveled a different path.
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The History of the House Cat
Once upon a time, we learn, the ancestor of today’s domestic feline was a wild creature prowling the deserts of the ancient Middle East. As hunter-gatherers turned into farmers, the found cats useful in getting rid of mice. The calmness of cats made them good house pets. In a blog, introducing the readers to the history of the brand, using stories about founders, current employees and alumni to “humanize” the content. Sharing history makes the focus less on what the company does and more about what it is. What’s more, sharing memories of the “good old times” that weren’t really so good in terms of efficiency and convenience, you have the ability to share with blog readers a sense of look-how-far-we’ve-come togetherness.

Secrets of Cat Behavior
What is a cat trying to say when it purrs? Why do cats like catnip? The blog content should share with readers the owners’ unique point of view within their own profession or industry and within the community. Myth-debunks are a great use of blogs, I’ve found, because many of the misunderstandings about a product or service present themselves in the natural order of business, in the form of questions and comments from readers and customers. The very word “secrets” is a draw in a blog post title, and shining the light of day on that misinformation shines light on your own expertise.

Shelter-Cat Success Stories
LIFE highlights stories of seven cats who, despite illness and injury, somehow beat the odds. Thanks to a network of compassionate humans… In your blog, customer success stories and client testimonials boost your credibility with new prospects, helping them decide to do business with you. Perhaps even more important, website testimonials foster commitment from those providing the testimonials and sharing success stories around using your products and services.

Just as the LIFE issue on cats takes a single topic, dealing with it many different ways, in blog content writing, today’s post can slant in one direction; tomorrow’s can take the same theme and highlight different aspect, perhaps appealing to different segments of the business’ (or the practice’s) audience. Blog topics can have, not just nine lives, but as many as ninety-nine!

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Blogging Your Claim To Fame

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“After reading this,” is Stephen Lang’s hope for his Big Book of American Trivia, “you may consider yourself a little more knowledgeable, maybe even a little more appreciative, of this vast, enchanting land.” With over 3,000 questions and answers, this book certainly allows readers to self-test, which is one way in which readers tend to initially engage with the content in business blogs. In fact, content writers, we teach at Say It For You, can use trivia in different ways:

  • for defining basic terminology
  • sparking curiosity about the subject
  • putting modern-day practices and beliefs into perspective
  • for explaining why the business owner or practitioner chooses to operate in a certain way

    You can use trivia to help readers get to know the people behind the business/practice:
    – What Oscar-winning actress announced in June, 2011, that she was homeschooling her children? (Angelina Jolie)
    – What man said “I don’t know anything about cars,” then ended up being head of General Motors? (Edward Whitacre, Jr. )
    – What songwriter donated an Oscar he’d won to his hometown? ) Johnny Mercer)

In his book Tell to Win, Peter Guber points out that people want to do business with people. One important function of a business blog, we teach at Say It For You, is helping online visitors get to know the people behind the business (or the professionals behind the practice). Why did those owners choose to do what they do? What are they most passionate about?  What are they trying to add to or to change about their industry? What community causes are they involved in?

           Sharing failures as well as successes:

  • In April, 2009, Barack Obama caused controversy by bowing. To whom? (The King of Saudi Arabia)
  • What famous astronaut was cut from the TV show Dancing With the Stars”? (Buzz Aldrin)
  • What one-name pop singer declared “The Internet’s almost over”? (Prince)

“There can be success in the stories, but they have to be grounded in failure.” Stav Ziv said in Newsweek, talking about The Moth nonprofit dedicated to the art of storytelling. So how does all this apply to blog marketing for a business or professional practice?  It brings out a point every business owner, practitioner, and business blogger ought to keep in mind: Writing about past failures is important.
True stories about mistakes and struggles are very humanizing, adding to the trust readers place in the people behind the business. What tends to happen is the stories of failure create feelings of empathy and admiration for the entrepreneurs or professional practitioners who overcame the effects of their own errors.

Why share tidbits? Your blog readers may consider themselves a little more knowledgeable, maybe even a little more appreciative, of your value proposition – and of you!

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In Blogging for Business, Go Ahead and Be a Secondary Source

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Historical novels are stories informed by the past, Hunter Liguore explain in Writer’s Digest. But when doing research, should you start with primary or secondary resources? Primary evidence comes from the diaries or biographies of people who actually witnessed an event. In contrast, secondary sources analyze and interpret information.

Often, Liguore points out, with primary sources you can stumble upon fascinating details (whether people in that era or region used forks or what their chief source of light was). But primary sources don’t offer opinions or insights or draw any conclusions from those primary facts. Primary research gathers; secondary research analyzes and interprets.

At Say It For You, we realize, all of us freelance business blog content writers are creating secondary research. Our job, in fact, is to interpret and synthesize information and put it in terms others can understand.

There’s much more to it than that, however. Bloggers for business now need to go beyond providing information and become “thought drivers”. Whether it’s business-to-business blog writing or business-to-consumer blog writing, the blog content itself needs to use opinion to clarify what differentiates our client’s business, professional practice, or organization from its peers.

The primary distinguishing fact of secondary research is analysis or “slant”. A point I often stress in corporate blogging training sessions is that whether you’re blogging for a business, for a professional practice, or for a nonprofit organization, the content must be driven by a unique slant on the information you’re serving up for readers. Yes, you might choose to just aggregate information, but that’s unlikely to result in readers coming to your client’s business or practice for service, products, and advice.)

Be sure the things you choose to say in your blog posts (about what you sell, what you do, ad what you know about) also make clear why readers should care about any of those things. Bottom line, after all, is that while you may be the “primary source” in running your business or practice, the content needs to interpret and opine, showing readers why and how your information can make a positive difference for them.

In blogging for business, go ahead and be a secondary source!

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Blogging What You Know NOW

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Despite the commercial success of the book (and then the movie) Jaws, author Peter Benchley deeply regretted making the great white shark into a deadly villain, Mental Floss authors relate. Before his death in 2006, Benchley remarked, “Knowing what I know now, I could never write that book today. Sharks don’t target human beings, and they certainly don’t hold grudges.”

In this Say It For You blog, I’ve often written about the fact that myth-debunking is one great use for business blogs. Many misunderstandings about a product or service present themselves in the natural order of business, in the form of questions and comments from readers and customers. Shining the light of day on that misinformation shines light on your own expertise, and, if it’s done with finesse, rather than “showing up” readers, it can engage and keep them coming back.

But I think this story about Peter Benchley and the great white shark has an even deeper lesson to teach blog content writers. Later in his life, the Mental Floss authors relate, Benchley became a shark conservationist and oceanographer. His knowledge and understanding had grown and evolved.

I teach freelance blog writers to include stories of their clients’ past mistakes and failures. Such stories have a humanizing effect, engaging readers and creating feelings of empathy and admiration for the business owners or professional practitioners who overcame not only adversity, but the effects of their own mistakes – and of their own previously mistaken thinking!

“The range of human emotion is massive, from positive emotions like joy, interest, and amazement, to the more negative, such as fear, anger, or sadness Campaigns need to be geared towards evoking and connecting with these real emotions,” Nadya Khoja writes in moz.com. “This is the time to update your buyer personas to reflect the new realities your customers are experiencing,” she adds.

The lesson, I believe, is that now may be the time to update our own “personas” to reflect not only the new realities in the marketplace, but our own revised understandings based on experience. It’s time to blog what we know NOW!

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Blogs are Flip-Flop Interviews

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In the book Stop Hiring Losers, Minesh and Baxi devote an entire chapter to a list of interview questions employers should pose to job candidates. “Why are you leaving your current job?”, for example, is designed to identify past problems a candidate might carry over into a new job. On the positive side, that question can reveal the fact that the candidate sees the new position as an important forward career step.

When you think about it, blog posts are interviews, too. But, in the case of blogs, things are “flip-flopped”, because it’s the blog reader (the “candidate”) interviewing the business, rather than the other way around. At Say It For You, we teach content writers that searchers have some sort of need and are recruiting help!  Just as in a face-to-face interviews, those searchers read what you put out there in your blog posts and evaluate that content in light of their own needs.  Their scanning your blog is the equivalent of them interviewing your business to see if you’re a good fit for them.

Many of the questions Minesh and Baxi recommend that employers pose to job candidates are those blog readers are mentally posing to you when they are reading your content:

  • Why should we employ you rather than one of the other candidates?

Your unique selling proposition (USP) is a succinct, memorable message that identifies the unique benefits that are derived from using your product or service as opposed to a competitor’s. Your blog offers you the chance to constantly refine and improve your USP.

  • What would your co-workers say about you?

Testimonials and client anecdotes in your blog are ways of answering this question.

  • What contributed to the best working conditions you ever experienced?

Your blog posts should include stories about how you successful solved clients problems in the past, expressing the satisfaction you gained from helping customers overcome obstacles. Offer advice about how users can gain the greatest benefits from your product or service.

  • What is the biggest mistake you’ve ever made in your career?

I teach freelance blog writers to include stories of their clients’ past mistakes and failures. Such stories have a humanizing effect, engaging readers and creating feelings of empathy and admiration for the business owners or professional practitioners who overcame not only adversity, but the effects of their own mistakes!

  • What are you most proud of on your resume?

Although at Say It For You, I remind owners and practitioners that blogging is not boasting, it’s good to offer “credentializing proof”, alluding in blog posts to your years of experience, weaving into the text mention of your degrees, quoting articles you’ve written – and even citing awards you’ve won. In addition, people tend to be comfortable associating with professionals and business owners who give back to their community.

When you think about it, blogs are nothing more than flip-flop interviews!

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