Putting the Personal Before the Factual

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Rules are important in English grammar, especially when using multiple adjectives to describe a single noun, Bennett Kleinman reminds us on wordsmarts.com.  All ten distinct adjective types aren’t required in a sentence, Kleinman reassures us, but, used in the wrong order, adjectives make for very awkward sentences. While most of us pick this up based on common speech patterns, Kleinman reminds us of the correct order, with personal opinion being first, followed by factual descriptions (size, quality, shape, age, color, origin, material, type, and purpose). 

The way Chris Tor explains the “rule” is that “the closer you get to the noun being modified, the more inherent to the nature of the noun the adjective is”. “You can have a lovely little old rectangular green French silver whittling knife, but if you mess with that word order you’ll sound like a maniac,”  @MattAndersonNYT cautions in a tweet. 

Is the same rule applicable to content marketing? You bet. How can you create ads that draw your intended consumers towards commitment? Using emotional appeal advertising is the ticket,‌ Nitzan Solomon reminds us in a wisestamp.com post. When ads evoke emotion, he explains, they are more likely to:

  • be remembered
  • influence opinion
  • drive action
  • build loyalty

Your smart phone may feature a high-resolution display, lightning-fast processor, and long battery life, but don’t start with that.  Instead, begin by describing the phone as being “the perfect companion for capturing and sharing all of life’s moments”. Solomon suggests.

One interesting perspective on the work we do as content marketing professionals is that we are interpreters, translating clients’ corporate message into human, people-to-people terms.  That’s the reason I prefer first and second person writing in business blog posts over third person “reporting”. I think people tend to buy when they see themselves in the picture and when can they relate emotionally to the person bringing them the message.

At Say It For You, we’ve learned, corporate and professional practitioner content is part promo, part advertising, part bulletin, part tutorial, and part mission statement, but the bottom line is that it includes both the personal and the factual – in just that order of importance!

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Content Writers Help Readers Find the Quiddity

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In content marketing, you might say, it’s all about the quiddity, the essence of what you do, what you know how to do, and who you are that makes you different from any other. And, while Merriam Webster offers synonyms such as “center”, “core” and “heart”, vocabulary.com explains that politicians and lawyers sometimes use quiddity as an evasion technique, bringing up irrelevant and distracting points to avoid direct answers. 

“Capturing your brand essence succinctly involves distilling its core values, unique selling propositions, and emotional connections into a brief, impactful statement,” Alex Bundalla advises on LinkedIn. One way of expressing quiddity is Simon Sinek’s Golden Circle, Bundalla explains.  Three concentric circles represent the “why” (values and principles), the “how” (methods), and the “what” (products and services) of your brand. Another visual expressing quiddity is the Brand Pyramid, showing levels of customer relationship with a brand, from experiential to symbolic and intangible.

At Say It For You, we often refer to blog posts as the sound bites of the Internet, in which we help business and practice owners convey t readers the essence, the “quiddity”, of their accomplishments and intentions. Hardly a simply task. You know your product, service, or company is amazing, but they don’t know how it works or why it’s so great, Brant Pinvidic writes in The 3-minute Rule. “You need to give them more knowledge in less time,” the author explains.

But what about those vocabulary.com “politicians and lawyers” who use quiddity as an evasion technique? It just doesn’t work for very long, is the answer. Putting a unique “twist” on a topic, in contrast, works extraordinarily well, I believe. Taking some good old ideas and using an individual approach to those ideas is no evasion, but a way to a. mark your content as uniquely yours. 

“The one that stands out is in essence the one that is not like the rest,” onsightapp.com agrees. “When people cannot distinguish brands from each other, they cannot form reliable relationships with those brands.” Not only does an effective brand have a well-outlined target audience, it may even offer a service or product exclusively to that target audience.

The essence of content marketing is finding – and communicating – the quiddity!

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Wide-Awake, Rip Van Winkle Content Marketing

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“Old-fashioned values can enhance your business.” Bruce Sanders tells wealth managers in Financial Advisor Magazine. “Suppose you were cryogenically frozen like the legendary Rip VanWinkle, and woke up in the financial services industry of 2024. Here’s what you’d see, Sanders says:

  1. face-to-face, in-person relationships between advisors and clients
  2. periodic reviews
  3. accountability
  4. advisors plainly explaining the benefits and risks
  5. availability to clients
  6. a relationship based on trust and transparency

“I strongly believe that using, depending on and promoting America’s Traditional Values is extremely important for our society and it’s going to boost sales for you and your business if you start or continue using them,” David Cross writes in Medium.com. Court Bishop agrees: Customer trust is key to driving loyalty and business success, Bishop says. To earn it, companies must understand and respect their customers and provide relevant, personalized experiences.

As content writers, we’ve learned at Say It For You, we can work to inspire three kinds of trust in readers, trust for the business providers and professional practitioner who hire us to convey their message: a) trust in their know-how  b) trust in their ethical standards of conduct c) trust in those professionals’ ability to understand and empathize with their needs.

Whatever the business or practice, those old-fashioned values need to inspire the content their web visitors are going to read:

  • transparency in explaining the benefits and the risks. Check!.
  • ongoing availability of service and help – to real people. Check!
  • periodic updates on new solutions as they become available. Check!

Providing updated, regularly published marketing content is one way business owners can keep their clients – and their business practices “alert” and up to date..

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Helping Prospects Deal With the Stranger Come to Town

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Offering advice to writers, in a Writer’s Digest article Sharon Short suggests a “trope” or model to consider called “a stranger comes to town”. The protagonist of your novel, Short tells novelists, are doing quite nicely where they are – until a different, perhaps threatening, fish plops into their pond.

The “stranger” might be a shark (think “Jaws”), a tornado or other weather event, a detective, or a space alien (think E.T.). That “stranger” can be shooed away or cause the local fish (or ‘townspeople”) to learn from the stranger and embrace new ideas.

“Unique blog ideas not only help carve a niche for yourself but also engage your readers in a way that generic, overused topics often fail to do,” is the advice offered by Webstart Ventures. Unique content does more than merely rehash existing topics, but offers a fresh perspective, a novel approach, or explores uncharted territory, the author explains. Where do these “stranger” ideas come from?  “These ideas often stem from personal experiences, insights, and creative brainstorming, fueling content that is not only informative but also captivating and engaging”. 

When it comes to content marketing for businesses or professional practices, we know at Say It For You, positioning our clients as Subject Matter Experts is a worthy goal. We might be able to go one better, though, moving them to a position of  thought leader. Mere semantics?  Years ago, I read an article in Speaker Magazine in which Neen James presented the following definition: A Subject Matter Expert or SME (pronounced “smee”) knows something; a thought leader, in contrast, is known for something. They are the “strangers in town who “shift conventional wisdom.”

Do we then, in our content marketing efforts, position our owners and practitioners as the “strangers in town” bringing new ideas and a fresh outlook? Perhaps not. After all, readers were guided to the content because what they needed corresponded with what those practitioners and owners sell, what they know, and what they know how to do. Those owners and practitioners inspire trust by demonstrating that they are keeping up with the latest developments, helping their readers filter the new ideas the “stranger” is bringing to town.

While the focus of a business blog will always be on the trusted “local leaders” along with the services, advice, and products they offer, the content can reflect current happenings in the world, and “threats” posed by “strangers come to town”.

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The Four Elements For Creating Wonder

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As writers, we can use four characteristics that have the power to inspire a sense of wonder in our readers, Matty Dalrymple explains in Writer’s Digest:

  • mystery and exclusivity
  • a disconnect from reality and expectations
  • displays of specialized elements of knowledge
  • an immersive yet ephemeral experience

Dalrymple, I realized, was addressing novelists, but could those four elements work well for creators of online marketing content as well?

Mystery – by showcasing characters’ use of special elements, “we transport readers to a wondrous world”, Dalrymple says.

In content writing for business, we’ve learned at Say It For You, business owners or professional practitioners want to become valuable providers of information, ultimately persuading readers to use their products or engage their services. There must be no mystery about the fact that searchers have come to the right place. Still, through content, writers can show how things – or causes – their readers care about are in jeopardy, creating wonder about possible paths forward.

A disconnect from expectations – When an aspect of a setting or situation deviates from the norm, that surprises and intrigues readers.

Creating compelling content can – and should – incorporate both people storytelling and product storytelling. The expectation is for the content to tout the successes of the business or practice, but true stories about mistakes and struggles will engage precisely because of the disconnect. People want to do business with real people, and admission of failures and mistakes often surprises and intrigues.

Displays of specialized knowledge – Because the character has such arcane knowledge, readers have a sense of awe at how much exists of which they were unaware.

Content writers aim to have their clients be perceived as subject matter experts offering usable information and insights.  Once readers feel assured that the providers know your stuff and care about offering good information and good service, they might be ready to take action, Bringing in less well-known facts about familiar things and processes “displays” specialized knowledge, making readers wonder how many other “secrets” await.

Immersive experience – While allowing readers to get a sense of being part of the story, the author needs to convey that the experience is ephemeral.

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?” Your content can offer a “taste” of the benefits users stand to enjoy when using your products and/or services.

While assuring searchers they’ve come to the right place to find the information they need, skillful use of the four story elements can create a sense of wonder, a feeling of “Wow! I never realized…..”

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