Recommended Reading for Blog Content Writers – Part B

/0 Comments/in , /by

Blog content writers relieve the drain on business owners’ time, and so what relieves the drain on the blog content writers?  Since at least half the time that goes into creating a blog post is reading/research/thinking time, I’ve found that collecting books that serve as blog writing resources is, as Martha Stewart, might put is, “a good thing”.

Some of the books in my “blogger’s library” are about writing itself (see Part A of this series), but in today’s Say It For You post, I’ll share links to books about what I call “tidbit treasures”.

Tidbit Treasure books:
What I dub a “triggering tidbit” is nothing more than a piece of unusual or little-known piece of information which bloggers for business can use in their posts, tying that information to explanations of their own company’s products, services, and culture in order to capture online readers’ interest.

Book of Totally Useless InformationTidbits from The Book of Totally Useless Information, by Don Voorhees include:

  • U.S. President James Garfield could write Latin with one hand and Greek with the other – at the same time!
    You can earn a good living as a banana gasser.
  • During the Victorian era, wealthy British travelers would go to Indiana on luxury cruise ships.  It became trendy to pay extra for the privilege of staying in a portside cabin on the way to Indiana and a starboard on the way home.(Before air conditioning was invented,
    staterooms facing land tended to be cooler.) A POSH (port out, starboard home) label on one’s luggage signified this privilege.  That’s why we use “posh” to describe something elegant.

The Book of Incredible Information: A World of Not-So-Common Knowledge, by J.K. Kelly & Louis Weber book of incredible informationcovers hundreds of fascinating, funning, and unfamiliar facts. For instance:

  • French fries were first cooked up in Belgium, where the verb “to French” refers to the technique of cutting something into long, thin strips.
  • French dressing doesn’t come from France, either.  In fact, the wife if Lucius French, who founded Hazleton, Indiana, created the recipe.

Why do I refer to tidbits of information such as these as “treasure” for Indiana blog content writers?  Common myths surround every business and profession.  Offering little-known explanations exploding myths engage readers’ interest, and we can use them to lead into some little-known fact about our own (or our clients’) products, services, and company history.

Keep tuned…next week in my Say It For You blog, I’ll offer reading resources for bloggers about selling and about online marketing…

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

Recommended Reading for Blog Content Writers – Part A

/0 Comments/in , /by

Since frequency and recency play such a large role in search engine rankings, what a blog writer can add to the marketing mix is discipline, consistently posting high quality content on behalf of the business. Hiring the extra “brain” relieves the “drain” on the business owner’s (or the professional practitioner’s) resources of times and energy.

So what relieves the drain on the blog content writer? (Years ago, in the process of explaining the way my company Say It For You came about, I talked about the “drill sergeant discipline” needed by blog content writers.  I knew that the main key to business blogging success was going to be simply keeping on task week after week, month after month, year after year.

One question I’m often asked when I train business owners and employees or newbie blog content writers for hire is this: Where do you get ideas for blog posts? My answer is – everywhere!  But that doesn’t mean the ideas are going to jump right onto your page. I like to emphasize that at least half the time that goes into creating a blog post is reading/research/thinking time!

This week I decided to highlight one aspect of the “everywhere” – namely books. I’ve spent almost a decade now putting together quite a collection of books that serve as blog writing resources.  I’m providing links so that you can take a look for yourself at some of these wonderful little books. I’d also love to hear about books you may have found especially useful.

Books about writing:

Of the two types of people who make up the English-speaking world, I find myself among the minority who believe proper grammar and spelling matter on business websites and in business blogs. Because of that, some of my favorite basic resource books deal with writing basics.

Effective Writing in Easy Steps“If your writing is difficult to understand or written in an inappropriate style, it won’t serve the purpose,” points out Tony Rossiter in Effective Business Writing in Easy Steps. “When I’m writing, working as a management consultant or running a training course,” Rossiter adds, “I like clarity, plain English and gentle humor.”

 

 

A second favorite resource is The Little Red Writing Book, by Brandon Royal. This little book presents “20 powerful Little Read Writing Bookprinciples of structure, style, & readability.” Just to offer you a taste, Royal talks about four types of transition words:

 

  • contrast – but, yet, on the other hand, whereas
  • illustration – for example, for instance, in fact
  • continuation – furthermore, on the one hand, undoubtedly, coincidentally
  • conclusion – finally, therefore, thus, as a result

There’s no lack of information for us content writers when it comes to hooking readers and wowing fans, but, with words being our primary tools, it’s important to go back and review fundamentals of writing.

Stay tuned…In coming posts, we’ll offer reading resources for bloggers on marketing and metaphors…

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

Blogging to Get More Done

/0 Comments/in , /by

 

Midwest blog content writers should take heed of Nick Usborne’s analysis of the content on the John ?????????????????????Deere website. In Networds: Creating High-Impact Online Copy, Usborne tracks the “before” and “after” of the John Deere page promoting its 4000 series tractor.

Old content:
Underneath their familiar green and yellow exterior isn’t just a redesign of the compact tractor, but a transformation.  Where power is no longer measured by horsepower. Where implements practically attach themselves. And comfort is no longer at odds with productivity. One hundred and twenty improvements. Zero gimmicks.  And countless firsts.  These tractors are ready. 120 Improvements.  Countless Firsts.  Zero Gimmicks.

Usborne’s take on this old content:
“This content has no depth and no benefits.  It’s boring and borderline ridiculous.  The company isn’t selling luxury cars here; it’s selling tractors to people who have very specific needs…Can this tractor tow large objects?  How large? How heavy?”

 

New content:
GET MORE DONE
With 133 attachments available you can:
Mow up to 20 acres
Till up to 5.5 acres
Lift up to 2728 lbs
Dig with a 36-inch bucket up to 8.5 feet deep

Usborne’s take on this new content:
“Now that’s action!…This makes me excited, this allows me to envision the possibilities of what I can do, and this creates the needs for me to own this tractor, and helps me to justify the purchase to my wife!

“As the John Deere website continues to evolve,” says Matt Bailey in Internet Marketing: an Hour a Day, “I hope to see more transition into consumer needs-based content.”

This whole blog marketing thing, I teach newbie content writers, is not really about the technicalities of search engine optimization, although that may be how the story begins. What I believe it is really about is providing those who find your site with a taste of what it would be like to have you working alongside them to help with their challenges and issues. So, whether you’re writing your own blogs or working with a professional content writer, your blog posts are your way to say to each searcher:

“Our services/products can help you get more done!”

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

Business Blogging Using Not-So-Trivial Trivia – Part B

/0 Comments/in , /by

This week I’m devoting my Say It For You blog posts to sharing some of the gems I discoverwoman pinching her nylon stockings on her leged, in J.K. Kelly’s Book of Incredible Information.

There seems to be an ongoing debate in the world of fashion about pantyhose. “The look will never be quite the same as it would be with a nude leg, but there’s nothing you can do about that,” says Charles Manning of Cosmopolitan. Sheer and “leg-colored” pantyhose are no longer worn for fashion, but rather for function or professionalism, according to the budgetfashionista.com.

Whether nude pantyhose are a “thing” again or not, J.K. Kelly reassures us that pantyhose are not just for legs. What ARE they for, then?

  • Lost something? Slide a length of pantyhose over your vacuum cleaner hose, secure it with rubber bands, and vacuum where you think the lost item might be. The hose will keep the item from being sucked up into the bag.
  • Cut a piece of pantyhose slightly larger than your new hairbrush.  Push the bristles through the hose.  When it’s time to clean the brush, pull the pantyhose off – with all the hair – and put on a new piece.
  • Line houseplant pots with pantyhose to prevent soil loss from the bottom of the pot.
  • Insert a bar of soap into a pantyhose length, tie a knot at both ends, and use as a back-scrubber.

So how might you use this pantyhose trivia for business blogging? (Remember, tidbits serve as jumping off points for explaining what problems can be solved using the company’s’ products and services.)

These pantyhose hints would add humor and interest to a fashion blog or a dress or shoe company’s blog. Blogging for a garden shop? A hair salon? An appliance store? Any one of these could use the Kelly’s helpful hints to add new interest to the ongoing marketing message in their blog.

Using blogs to perform a focus group function can be a very feasible marketing strategy, with blog readers invited to offer their own ideas about how fashionable or gauche pantyhose are, and create ways to use the ones for household tasks. “Polling” in  your blog can be a great technique to stimulate interaction with target customers.

Make those not-so-trivial trivia count in blogging for business!

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail

Business Blogging Using Not-So-Trivial Trivia – Part A

/0 Comments/in , /by

mothsWriting blog posts on any one topic over long periods of time can get old, as any business owner or professional practitioner can tell you.  And, yes, even we seasoned professional blog content creators have a need to infuse new energy into the process from time to time. That’s precisely where the weird and wonderful tidbits in J.K. Kelly’s Book of Incredible Information can help.

I’ve had so much fun exploring the pages of this incredible collection of not-so-trivial trivia, I’m going to devote this week’s Say It For You blog posts to sharing some of the gems I discovered, along with ideas about how you might incorporate some of these into your own blog content writing….

About one in three movies features at least once scene containing an insect, Kelly reminds us.
There’s actually a name for the professional “bug men” or “bug wranglers” who facilitate the process, I learned. No joke, either.  These are trained entomologists responsible for providing the insects and for manipulating them onscreen.

So, how to you train an insect?  You don’t.  They cannot be trained, only manipulated to fit the needs of the movie script. Spiders refuse to walk on Lemon Pledge furniture wax, for example, so you spray the stuff where you don’t want them going. To make an insect fly toward a window, wranglers place a light out of shot behind the window.

What about make-up for insects? You bet, Kelly explains.  For “Silence of the Lambs”, the wrangler couldn’t obtain specimens of the rare moth needed, so he anesthetized moths and painted on the distinctive markings of the death’s-head hawk moth onto their bodies. Needless to say, the wrangler used water-based, non-toxic paint that would wash off later without any harm to the insect.

So how might you use this insect-training knowledge in business blogging? The tidbit becomes the jumping off point for explaining what problems can be solved using that business’ products or that practice’s services, for defining basic terminology, and for putting modern day statistics into perspective.

On a very simple level, this trivia could add humor and interest to a blog by a pest control company or a makeup studio.

On a deeper level, there’s a lot here about training.  How do you train employees? Can – and should – employees be manipulated? How do you go about inspiring children in the classroom? I can see the bit about the insect wranglers being used in blogging for an employee placement firm, an instructional design firm, or by a college training corporate managers.

For freelance blog content writers, incredible information tidbits can turn into incredible treasure,
adding new interest to the ongoing marketing message in the blog.

 

Facebooktwitterredditlinkedintumblrmail