Business Blogging About Your Own “Book of Lists” in the New Year

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Santa's listDuring the holidays, American people seem to be "into" list-making. From shopping lists to Santa’s list (he’s checking his twice, we’re told!), culminating in lists of New Year’s resolutions.

One of my favorite lists is the one published each year by the Indianapolis Business Journal, and I think blog content writers can heed an important cue here.

IBJ knows its readers are business people from different industries, different fields of consumer services, or different kinds of nonprofit enterprises, and that those readers will be interested in lists of the "largest" players in their own fields. Providers of services to each industry need those lists, which contain contact names, phone numbers and addresses for each company. "Making the list" is obviously a sign of success, so competitors are checking those lists at least twice, you may be sure.

Good business blog writing, whether done by the business owners and employees of the company or by a freelance SEO copywriter like myself, is targeted towards readers who crave information about the very kinds of products and services offered in that field.  That means that including lists in the content of an SEO marketing blog can be a super strategy for engaging interest and providing information readers will value.

Looking back at the past year of offering Say It For You business blogging assistance, I found several simple lists I used to help readers come up with ideas for corporate blog posts:

List One:   Things consumers are likely to type into the search bar that could bring them to your blog:

  • Their need
  • Their problem
  • Their idea of the solution to their problem
  • A question

List Two:  Calls to action and promises to include in titles in corporate blogging for business:

If you click on this link …

  • …it will lead you to a blog post that discusses the topic mentioned in the title
  • …it will lead you to a blog post that explains how to obtain more of something desirable
  • …it will lead you to a blog post that explains how to obtain less of an undesirable effect
  • …it will explain why one popular idea is false

    What lists can you think of that might:

  • …engage the interest of online readers who have found your blog post?
  • …provide valuable information to them?
  • …clarify what you have to offer to fulfill their needs?

As part of your marketing strategy and tactics development for the New Year, think about including in your business blog writing, spread out over many different blog posts, your very own "Book of Lists"! Readers will be sure to check those lists at least twice!

 

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Ending 2010 With an Attitude of Gratitude and a Focus on “One”

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New Year's champagneLater on tonight, when I’m shouting "Happy New Year" along with the crowd, it’ll be with an attitude of gratitude.  Hard to believe, but this will mark the fourth New Year’s for my Say It For You business blogging content writing and corporate blogging training company. My very first piece of writing as a professional ghost blogger went "live" October 2007, and some 4,500 blog posts, web pages, newsletters, brochures, articles, plus one e-book later, I’ve got a lot to be proud of and many folks to thank for helping me make it all happen.

A repeating theme in my corporate blogging training sessions in corporate blog writing is focus. Each blog post should emphasize one story, one idea, one aspect of your business. I’m proud to have been consistent in preserving that same "one" focus in the Say It For You business model:

  • One writer. Each client company is assigned a single blog content writer dedicated to understanding and giving voice to that business’ goals.
     
  • One client per field. Say It For You accepts only one client in each field of business per market.  That way, all writing done as part of that client’s marketing strategy and tactics development can be devoted towards helping that business stand out from its competitors.

A wonderful side benefit of having only one client per field is the tremendous variety it brings to our work. Our corporate blogging for business topics have included everything from dry cleaning to air conditioning, financial planning to sports, autos to accounting, baby clothes to printing, plus several different fields of the law.

  • One on one contact. Initial in-person meetings and phone conferences, plus periodic meetings for follow-up and assessment help our corporate blog writing remain true to clients’ changing needs.

I’m grateful for having had the privilege of working with more than half a dozen talented contract writers, social media mavens, and even a professional illustrator. Special thanks are due the folks at Compendium Blogware (my client success manager is Dan Lockhart) for their ongoing help and advice. Indianapolis has a wonderful community of bloggers – both business owners and "ghosts" like myself, all with interesting and important things to say (I’ve been proudly quoting several of them in my own posts this past year.)

My blog writing services have the name Say It For You, but later on tonight, I’ll be saying it for ME, shouting "Happy New Year!" with gusto and an attitude of gratitude!

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Business Blogging Provides a Chance to Send Messages to Your Customers, Too!

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From time to time, my Say It For You blog will feature guest blog content writers with valuable thoughts to contribute about corporate blogging for business. Today’s guest blogger is friend Damon Richards, owner of Port-to-Port Consulting.


While the primary purpose for business blogging is to provide useful information to prospective customers so they will want to do business with you, a useful added benefit is the ability to send messages to your existing customers that you’d rather not have to tell them directly. I frequently use my business blog to post information that I want my Indianapolis outsourced IT support customers to know so that it’s familiar to them when one of my computer help desk technicians brings it up in conversation.

A great recent example was the discovery that virus infections were increasing as people started holiday shopping online from work. Personal email turned out to be the culprit, and we wanted to prepare our customers for the suggestion that these sites be restricted. I blogged about that before we contacted the organizations that were experiencing the problem.

In a business blog post, the statement seems more generic so my customers don’t feel singled out. They view things as universal problems, which makes them more willing to implement fixes. At the same time, the information presented is relevant to the prospects that I hope to find through successful Search Engine Marketing.

I’m not suggesting that you use your business blog to deliver bad news instead of taking it to the person who needs to hear it. Nor do I suggest announcing major shifts in internal policies that way. My point is that every now and then the same message that you use to enhance your brand development can be used to inform your current customers. Take advantage of the medium of blogging to reach your customers.

 

In providing corporate blogging training, I explain that blogging is just one part of a company’s marketing strategy and tactics development process. Here Damon Richards has suggested yet another application for business blog writing! 

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Business Blogging on a Budget Part B

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Following my own advice from last Friday’s Say It For You business blog post, I’ve carried over borrowmy list of how to budget business blogging efforts by continuing the topic into a second (and perhaps even a third blog post.) 

The original idea of doing business blogging "on a budget" came from Money Management International, asking readers to "consider how you can enjoy the spirit of the season on a budget." In fact, several of the MMI tips for budgeting during the holidays relate to all the effort you put into your business blog posts, and Friday, I discussed two of them: "Don’t get left with leftovers." and "Stick to basics".
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Here are two more MMI holiday prep tips that apply to corporate blogging for business:

Get a loan.  If you’re short on supplies, ask around.  Chances are, someone has what you need, whether it’s extra chairs or dishes.
If you’re running out of ideas, "borrow" an idea from another blog or magazine article (precisely the technique I’m using here).  Give credit where credit’s due, of course, adding your own advice and perspective. In fact, as a freelance SEO copywriter, I try to link to others’ posts; I use that as a form of networking!

Make it a day of giving. Take your potluck on the road to a nursing home or unfortunate family.
New business bloggers are often concerned about "giving away the store".  Often, as I’m offering corporate blogging training, business owners will voice their worry about offering tips, advice, and information – the customers won’t need them! So, in training blog content writers, I need first to assure business owners their fears are unfounded.  The only people who are likely to find the blog are those who need your product, service, and expertise – they don’t want to use the information you provide to do it themselves!  You can make every day a day of giving in your business blog!

 

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Business Blogging on a Budget

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grocery shopping"It’s hard to imagine celebrating holidays without special food, decorating, gifts, and big gathering," begins an article by Money Management International. "But consider how you can enjoy the spirit of the season on a budget."

Several of the MMI tips for budgeting during the holidays relate to all that effort you put into your business blog posts. In offering business blogging assistance, I stress some of the same ideas that apply to holiday prep.

Don’t get left with leftovers.  Prepare only what you need.
The nice thing about blogs is that extra content that is too much for one blog post can be used in another.  Focus on one core idea in each post, holding those extra thoughts for another day (with blogging, "leftover" ideas can actually "hold" for another month, or even another year!) Each post should have a razor-sharp focus on just one story, one idea, one aspect of your business.  The beauty of business blog writing, though, is that you can use the other thoughts for later posts.

Speaking of putting ideas on "hold", one great corporate blog writing sustainability tip is to keep a blog idea file, online or in a little notebook or folder. Articles you cut out of newspapers or magazines, notes on ideas gleaned from a seminar, from listening to the radio, reading a blog or a book, or "the rest of the story" carried over from a blog post that was getting overly long. Your folder of "ingredients" will make your job as a blog content writer a whole lot easier.

Stick to basics.  
Even though variety is a spice blog content writers must use, stick to a few basic "leitmotifs" or themes to form the backbone of your writing.  In writing for business, your themes are beliefs you hold about your industry that you think are important to convey to readers, or specific ways you successfully serve customers and clients.

Many business owners start out strong, but months or even weeks into trying to be blog content writers, their efforts fizzle, and they have trouble maintaining the discipline of frequent, regular posting (even if they recognize blogging’s importance to their marketing strategy and tactics development).

Since business blog writing is more like a marathon than a sprint, "budgeting" your efforts will help win the race!

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