Stop Blogging For Business You’ll Never Wear

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In Monday’s Say It For You blog post, I talked about Goodwill Industries’ TV commercial on organizing clothes closets. Then I discovered I wasn’t the only one finding valuable lessons in Goodwill ads. Personal finance site GetRichSlowly.org teaches how to "accomplish that European knack for owning less and looking better" (I can’t think of a more apropos goal for business blogs!)  Get Rich Slowly writer April Dykman claims she’s become a more skilled and targeted wardrobe shopper through gathering tips from fashion gurus, designers, and style bloggers.

"Shopping" Dykman’s article "How To Stop Buying Clothes You’ll Never Wear", I’ve handpicked 3 tips for selecting business blog post topics.  I did that remembering that the goal of your business blog is to bring in customers "of the right kind". These are customers who have a need for and who will appreciate your services and products.

Remember, just as the goal in clothes shopping is not to fill closet space or to own more outfits just for the sake of having them, business blogging is part of an overall business "pull marketing" strategy to attract exactly the right online searchers from your target market. In other words, fewer might well prove better when it comes to the numbers of searchers who find your blog, then click through to your website to become customers.

 1. Think meat and potatoes.
"70% of the clothes you own should be ‘meat and potatoes’, with 30% being icing and fluff".

When I’m training business owners and their employees to create effective blog content, I advise finding 2-5 core "themes" that relate to the business. Some basics include explaining what problems can be solved using that business’ products and services, defining basic terminology, and basic statistics showing that many others have faced the same issue as the one concerning this reader. 

30% of the blog posts can include interesting tidbits of information, news or feature stories in that indirectly relate to the business, or an anecdote that illustrates the core values of the business.

2.  Identify your personal style.
Before buying any garment, ask if it fits your personality. "Only buy items that make you feel like a million bucks."

Your business blog need to reflect your style.  In fact, as a professional ghost blogger, my mission has to be to pick up not only what message you want to convey to customers, but your unique way of saying it.  A "ghost writer" must speak your message, in your "voice", to your customers. As I’m fond of repeating, a good ghost blogger should not, herself, be seen or heard!

3.  Price doesn’t dictate style.
"If the perfect pants in the perfect color are $30, they are a better buy than the trendy, designer pants that cost $200 and work with nothing else in your closet." 

Successful blog marketing does not depend on using the most expensive technology, but upon the most relevant and engaging content. In much the same way as you’re advised to put together outfits that make you feel good, the secret of effective blog marketing is to put together relevant, engaging content that makes online searchers feel they’ve come to exactly the right place for what they need.

"What about you?" asks Dykman. "Do you have clothes you never wear?"  Don’t keep buying more of those, she advises. In that same vein, when it comes to your business blog, stop focusing on "number of hits", or building the biggest community of followers.  Start writing blog posts for customers of the right kind.  After all, they’re the ones who need what you’ve got to offer.  And, you know, when it comes right down to it, that’s the only thing that matters!

 

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Blog Post Titles: Let Me Count The Ways

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My children have children of their own, all older than kindergarten age, so what made me feel compelled to read that Indianapolis Star article about teaching kindergarteners? It was the number that aroused my curiosity: "9 Problems We Must Overcome".
 
The O Magazine title this month is "100 Things That Are (Actually) Getting Better". Somehow
I doubt that, minus the number 100, the title would have been as much of a grabber.  I know it was the number 100 that made me pause (It’s hard, these days, to avoid the perception that a lot of things are actually getting worse, not better, and I just had to know what 100 things I might be missing!)

To freshen up blog post content, start with one idea about your product or service. Then try putting a number to it:

  • 2 Best Ways To Eliminate Unpleasant Room Odors…
  • 3 Discipline Problem Fixes to Try First….
  • 4 Simple Home Remedies for Headache…
  • 5 Home Décor Tips…
  • 6 Knottiest Financial Issues in a Marriage….

The point of the "lists", of course, is to demonstrate ways in which your product or service is different, and to provide valuable information that engages readers, helping them see you as a go-to guy or gal to solve their problem or fulfill their need.

Who’s on your list? Ted Demopoulos suggests you ask yourself, referring to other blogs and online resources in your "space".  Listing different viewpoints or tips from others, then clarifying your own position is one way to make your blog be the go-to site. 
"4 Different Viewpoints on Rearing Money-wise Kids…" is somehow more enticing than just "Viewpoints on Rearing Money-wise Kids", wouldn’t you agree?

To top off the positives of using numbers in blog post titles, at least some SEO experts believe bullet points and numbered lists earn "Brownie points" with search engines.

Just one more reason to count the ways…

 

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Blog Post Titles: Let Me Count The Ways

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The Goodwill TV commercial sums it all up: there are four kinds of clothes in your closet, and if you give three of those to Goodwill, there will be room for the only kind worth keeping, meaning clothes you wear – and should. The other three categories:

  • Clothes you don’t wear
  • Clothes you shouldn’t wear
  • Clothes you can’t wear

The Goodwill four categories of clothes closet contents might apply to creating content for your business blog posts as well.
 

Posts You SHOULD blog:

  • Telling how you skillfully solved a common problem for a consumer
  • Describing an unusual use or application for your product or service
  • What your business core values are and how your "corporate culture" reflects those
  • Explaining what’s special about your product or service and what you’re trying to achieve

 

Posts You DON’T Blog (enough of):

  • Employee posts, composed by real people actually doing the work and talking to your customers
  • Testimonials from customers and clients
  • True tales and anecdotes of problems solved and successes
  • Recognizing other bloggers and sources on your topic

Posts you CAN’T blog:

  • Topics too big and broad that are outside the scope of your expertise. Your business blog is there to win friends and do business, not convert the world.
  • Information that is not "on brand". 

 

Posts you SHOULDN’T blog:

  • Negatives against competitors – accentuate the positive about YOU.
  • Posts that are too long and wordy
  • Posts that are too technical for the average readers to relate to him/herself
  • Posts that are too general, with nothing new to add that showcases your expertise and unique viewpoint

Even experienced business bloggers need to clean out and reorganize their content "closets" in order to continue earning the "good will" of online searchers!

 

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Going Social With Business Blogs

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“A (business) blog is a form of web communication allowing companies of all sizes to reach new audiences…, says Darrell Zhorsky. But, “allowing” and actually “reaching” are two different things, as many a new business owner discovers to his/her dismay. The reality, as ProBlogger’s Darren Rowse points out, is that “many blogs produce quality content that doesn’t get read.”

Once you taken the big step of getting consistent about posting content on your business blog (or hiring a professional ghost blogger like me to do it for you), the necessary next step is promoting your blog so people know it’s there.

One obvious, but often overlooked tactic, is simply letting your clients and customers know about the “Birth of the Blog”. The blog’s URL should occupy a place of honor on your business cards, flyers, ads, brochures, and website.  And, if there’s one particular post where you really “nailed” the message you want to convey about your business – print that one up on postcards or little laminated handouts to have handy at networking meetings, trade shows, letters or invoices.

Just created a new post? Tweet it, Facebook It, “Link it in”.  Or, capture one essential idea from your blog in a Tweet, linking back to the blog itself. As Jason Falls points out in The Beginners Guide To Promoting Your Blog “Twitter is a place to have conversations with people”, (not an advertising billboard).  That means you need to provide links to other interesting and informative sites, so that your blog becomes the “go-to” spot for information in your field.

In using social media to promote your blog, don’t forget to “stay on brand”, is a reminder offered by Entrepreneur. “Go ahead and announce sales and specials, but also give your fans, friends, and followers something more.”

Blogging is an incredible way to connect with customers  who are searching for exactly what you sell, what you do, and what you know about.  But they have to find you first.  Bottom line is:  you can’t just blog there – you have to promote your blog!

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Three Little Blogging Bites From Whole Foods

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The larger a pepper, the less “hot”, is just one of the interesting tidbits I learned from a Whole Foods representative at the Indiana Health Expo the other day.  Peppers, in fact, could serve as a metaphor for blogs and websites, with shorter, “spicier” blog posts packing more immediacy than their longer, more formal website cousins. The typical website offers more detail and a broader spectrum of information on a company’s products and services, while blog posts focus on one idea with more intensity.

The first three ingredients listed on a food container, I learned at the Health Expo, are the most important, because ingredients are listed in descending order of how much of each is in the product. When it comes to business blogs, it’s important to use key words and phrases in the title and early in the text of each blog post. Those key words indicate to the search engines what the main idea of the post is going to be.

I found the Whole Foods presentation particularly engaging because it offered information I’d never heard before.  Offering information that is new to the typical online reader is a key principle of business blogging. The Health Expo speaker captured my attention with information new to me. I learned about a food called Quinoa (pronounced “keen wa”), which is a rice substitute high in dietary fiber, and about Greek Yogurt. New information is a winner for business blogging.  If you can’t offer brand-new information, your unique approach or “slant” shows searchers you’re far from run-of-the mill.

One of Suzanne Gunelius’ six tips on turning a business blog into a sales tool is “Provide Exclusive Information and Tips.”  A great example of that is a blog I read called Breathe Easy, which talks about about dog food. The blogger warns that comparing ingredients can be tricky, because, although two labels may have the same ingredient name, there can be a world of difference between two brands.” The recommendation is for buyers to look for the words “human grade” on the dog food label.  That’s the kind of valuable and detailed advice that distinguishes “human grade” blogs from the pack!

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