Archive for category: the Say It For You blog

"The best way to win an argument is to avoid it," advises Reginald Adkins in his Elemental Truths blog, admitting that "you could be perceived as a pushover who won’t stand up for his beliefs."  Barring avoidance, Adkins offers tips to increase your chances for winning battles in which you’ve chosen to take part. 

Blogging for business, you’d have to say, is not necessarily an argumentative pursuit.  Yet, in a way, your company blog is your way of "arguing"" in favor of:

• Your product (as compared to those of your competitors)
• Your service (as compared to services offered by others)
• Your point of view relating to your industry (contrasted with opposing viewpoints) 

So, carrying the example one step further, thinking of individual business blog posts as "battles" in an ongoing "war", it’s certainly worth remembering that your goal as business owner is to keep winning hearts and gaining customers over the long run, and not just winning points today.

Several of Reginald Adkins’ tips are actually very appropriate for bloggers:

Never accuse a person of being wrong. 
Think about a competitor or perhaps an online reader who’s left a negative comment on your blog. "You should express your disagreement subtly," advises Adkins, "making it clear that your opinion diverges from theirs."

Let them talk. 
When it comes to presenting your side of an argument in your business blog, be sure to present the other side as fairly and completely as possible before explaining why your point of view is different.

Back it up. 
"Bring in concrete examples and supporting numbers to illustrate your point", says Adkins. Not only do statistics in a blog grab online visitors’ attention, serve to demonstrate the extent of a problem or issue, but the numbers strengthen the credibility of the points your trying to make in that blog post.

Chill Bill. 
"Arguments can be emotional.  Be calm and don’t let your feelings take over." The most important thing you have to sell in your business blog is you. The tone of your blog reassures readers they’ve come to a place where "nice guys and gals" live, people who play nice with competitors and customers alike.

Business branding expert Tony Fannin defines your brand as "an emotional collection of impressions your customers have about you." In your business blog, then, it’s not winning the argument, but the way in which you won that counts!

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!