Tag Archive for: blog content writing

When it comes to choosing a title that attracts attention, I think Lifehack.org was onto something with its

“12 Unexpected Benefits of Beer That Give You Good Reasons to Drink It”

For one, I was curious to read about beer in a publication focused on healthy living (the same issue of the magazine carried an article warning of the negative effects of smoking and alcohol on the body).

But, see, here’s the thing.  It was unexpected. Surrounded by content about the science of beautiful skin, the skinny on indoor cycling, and winning the weight war, readers have every right to be surprised to see beer as a recommended healthful consumable.

Author Candace Nelson starts out by unifying her audience with a commonality: “Who among us hasn’t rounded down when doctors or nutritionists ask how much (beer) we imbibe?”  She goes on to list no fewer than twelve benefits of beer. The drink is rich in Vitamin B, and high in fiber and silicon. It’s anti-microbial, and helps reduce the risk of heart disease, muscle deterioration, and gallstones. Only the last item on her list (“Beer is a social lubricant”) seems a stretch in terms of being health-related.

As Steve Tobak writes in Entrepreneur Magazine, “Doing the unexpected is key to success in business. After all, the next big thing is never what anyone expects.”

As a corporate blogging trainer, I remind content writers that blogging about unusual ways your products or services have been applied in different situations is good way to capture interest in posts. Even sharing past business mistakes that resulted in unexpected improvements in the company’s products and service makes for engaging blog content.

That’s the question I’d pose to business owners and professional practitioners: Tell me about the benefits you offer, sure. But what are some of the UNEXPECTED benefits of what you have, what you know, and what you know how to do?

Is your brand real enough for the next wave of consumers? asks Jamie Gutfreund in  Forbes. “Gen Zs  consider taking risks an important part of life and mistakes as badges of honor.” Zs are savvy consumers, Gutfreund adds, preferring to see “real” people to celebrities in campaigns.  To them, failure builds character, and they have little interest in content that promises perfection.

Interesting. As a corporate blogging trainer, I’ve been preaching to Indianapolis content writers that engaging readers and creating feelings of empathy and admiration for their business owner and professional practitioner clients may be a matter of writing about how those owners overcame the effects of their own mistakes.

No matter what generation of reader you’re targeting, I explain, real life conflicts are riches to be mined. Often, however, our business owner and practitioner clients are so close to the subject matter of their own past and present business battles, they can’t see how valuable those “failures” can prove to be. That’s where the “outside eye” of a professional blog writer becomes especially valuable.

“One thing you will notice about successful people, especially people with an entrepreneurial streak, is that they welcome detours and failures as a natural part of the journey they are on,” observes author Ekaterina Walter. Mistakes will not end your business. But will surface new opportunities, adds Meridith Valiando Rojas, CEO of Digitour Media.

“Who are You? Readers like to know about the author. It makes your writing more interesting because it adds context,” says K. Stone of lifehack.org. in advising writers to brand their blogs for success.

Good branding and good writing – they’re both about being real.  So, go ahead, tell how you (or your business owner or professional practitioner client) tripped at the Academy Awards!