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Content Writing With a Twist is Tricky Business

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“Twists fail a lot because they are delicate things,” Jeff Somers opines in Writer’s Digest. You have to give your reader enough information to make the twist feel like something they somehow missed, he tells novelists.

Blogs are a great way to share new information with people in an easily digestible format. You can use blogs to teach new information in several ways, including guest posts by experts, listicles, and feature stories or interviews of people who have learned something new, Kesah Po writes in Quora. At Say It For You, we particularly appreciated Po’s suggestion that content writers feature stories of people who have learned something new.

Every book can benefit from adding a plot twist or two, to add tension, intrigue, and keep readers talking, N.J. Simmonds says in Jericho Writers. Plot twists seem to come out of nowhere, SImmonds adds, changing the direction of the story, after the author has “misled readers on purpose”.

But, just as Jeff Somers cautions novelists, in blog marketing, twists can also be tricky business. Not only does effective business blogging need to be centered around a limited number of keyword phrases and key themes, the core message needs to fulfill the implied promise given the searcher who has arrived at the site based on a need for specific information on a given topic.

That is not to say that, through blog posts, marketers can’t introduce readers to a solution they hadn’t known was an option for them. (Some of the most successful businesses represent new twists on old ideas and products.) However, since successful blogging begins with a clear understanding of your niche and target audience and adding value for them within their general range of needs and expectations, providing “twists” in the form of information they may have somehow missed, can be tricky. What’s more, what with internet marketing an ever-evolving field, content writers need to stay updated on the latest technologies and changes in search engine algorithms.

Deciding how and when to reveal information to readers is part of the challenge novelists face, Jeff Somers explains. As blog content writers, we share the challenge of delivering information to online searchers, doing that with a “twist”!

 

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Putting Questions in Readers’ Mouths and Minds

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The tactic of using questions in titles is one I’ve often suggested to blog content writers, because often we can help searchers formulate their own questions by presenting one in the blog itself. It’s best to focus on the expansive and productive type of question, such as “What’s possible?” “What are my choices?” “What’s useful here?”

The Pole Position article “5 Questions Every Nascar Fan has Asked at Least Once” comes at the matter of readers’ questions from an entirely different direction, actually listing – and then providing answers to – “five questions we know everyone’s asked before – out loud, into a search engine or both”:

  1. How do NASCAR drivers go to the bathroom during a race? (Answer: They hold it or – they just let go.)
  2. Is there a reason why NASCAR races run counterclockwise? (the driver’s seat is on the left side; patterned after horse racing, which is counterclockwise.)
  3. What state has the most NASCAR fans? (North Carolina)
  4. Do NASCAR vehicles have air conditioning? (No, that would add weight.)
  5. What do drivers eat before a race? (Oatmeal, grilled chicken, and avocado toast.are some faves.)

In content marketing, you’re often providing answers to questions that your potential customer might ask. The specific genius lies in forcing readers to recognize their own uncertainties and need for answers. But, before you can successfully convert blog readers into customers, Neil Patel explains, you have to know what they’re worried about.

Are there five questions that your prospects and clients tend to ask the most? Remember, just as consumers would not be searching for the right auto shop/ jewelry store/ plumber/ healthcare provider, etc. unless they already felt the need for that service or product type, searchers who land on your blog are already interested in and have a need for what you offer.

By answering questions, providers make prospects feel understood, D. Forbes Ley taught salespeople in training years ago. Even if those searchers haven’t specifically formulated their questions, as content writers, we can do that for them by presenting the answers to frequently asked questions.

It’s not so much a matter of “putting” questions in readers’ mouths and minds, as acknowledging the questions already there and providing answers that can be key to closing the sale.

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Content Statement Ceilings

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“Look up to be wowed!”, a piece in Haven Magazine about “statement ceilings” begins. After all, plain, flat ceilings are just…well, passé, and, for a home that inspires “oohs” and “aahs”, you need a cool structural element. Added height, uplighting, combining different materials, can all enhance your dining room, great room, or entryway, home buiilders explain. .

There’s a parallel here for content marketers: Grabbing readers’ attention is one of the most important lessons, as Marcia Hoeck of copyblogger emphasizes, because “no matter how brilliant your ideas are, you can’t offer them to your prospect unless you’ve made her look in your direction first.” What’s more, Hoeck adds, human focus is limited; the brain has to focus on specific information, choosing which input will enter and stay. We can’t succeed if our messages don’t break through the clutter to get people’s attention, Chip and Dan Heath, authors of Made to Stick, agree.

As content writers, our “ceilings” are obviously article titles. Are there certain words in blog post titles that are more likely “win attention? In fact, curiosity-stimulating words (or set of words) need not be the keyword phrases used to “win search”. Some examples out of one recent issue of a popular news magazine:

  • Finding….
  • How…
  • Could…
  • A new….
  • Things just….
  • The best…
  • The impossible…
  • The hidden…
  • Is it O.K if….
  • Don’t…
  • Who is….

What these subtle attention-commanding phrases do, I explain at Say It For You coaching sessions, is set expectations. The title words “finding”, “the hidden”, and the “impossible” might engender the expectation of discovery or of gaining a new insight. “Things just”, “could”, and “the impossible” hint at an opinion piece, even a rant. “The best”, “how”, and “don’t” imply that valuable advice and cautions will follow. “How” hints that information about the way a certain process works is to follow, while “Is it O.K if” suggests readers might be asked to weigh in on an ethical dilemma of some sort.

Making space both beautiful and functional is the challenge facing home builders. And, in a way, the challenge in blog content writing is  not only capturing readers’ attention, but maintaining it. We need to search for “sticky” ideas and concepts that have the power to maintain interest over time – and to propel action.

Statement ceilings are great for capturing attention, but but be sure the rest of the home lives up to that attention-getting promise!

 

 

 

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Bringing Your Blog Post To a Close

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A classic work of Japanese literature, The Tale of Genji, known as the world’s first novel, centers on the life and loves of the son of an 11th century Emperor and his beloved concubine. One detail about the story has perplexed readers, interestingfacts.com explains – it ends inconclusively. For centuries, the fact historian notes, “audiences have hungered for a more decisive ending to this thousand-year-old tale”…

“Writing a conclusion for your blog article can feel a bit like a necessary evil”, Christian Rigg writes in wordtune.com. But a strong conclusion, he explains:

  • helps readers understand the importance of the article
  • encourages them to share your content
  • makes them want to come back

What makes a conclusion strong? It:

  • concisely summarizes the key points
  • explains why the information matters
  • leaves a lasting emotional impression
  • includes a call to action.

Copyblogger Henneke Duistermaat cautions writers against a common blog-writing mistake:  stale conclusions. In fact, he suggests writing your conclusion first, then filling in the rest of your blog post. Once you’ve thought through your conclusion, you can reflect focused enthusiasm in the title you select for your post.

In Chip and Dan Heath’s book The Power of Moment, they discuss research that found that when people assess an experience, they tend to forget or ignore its length, tending to rate an experience on two key factors:

  1. the best or worst moment (“the peak”)
  2. the ending

At Say it for You, we agree. In blog content writing, a great opener with a lame last line is.., well, lame. It’s important to have great titles and strong, curiosity-stirring openers, but you’ve got to have a strong ending.  If the opening line in blog content writing is the conductor’s “downbeat”, the closing line represents the final notes of the symphony – “TA-DAH!

When it comes to structuring a piece of content, comic strip creators do it best, I’m convinced. Most of the comic strips in the Indianapolis Star are perfect models, with only three “frames”. In the first, the stage is set with a situation, dilemma, question, or problem. The second box develops the idea, and the third ends with a “summary” closing line.

From the Tale of Genji to comic strips to blog marketing, by all means, blog content writers – bring things to a close!

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Blogging About Other Ways to Reach the Goal

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“The MFA (Masters of Fine Arts) is just one of many ways to develop voice and skill as a writer,” Emma Komos-Hrobsky explains in Poets and Writers Magazine. In fact, the author goes on to name no fewer than 21 educational opportunities in the form of writing classes and seminars offered by organizations around the country.

“There’s one common mistake we often make when it comes to setting goals,” James Clear writes in blog.idonethis.com: We set a timeline, but not a schedule. “We need to focus on the practice, not the performance,” he adds.

How do these lessons about reaching a goal apply to content writing? “If you’ve ever googled instructions for how to perform a specific task, then you know the importance of high-quality how-to content,’ Julia McCory writes in seachengineland.com. By giving them content that’s actually helpful, you prove your expertise and building trust and affinity with your readers, McCory explains.

However, she cautions, it’s important to realize that a teaching mindset is entirely different from an information-sharing, entertaining, or analytical mindset. To be successful, you need to:

  • use detailed explanations
  • give step-by-step instructions
  • offer lots of examples
  • put yourself in the readers’ shoes

    At Say It For You, we’re always conscious that readers of our business or practice owners’ blog posts have many alternatives from which to choose. For a health coach focusing on weight loss, for example, potential clients might choose diet meal delivery, cosmetic “fat freezing” procedures, or personal trainers. One of the main challenges of content marketing is differentiating the product or service from alternative choices open to the prospect.

While the Poets and Writers Magazine article is valuable is that it reassures readers that a number of viable educational avenues exist, one point I often stress in blogging training sessions is that you need to do more than present a list of alternatives; it’s important that you voice an opinion, a slant, on the information you’re serving up for readers.

By all means, blog about alternative ways to reach a goal, but, by suggesting questions readers can ask themselves when choosing among many options, you can help them arrive, on their own, at the conclusion that the solution you’re marketing is the optimal choice.

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