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Blogging to Get More Done

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Midwest blog content writers should take heed of Nick Usborne’s analysis of the content on the John ?????????????????????Deere website. In Networds: Creating High-Impact Online Copy, Usborne tracks the “before” and “after” of the John Deere page promoting its 4000 series tractor.

Old content:
Underneath their familiar green and yellow exterior isn’t just a redesign of the compact tractor, but a transformation.  Where power is no longer measured by horsepower. Where implements practically attach themselves. And comfort is no longer at odds with productivity. One hundred and twenty improvements. Zero gimmicks.  And countless firsts.  These tractors are ready. 120 Improvements.  Countless Firsts.  Zero Gimmicks.

Usborne’s take on this old content:
“This content has no depth and no benefits.  It’s boring and borderline ridiculous.  The company isn’t selling luxury cars here; it’s selling tractors to people who have very specific needs…Can this tractor tow large objects?  How large? How heavy?”

 

New content:
GET MORE DONE
With 133 attachments available you can:
Mow up to 20 acres
Till up to 5.5 acres
Lift up to 2728 lbs
Dig with a 36-inch bucket up to 8.5 feet deep

Usborne’s take on this new content:
“Now that’s action!…This makes me excited, this allows me to envision the possibilities of what I can do, and this creates the needs for me to own this tractor, and helps me to justify the purchase to my wife!

“As the John Deere website continues to evolve,” says Matt Bailey in Internet Marketing: an Hour a Day, “I hope to see more transition into consumer needs-based content.”

This whole blog marketing thing, I teach newbie content writers, is not really about the technicalities of search engine optimization, although that may be how the story begins. What I believe it is really about is providing those who find your site with a taste of what it would be like to have you working alongside them to help with their challenges and issues. So, whether you’re writing your own blogs or working with a professional content writer, your blog posts are your way to say to each searcher:

“Our services/products can help you get more done!”

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Blogging to Tell Them What to Think About

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Thinking manHara Estroff Marano, writing in Psychology Today, says she won’t tell you what to think, but will tell you what to think about.  While in this article the psychologist is offering food for thought in the sphere of dating and self-motivation, I couldn’t help but love that line of hers, realizing how very apropos it is for us business blog content writers.

In fact, a point I often stress in corporate blogging training sessions – whether you’re blogging for a business, for a professional practice, or for a nonprofit organization, is this: you need to voice an opinion, a slant, on the information you’re serving up for readers. In other words, blog posts, to be effective, can’t be just compilations; you can’t just “aggregate” other people’s stuff and make that be your entire blog presence.

On the other hand, if you, as a business owner or professional practitioner, try telling people what to think, that’s a surefire way to lose friends and customers in a hurry. Yes, your blog is your “podium”, meaning you get to showcase your business so customers will want you to be the one to provide them with the product or the service they need. But they need to arrive at that point as a result of their own thinking.  Dr. Marano hit the nail on the head – don’t tell readers what to think; give them all the facts they need to think about.

How can blogs help potential clients and customers make better, sometimes complex, decisions?

  • By suggesting questions readers can ask themselves while choosing among many options. (Do they want ease of use? Current functionality? Future capabilities?)
  • By “mapping”, meaning showing how choices are related to consequences.  How much sooner will your mortgage get paid off if you add $100 each month to your payment. How should the prospect feel about the purchase (Relief? Trust? Premier status?)
  • By offering easy ways to make choices, so that the decisions are not pressure-packed.

You might say the art of blogging consists of In supplying facts, and then putting those facts in context.  As bloggers, we’re giving them the raw materials to think about, but we need to go one step further, demonstrating why those facts matter, suggesting ways readers can use the information for their own benefit.

To the woman concerned that the man she’s been dating has been legally separated for the past twenty years, Marano suggests, “Could it be that your online friend values clinging to the comfort of the status quo?”

What can you give your blog readers to think about?

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