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Single-Topic Publications and Ghost Blogs: Sisters Under the Skin

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Don’t eschew specialty magazines, is Don Vaughan‘s advice to writers looking for assignments. You don’t have to be a subject matter expert to write on specialty topics, he says – all you need is an innovative idea specific to the topic.

At Say It For You, we agree. Since our blogging clients are guaranteed exclusivity in their marketplace, we often find ourselves writing content on topics in which we’ve no prior experience or training. I couldn’t help chortling at Vaughan’s remark about the Portable Restroom Operator publication, which has been “chugging along since 2008”. (One might wonder, Vaughan observes, what there would be left to write about after two or three issues on the subject of toilets!)

Most specialty magazines, Vaughn explains, are eager to receive pitches from skilled writers with intriguing ideas that:

  1. touch on unexplained aspects of the magazine’s them
  2. offer new approaches to frequently reported topics

Specific tactics that Vaughan recommends for non-specialist magazine writers can be useful for blog writers:

  • profiles of innovators in the field
  • aspects of the topic’s history
  • reflections on important anniversaries of the industry (or, in the case of blogs, of the company or practice)
  • new product reviews
  • profiles of prominent people who have benefitted from the product or service you offer
  • news about developments in the industry

“On rare occasions,” Vaughan observes, “good story ideas may arise from not being knowledgeable about the publications’ topic (bloggers, read “client’s topic”). He shares the story of one writer who broke into writing for Guns and Ammo Magazine with a pitch about the first and only time he’d ever shot a gun. Human interest stories can be a source of out-of-the-box story ideas, showing how professionals addressed a very ordinary situation.

In blogging, as in writing for specialty magazines, creativity and intention count more than technical expertise!

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Blogs are About Value, Not Pricing

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An article in Mental Floss magazine about a 300 year-old Stradivarious violin reminded me of an ongoing discussion having to do with whether product or service pricing should be mentioned in blog content….

In discussing the upcoming auction of the Strad, author James Stewart makes some salient observations about pricing and how it relates to value. Factors that add to the value of this particular violin include:

  • the fame of the violin maker family
  • the identity of former owners of the instrument (Seider taught violin to Albert Einstein using this violin)
  • the association with the 1930’s filming of The Wizard of Oz at MGM Studios

Due to this combination of value-enhancing factors, it’s estimated that the violin might fetch $15 to $20 million in the upcoming auction.

“Today’s consumer is bombarded with advertisements in all media, direct mail offers, and telemarketing offers,” observes Dr. Richard Murphy of Jacksonville, University. “There are numerous factors involved when we begin to discuss the issues of value, cost and price. The value of anything is perceived by the customer, not the manufacturer or the vendor.” A Forbes article mentions one of Warren Buffett’s most famous quotes: “Price is what you pay; value is what you get.”

One question facing blog marketers is whether prices should be mentioned at all in the content. Ten years ago, Marcus Sheridan of social media examiner.com observed that, instead of addressing the No. 1 consumer question up front, business owners often decided to wait until a later stage of the sales process. “People like to know how much stuff costs,” Sheridan warned.

At Say It For You, we don’t think price is the No. 1 consumer question on the minds of web searchers who land on our clients’ blog posts. Instead, what your business blog writing needs to do is answer questions, offer perspective and thought leadership, while giving searchers a “feel” for the desired outcomes of using your products and services.

Think about it: When you visit an online shopping site, or even when you go into a local store to buy something, often all you can see are products on the shelf (or, in the case of an online visit, pictures of products) with names and prices.  Too often, there’s nobody to talk to and no other information available, (there may be customer reviews online).

At our content writing company, here’s how we view the issue of “putting price first”: Buyers want more than just product and service descriptions and prices. Blog content writing is about introducing readers to business owners, explaining the owners’ specialty or niche within their field, their special “philosophy” about their area of practice or their industry, and their unique approach to providing client services.

Blogs are about value, not pricing!

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Helping Them Pass the Test in Your Blog

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One thing we’ve learned over the years at Say It for You is that blog readers tend to be curious creatures.  What’s more, their curiosity factor is highest when they are learning about themselves.  As blog content writers, we’ve noticed that “self-tests” tend to engage readers and help them relate in a more personal way to the information presented in a marketing blog. Popular magazine editors appear to agree as well, because current issues are full of tests, games, and quizzes.

A recent four-page article by Kimberly Lankford in the AARP Magazine titled “Can You Pass the Penny-Pincher Test?” is a superb example of how content writers can engage readers using the format of Q & A. After revealing the best answer for each of five thought-provoking multiple-choice questions, the author offers a paragraph or two of useful explanation.

Example: What’s the easiest way to stop yourself from making impulse buys? Answer choices: A) Freeze your credit cards in a block of ice. B) Don’t go online or visit shopping malls. C) Tape a gallery of your unfortunate purchases to your refrigerator door. D) Put appealing purchases on a wish list first.

Answer: D. Put items you think you want on a wish list, then make a final decision a few days later. (The author goes on to explain that turning a one-stage purchase into a two-stage purchase forces a person to use a different decision-making strategy. When you return to a list later, you start considering minuses along with the pluses of that purchase.

In the course of offering these explanations, the author cites various studies and offers quotes from financial planning and psychology experts. Because of the clever test format, which includes a “Give yourself a grade” section, the content comes across as fun.

Quizzes provide effective ways for you to encourage readers to interact with your site, Lyn Wildwood of bloggingwizard.com explains. There are personality quizzes, trivia quizzes, and “how-well-do-you-know” subject quizzes. However, “running an online quiz is not easy feat,” Wildwood cautions. “It requires a keen understanding of your audience.”

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Blog Listicles Must Appeal to Readers’ Immediate Interests

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They’re both “listicles”, but, for me as a blog content writer, there’s an interesting difference:

  • 7 Things You Should Know About Virginia Woolf’s ‘To the Lighthouse’
  • 10 Things You Might Not Know About Mother’s Day

Yes, I was an English major in college, so of course I’d studied the book To the Lighthouse. That was a long time ago, though, and today I just didn’t feel as if I needed to know more things about the novel. Mother’s Day, on the other hand was something happening right now. So, while I agree that listicles really “work, as insightsyesadagency.com points out, they must appeal to searchers’ immediate interests.

“Don’t get even – get odd!” is one piece of advice the insightsyesadagency offers, recommending odd-numbered lists over even-numbered ones. In general, listicles are popular because they require minimal effort on the part of readers, conveying authority and appealing to our desire for organization.

Listicles should offer creativity and originality, while still touching on the key points that drive traffic,” insights.digitalmediasolutions.com advises, adding that .”the type of content in listicles should fit the target audience.” At Say It For You, we couldn’t agree more with that last statement. Everything about your blog should be tailor-made for that customer – the words you use, how technical you get, how sophisticated your approach, the title of each blog entry – all of it, I tell newbie blog content writers, and listicles are no exception to that basic content planning rule.

Career coaches suggest that using numbers may be one of the most underutilized strategies in cover letter writing. Numbers are a great way to be specific about your accomplishments, demonstrating that you pay attention to benchmarks and concentrate on setting and meeting goals. As a blog content writer and trainer, I stress that numbers can be used in business blogs to “build belief”. For example, statistics can demonstrate the extent of a problem your product or service helps solve.

Using numbers in blog post titles is a great way to both attract attention and to set expectations for a post. Words on the other hand, are used to put lists and statistics into perspective, so that readers are given the answer to the “So what?” and “So, what’s in-it-for-me” questions. Just why do I need to know 7 things about Virginia Woolf’s novel just now? Mother’s Day, in contrast, is something to be dealt with this very month.

Listicles must appeal to readers’ immediate interests.

 

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The Good and the Bad of Fillers in Blogs

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Fillers are words that add no substantive meaning to a sentence and merely fill the space, Wordvice.com explains. Whether you’re writing a journal article, a research paper, a dissertation, or a blog, creating sentences that are strong and concise is important in conveying your message to your audience.

Wordvice.com offers three examples of sentences that can be shortened by eliminating filler words:

  • “There is an octopus sitting on top of my car.” (Better: “An octopus is sitting on my car.”)
  • “This is actually an interesting question.” (Better: “This question is interesting.)
  • “In order to apply the new method to our entire system, perhaps we should perform a local test.” (Better: “We should perform a local test before applying the new method to our system.”)

In speech, grammarly.com notes, while fillers such as “ums” and “uhs” don’t add meaning to your statements, they do allow you to take a second to think about what to say next. In writing, though, unnecessary adverbs and empty phrases add length but not substance.

Filler words and phrases commonly used in writing include: basically, just, really, highly, needless to say, in my opinion, okay, totally, and literally.

Blog content fillers and SEO
Unfortunately, blog content writers often insert fillers for the sole purpose of increasing the word count of each post. Based on the perception that search engines use article length as a ranking signal, writers intentionally use word fillers to “plump up” their content with an eye to SEO.

Since search engines do measure reader time on site, instead of fillers, writeonline.io suggests “grease-slide copy”, which are phrases that create smooth transitions between paragraphs and sentences and keep readers on the page.. Grease slide text might include questions such as “Have you wondered why…..?”i..Ever noticed how…..?” “Want to know a secret…?” or provocative statements such as “Be honest….” or “We’ve all done it….”

Problogger.com ,  meanwhile, suggest “killer fillers”, which are shorter posts requiring less original in-depth research, including guest posts, interviews,  link roundups, and reader discussions.

At Say It For You, we have found, the most effective length for any one blog post is as long as it takes to show readers that “right here” is where to find answers. I teach the importance of keeping a very specific focus within each post, avoiding either extraneous words or extraneous material.

“Fill” your blog with valuable, “killer”, content, but avoid fillers that have little value to add.

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