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For Humor and Allusions in Blogs, Make Sure Readers Don’t “Huh?”

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“Know your audience. Not everyone will think every joke is funny,” advises Michael Strecker in the book Young Comic’s Guide to Telling Jokes. Strecker’s advice applies to blog content writing, as we’ve learned through experience at Say it For You.

One reason certain jokes fall flat with certain audiences, I’m convinced, is not that those jokes are offensive or unfunny. It’s that many jokes are based on a cultural allusion that is simply not familiar to that audience.

A cultural allusion is an indirect reference to a person, place, or idea that is not directly described. Here are a few of Strecker’s jokes that will be funny to you only if you happen to recognize the allusion to history, literature, mathematics, geology, or the Bible…….

  • What was the sea creatures’ strike called? Octopi Wall Street.
    (The allusion is to the protest movement against economic inequality that started in New York City and which was named Occupy Wall Street.)
  • Who invented the ball point pen? The Incas.
    (The allusion is to the ancient Incan empire in the country of Peru.)
  • Why was the precious metal so silly? It was fool’s gold.
    (The allusion is to the metal pyrite, which has no value, but which resembles gold in its appearance. Many treasure-seekers foolishly mistook pyrite for gold.)
  • How did the dentist pay for his vision exam? An eye for a tooth.
    (The allusion is to a passage from the Bible about punishing a man who injures another – “An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth…)
  • What do you do at a math party? East pi and square dance.
    (The allusion is to pi, which is the ration of a circle’s circumference to its diameter, approximately 3.14.)
  • What do you call a street where Shakespeare, Edgar Allen Poe, and James Patterson live? Writer’s Block.
    (The allusion is to three famous writers and to a psychological “block” in which a person represses painful thoughts of memories.)

In blog marketing, we might choose to use an allusion to get a point across without going into a lengthy explanation. Or, we might want to get readers thinking about our subject in a new way. We might even use allusions to cement a bond between our client and the blog readers, showing the business owner or practitioner has experienced some of the same problems and obstacles as their customers now face.

There’s only one problem – an allusion does not describe in detail the person or thing to which it’s referring – readers have to recognize the allusion. As content writers, we need to gauge our readers’ areas of interest and even their level of education. If they simply don’t know the underlying story, literary tale or other reference point, we could be leaving them scratching their heads, and asking “Huh?”

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5 Ways to Talk About Tile

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TV reality show personalities Drew and Jonathan Scott have long been favorites of mine, so I was delighted to find their new lifestyle magazine, “Reveal” at a neighborhood newsstand.

At Say It For You, our content writers are always seeking to vary the ways we present information on a single topic in many different ways. Not only are we on the lookout for different “templates” in terms of platform graphics, but different formats for presenting information about any business or professional practice.

Well, I found, the Property Brothers have that technique down pat. In this single magazine issue, there are five different articles, all relating to just one aspect of home decor – tile!

1. the Tile Files
To help readers “know their options”, Drew and Jonathan present an overview of seven different tile types, including ceramic, porcelain, terra-cotta, class, cement, Natural stone, and peel-and-stick, listing the pros and cons of each.

The point of using lists of options, I explain to blog content writers, is to provide valuable information, to readers, suggesting different ways in which the business owner’s products – or the practitioner’s services – might be of particular use to them, perhaps in a way they hadn’t considered.

2. the Shape of Things
Here Drew and Jonathan delve into their subject in greater detail, first listing the different shapes in which tiles or sold. This “listicle” doubles as an advice column, since certain shapes, the brothers explain, work best for certain applications. “Mermaid” or scallop-shaped tiles, we learn, are sold interlocked for easier installation on kitchen backsplashes or behind bathroom vanities. “Square Zelligs” are glazed, often non-uniformly shaped, ceramic tiles best used for countertops and shower walls “for people who like a little character and don’t mind a snag here or there.”

Offering advice that’s out of the ordinary is actually great advice for business blog content writers. Drew and Jonathan are offering advice readers can use right now. More important, the authors are explaining the reasons behind each piece of advice.

3. the Trends
In this article, the Property Brothers collate advice from four different prominent designers. Barbie Palomina, for example likes using tiles on ceilings as well as on walls and floors. Gabrielle Aker likes mixing three complementary colors of tile to create a sunrise effect.
Kathryn Berschback installs tiles with prints and patterns in a butler’s pantry, while Zzoe Gowan “mixes and matches: patterned and solid tiles.

Since we are hired by clients to tell their story online to their target audiences, we need to do intensive research, as well as taking guidance from the client’s experience and expertise. Interviewing experts allows us dig deeper into the topic, offering added value to readers by bringing in expert insights.

4. All About Grout
This piece falls into the “how-to” category, with practical tips and cautionary advice for DIY readers. “While figuring out the right mix of cement, water, and sand may seem like more of a practical decision than a pretty one,” the authors caution readers that the grout they select is going to be permanently visible between the tiles. That means that both the color of the grout and the amount of spacing between tiles will have a big impact on the finished appearance.

As effective blog content writers, we can demonstrate to our readers how to dodge dangers and avoid costly and embarrassing mistakes. The Property Brothers’ articles are the kind home remodelers might cut out and keep. In the same vein, effective blog content should offer cut-out-and-keep, useful and actionable advice.

5. Install Intel
Before you invest in tile, the Property Brothers advise, find an installer with credibility. The Tile Council of North America (TCNA) certifies installers and keeps them up to date on the most current standards and practices around the installation of tile.

The success of your blog marketing efforts, we explain to Say It For You clients, will be very closely aligned with your positioning yourself as a go-to source of trustworthy information. Using factual proof involves offering statistics about the problem your product or service helps solve; credentializing proof cites your years of experience, and degrees earned.

At Say It For You, our content writers are on the lookout for different formats for presenting information about any business or professional practice. Those five different Reveal Magazine articles, all about tile, yet all different, serve as a great example of imaginative ways to deliver information to blog content audiences.

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Blogging Kernels of Wisdom

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Ease, flavor, and healthiness are the three ways Kelsey Ogletree rates different methods of preparing popcorn (Kernels of Wisdom in a recent issue of AARP Magazine). As a blog content writer, I couldn’t help thinking how, using those same criteria, I might rate the different categories of business blog posts….
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Ease –
“Listicles” would probably rate highest on ease, both in terms of the writer’s time in preparing the posts and in terms of how easy numbered or bullet-pointed lists are for readers to scan. The lists can be of tactics to try, alternatives for solving a particular problem, or a “best of” collection.

Flavor –
Personal story blog posts and interviews would rate high on “flavor”. In a different way, opinion pieces would be rich in flavor, showcasing the unique slant of either the business owner of practitioner or that of an employee or customer. You can add “flavor” by revealing how you arrived at the name of your business, and even by revealing the biggest mistake you made in starting your business or practice and what you’ve learned from that mistake.

Humor can be a hook, grabbing attention with a wry “flavor”. Like spices, humor is best in small proportion, and most effective when focused around a problem your company can solve.

Healthiness –
Using content to add value is healthy – for both owner and visitor. How-to blog posts and articles describing unusual applications for a product all add “healthful” value. News-based blog posts can be “healthful”, in that they help readers put current community or industry happening into context. It can be “healthy” for owners to promote products or services by tying in their link to current concerns.. Conversely, it’s healthful for readers when owners use blogs to debunk false information or even to clear the air and erase doubt by responding to a complaint.

Ease, flavor, and healthiness may be used to rate different ways of preparing popcorn, but for content writers, they offer guidelines for creating content that is engaging.

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Guest post: 3 Ways to Create an Extra income Stream from Home

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(Photo by Upsplash)

Want to earn an income but don’t know how or where to get started? Your home can be a money-making machine. Here are a few ways you can add to your finances by taking advantage of your own house…

Sell Items Online or in Yard Sales

If something’s just gathering dust in your house, consider selling it. You could have a cabinet or a couch you no longer need — sell them online! A yard sale is also an excellent idea if you have more items you need to dispose of that are in good condition. In addition, yard sales are visible and advertise themselves, which is an advantage over indoor sales. Make sure you check your local zoning laws and homeowner association restrictions to avoid issues.

Make Renovations and Share the Steps

Equity is the percentage of your home that’s already been paid off. If your home is worth significantly more than what you still owe on your home loan, you may be able to use that equity to pay for home enhancements or renovations. It’s a smart way to finance a renovation project. You may even enjoy tax deductions (if you use the money to enhance your home substantially) and low interest rates (because the property is used as collateral for the loan). Additionally, you can expect a healthy ROI with the right renovations, as well as sell the house quickly and for more money, if that’s something you’re considering.

Start a Blog or a YouTube Channel

Blogging is a smart way to make extra cash. If you like sprucing things up regularly in your home, create a website or a YouTube channel to share your home improvements, DIY projects, flips, and more. You can create an additional income stream by placing ads on your website and earning sponsorships (in time). Post often, research the best times to upload content, make your home enhancements compelling, and really provide valuable information — more people will like and share your videos and content this way, helping you earn more.

Affiliate marketing is another excellent way to make money when you run a home improvement blog. You could simply recommend products or items you like or personally use in your projects. Each time a client uses your link to purchase, you’ll earn a commission. Of course, you’ll need to reach and build up an audience for your platform to take off. Promote your posts and videos on social media accounts by sharing before and after images of your projects.

Making cash off your home is relatively easy as you have more options than you might realize. Whether through selling stuff you no longer need, starting a blog or vlog to document home renovation tips, use your home as the starting place to get your message across and get visitors coming back for more.

 

Today’s guest post was contributed by Seth Murphy.  Seth first dabbled in DIY projects because that was cost-effective. Now Seth hopes his blog, Papa DIY, will encourage readers to take a chance at tackling their own hands-on projects… check out Seth’s blog at https://papadiy.com/about-me/ 

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Blogging a Surround Sound Effect

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The Guy Raz book, How I Built This is all about starting and building a successful venture, with insights and inspiration from the world’s top entrepreneurs. In one of my favorite chapters, Raz talks about creating what he calls a “surround sound effect”.

In actual surround sound, one or more channels are added to the side or behind the listeners to make it seem as if the sound is coming at that listener from all directions. Translated into marketing, Raz explains, the secret is to give the impression that you are “everywhere”, when in reality you’re getting your name out in the handful of places where your core customers spend their time.

To market successfully, Business News explains, “your customer can’t be everyone.” Instead, you need a targeted marketing strategy, the authors stress, to succeed. You must define your niche and target those specific customers.

In fact, Spider Graham writes in bizjournals.com, “the whole goal of all marketing is to get the right message to the right person at the right time”. Of course, Graham adds, we must make sure to do this at the best price possible. If you try to be everything to everyone, your message becomes less impactful, he emphasizes.

Learning about your target customers includes gathering intelligence about:

  • their gender
  • their average age
  • their marital status
  • their educational level
  • their employment
  • their outlook on life
  • where they get their news

OK, OK. But how can marketers help entrepreneurs achieve that “surround sound” effect while still carefully targeting their customers? For our content writers at Say It For You, the challenge is using blogs to inform, educate, and persuade. Where does the “surround sound” come from?

Just as your target market can’t be “everyone”, a blog isn’t –and cannot be – an all-purpose, Swiss-army-knife solution for all your marketing needs. In fact, blogging is just one piece of the general strategy you work on with your team (which might well include a blog copy writer, but which also might include the web designer, the business manager, the employees, loyal fans, even, sometimes, a franchisor).

All the pieces used to promote your business or practice must mesh – social media, traditional advertising, event planning, word of mouth marketing, community involvement. Together all those pieces create the “surround sound effect”.

 

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