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Not-So-Palatable Blog Topics

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non-palatable
“Fury or eternal apathy. These are the two feelings you’ll evoke from your reader if you dare dip your foot on these not-so-palatable topics,” writes Eunice David of Adhere. And what are those terrible taboo topics when it comes to blog content writing for business?

  • political topics
  • religious talk
  • highly contentious topics
  • redundant topics
  • capitalizing on tragic events
  • self-promotional posts

Let’s talk a bit about that political topic taboo thing. “Choosing a politically charged topic for your business blog pretty much equates to planting a virtual time bomb,” says David. “Your business blog would be a sitting duck for pundits who won’t hesitate to fire back and dent your credibility.” But taking a stance, I’ve found, is what gives a blog post some “zip”. And after all, doesn’t being a thought leader involve stating your own thoughts on the matter under discussion?

Sure it does. Whether it’s business-to-business or business to consumer blog writing, the blog content itself needs to use owners’ opinion to clarify what differentiates that business, that professional practice, or that organization from its peers. But where politics is not directly related to the business or practice, I agree that it’s best not to dip your foot – or your content – into the political arena.

In essence, the same guideline applies when it comes to religion. Assuming your target audience is not a particular religious community, nor is the product or service you’re marketing to them religious in nature, it’s best to stay focused on the topic at hand.

In terms of capitalizing on tragic events, AT&T’s attempt to capitalize on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks (encouraging social media audiences to take pictures on their phones of the scarred New York city skyline) turned out to be a disaster, points out mic.com. “There is no useful connection between remembering a tragedy and shilling their product.”

Ford did a better job using a tragedy, mic.com adds, by posting a respectful thank you to the first responders of the Boston Bombing, without mentioning any Ford products.

Blatant self-promotion doesn’t work any better for blogs than it would at a party. Blogs are advertorials, if anything, and that means finding the right balance between story and sale. Sure, when people go online to search for information and click on different blogs or on different websites, they’re aware of the fact that the providers of the information are out to do business.  But as long as the material is valuable and relevant for the searchers, they’re perfectly fine with knowing there’s someone who wants them for a client or customer.  The secret of successful business blogging, I found, is just that – not coming on too strong, staying in “softly, softly” mode.

Since, in writing business blog content, you’re out to elicit neither fury nor apathy, a healthy respect for the negative power of non-palatable topics is in order.

 

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Why Brains and Blogs Love Lists

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Ten Blank business diagram bullet liet illustration“There’s little that our brains crave more than effortlessly acquired data,” Maria Konnikova remarks ruefully in the New Yorker magazine, by way of explaining the reasons people love lists. Lists spatially organize information, helping create an easy reading experience, Konnikova explains, “in which the mental heavy lifting of conceptualization, categorization, and analysis is completed well in advance of actual consumption.” The point of using numbered lists, I explain to blog content writers, is to demonstrate ways in which your product or service is different, and to provide valuable information that engages readers, helping them see you as a go-to guy or gal to solve their problem or fill their need. There’s apparently psychological science behind the fact that the numbered list technique has been a staple for s magazine covers for as long as I can remember. I always sensed lists and bullet points in general would make a good fit for blogs, and by most accounts, search engines “like” them as well. Jay Sondemers of Forbes defines high quality content as being:

  • easy to read
  • suitable for scanning and skimming

As far back as 1968, neuroscientist Walter Kintsch pointed out that lists facilitate both immediate understanding and later recall. Then in 2011, psychologists Messner and Wanke concluded that we feel better when the amount of conscious work we have to do in order to process information is reduced. “Within the context of a Web page or Facebook stream,” Konnikova says, a list is the easy pick, in part because it promises a definite ending. Back in 2013, I devoted a Say It For You blog post to the topic of numbered lists, noting seven different men’s magazine covers sporting list-based titles, including “50 Great Escapes” and “6 Longest New Drivers”. Just the other day, a single news stand at my local CVS pharmacy carried four magazines with numbers-based headline teasers: (Indianapolis Diner)       13 Gourmet meals (Mountain Escapes)       62 Glorious Getaway Ideas (Entertainment )             50 Song Movies, & TV Shows Guaranteed to Bring You Joy (Time)                           240 Reasons to Celebrate America “In the current media environment, a list is perfectly designed for our brains,” concludes Konnikova.  “We are drawn to it intuitively, we process it more efficiently, and we retain it with little effort.” And that’s just fine, she concludes, with the caveat that such a fast-food information diet is necessarily limited in content and nuance. Limitations notwithstanding – brains and blogs love lists!

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To Blog, Slash Back the Range of Topics

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TEDTalks“To provide an effective talk, you must slash back the range of topics you will cover to a single, connected thread,” cautions Chris Anderson, head of TED Talks. Done right, he says, carefully crafted short talks can be the key to unlocking empathy and sharing knowledge.

Much of the wisdom Anderson shares can serve as a guide for effective blog content writing, I found. Here are a few of the gems I found in this wonderful book:
“The goal is for you to give the talk that only you can give.”
Whether it’s business-to-business blog writing or business to consumer blog writing, the blog content itself needs to be unique to you, showing clearly what differentiates your business, your professional practice, or your organization from its peers. The goal to “birth” the content that expresses your personal brand.

“You will cover only as much ground as you can dive into in sufficient depth to be compelling.”
Blog posts have a distinct advantage over the more static website copy.  Each post can have a razor-sharp focus on just one story, one idea, one aspect of your business or practice. Other important things to discuss? Save those for later posts!

“Different talks can have very different structures. One might introduce the problem the speaker is tackling. Another might be simply sharing pieces of work that have a connected theme.”
While our first instinct in writing a blog post might be to follow a linear structure, that’s not the most effective way to present ideas in every situation. Different blog posts can compare and contrast, show cause and effect, compare advantages and disadvantages of a product or a particular approach,  use testimonials, and develop story lines.

“People aren’t computers.  They’re social creatures who have developed weapons to keep their worldview protected from dangerous knowledge…To make an impact, there has to be a human connection.”
One interesting perspective on the work we do as professional bloggers is that we translate clients’ corporate message into human, people-to-people terms.  People tend to buy when they see themselves in the picture and relate emotionally to the person bringing them the message.

To blog impactfully, slash back the range of topics!

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Don’t Fear ROI…Embrace It!

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Jane's Picture (2)I like receiving e-letters from my friend Jane Thompson, the trade show marketing consultant. Invariably I find Jane’s advice about trade shows applicable to blog marketing, and that’s certainly true of her latest piece about embracing ROI.

Impact on revenue
Jane cites an article out of Exhibitor Online advising marketers to estimate the impact of each trade show on company revenue. Companies need to count the number of sales leads garnered, the “close rate” out of those leads, and what the total revenue was from that show.

As a corporate blogging trainer and content writer, I find business owners’ overriding concern is, in fact, realizing a Return on Investment from their blog marketing efforts and expenditures. At the same time, though, it’s not always possible to associate a specific ROI measurement to the blog without regard to all the other initiatives the client is using to find and relate to customers.  All the parts have to mesh – social media, traditional advertising, events, word of mouth marketing, and sales.  Every effort that “makes the cash register ring” contributes to “marketing ROI”.

Cost avoidance
“Every dollar of cost avoidance is tantamount to a dollar of profit,” Thompson reminds readers. She advises figuring out what you might have spent on sales calls and meetings to achieve the same results you accomplished at your show.

Years ago, Compendium Blogware, Inc. co-founder Chris Baggott used to point out that blogging provides some of the same benefits as email in an easy-to-use and inexpensive way.”  You can’t email people without permission and you can’t ask for permission if you don’t know who they are, Baggott would explain, and that’s where blogging comes in to help in customer acquisition, avoiding mailing costs and expensive sales calls.

While total precision in isolating blogging ROI may not be possible, examining your blog’s general “bottom line”  should be something to embrace.

 

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Striving for Online Marketing Stardom

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“You need writers even if your content is primarily video or audio,” asserts Mitch Meyerson in Success Secrets of the Online Marketing Superstars. Why? Even what looks like free form content, he explains, needs a solid, well-crafted structure of words.

What does Meyerson define as effective content structure?

  • A headline that instantly commands audience attention
  • An introductory few sentences that pull the audience in, making it tough to turn away
  • Useful information that solves a problem the audience genuinely cares about
  • A single, focused point or “moral”
  • Stories, metaphors, and examples to teach that point
  • A  Call To Action that rouses the audience to take the next step

As a blog content writing trainer, I loved this question/response in Meyerson’s  book:

                                                                          “How long should your content be? Like a skirt, short enough
                                                                               to maintain attention, long enough to cover the subject.’

It’s important to understand, really understand, the difference between features and benefits, the book stresses.

  • Features tell us two things:  What it does and what goes into it.
  • Benefits tell us two different things: what it does for the customer and what they get out of it.

A point that I’ve long emphasized to newbie blog content writers is well-stated in the book:

“Content that attracts attention also tends to have a strong, well-defined point of view.  This is no place for wimpy, wishy-washy musings.” Your readers will want to hear a clear “voice” in your blog posts.  Allow your passion – and your (or your business owner client’s) point of view – to shine through, making it very clear how problems can be solved using these services and products and what principles and beliefs drive this business or practice.

Striving for online marketing stardom? Tap dancing around the issues is a no-no.

 

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