Tag Archive for: connecting with blog readers

On occasion, I find the need to remind business owners and professional practitioners of the differences between their print ads and brochures and their blogs. Business blogs exist to promote your expertise, products, and services, true, but in a manner much briefer and less formal than brochures, and a lot “softer” in approach than ads. The word “advertorial” is the closest description for blogs.

At Say It For You, I explain the following to clients: The people who are going to come upon your blog are those searching for information, products, or services that relate to what you do.  In other words, your blog visitors are already in the market for what you have to offer. Help them get to know you and your company.  No hard sell.  No formality.  No elaborate charts and graphs.  Just “talk”!  Just connect.

Easier said than done? Not if you humanize your brand, says Corey Wainwright of hubspot.com. “When your audience is reminded there are real-life humans behind the scenes,” it becomes easier for them to trust your product or service.”

We agree. One interesting perspective on the work we do as professional blog content writers is to translate clients’ corporate messages 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.

Another way of infusing blog content with a personal touch is by using first and second person writing (rather than third person “reporting”). In fact, a crucially important function of our blog content writing is assuring readers that our business owner or practitioner clients are “listening”, that they understand the issues and stand ready to help readers deal with those issues and needs.

Sure, blogging is “pull marketing”, designed to attract searchers who have already identified their own needs. But through blogging, readers can be introduced to solutions they hadn’t known were available to them. A business blog (as compared with the more static content on traditional websites) offers the chance to introduce your unique approach to satisfying customers’ needs.

No need for charts and graphs – just connect!