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Allow Me to Introduce New Terminology

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Before browsing through a magazine handout at the grocery store called alive.com, I’d never heard the term “immunity debt”, and curiosity led me through an entire article by Dr. Gillian Flower. The thesis – our immune systems need exposure to viruses to protect us from infection, and lower exposure to others through the pandemic may have decreased our resistance, creating an “immunity debt”.

Apparently, not everyone agrees. “Immunity debt is a misguided and dangerous concept,” Anjana Ahuja writes in Financial Times. “There is no evidence that an individual is worse off for having avoided earlier infection.”

While I am certainly not qualified to weigh in on this medical discussion, as a content writer I was impressed by the fact that by simply introducing me to a new term, the author had the power to engage my curiosity about the subject.

In blog marketing, once you’ve established common ground, reinforcing to readers that they’ve come to the right place, it’s important to add lesser-known bits of information on your subject, which might take the form of arming readers with new terminology, serving several purposes:

  • positioning the business owner or professional practitioner as an expert in the field
  • adding value to the “visit” for the reader
  • increasing readers’ sense of being part of an “in-the-know” group

As content writers, part of our challenge is to educate both prospects and clients on the issues relating to their decisions to choose between one business’ products and services and those of its competitors.  Introducing a curiosity-stimulating new term is one possible way to do just that. At Say it For You, we believe in empowering readers by teaching them the correct use of the terms that apply in the blog sponsor’s field of interest and expertise. Any hint of controversy only adds to the mystique of the terminology.

Most important, buyers feel empowered to make a decision when they feel “in on” the “lingo”.

 

 

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Content Writing With a Twist is Tricky Business

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“Twists fail a lot because they are delicate things,” Jeff Somers opines in Writer’s Digest. You have to give your reader enough information to make the twist feel like something they somehow missed, he tells novelists.

Blogs are a great way to share new information with people in an easily digestible format. You can use blogs to teach new information in several ways, including guest posts by experts, listicles, and feature stories or interviews of people who have learned something new, Kesah Po writes in Quora. At Say It For You, we particularly appreciated Po’s suggestion that content writers feature stories of people who have learned something new.

Every book can benefit from adding a plot twist or two, to add tension, intrigue, and keep readers talking, N.J. Simmonds says in Jericho Writers. Plot twists seem to come out of nowhere, SImmonds adds, changing the direction of the story, after the author has “misled readers on purpose”.

But, just as Jeff Somers cautions novelists, in blog marketing, twists can also be tricky business. Not only does effective business blogging need to be centered around a limited number of keyword phrases and key themes, the core message needs to fulfill the implied promise given the searcher who has arrived at the site based on a need for specific information on a given topic.

That is not to say that, through blog posts, marketers can’t introduce readers to a solution they hadn’t known was an option for them. (Some of the most successful businesses represent new twists on old ideas and products.) However, since successful blogging begins with a clear understanding of your niche and target audience and adding value for them within their general range of needs and expectations, providing “twists” in the form of information they may have somehow missed, can be tricky. What’s more, what with internet marketing an ever-evolving field, content writers need to stay updated on the latest technologies and changes in search engine algorithms.

Deciding how and when to reveal information to readers is part of the challenge novelists face, Jeff Somers explains. As blog content writers, we share the challenge of delivering information to online searchers, doing that with a “twist”!

 

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Putting Questions in Readers’ Mouths and Minds

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The tactic of using questions in titles is one I’ve often suggested to blog content writers, because often we can help searchers formulate their own questions by presenting one in the blog itself. It’s best to focus on the expansive and productive type of question, such as “What’s possible?” “What are my choices?” “What’s useful here?”

The Pole Position article “5 Questions Every Nascar Fan has Asked at Least Once” comes at the matter of readers’ questions from an entirely different direction, actually listing – and then providing answers to – “five questions we know everyone’s asked before – out loud, into a search engine or both”:

  1. How do NASCAR drivers go to the bathroom during a race? (Answer: They hold it or – they just let go.)
  2. Is there a reason why NASCAR races run counterclockwise? (the driver’s seat is on the left side; patterned after horse racing, which is counterclockwise.)
  3. What state has the most NASCAR fans? (North Carolina)
  4. Do NASCAR vehicles have air conditioning? (No, that would add weight.)
  5. What do drivers eat before a race? (Oatmeal, grilled chicken, and avocado toast.are some faves.)

In content marketing, you’re often providing answers to questions that your potential customer might ask. The specific genius lies in forcing readers to recognize their own uncertainties and need for answers. But, before you can successfully convert blog readers into customers, Neil Patel explains, you have to know what they’re worried about.

Are there five questions that your prospects and clients tend to ask the most? Remember, just as consumers would not be searching for the right auto shop/ jewelry store/ plumber/ healthcare provider, etc. unless they already felt the need for that service or product type, searchers who land on your blog are already interested in and have a need for what you offer.

By answering questions, providers make prospects feel understood, D. Forbes Ley taught salespeople in training years ago. Even if those searchers haven’t specifically formulated their questions, as content writers, we can do that for them by presenting the answers to frequently asked questions.

It’s not so much a matter of “putting” questions in readers’ mouths and minds, as acknowledging the questions already there and providing answers that can be key to closing the sale.

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Bringing Your Blog Post To a Close

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A classic work of Japanese literature, The Tale of Genji, known as the world’s first novel, centers on the life and loves of the son of an 11th century Emperor and his beloved concubine. One detail about the story has perplexed readers, interestingfacts.com explains – it ends inconclusively. For centuries, the fact historian notes, “audiences have hungered for a more decisive ending to this thousand-year-old tale”…

“Writing a conclusion for your blog article can feel a bit like a necessary evil”, Christian Rigg writes in wordtune.com. But a strong conclusion, he explains:

  • helps readers understand the importance of the article
  • encourages them to share your content
  • makes them want to come back

What makes a conclusion strong? It:

  • concisely summarizes the key points
  • explains why the information matters
  • leaves a lasting emotional impression
  • includes a call to action.

Copyblogger Henneke Duistermaat cautions writers against a common blog-writing mistake:  stale conclusions. In fact, he suggests writing your conclusion first, then filling in the rest of your blog post. Once you’ve thought through your conclusion, you can reflect focused enthusiasm in the title you select for your post.

In Chip and Dan Heath’s book The Power of Moment, they discuss research that found that when people assess an experience, they tend to forget or ignore its length, tending to rate an experience on two key factors:

  1. the best or worst moment (“the peak”)
  2. the ending

At Say it for You, we agree. In blog content writing, a great opener with a lame last line is.., well, lame. It’s important to have great titles and strong, curiosity-stirring openers, but you’ve got to have a strong ending.  If the opening line in blog content writing is the conductor’s “downbeat”, the closing line represents the final notes of the symphony – “TA-DAH!

When it comes to structuring a piece of content, comic strip creators do it best, I’m convinced. Most of the comic strips in the Indianapolis Star are perfect models, with only three “frames”. In the first, the stage is set with a situation, dilemma, question, or problem. The second box develops the idea, and the third ends with a “summary” closing line.

From the Tale of Genji to comic strips to blog marketing, by all means, blog content writers – bring things to a close!

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Using “Did-You-Knows” to Suggest “Don’t-You-Wants?”

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Did you know that a) Asia is bigger than the moon? b) Alaska is the westernmost, easternmost, and northernmost state in the U.S.? c) Maine is the closest state to Africa? These are just three of the “facts that will change how you look at the world“.

As a blog content writer, I find seemingly “useless” tidbits of information extraordinarily useful for capturing readers’ interest, adding variety and fun. But much more than that, I teach at Say It For You, tidbits can be used to: 1. describe your way of doing business 2. clarify the way one of your products works 3.explain why a service you provide is particularly effective in solving a problem 4. Debunk myths about your business or profession.

For all these reasons, in corporate blogging training sessions, I often recommend including interesting tidbits on topics related to your business (or, if you’re a freelance blog content writer, related to the client’s business). If you can provide information most readers wouldn’t be likely to know, so much the better, because that information helps engage online readers’ interest.

The big caveat, however, when using tidbits and unusual facts is that the information has to be tied to the readers’ problem or need. Why does the business owner or practitioner care about the information? Why will the info potentially make a difference to readers? The secret is creating a clear thought path from the fascinating facts to the benefits online readers stand to gain.

For example, a travel agency blog might use the fact that Maine is the state closest to Africa to promote a tour of Quoddy Head Light, a quaint Maine lighthouse located at the easternmost point of the United States.

A travel agency might also spark interest in travel to Asia using that tidbit about the continent being bigger than the moon. But there could be marketing power in that fact for other enterprises as well. Because the brain perceives the moon as being farther away when it is high in the sky and closer when it is near the horizon, appearing larger when viewed through trees or buildings, Krisztian Komandi blogs in medium.com about the influence of optical illusions on business decisions. A fashion blog can explain how certain fabric cuts make the waist appear more chiseled.

A little-known fact can become the jumping-off point for blog marketing content.

 

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