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In Blogging for Business, Data is a Commodity, But Insight is Gold

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Writing in the Indianapolis Business Journal, Samantha Julka recalls a professor telling her that “Data is a commodity; it’s the insight that’s gold.” Anyone can create a survey and a pivot table, Julka observes…but real researchers pull insights! When numbers are tossed around, people generally view it as vital information, she says, but people may not know what to do with that information. As a consumer, Julka points out, I don’t want to read raw data; I want someone to tell me what the data means. The really juicy stuff, she says, makes people think and helps them make decisions.

Oh, so true, as I’ve been teaching at Say It For You. Citing statistics and other data is certainly one tactic I teach Indianapolis blog content writers to use as a way to capture readers’ attention. But my own experience as a business blogger has shown me that statistics, even the startling sort, aren’t enough to create positive results for any marketing blog.

In fact, the ultimate success of any blog marketing effort depends on readers taking action. In that realm, blogging has one enormous advantage over traditional “push marketing” tactics, in that it delivers information to visitors who are already interested in a particular product or service. Still, that’s not enough.

The blog content needs to address the “So what?” within the data, so that the statistics and facts not only are true, but feel true to your online visitors. In a way, I realize in retrospect, my own years of experience crafting messages for different businesses and professional practices might very well fall under the job descriptor “translator/interpreter”.

Whether it’s business-to-business blog writing or business-to-consumer blog writing, the blog content itself needs to use opinion to clarify what differentiates that business, that professional practice, or that organization from its peers. In other words, blog posts will go from information-dispensing to offering the business owner’s (or the professional’s, or the organizational executive’s) unique perspective on issues related to the search topic.

Several years ago, I read about a study performed at the University of Pennsylvania, in which participants were divided into three groups. Each individual was given $5 which they could choose to donate to a certain charitable organization after they learned more about it. A presentation was made to each group. Group A was given all kinds of statistics about the charity – size, budget, staff, funding sources, etc. Group B heard a story about a young girl who was helped by that organization. Group C was given both data and the story. Which group ended up donating the largest amount? You guessed it – the one that had heard the story, because the story gave meaning and insight into the data.

In blogging for business, data is a commodity, but insight – well, that’s gold!

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Analogies Help Information Resonate With Readers

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Matching our writing to our intended audience is part of the challenge we business blog content writers face. After all, we’re not in this to entertain ourselves – we’re out to retain the clients and customers we serve and bring in new ones, so we try to use words and sentences to which our target readers can relate.

There are four ways to make information resonate with an audience, advises climate scientist Lissa Ocko (who often addresses non-scientists on scientific topics):

  1. strip down to the essentials
  2. craft a story
  3. provide context
  4. use analogies

Using an analogy to link an unfamiliar concept to something that is familiar can help the reader better comprehend what you’re trying to say. It’s also a catchy and clever way to help get a point across, MasterClass.com points out.

At Say It For You, our content writers often use analogies as teaching tools in business blog posts:

Analogy: Parhelions and blogs posts
A parhelion is an atmospheric optical illusion consisting of “halos” of light around the sun. Just as parhelions showcase, rather than obliterate the sun, blogging allows content writers to approach the same topic in different ways to appeal to different audiences, still highlighting the central message.

Analogy: Suitcases and blog posts
Packing light has always been one of the better tips for savvy travelers. Pack your blog post with just enough materials to show searchers they’re on track to find the services or information they need.

Analogy: Cows being milked at night and blog posts
Cows were often milked in their barns at night, making that task one of the last ones on a farmer’s list. The expression “Till the cows come home” could be used in a message about a provider’s prompt service.

In blogging for business, using an analogy to link an unfamiliar concept to something familiar can help the reader better comprehend what you’re trying to say.

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All You Have to Do is Blog

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According to the 1-800-GOT-JUNK commercial, when you want something removed from your home or yard, “All you have to do is point” As a blog content writer, I love that commercial.

“Persuasive ads are advertisements designed to elicit a desired action,” Mary Lister writes in Wordstream. Ad campaigns for products or services are designed to communicate two main ideas:

  1. Problems your product or service solves
  2. Ways your product or service does that better/quicker/cheaper than that of your competitors.

Confession – for me as a consumer, there’s always been a third piece. I’m not handy. And, since I don’t know how to assemble, much less fix, mechanical devices or pieces of furniture, I’m always looking for what’s going to be required of me in the process of achieving a solution to my problem or fulfilling my need.

The 1-800-GOT-JUNK motto must have been made for people like me. Right up front, they’re assuring me that they will handle the issue, do the dirty work, figure it out. All I have to do is identify the problem.

All business owners and practitioners have products and services to sell. But sometimes, the marketing and advertising skips over the convenience factor.

A little over ten years ago, an editorial cartoon in the Indianapolis Business Journal showed a harried lady returning a gadget to a merchant’s Returns window. “It’s not that I don’t like the product,” she said – “I just can’t get it out of the package!”

  • Yes, you understand your target audience and the specific problems they’re facing.
  • Yes, your product or service provides a way to solve those problems.
  • Yes, your product/service compares favorably to others on the market.
  • Yes, but…but…but, just how much effort am I going to need to expend to “get it out of the package”?

Put yourself in the shoes of your online visitors:

How easy is it for them to navigate your website? Follow your Calls to Action? Set up an appointment with you? Pick up the phone and call if they choose to? (Is your phone number clearly displayed on the page?)

How easy is it going to be for a prospect to: get started on that program you’re touting? Start on the diet plan? Install the app or get the device to function?

Let them know – “all you have to do is…….._!

Borrowing the line from 1-800-GOT-JUNK, blog marketers’ new mantra might well be this:

All you have to do is blog!

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Picking an Outfit – for an Interview or a Blog Post

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“We all make judgments about the people we come into contact with within the first few minutes of meeting them,” ZipRecruiter observes in IndyStar. “In fact, we tend to assume that people who dress well are more competent, even if they aren’t.”

Interesting, I thought. Two pieces of the how-to-pick-a-job-interview-outfit advice ZipRecruiter offers can be easily adapted to business blog content writing…After all, as content writers, our goal is to make a good impression on visitors to our – or our clients’ – websites..

Observe others
To get a sense of how you might want to present yourself, do some people-watching. For each person that passes, write down the first adjective that comes to mind – professional, confident, stylish. Decide which words you’d like to be associated with and mirror that look.

Business blogging is one way we have of “talking about ourselves”, and we need to make sure we use words in ways that give readers the right impression. One way to “see” ourselves from the point of view of visitors is to visit others’ websites, including those of competitors. Is the “vibe” welcoming and empathetic? Brash? Don’t copy, simply get a sense of how different websites appeal to visitors, and emulate the tone that seems to best reflect the impression you’d like to make on visitors to your site.

Of course, as Neil Patel points out, you can also use “competitive intelligence” to gain insight into which keywords are helping your competitors’ rankings online.

Strike a pose
In the right outfit, you’re more likely to “strike a power pose” and put your best foot forward. Look for fashion at affordable prices or reach out to a friend or family member who can lend you an outfit.

In blog marketing, as I teach at Say It For You, the visual elements are as important as the content itself. The main message of a blog is delivered in words, of course. Where visuals come in, whether they’re in the form of “clip art”, photos, graphs, charts, or even videos, is to add interest and evoke emotion. You should take pride in your blog’s appearance, ease of navigation, and correct grammar.

Whether for a job interview or a blog post – it’s important to pick an outfit!

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Starting – and Sticking With – Blogging for Business

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While launching a business blog is a fearsome thing for many, sustaining the process is even harder, as Seth Godin discusses in The Dip.

Too many business owners and professional practitioners embark on blog marketing in recognition of its power to generate interest in their products and services. What gets them down is the week-after-week work of creating new, relevant, interesting, and results-producing…blog posts.

In the face of all the compelling reports demonstrating the value of blog marketing, Caslon Analytics tells us that most blogs are abandoned soon after creation (with 60% to 80% abandoned within one month!, 1.09 million blogs were one-day wonders, with no postings on subsequent days. The average blog, Caslon remarks ruefully, “has the lifespan of a fruitfly”.

Problem is, as we well know at Say It For You, in blog marketing, it’s just not OK to quit. Those abandoned blogs belong to those who don’t recognize what Seth Godin describes as the “extraordinary benefits that accrue to the tiny minority of people who are able to push just a tiny bit longer than most”. Google and other search engines tend to give more weight to websites that update their content regularly and that “keep on keeping on.” In fact, it’s the constant, consistent stream of new content that gives blogging its edge over other forms of marketing.

After years of being involved in all aspects of corporate blog writing and corporate blogging training, one irony I’ve found is that blog content writers who do nothing more than “show up” are exceptional! That’s because business owners who are able and willing to maintain consistency and frequency in posting to their blog are so rare. Remember, a company or practice might be achieving exceptional results, but potential customers and clients don’t yet know that, and that’s the message that needs to come across in the blog (and the latest entry cannot be six months old!).

Readers and search engines each know to “expect” fresh content. Freelance blog content writers are helping their business owner and professional practitioner clients build equity in keyword phrases over time, helping clients achieve those “extraordinary benefits that accrue to the tiny minority of people who are able to push just a tiny bit longer than most”.

 

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