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Blogging One Ear Per Stalk

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Corn plants have the innate ability to grow more than one ear per stalk, James Fung, CEO of the Indiana Crop Improvement Association, guest at our morning networking meeting, explained. But years of research and experimentation have taught farmers that it is better to allow each plant to dedicate all its resources to producing one really good ear of corn, instead of wasting water and nutrients to produce multiple, less viable ones, Fung revealed.

As a lifelong city dweller, I realized, I hadn’t devoted much thought to the agricultural genealogy of my produce purchases. But, from my perspective as a blog content writer, the “one-ear” concept really resonated. In fact, the one-ear-per-stalk idea is remarkably in tune with a content writing principle we embrace at Say It For You – The Power of One. Deliver one message per post, we tell newbie content writers. Focused on one thing, your post has greater impact. Direct each blog post to just one segment of your client’s readership.

In a sense, focusing readers’ attention is the whole point of blog content writing. Fellow marketer Jeff Goins agrees: “The simple reason a lot of blogs struggle to succeed is a lack of focus.” That focus consists of three elements, Goins adds – the subject, the theme, and the objective. “Focus is the feature of effective writing that answers the question ‘So what?’”,

Just as each corn plant should be allowed to dedicate all its resources to producing a single, quality result (as opposed to quantities of results), no blog – and certainly no blog post – can be all things to all people. Each post must be targeted towards the specific type of customers your clients want and those most likely to want to do business with them.  The appeals, as well as the way they are presented, can be chosen specifically for that existing or potential customer – the words you choose, how technical you get, how sophisticated your approach, even the title of each blog entry – must focus on the ONE.

The marketing takeaway coming straight from the Indiana cornfields? Blog one ear per stalk!

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Break Full Articles Apart in Blogging for Business

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When it comes to blogging, we at Say It For You firmly believe in the Power of One:

  • One message
  • One outcome
  • One audience
  • One writer
  • One client

    A very well-written article that appeared recently in the Indianapolis Business Journal reinforced for me an important difference between nonfiction articles and blog posts, with each post having a razor-sharp focus on just one idea or concept, one aspect of a business or practice. With apologies to George Lesmeister, CEO and founder of LGC Hospitality, I’m going to use his article to illustrate how a single topic article can provide the fodder for several very focused, very effective blog posts.

The overall premise of the Lesmeister piece is that a large pool of job candidates till now be actively seeking employment, those job seekers are going to be choosy. The author offers several pieces of advice to employers about ways to provide a good hiring experience for candidates.

Statistics:
“While Indiana’s unemployment rate spiked to 17% during the pandemic, it’s now 3.9%). Our sector (Lessmeister’s staffing firm specializes in the hospitality industry) lost the largest number of jobs.” What’s more, the author adds, “A May estimate shows some 116,000 job openings in Indiana.”

In teaching business owners and professional practitioners how to create content for blog posts, I stress the power of using statistics in blogs:

  • Statistics can serve as myth-busters, dispelling false impressions people may have regarding your industry.
  • Statistics grab visitors’ attention.
  • Statistics can be used demonstrate the extent of a problem opening the door for your to show how you help solve that very type of problem.

My point: This one portion of Lesmeister’s article (the unemployment statistics) can constitute an entire blog post.

Best practices:
The author’s admonition that “Respect is a two-way street” would make for an engaging blog post title. Workers see help-wanted signs, go inside to apply, fill out an application, and never hear back, Lessmeister laments. Certainly an entire blog post might focus on best practices within your industry or profession.

One thing I suggest stressing in blog posts is best business practices.  While a goal of any marketing blog is to help your business or practice “get found”, once that’s happened, the goal changes to helping online readers appreciate the specific ways you choose to run your enterprise.

  • Specific solutions and advice
    “Even if a job candidate does not have experience in one particular area, evaluate the soft skills during the interview process. …Can the applicant quickly be trained to make an impact?”

    Solve a problem, own the customer, sales trainers like to say. That’s because people are online searching for answers to their problems or solutions for dilemmas they’re facing.  If your business has been consistently posting content, those people are going to find you, because your posts provide the solutions they need. Providing a powerful online “voice” to solutions to searchers’ problems is the essence of content writers’ work!

    Out of just this one article might come many different, powerful blog posts:

  • busting one myth common among consumers of their product or service they’re marketing
  • offering one testimonial from a user of that product or service
  • describing an unusual application for that product
  • describing one common problem their service helps solve
  • updating readers on one new development in that industry or profession
  • offering a unique opinion or slant on best practices

Break full articles (your own or others’) apart for blogging for business!

 

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