Activating the Power in Your Business Blog Writing

This week, I’ve devoted my Say It For You blog posts to sharing writing wisdom from Brandon Royal’s The Little Red Writing Book, talking about “downhill” structure (putting the conclusion at the beginning of the piece) and about how examples and details make SEO marketing blog content more memorable and engaging.

“In general, the active voice is preferred to the passive voice because the active voice is more action oriented,” urges Royal. “Not only are passive sentences are less direct, but they often fail to mention the doer of the action,” he adds.  By saying Today the computer files were erased, for example, the writer’s goal may be to hide the identity of the person who made that terrible mistake.

Few business blog writers are trying to hide the identity of the business or professional. In fact, the opposite is the case – the very purpose of the blog content is to showcase the accomplishments of the business and products and services it brings to customers. That’s why using the active voice makes so much sense in corporate blog writing.
 

Author’s agent blog:

     Passive: Book contracts will always be reviewed before the author signs them.

     Active: As your literary agent, we carefully review book contracts before you sign them.

(In business blogging, the words “we” and “I” can be keys to keeping the content active.)

Jewelry store blog:

     Passive: Our jewelry is worn proudly by all types of people, from homemakers to business
executives.

     Active:  From homemakers to business executives, people of every type are proud to wear ABC
             jewelry.

(Indianapolis blog writers can follow this simple rule: To “keep active”, make people, rather than things, the subjects of the sentences in your blog content).

Estate planning attorney blog:

     Passive: Building and properly equipping a comprehensive plan with expert advice will help assure that both you and your loved ones will be protected.

     Active:  At XYZ Law, we help you build a comprehensive plan to protect yourself and your loved ones.

Nonprofit organization blog:

     Passive: Without sufficient financial support from donors, many diseases in less developed
              countries cannot be treated.

     Active:  Without sufficient financial support from donors, doctors don’t have the resources to treat diseases in less developed countries.

(It’s difficult for readers to picture the situation from the general subject of “many diseases”, but they readily picture “doctors”. Skillful blog writing professionals create images in readers’ minds.)

“Gain active power,” advises Brandon Royal. Freelance blog writers certainly have much to gain by “staying active” when writing for business!