Blogging About Who Your Heroes Really Are

“The man who ‘saved’ his dog from the jaws of an alligator should be cited for animal neglect instead of being called a hero.”  At least that’s the opinion C. B. from Leesburg, Florida shares in a letter to the editor of Readers Digest.

Now, there’s kind of a different take on the matter, I thought, engaged enough to read on. “Anyone who lives in that area of Florida knows there are alligators in the waters where he let his dog run around without a leash.  He put his dog at risk, and an innocent alligator died because of it,” C.B. finishes with a flourish.

Always trying to relate interesting things I learn to blog content writing, I realized that I found that letter engaging because it’s an example of what fellow blogger Hector Cuevas calls the “shock and awe approach” – starting posts by disagreeing with what is commonly accepted as the norm.  Cuevas recommends this approach because it builds an instant sense of curiosity in readers.  Then, he cautions writers, it’s up to you to explain your point of view.

But is offering offbeat opinion really such a good idea in blogging for business? After all, I’m training blog content writers to gain converts (read “buyers”), not to antagonize readers! Well, then I remembered a post by friend Doug Karr titled “We Should Stop Saying Influential When We Mean Popular”. If you want people to see your stuff, Doug was saying, go for popularity. But if you want a lot of people to buy your stuff, go for influence, meaning building trust and creating relationships.

Interesting. That whole process of considering the Readers Digest letter and then recalling the Doug Karr blog post helped me conclude that it is important, even necessary, to include business owners’ opinions in marketing blogs. Why?
Whether it’s business-to-business blog writing or business to consumer blog writing, it’s opinion that clarifies the difference between that business, that professional practice, or that organization and its competitors.

Ever hear the saying, “There’s a big difference between having to say something and having something to say.” In the final analysis, people are going to want to do business with people who have something to say about their field and about the way they choose to operate within their world. At least that’s my conclusion.