Business Blog Writers Strive for Substance, With Style

“Stop selling.  It may sound counterintuitive, but, seriously, stop selling,” Rheba Estante tells professional speakers. “Speakers who earn top dollar have substance that sells itself.”

Substance sells products and services in blog content writing as well. To deliver “substantive” blogging for business, blog writers need to follow Estante’s advice to stop pushing the PR and start focusing on “knowing what your audience wants and delivering that.” That’s the only road to being seen as an authority and a go-to resource for important things, Estante cautions.

What is substance?  Speaker Magazine says it’s the difference between façade and fact, between appearance and reality.  It’s about providing proof. As a corporate blogging trainer, I really related to one line in that magazine article about “Substance, With Style”:

“It isn’t what you’ve done, but what you’ve learned – and the insights you can share – that give your expertise substance.”

I think that observation is extraordinarily relevant to anyone writing for business. The facts (which are the raw ingredients of corporate blogging for business) need to be “translated” into relational, emotional terms that compel reaction – and action – in readers. The typical website explains what products and services the company offers, who the “players” are and in what geographical area they operate. The better websites give at least a taste of the corporate culture and some of the owners’ core beliefs.

The function of the business blog writing then, is to give readers “proof”, but even more, a deeper perspective with which to process the information you’re offering. Truly effective SEO marketing blogs don’t appear to “market” anything. The substance sells itself.