Business Blog Writing – Why Blog? Why Blog Now?

At the recent Financial Forum in Indianapolis, I picked up an “Advantage Calculator”, a handy little retirement planning device distributed byIndiana Investment Watch.  On the calculator is a cardboard pull tab that investors can manipulate to see how large a retirement account they might have at age 65 were they to invest a certain number of dollars weekly beginning now.

As a freelance blog writer offering business blogging training, I’m always interested in different options for presenting material to readers or to a live audience. The fact that there were two sides to the “advantage calculator” gave me an idea that I think could be useful in corporate blog content writing. You see, I noticed that, while the first side of the Indiana Investment Watch device is titled “Why Save For Retirement?”, the flip side is titled “Why Save NOW?” focusing on the cost of waiting to begin the savings process.  In other words the Advantage Calculator was showing me compelling, positive reasons to take action.  But, on the flip side, I was being shown the opportunity costs of putting off action.

Blog content writing needs to address those two aspects, as well.  One function of any SEO marketing blog, of course, is to provide valuable information to consumers highlighting the benefits to be gained by using a certain product or service or by following a certain plan. But writing for business needs to draw attention to the “flip side of the calculator”, meaning the costs of consumers waiting to take action.

In offering business blogging help, then, I need to help business owners figure out exactly why their potential customers and clients should act now, and what benefits those customer and clients stand to lose by not taking advantage of the products and services sooner rather than later. At the same time, in providing business blogging assistance, I want to steer Say It For You clients away from the kind of order-now-or-lose-it sales tactics we see on late night TV or coupon web sites.

In Tell to Win, sales expert Peter Guber teaches the use of purposeful stories.  “If you can’t tell it,” Guber says, “you can’t sell it.  Blog content writers should incorporate stories that are, in and of themselves, calls to positive action, and deterrents to deferment!.