Business Bloggers’ Monday Mythbusting Tip: Blogs Are Fact Machines

Business blogs are wonderful tools around facts.  That’s why business owners can use corporate blog writing as a way to dispense information, but, even more important, to address misinformation.

Why is that important to do? False beliefs about products and services often stand in the way of customers taking action. You might say that the de-bunking function of business blog writing is owners’ way of taking up arms against a sea of customers’ unfounded fears and biases.  Blog content writing is a way of “cleaning the air”, replacing factoids with facts, so that buyers can see their way to making decisions.

Take this example from James and John Caher’s book Personal Bankruptcy Laws for Dummies. One myth the Cahers address is that “people who go bankrupt are sleazy deadbeats.”

The authors combat misapprehension with statistics and findings from scientific studies:

• A five-year study published in Health Affairs in February 2005 revealed that, “from 1981 – 2001, medically-related bankruptcies increased 2200%.  Most of the filers were middle class folks with health insurance.”
• The fastest-growing group of bankruptcy filers are older Americans and more than half are forced into bankruptcy by medical debt.

Granted, this example of using statistics to combat mistaken perceptions comes from a 350-page book, not a corporate blog.  Still, I think, it serves as a perfect example for corporate blogging training.  Once the myths are out of the way, readers can deal with the question “How could filing bankruptcy help me?”

Every industry, every profession has its myths, ideas that sound true but simply aren’t.  Presenting the actual facts and statistics in your corporate blog writing has the same effect as the windshield defogger on your car. Once the mist is cleared off the glass, you can see for yourself what’s out there – you won’t need to be either told or sold!

Speaking of selling, one concept I continually stress to Indianapolis blog writers is that blog posts are not advertisements.  Hard-selling is nothing but a “turn-off” for online visitors.  The goal, instead, is to win loyal fans and to build trust, talking with readers and showing who you are in addition to what you do and how you do it.

In corporate blogging for business, the products and services you offer, properly presented with the myths cleared away, will sell themselves!