Business Blogs Showcase 3 Roles

Retirement planners have three roles, Marty Martin explains in the Journal of Financial Planning:

Listener

Connector

Resolver

Seems to me, keeping those same three roles in mind would help blog content writers plan an editorial calendar for the SEO marketing blog of any business, professional practice, or organization.

Listener

The goal is to uncover the facts and discover the emotions. When your client tells you the source of his or her concern, switch to the facts, and normalize the feelings (“It’s not unusual for people to feel a bit nervous about retirement.”)

Once the basic connection with online searchers  has been established through the blog post title and the keyword phrases, we blog content writers have our real work cut out for us – creating an emotional connection with readers. We need to assure them we ‘re listening.  We understand the issues, and they are hardly “alone” in their need for solutions to their problems.

Connector

The goal is to help the client connect the dots of the different types of data – their pension, their Social Security, their IRA, etc.-  plus connect the clients with other professionals for special planning they need.

As a freelance blog writer, I’ve always known that linking to outside sources is a good tactic for adding breadth and depth to my blog content. Linking to a news source or magazine article, for instance, adds credibility to the ideas I’m expressing on behalf of Say It For You client companies. When you link to another blog content writer’s comments about the subject you’re covering, that’s a way to reinforce your point and also shows you’re staying in touch with others in your industry. By connecting readers to other sources,  Indianapolis bloggers can really enhance and add value to the online consumers’ experience.

Resolver

The goal is to guide clients to decisions.  You strongly suggest your client make a specific decision, yet acknowledge it is the client’s decision, not yours.

A call to action is an image or text that tells your readers what action they should be taking next on your site. In fact, as a professional ghost blogger, I'd say the ultimate challenge blog content writers face is getting readers to "see" themselves using the products and services described in the blog posts. Providing several different options for readers (Read more, Subscribe to blog or newsletter, Download a document, Contact, Take a survey) guides readers to decisions while acknowledging they may not be ready to buy just yet.

Use business blog writing to showcase business owners’ and  practitioners in all three roles – as listeners, as connectors, and as resolvers!