How to Mix Prints in Blogs

"To be chic without looking overdone, wear a large dramatic print with a smaller, more subdued print," advises Kristie Leong on eHow.  Refining the fashion concept even further, Leong recommends choosing two prints that have the same dominant color, with the small print on the bottom.

Leong might have been referring to corporate blog writing.  In these Say It For You posts, I’ve often suggested using "leitmotifs", central themes running through many individual blog posts, themes that are consistent with the business’ overall marketing strategy and with its unique position in its industry.  At the same time, blog posts tend to be more effective when they focus on just one idea.

"Mixing prints" in blogs can work, provided there’s the same "dominant color" tying together two or more sets of statistics, two or more product descriptions, etc., unified by one common theme.

As a freelance SEO copywriter and trainer for business blog writing, I was struck by Leong’s reminder to keep the "small print on the bottom". That advice is right on the money for any SEO marketing blog. Just as the first ten words of any press release are most important, using keyword phrases in the title and in the first sentences of a corporate blog post will help search engines "match" the words consumers typed into their search bar with what your blog post is about.

In corporate blogging training sessions, I explain that it’s fine, in business blog writing, to add more detail, further explanation, and to include facts and statistics to enrich the blog post and add interest, a "smaller, more subdued print", if you will.  Of course, most small businesses aren’t trying to be "chic", just to attract and serve customers.  On the other hand, readers don’t stay engaged in "overdone" blog writing.