Elements of a good business blog post
I was on my daily blog rounds this morning and came across an excellent piece on Problogger by Guest Blogger Dustin M. Wax. In his post, Mr. Wax covered the elements of writing a good blog post. Converting some of the philosophy used for writing good sales copy to apply to the world of the business blog.
Though the entire article is extremely informative and so dead on spot that it should be a bookmark in every business bloggers browser, the part I found the best was the points on writing persuasive copy:
* Knowledge of your audience: You have to know enough about your audience to know what matters most to them, and appeal to those values. Arguments that depend on a close reading of the Bible, for instance, probably aren’t going to be much use on a science blog, or a blog dedicated to secular humanism.
* A logical structure: See above. One point leads naturally and effortlessly into the other.
* Concrete detail: Most of the time, people need to see an idea in action to really get it, and the more concrete detail you can offer the easier it is for them to “see” it.
* Evidence: Statistics, interviews, quotes from respected works — these support your argument and make it more likely your reader will find it persuasive.
* Narrative: Stories resonate strongly with people, because they combine concrete detail with a structure that’s intuitively familiar to us: this happened, then this happened, then this happened.
* Emotion: When it comes down to it, people respond most strongly when their emotions are called into play. The promise of a gain or the fear of a loss can be very persuasive, if you can make it real enough. This isn’t carte blanche to blatantly manipulate your audience, which is as likely to backfire as to succeed — you can appeal to emotion without being over-the-top.
Good stuff.
In the case of writing a business blog post, truer words were never said. Our goal is to motivate our readers with a call to action. In turn, the reader responding to that call to action and doing whatever it is we wanted them to do. It might be to buy our product or service, it might be to signup for our newsletter, it might be to visit your physical location for your company. It might be a million different things.
But with these calls to action there must be some temperance. If you are screaming at them like a carnival barker, “step right up ladies and gentlemen, step right up”, and only begging for the sale in each and every blog post, you are not a business blogger. You are the proud owner of a spam blog.
A business blog must be an actual resource to John Q. in Kalamazoo. It must have something he wants and be informative, direct, and maybe even a bit entertaining for our John to follow up on your calls to action.
Otherwise he just closes his browser when he smells the spam cooking…
It’s sales people. Basic sales technique. Talking with the customers / readers as if they are standing right there in your office or store.
Ever go to buy a car or a diamond ring or anything else where there are a group of salespeople standing around looking like a pack of wolves ready to pounce on the first unsuspecting lamb that wanders into their den? Not sure what your feeling in this circumstance is, but I hate it. I don’t need to be PRESSURED into buying a car or a ring if I came into the store. I’m already there. Basic psychology says that I already have an interest in buying something.
(Here is where a few readers will nod their head with a ‘but… What about the just looking crowd?’ The “I’m just looking” response is really just a defense mechanism and can be translated into “I’m looking to buy something but I’m afraid of high pressure sales people”. )
The point is this. I want someone to help me, not pounce on me. Someone to inform me, not to pressure me. I don’t want to buy the item that pays him the best commission, I want to buy the item that suits my needs and my budget best. I want to talk with him or her and figure out just what that might be.
Your company blog is no different. People want to be treated like real people. Not like a sale. Not like a number. They want you to talk to them. They want to learn about the products and services you offer, AND, they want to learn about you and your company.
This requires good writing and honesty. It requires learning the art of persuasiveness, but being balanced enough that your readers trust you. You have to earn their business. You have to earn their trust.
To do that, you have to write well. All you have with your blog is your words. They are a double edged sword. You can either get them to relate, or get them to run for the hills.