Blogging as More Than a Sales Tool

I recently spoke to a group of small business owners about blogging. The focus was that in addition to being a big-payback element of your content marketing mix, blogging can also help integrate customer service, operations, and other departments with sales and marketing to create a more effective, efficient organization.

Sure, that sounds a little bit pie-in-the-sky, but I'm telling you, I've seen it happen.

Turns out I'm not the only one.

Blogging for Sales & Marketing & Everything Else

Buried in some very good articles (like this one from Moz) are suggestions that blog content isn't "just" good for generating leads and turning prospects into customers.

Here's the key: while your blog content is developed for leads and prospects, it can also be useful to YOUR organization, from the inside out.

A blog post about what to do when your widget fails unexpectedly - directed at your prospects - can also be required reading inside your organization. Then, when a customer comes in complaining that a widget failed unexpectedly, no matter who handles that complaint, they'll be prepared.

Blog posts about services you provide, or high-end products that are new to your mix, are another good example.

Again, the content created with your prospects in mind should be required reading within your company. That will ensure that everyone in your organization is on the same page - so when a sales opportunity presents itself, whoever recognizes that opportunity is ready with a response that advances the sales process.

Make Your Blog Useful, Inside and Out

I'm a big proponent of cross-training and think silos are silly (except on farms). I've found that blogging about a problem is a great way to solve (or at least, productively address) that problem.

Look no further than your complaint box (or Twitter feed) and you'll see plenty of fodder for your next few (dozen) blog posts.

________________________

Cross-training sometimes gets a bad reputation. In some cases, it can be used to train highly competent people to do the jobs of their less-productive co-workers. But when used as a tool to improve overall operations, it really rocks. 

For help creating a content mix that works for you and your customers and your employees, contact a writer who understands business. That's me. Get in touch.

So Maybe You Should Have a Blog

I've played devil's advocate and come up with some instances in which you may not want or need a blog for business. But for the most part, blogging is good for business - any kind of business.

Interestingly, GoDaddy has a lot of good stuff to say about blogging. I say interesting because GoDaddy isn't really big in supporting its users with blogging tools. Go figure.

Anyway, blogging is good for business. Seriously.  See what GoDaddy says about it here:
https://www.godaddy.com/garage/smallbusiness/launch/how-to-write-a-great-blog-post/

Here's another perspective on how blogging augments your PR efforts, too:
http://ducttapemarketingconsultant.com/blogging-is-public-relations-tool/

_________________________________
Need help starting or updating your blog?
I can do that.








7/7/17 UPDATE: Yet another article with some good advice on making your blog more productive, from Mark Shaefer's Businesses Grow.

What to Blog about Now? Get personal

Corporate blogging is so much fun! Said very few people, ever. 

I am one of those people, however. I love to blog about and to business folks. Industrial flooring, medical procedures, business signage materials, camp administration, customer service, electronic test equipment - been there, done that. 

Having a product, a process or a promotion to talk about makes choosing a topic for your blog easy. But planning the occasional change-up post is smart; it will add interest to your blog. 

Why Get Personal in a Business Blog?

Because people run businesses. And people buy from people. 

Especially if your usual blog fodder is dry-as-toast business-to-business stuff, a personal story or anecdote can help bring your business to life for prospects and existing customers alike. 

Also, people are more apt to continue to do business with people they feel like they know, even if it's "just" an online relationship. (It's 2015. If you're still discounting online relationships, maybe you should review the science behind them.)

You might answer "what should I blog about next?" by asking yourself, what do I like to do when I'm not working? Do you coach basketball? Tie the most awesome fly-fishing knots? Volunteer at a pet shelter? It's OK to blog about it. It's even better if you can relate it to your business somehow. And, good news: that's not hard.

Consider why you do what you do (outside of work), and chances are you'll find it enhances your health and well-being, helps others, and/or boosts your creativity. Any and all of those notions are great nuggets to include in your blog.

Happy writing!

- = - = - = - = - = - = - = - = -

Running out of blog ideas? Want help with your editorial calendar, or someone to ghost blog so you don't have to write at all? I can do that. 

Content takes time - lots of time!

Nobody minding the store?

Raise your hand if your last blog post was more than a week ago. More than two weeks ago... more than a month ago?

Raise your hand if you've been looking into a company, interested enough to read the blog...only to lose confidence in said company when you see the last post was more than three months ago.

OK, now that EVERYONE has a hand or two up in the air, put 'em down.

Content creation takes time. Be realistic about managing your blog and 88 social media profiles. And if you think your time is better spent elsewhere - like running the company or managing the sales staff - you're probably right. So, hire a ghostwriter.

That is all. ;)

Blog Rules to Know and Break

The Steveology Blog is always a great resource; in the series of interviews with Lou Hoffman, doubly so. I liked part 3, about storytelling, best. It highlighted some of the rules of corporate blogging that I'd argue most organizations break or ignore.

And there I go again, breaking the rules. See what I did there? You know I know you're not supposed to put an outside link in the first line of your blog. *Sigh* Go ahead, click away laughing - if you've read beyond the outside link in the past, you'll know why I do this. I think writing should be more useful to readers than it is to the writer - in this case, me.

Which may explain why I don't blog for a living. But I digress.

Engagement isn't easy, nor is it overrated

Your corporate blog needs readers and you need patience and commitment to get them.

Just because monkeys can write blogs and many blogging tools are free doesn't mean it's a good idea for monkeys to have blogs. *Ahem* Sorry, my snarkiness is showing.

If you've been charged with writing a corporate blog or any kind, don't fall into the content trap and think your task is all about writing. Blogging is copywriting, and copywriting is marketing. Or that word no one likes to say out loud anymore: advertising.

Call me old school: I came to copywriting via some great advertising classes taught by an adjunct who knew it, because he was doing it.

Copywriting vs. Content 

Copywriting, of course, is not just writing, or even storytelling. It's advertising. Meaning, before you write, you have to know your product (or service), your target audience, and how to reach them quickly and effectively.

Sounds a lot like content management, doesn't it?

Coincidence? I don't think so. And what's this? Another external link just as you finish reading this post? Another rule broken! Coincidence? Or valuable content, offered in trust? It's your call.

~Diane Stresing

Five Questions to Ask Before You Write

Every writing project should start with these 5 questions: 

1. Who is this directed to? 

This determines your audience. Who should read it? Who else might read it? 

What do you know/what can we assume about them?

2. Why are you talking to them? 

Why might they listen? Why might they care? 

3. What do you want them to do?

Be specific. This is the reason you're writing, after all.

4. When do you need it, and...

5. How do you want it? 

Will a Word document suffice? Can it be emailed in the body of a message, 

or should it formatted for your blog or website? 

Do you need photos or illustrations?

Save time, get the words you need 

Answering these five questions usually takes less than 30 minutes, and on the average project, having the answers will save both of us about a gazillion hours. Roughly.

Want help getting your writing project started? Let's get together, and make the words work for you.

~Diane Stresing

What to Blog About Next, part 4

Look, you can't just jump into part 4 of something without at least a cursory click on parts 1, 2, and 3. (I'll wait.) OK. Thanks, and welcome back. Now, part 4 beckons...

And then, there are those magical moments -  the blog posts that write themselves. Two things to you have to do when that happens: 1- grin from ear to ear and 2- hit 'publish.'

This one's a content creator's dream: Nieman Storyboard's roundup of 150 - Iknowright?!! I nearly hyperventilated, ONEHUNDREDANDFIFTY!! -awesome tips and storytelling techniques. Blow off your next meeting, I'm telling you, reading this is gonna be way more productive. 

Ahem. Look I'm not usually one to recommend blowing off a meeting but if you do, it'll be your turn to grin (an evil grin), 'cus your fellow writers will be all, "Where'd you'd get all these great ideas?" and you'll be all, "I dunno, sometimes they just write themselves."

Happy blogging.

~Diane Stresing

What to Blog About Next, 3

 A picture really is worth a thousand words. 

With apologies to Pinterest and Tumblr, personally, I think the photo-blog thing is a bit over-done and less effective (in most cases) than most photo-bloggers would like to think. Darren Rowse's outstanding site DPS runs hundreds of obvious exceptions, but let's remember that DPS stands for digital-photography-school, OK? 

By the way, Rowse welcomes guest bloggers, so if you've got a post in mind that's built around some awesome images, by all means, click on over and create one of those exceptions. Brag about it and send me a link, and I'll probably blog about you.

Blog with Wrong Image = Bad Blog? 

When blogging, the right picture is worth more than a thousand words. Note the qualifier. The right picture adds so much to your (related) blog post, you can probably keep the post down to 100-200 words - regardless of topic!

The wrong picture isn't really much of a problem - if your blog is strong. That said, don't be that guy.

You know, the guy who sets up his blog template to have an image of a certain size in a certain spot and it's pretty obvious he didn't spend a lot of time thinking about how the image improves the message. Worse, it's so obvious that the image detracts from the message. Do that a few times and your credibility and readership will start to suffer. 

Now You've Got the Picture

Unless your blog format requires an image, it's better to not include one if the only one you can think to include is a distraction rather than an addition. 

Case in point? You get the picture - I couldn't think of one. 

Blog on, my friends.

Update 10/22/13-- hey, do you think Social Media Examiner is riffing off my stuff? Yeah, well, I don't really think so, either. But it's a sweet coincidence. 

~Diane Stresing

Did you miss part 1 or part 2? Well, click and read already ;]

What to Blog About Next? How 'bout Now? part 2

I heart evergreen posts. Now and always.

Blogging got off to a suspicious start. Even auspicious, maybe. But I'm not blogging about run-of-the-mill, run-off-the-mouth blogging. I'm blogging about corporate/business/ghost/marketing content blogging.

Which means your blogging efforts will probably require meetings. Schedules. A plan. 

Yeah, I know. Borrrrr-ing. But do it right and you'll be hearing ca-ching!

Here's the good news about planning your blog posts: it doesn't have to be hard, they don't have to be long, and variety is the spice of blogging.

In other words, sometimes you can blog about what you're doing right now.

We're having a sale! is a great way to start a blog post.
Hurry to renew your contract before the price increase! works too. 

Seasonal tips make for great blog content. Got a landscaping business? Why not blog about liability as it relates to snow plowing contracts?

But wait, it's not exactly snowplow season, you're thinking. And we're not having a sale this week. So what do you mean, blog about "now?"

I mean, time is of the essence. You will have to spend some time planning and writing and scheduling your posts to make sure they're always timely. Get it? Blog about now means now, AKA your publish date. You want your content to be very timely ... or very evergreen. And sometimes, in-between.

I'll address evergreen posts (I love evergreen posts!) later, and tweeners too. Meanwhile, if you're wondering what to blog about now, I suggest you plan now to blog about something that will feel like you wrote it just now when the reader reads it... later.

Later! 

~Diane Stresing

What to Blog About? What to Blog About Next? And After That? Part 1

What to Blog About is a three- or four- or five- or 50-part series about - well, duh - what to blog about. Not sure what to blog about? or if you should blog? Please, read on

This series was inspired by and has grown out of a series of a-ha! moments I've had recently about content. See, I've been writing about writing and blogging about blogging for longer than I'm willing to admit. And of course, it's all content. So is copywriting. As are catalog listings, white papers, spec sheets, sell sheets, and tip sheets. But not satin sheets. That's slippery stuff. Anyway, downloadable games, quizzes, reviews, and surveys, heck, it's all content. The whole blogosphere brouhaha about the importance of content, frankly, is very old news to moi. 

Moi? Why Moi always knew content was king!

Now. I will not entertain any comments about how very old it might be, smartypants. Let's just say I knew Miss Piggy before she kissed her first frog, and leave it at that.

The most recent a-ha! moment bringing this to my attention was a conversation with an old friend, now the owner, founder, and a C-level bigshot at a pretty cool company that sells a very nifty bunch of software tools any design engineer would be happy to have. (Hi, Frank!) The conversation went something like this:

Me: Hey, I think I've got a blogging opp for you. (Yes, I really talk like that.) I've been working with a tech firm that's open to guest bloggers. Want me to introduce you?
Him: Thanks for the offer, but I don't know a lot about Blogging so I really don't see the value.

skreeeeeeeeeeetch!

Whether you heard nails on a chalkboard or somebody slamming the breaks on the possibility of reaching a whole lotta new customers, you're right.

So. I let Frank off easy - hey, I like to think that's why we're still friends - and decided to blog about it.

Part one in the bag. Stay tuned to find out What to Blog About Next.

Blog Excuses

What's holding back your business blog?

Is it a lack of a plan? A lack of discipline? I'm pretty sure it's not a lack of something to say...

Good old-fashioned blogs may seem less "exciting" than Pinterest, Tumblr, and a host of other social media tools, but the fact that they can increase your sales and reduce your cost of sales is well proven.

What are you waiting for?


~Diane Stresing

Blog On

A week after Twitter introduced Vine, its tool for sharing 6-second videos, business blogs sound almost hopelessly out of date, don't they?   But Website magazine doesn't seem to think so - and I don't either.

Thanks for reading my quaint little opinion on the subject, and if you're of a similar ilk, please note: guest bloggers are welcome here. Let's do our best to stay current, and connect via Twitter, hm?

~Diane Stresing

Guest Blogger or Ghost Blogger?

Much has been written about the value of blogging. If there's one aspect of online marketing all the 'experts' agree on, it's that blogging has value, and lots of it.

Beyond that, the opinions are like belly buttons. Everybody seems to have one that's just a little bit different from his neighbor's. So, if you want to "prove" that ghost bloggers are the best way to use your marketing dollars, and save your staff's time, you can find plenty of experts who agree with you.

And if you want to argue that having a blog authored by none other than the CEO is the best way to go, well, ditto. You can probably even come up with a study on it.

I take most studies with a grain of salt, and on this subject especially, I listen to my gut. My gut says blogs, like belly buttons and opinions, are unique. (Or at least, they ought to be.)  Meaning you probably know the answer to the question - which is better, guest blogger or ghost blogger? - and even if you don't, you can't go too far wrong... as long as your blog is up to date, on topic, and not too long.

I'm pretty sure that's my cue to stop typing.

The last word -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Need someone to help you meet your blogging goals this year? I can guest or ghost blog on a variety of topics including corporate communications, customer service, marketing, promotions and public relations. Twenty-plus years of experience and a long list of satisfied clients say I can write about almost any industry, but for the record, I've written most often for organizations offering business and legal services, and those involved in the health and medical industries, manufacturing, and  technology. And oh yeah, I know a little bit about hiking and other things to do in Ohio. Need to keep your blog up to date? I can help.

Writer as Tour Guide

Would you get on a bus if you didn't know its destination? Or if you knew the driver was likely to deviate from the posted route?

Most people will answer "NO!" and maybe...

And my point is? Writing should take you somewhere. Whether you consider yourself a professional writer or you're just an exuberant Facebook "sharer," your words should direct readers to a point.

(If you're a writer/illustrator, you know the same goes for the visual stuff, too. Darren Rowse's article at Digital-Photography-School.com explains it well.)

Writing should take you somewhere.

Good bus drivers and good writers have a little tour guide inside. They shouldn't describe exactly what I'll see - that spoils everything! - but I need to be confident that they know where we're going. Or I'm not going along.

Whether you're writing creative fiction, performance reviews, recipes, or a letter to the editor, you probably have a point in mind. Once you start writing, hey, it happens - you can get lost. Words can be misleading, send you off in the wrong direction. When that happens, call it a draft. Read it before you send it, and ask yourself: did I take the reader to the intended destination? If the answer is oops, not quite - revise it, get back on track, and get your reader to the right place.

Losing your way? Here's a quick fix: Start with "I am writing to you to ______________" and state your purpose.

I am writing to you to quit my job.
I am writing to you to tell you the party is here next Saturday. 
I am writing to you to ask for money. 
I am writing to sell you a box of widgets. 
I am writing to you because your Facebook status updates bore me. 

Of course no polished piece of writing starts with a clunker like that. Remember, this is a draft. Once you've stated your point (to yourself) your destination is clear. Then, you're ready to roll.

No matter what you're writing, be part tour guide. Keep your intended destination in mind. Mentioning points of interest along the way is nice; just check the map occasionally to make sure you're still on track.

==== Are your corporate blogs going in the right direction? Free consultation.

Corporate Blogging vs. Hobby Blogging

SPJ member and blogger Mike Consol offers some very reasonable advice in his on-target article on blogging. Ironically or appropriately, it's only available through his LinkedIn blog site or the subscription-based magazine in which it originally appeared. (Foreshadowing the death of free content? I doubt it...but maybe....)

I like the article for what it doesn't do: namely, describe blogging as a frivolous hobby. Can be, sure. Shouldn't be, though, 'specially if you're paying someone to do it.

Corporate blogs, well-planned and professionally written, can and should:

• increase web traffic
• improved customer service
• increase referrals
• further develop your brand identity
• personify your company's products/service

Blogging is writing, folks. Corporate blogging should be handled by professionals, not penny-per-word junk content creators.