3/11/2009
Writing for Business Blogs – Lessons Learned
Experience is a good teacher. When I started blogging in 2005, I just plowed in and started writing. That was my first mistake, and my first lesson learned … nowadays, I advise clients to plan carefully before hitting the keyboard! Here are a few more ways my blog writing has changed over the last four years.
Polish is for case studies, press releases, and shoes – not blog posts. Blogs are an informal medium. A blog post should stimulate conversation. If thoughts are too finished, if there’s no room left for argument, you stifle conversation rather than stimulate it. My early blog posts reflected a dissertation mentality. Now when I write, I try to imagine myself in a tavern or a coffee house, talking things over with friends.
Quality of information trumps style. Blog readers are far more interested in substance than style. Whether you write with polish or without it, you have to have something to say. Readers crave information they can use to advance their business or improve their lives in some way.
Follow your writing instincts. Conventional wisdom says a blog should have a narrow focus. In a lot of ways, that’s good. But in my case, I found it nearly impossible to stay within the confines of online marketing and copywriting. Too many other things interest me. I found that when I limited my writing scope, my writing grew stale. That’s not good for anybody.
Let your community shape you. You can’t fight city hall (especially these days). At one point I tried to eliminate my cartoons and humor in general from my blog, and it spurred a modest reader revolt. When loyal readers and friends like Robyn McMaster say jump, I say, “How high?” Back came the cartoons. When Joanna Young and Robert Hruzek encouraged me to tell personal stories, out they came. When Ulla Hennig said my posts gave her inspiration, I looked for inspiring topics to explore.
Ignore everything I just said. Sometimes, a highly polished post is just what you need to write. On occasion, a great post doesn’t contain original ideas at all. At times, you should ignore your instincts and follow the herd. Once in a while, you need to resist the influence of your readers. It all goes back to my first lesson learned – know what you’re after, what you’re trying to accomplish. Otherwise you’ll wind up being conventional for the sake of being conventional, and unconventional for the sake of being unconventional. It won’t get you anywhere. In my case, I want my blog posts to entertain and inform through a combination of my words and reader comments.
How about you? What are you after when you write a blog post?
This post is part of Joanna Young’s Group Writing Project: Writing Lessons.
21 Responses to Writing for Business Blogs – Lessons Learned
Pingback: Writing for Business Blogs - Lessons Learned « Financial Blogger
I like that last point, Brad; it emphasizes the personal nature of the blogging business. That’s what folks respond to the most – that “personal” feeling they get when they know it’s a real person they’re reading (or talking to).
Robert, Yes, and that’s what makes business blogs so important. It’s very hard to convey the sense of personal on a general purpose corporate website.
Thank you for sharing this, Brad.
I think I have fallen into the trap of the dissertion mentality which you describe above, and I think this is one of the reasons why I have personally been experiencing challenges relating not only to time constraints but also with respect to post length considerations.
Andrews last blog post..Thoughts for a nation in shock
Andrew, Breaking your posts into series was a good idea, maybe you can just break them down a little further. Lately I’ve noticed more humor, images, and conversation in your posts, which I personally like. Blogging is an evolutionary process.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Writing for Business Blogs – Lessons Learned
Brad, thanks for sharing these wonderful lessons learned, especially the last one. I think we all need to keep ignoring our own advice! Or we get stuck and stale really fast. So long as you are respectful and kind to your readers they’ll follow along too, especially if they get a sense of the authentic you that’s driving the changes.
Joanna Youngs last blog post..10 Questions to Think About In Relation to Your Comment Policy
Hi Joanna, It is amusing to hear the phrase “conventional wisdom” being applied to blogs, but even in this new medium we can easily fall into a rut. Your recent post about non conversational blogs was a great wake up call. We have to keep evaluating what we do and stay open to change.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Writing for Business Blogs – Lessons Learned
Yeah, I thought I was going to write about copywriting and internet marketing once. The topics still rear their ugly heads from time to time, especially when I think I should be making some money with this writing thing.
You already know about my Baskin-Robbins ideology, but I believe more and more a blog can be fairly Seinfeld – a blog about nothing – if it’s done in an interesting way. Blogging can be so personal people come for the blogger.
Okay, but if the business is about more than one person that probably won’t work.
Terry Heaths last blog post..Trigger, Peek-a-Boo Sound Bites, and Thanks Havi
Pingback: Copywriting course that increases sales & search engine positioning.
I’m with Robert on the last point. How come every endeavor seems to be improved by an attitude of ‘follow rules, unless your point gets across better by breaking them?’ Great post, it has given me quite a bit to think about.
Fred H Schlegels last blog post..Open Source Banking – Dutch Widening The Crack?
Hi Brad, I like what you said about building on what your readers say. That has become one of my favorite strategies for writing follow-up posts. The community definitely shapes me, too.
I like what you suggest about following writing instincts. And, along with Joanna’s insight of writing like a “fire breathing dragon,” I’m good to go!
Robyn McMasters last blog post..Zoning Out? Readers’ Experiences – Solutions
I liked what Terry Heath wrote: “Blogging can be so personal people come for the blogger.” Brad, your blog reflects your person so well – the marketing side but also your humor, your inspirational thoughts. That’s why I am visiting your blog regularly.
Ulla Hennigs last blog post..Vivaldi,The Four Seasons: Spring
Fred, You ask a great question. Some writing endeavors, such as writing labels for website navigation, are best served by NOT breaking rules.
Terry, Seinfeld holds the answers to all earthly questions. A blog about nothing is a wise choice for personal blogging, at least one that appeals to me.
Robyn, You do seem to get many of your fine topic ideas from readers as well. Your posts always raise new questions.
Ulla, Thanks for the kind words! When business is all about technical stuff, it becomes pretty dry, don’t you think?
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Writing for Business Blogs – Lessons Learned
test
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Writing for Business Blogs – Lessons Learned
Great post – I came here via Confident Writing’s recommendation, BTW.
When I coach bloggers (generally lawyers) the main objection I get from clients is “I don’t have time to write those kinds of posts all the time!” “Those kinds of posts” always = flagship content, the really meaty posts that are perfectly reasoned, highly edited, original, etc.
I always respond the same way: “You don’t HAVE to write that kind of post all the time. You need at least a few, though.” That’s because for the legal profession, maybe uniquely so, readers are seeking professional advice and assurance. They’re looking to hire a lawyer, and most of them have never hired a lawyer in their lives. It’s scary, so the lawyer/blogger needs to communicate authority, as well as friendliness, openness, approachability, etc. So yes, they do need those highly polished flagship posts, and they need to be highlighted on their blogs for direct access.
There are a ton of ways to keep publishing regularly, though, without all that effort. You can do a quick link roundup, with 5 or so links to blog posts you enjoyed over the last week. You can ask a question. You can set a challenge. You can invite questions in the comments.
The ideas are limited only by the blogger’s imagination. The main points are to keep it accessible, transparent, and personable (not personal, though).
Sherrie Sisks last blog post..In Which I Ask You to Help Send My Daughter and Me to Paris With a Perfectly Straight Face
Hi Sherrie, Thanks for stopping by Word Sell and sharing your ideas. It sounds like you and I have had similar conversations with clients. One of the nice things about a blog is the fact that you can have a little fun – throw out a half developed idea, ask for help from readers, experiment with new forms of expression, etc. Through this learning experience will come the material for future flagship posts, don’t you think?
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Why I Love Working with Consultants
Hi Brad – Every time I look at old blog posts, I delete them. I think it’s difficult when you’re first starting out. Since I began blogging, I have changed too, so my writing has changed.
But that’s probably a good thing. I used to tell folk that new business owners needed to put in 80 hours a week.
Cath, I’ve never heard of anyone deleting old posts – I hope you’re not throwing away any gems.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Why I Love Working with Consultants
Absolutely, Brad. That’s one of the best ways to also engage your readers/clients in your work, as well. It becomes more than a blog for you to spout off your ramblings – it’s a TRUE conversation!
Another awesome “catch bucket” tool I’ve found is Rusty Budget. It’s at http://budget.rustybrick.com/. Have you tried it? I started using it a few months ago, and it’s a nice way to collect “blog fodder” across the web, especially if you use the bookmarklet tool. Just click that button then it’s added to this dashboard in your account. Then you can go back whenever you have time to process the accumulated sites. You can add notes, etc., too. It seems to be built mostly for blogs with more than one writer, or for news outlets. But it works really well for someone with more than one blog, too. Just thought I’d mention it. (I am not an affiliate or anything – just an appreciative user.)
Sherrie Sisks last blog post..In Which I Explain More About Paris And the Brazen Request Made Here Yesterday
Hi Sherri, Thanks for the rustybrick tip. It does look quite useful … I might give it a try for one or two group blog projects.
Brad Shorrs last blog post..Why I Love Working with Consultants
Pingback: Writing Lessons from the Confident Writing Community | Confident Writing