I think you should learn to write a business blog that won’t induce sleep.
OK. I’m laying it all on the goddam table: most business blogs are terrible (not according to one bloke on Linkedin, there’s always a contrarian).
They (mostly) suck harder than any experienced sex worker.
And I know what you’re thinking, you’re thinking, “Has she lost her fucking mind? All she does is talk about blogging for business!”
Yes, but when you read as many as I do, you begin to notice a pattern: they’re all as dull as Gwyneth Paltrow (that didn’t fly with some men on Linkedin either).
If you’ve been paying attention, you know your content needs to be enticing. So, for the love of a good woman let’s entice, shall we!
If you haven’t been paying attention, take a look at this article: How to write an SEO friendly blog people yearn to read
People just want info, not entertainment.
That’s often true when we’re after knowledge online.
We don’t care if the blog in question is beautifully written, nor do we mind if it’s light on LOLs. Surfing the web with informational intent usually means finding quick and simple explanations.
But it also depends on what the purpose of your blog is. Some are written for entertainment’s sake. I know, utter madness.
As content creators, churning out just facts can really suck the joy out of blogging
A business blog requires commitment, and for me, writing one that adds humour makes me want to do it. Because let me tell you, there are hundreds of boring SEO blogs already in existence. I don’t need an outbound link to back that claim up.
I love SEO but for many, it’s a tedious and dry subject.
And maybe making it entertaining means making learning more effective. Hopefully, everyone’s having a good time and the customer is applying what they’ve learned to their business.
A business blog isn’t your personal journal.
Well, a successful one isn’t.
And by successful, I mean one that gets the kind of traffic you want.
Customers won’t get industry-based information on a blog that talks about finding yourself at a yoga retreat in Nepal.
(Unless you’re selling spiritual awakenings at yoga retreats in Nepal.)
The trick is to write a business blog that isn’t business-like at all
Take the business out of business.
You need to choose a broad sector topic that you create regular blog content under.
For example, mine is SEO content writing for B2B. That makes it easy for me to maintain focus and write content on that subject.
Like I said, there are plenty of strait-laced SEO blogs already so I offer something different.
I get a kick out of finding unrelated subjects and challenge myself to create a connection between them. I have a thing for disparate things. Only I would find a way to mention dogging on a business blog about content writing – my business, my rules.
Just realised that ‘disparate’ sounds like a New Zealander saying, ‘desperate’. Say it out loud, you’ll know what I mean.
You might be pretty uptight on your business blog.
Maybe you’re petrified of offending people.
PSA: You will never be able to avoid offending people.
Aside from swearing and polarising opinions, some get nervy about using contractions (eg. they’re, you’re, it’s, can’t). Be a bloody maverick, go start a sentence with ‘and’, I promise your old English teacher isn’t watching (they’re probably dead).
Don’t do anything you feel isn’t appropriate for you and your content but stop yourself from thinking you shouldn’t just because it’s not the industry standard.
It would do freelancers and SMEs good to check out some rebel, disruptor, and challenger brands and see how they create content. Standing out from the crowd is their thing.
If you’re different from your competitors, shout loudly about it. If you’re not doing anything different, why not? If you offer the same service with a similar approach, all it then becomes is an arms race to the bottom in terms of price.
So, why not try approaching your business blog the way you might a personal blog. The only difference is the core subject matter.
What if some people hate it?
Firstly, who cares, and secondly, who cares.
It’s attracting who it’s attracting – the people you really want to work with. And for those personality vacuums that just have to tell you how awful your content is, send them thoughts and prayers.
Don’t confuse style with lack of expertise.
If you’ve been creating content for your business you’ve already developed a style.
If, like me, you have a distinctive way with words, some might think you lack the knowledge to back it up. Only worry about that if you really don’t know what you’re talking about.
Who cares if it’s all about the style.
For some, style might be the only reason they engage with you online / buy a product / sign up for the newsletter. And some paying clients might be watching you from the sidelines – never getting involved with online conversations.
I don’t bother asking why they buy.
It doesn’t matter to me because I know my products could mean different things to different people. So if one person buys my stuff to learn and another to laugh, either way, they’re paying.
I’m a writer first. I’m never going to enjoy producing blog posts that are solely for the purpose of relaying information.
Are you a writer with a content conundrum? Wanna pick my brains about summat? Great coz you can. Book a one-to-one with me and we’ll sort it.
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