5 Tips to Blog Busting

Most entrepreneurs and local business owners work hard to create a strong online presence, build great products or services, and strive to gain leverage with customers, only to realize they are sorely lacking content.

Content Matters
Blog posts are a great way of informing and educating customers and can turn complete strangers into sales opportunities. But where do you begin, and what are you supposed to write about?
You could outsource your content, but will the writer understand your product or brand message? How can you make the writer understand the foundational principals of your business? More importantly, how much will it cost you and will you have a solid ROI with outsourced content?
Blog Busting to Save Time and Money
Blog busting isn’t just a concept. It’s a frame of mind for creating quick content when it’s the last thing you want to do. Blogging often is often the first task that is procrastinated on because, let’s face it, you’re busy running a business.
What exactly is blog busting? Well, it’s a lot like clutter busting. If you’re a parent, you know how important having a routine is for your family. There are certain chores that need to take place before school, after school, and before bedtime. These are small, simple tasks that help keep the clutter to a minimum, a household semi-functional and your sanity intact.
It’s the same with content.
As a business owner, you need to do something every day to maintain consistency and continuity for your customers.
Here are 5 simple ways to tell your customers about and offer valuable information for others:

1. Create a catchy headline with alliteration like, ‘Seven Secrets of Sizzling Summer Foods’ or go big like, ‘The Ultimate Guide to Buying a Used Car’.

2. Your introduction should ease your customer into the Information and not be an immediate sales pitch. Keep it to no more than two paragraphs.

3. The main body of the article should inform, educate or entertain your customers. Try using lists or provide quick tips on how your customer can solve a problem.

4. Never forget a picture in your article or blog post. After all, pictures say a thousand words. When writing your content, keep your posts to fewer than 500 words, so let your pictures help tell a story.

5. Finally, you’ll want to give your customers a reason to buy your product or service, and you’ll need to include a call-to-action (CTA). It’s not needed for every article, but if you’re writing a sales post, it’s necessary. Keep your online call-to-action simple with one step that customers can either click or download to receive the product or service information.

Once you brainstorm these ideas, you’ll find you’ll have plenty of information to write about.
Need an even simpler way to write?
Write like your favorite stand-up comic. Some comics tell a story, taking their audience on a journey until the final punch line, while other comics use short one-liners and constantly jab their audiences with them.
The root of how a comedian tells their jokes begins with a topic, a premise, and finally the punch line. The best way to demonstrate this concept is by mind mapping it.

  • Determine the topic of your blog and place it in the center of a page.
  • For the premise, you can have as many concepts as you want, but you’ll want to narrow it down to just one, to make your point (punch line). The premise can be used as the body of the blog.
  • The punch line is where you get your point across (the big laugh). But the key to a great punch line is through great storytelling. Once you capture the reader’s attention, lead them down a path and finally get to your call-to-action.

Visualizing your blog will also provide other ideas for future articles so be sure to keep your notes in a central location for quick reference, when the need for quick content arises.
How does this relate to you?
It’s simple.The topic is what you want to tell your customer, but it shouldn’t be a sales offer or some product demo. It should be informational or educational and offer value to your customer by solving a problem they have or answering a question.
The premise can be a list of helpful ideas or bolded section headers with short paragraphs containing quality information.
The punch line should be well-earned and if you are asking for a sale, make sure you provide valid reasons for the customer to take the next step. However, your punch line can be a teaser to your next blog post or be an ‘information coming soon’ about an anticipated product or service.
Writing a quick blog post of at least 500 words should take no more than an hour to write. If you need to research the topic, be sure to allot an additional hour. I always do my research first and have those points of references either printed or pulled up for quick reference.
Also, don’t let the little things get you distracted. If you have an idea while you’re writing, like including a quote in your blog, just write ‘TK’ –in the space you want to place it. ‘TK’ is an old reporter’s word for ‘more information to come’. You never want to interupt the flow of your writing…unless of course, it’s time to take a break and enjoy a little comedy.
Need a even simplier way to have all your content created?
esd & associates can do it for you. Our award-winning staff can help fine tune your brand message and deliver content with exceptional ROI.
 

Written by Rebecca Asher, the Communications Manager for esd & associates who is a published author of three books. Her essay Take a Breath will be published in Elizabeth Gilbert’s Eat Pray Love Made Me Do It anthology to be released (Riverhead Books division of Random House) in spring 2016.