“I’m a horrible writer and it would take way too long for me to learn how to be the writer I need to be in order to get the full marketing benefit from business blogging.”
Perfect Patti’s word echoed in my head with those from all the other business blogging customers I’ve helped. Her issues were not new to me. Everyone struggles with the idea of social marketing, but Perfect Patti is one of my more challenging students.
“Patti, I hear what you are saying but I respectfully disagree. As I’ve said on many occasions, your writing is fine. The issue is your standards are too high.”
Patti replied, “How can my standards be too high if my businesses internet visibility is so dependent on the professional image I want to establish?”
Patti’s argument was strong, but I’ve always felt her writing hit the mark on the professional side. She just lacks personal connection with the reader and when she re-reads her articles she feels the absence of personality and rejects the entire work.
“Patti, let’s back up a few steps and talk about a core element of writing a business blog article. Remember when we talked about what makes an article interesting?”
“Yes, you said it was a learned art and that I should use a pen pal to help. But my problem is I can never complete a first draft of my article so I’m never able to get my pen pal’s input. My ideas are not interesting.”
“Patti,” I interrupted. “Once you put words on the page it is no longer your call if the article is interesting or not. The reason we have a pen pal is to allow us, as writers, to focus on the idea and lean on our pal to help with the interest level and typos. If you constantly write with the filter of a critique, you’ll never get a finished product to your audience because we are our own worst critic. Part of the reason why we worked to find your best time of day to write was to eliminate the stresses of daily life. If you are re-introducing them as your own critic, then the writing process will never end.”
“But what if I think my article sounds dumb?” Patti asked.
“Then your pen pal will not only tell you that it doesn’t sound right, but also how it might sound better. Writing for your business is a team sport. You’re the creative director and your pen pal is the editor. You need to let your editor do their job.”
“That is why you emphasized up front that my pen pal must be someone I trust.”
“Correct. You are asking this person to step on your heart. You have given them permission to tear down your inner thoughts with the mutually agreed understand that together you make them better.”
I added, “That said, we do need to talk about the personal contact aspect of your article. The hardest concept for business owners like yourself to grasp is the idea of being personal. We are attracting readers as if they are reading a never ending novel. Your online book, if you will, will be created with the consumer’s interest in mind. What you write must give the reader a window into your soul. You should spend less time talking at the reader and more time telling a story. Tell stories that help the reader. The reader should be happier after they read your words than before they visited your site. Give the reader value for the time they give you.”
“I suspect you are going to tell me that I need to use my pen pal to tell me when I’m being personal enough?”
“No, you get that job. At the core of Personality Based Marketing we are attracting the ideal customer; one who likes the way you think, speak, and act. One who is comfortable with you just the way you are, where you can be yourself. There are only two ways you can communicate who you are and what you believe: speak with them one-on-one or write your personal thoughts.”
I continued, “Sales is about timing. If your only method of attracting customers is via a sales pitch, then you will only gather prospects who are in the market looking for what you provide. The problem with the sales approach is it leaves out ALL the other people who WILL be in your market in the near future. These people are browsing or surfing the net as a source of entertainment. They are not going to take the time to read a sales pitch for something they don’t need right now, but they will take the time to read about a topic that is of interest. If you two are a perfect match, then your words will draw them in. When it is time for them to invest, you already have the inside track.”
I continued, “Your job is to write as personal as you need to in order to give the reader a clear view of your soul.”
Ed Bejarana
BusinessBlogging.net
a Division of Zenith Exhibits, Inc.
To learn more about how business blogging can help you grow your business, please contact me either by phone (503) 709-1454 or by eMail ed@zenithexhibits.com.
