March 2009
Copywriting Curiosities
 
Write Better Marketing Copy Now!
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Create Kick-Butt Blog Content
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by Amy Bloom 


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I'm a copywriter by day and an aspiring novelist by night.

I'm happy to announce that my first novel, Petrichor, has made it to the quarterfinals in Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award.

If you're interested, you can download my excerpt for free here and you can leave a customer review, if you're so inclined. I find out if I make the semifinals on tax day, April 15!
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Dear Robyn,

A few years ago, I read an article in which the writer questioned the staying power of blogs. At the time, I questioned this "trend" as well. Not anymore. And I'm not alone.
 
According to Technorati's State of the Blogosphere/2008, "All studies agree, however, that blogs are a global phenomenon that has hit the mainstream." According to the same report, over one million blog posts are created every day, and over 1.2 million bloggers have registered with Technorati.
 
Bloggers are a powerful group: they shape public opinion (consider the bloggers involved in the recent presidential election), provide current and relevant information, and can effect change (think of the mommy bloggers who got Motrin to change their recent ad campaign; it was a combo of bloggers and Twitterers).
 
But something that stumps many well-intentioned corporate bloggers is this: what should you write about?
 
In this month's newsletter, we'll look at tips for generating great content and we'll talk about the importance of blog maintenance (and what you can do about it if you just don't have the time).
 
Enjoy!
 
Best,
Robyn

 
Create Kick-Butt Blog Content 

Blogs are--or should be--a key component of your company's social media marketing plan. Why? Simple. Content is still king, and its reign won't be ending any time soon.

As the search engines mimic human behavior more and more, it's going to come down to the content that's on the site and the number of other sites (including blogs) that are pointing to it. The better the content and the more inbound links you have, the more relevant your site will be in the search engine's eyes.

This is good news: good, relevant content can't be faked. While the inbound link angle might smell of a popularity contest, it isn't. For once, the "prettiest" website isn't getting the vote; the website with the most substance is.
 
The fastest and easiest way to get new, interesting, and relevant content in readers' hands is through blogs. Note: you MUST integrate your blog with your website in order for your site to benefit from the inbound links.
 
No doubt, you know--or are familiar with--most of this already. What you may be wondering is this: "What sort of blog can I possibly have about the products or services I sell?"
 
Getting Bloggy: Tips for Content Generation
Your blog isn't about the product or service you sell per se, because, let's face it: that would probably be pretty limiting. But no doubt there's a whole industry your product or service is related to--that's the niche you need to focus on.
 
Let's say you sell herbal supplements online. A blog on natural healthcare alternatives would make sense. Blogs are not merely promotional vehicles for your products. Blogs should provide useful information for readers. Someone interested in herbal supplements will likely be interested in natural healthcare or complementary medicine in general. In other words, they're likely to care about the articles a natural healthcare blog would post.
 
Here are a few more examples. Maybe you sell apparel and items with beer and spirit logos. A blog on alcohol would work well (this is a real-life example of BoozinGear.com's blog).
 
Maybe you sell specialty beds for dogs and cats. A blog about "best care" for dogs and cats would attract a lot of interest.
 
Think about what you sell, and then think of everything related to it. The key is to recognize the larger umbrella category that your particular product falls under.
 
I'm working with a client right now who sells western shirts and other western-style apparel online. We've been talking about launching a blog. She's wondered what sort of blog topics we'd post about, and I pointed out the blog shouldn't focus on clothes; rather it should focus on everything associated with the Old West, since many--if not most of her clientele--has an affinity for cowboys, cowgirls, and the rich history of the Old West.
 
I brainstormed the following ideas for her:
  • Interesting facts on famous cowboys and Native Americans. For example, on May 27, feature a blog post on Wild Bill Hickock (May 27 was his birthday). Other people to feature: Calamity Jane, Buffalo Bill, Annie Oakley, etc.
  • Interesting legends of the Old West
  • Recipes that have old time western flavor
  • Reviews of westerns (movies), from classics--like John Wayne flicks--to more contemporary films, like City Slickers)
  • Reviews of books (both new and classics that feature the Old West). What's great about this is that you don't have to necessarily write the posts--you could have a guest "blogger" since book authors are always looking for places to talk about/promote their books (both fiction and nonfiction)
  • Reviews or highlights of dude ranch vacations and other travel destinations with an Old West theme
  • Reviews and highlights of museums that promote and feature the Old West, such as The Buffalo Bill Museum
  • Gravestones of famous cowboys
  • Features on related, interesting organizations, such as the Single Action Shooting Society.
Another client of mine (through Precision Marketing Group) is a company called Management Mentors, which designs and implements corporate mentoring programs. The company recently launched its blog Corporate Mentoring Matters. Some recent posts? The new White House panel on women, a post about famous mentoring pairs, and a post on how Gene Hackman mentors Tom Cruise's character in The Firm. These posts are all different, but all are relevant in some way to the company's core service: corporate mentoring.
 
Blog Maintenance and Blog Managers
Blogs require a time investment. The thing you need to determine is whether you--or someone in your company--can handle all the blog responsibilities or whether you should contract a blog manager.
 
Here are the responsibilities:
  • Creating a monthly or quarterly editorial calendar. It helps to know what you're going to write about so that you have time to research, if necessary. While "breaking news" in your industry will trump anything that's scheduled on your editorial calendar, it's still best to have the calendar as a foundation
  • Writing at least 3 to 4 blog posts per week
  • Following and commenting on other relevant and related blogs so that you build a "presence" in those blog communities
  • Monitoring and responding to blog comments
  • Soliciting and scheduling appropriate guest bloggers (authors etc.) and uploading and formatting their posts
  • Reaching out to other bloggers and providing them with content for their blogs and/or asking them to link to your blog or perhaps even be a guest blogger
  • Coming up with ideas for promoting the blog--and executing these ideas.
If you have the budget, it makes sense to outsource at least some, if not all, of this. There are many website copywriters and freelance writers who would welcome the regular gig--and the freedom that comes with blogging (along with the satisfaction of seeing their pieces in print).
 
I recommend transparency. If you can't write the posts yourself, don't have someone ghostwrite them for you (unless you carefully proof it and can stand by everything that's said). But it's certainly okay to have several people from your company contribute and publish under their own names. In fact, that's a good way of spreading around the writing responsibilities. I blog for one of my clients--Blue Acorn--and this is a good example; there are at least three of us blogging, and we blog under our real names.
 
What Blogs Can--and Cannot--Do
When you think blogging, thinking branding. You're not necessarily going to increase sales through your blog (you likely will, indirectly, through links and improving your site's ranking in the search engines), but you will brand yourself and your company as an "expert" or "go-to" resource on the industry your products or services are related to.
 
Blog success won't happen overnight. It takes time--and dedication (regular, consistent blogging)--to attract an audience. Also, it's called social media for a reason. You or your blog manager needs to "socialize" on other blogs. This does NOT involve hocking your wares; it means taking part in the conversation in a genuine, relevant way.
 
Do you have other tips for creating kick-butt blog content? I'd love to hear them.
 
Happy blogging!

**Parts of this article appeared on a post I wrote for Blue Acorn's blog. Blue Acorn is an eCommerce development firm based out of South Carolina.
 

 
Happy spring! See you next month.

Best,
Robyn Bradley
E.T. Robbins Productions
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