(This is the final installment in our three-part series on supercharging your small business blog. Today’s focus is blogging tips for “boring” businesses. Check out Part 1 and Part 2 if you missed them!)
Most small businesses fall neatly into one of three categories:
- “Sexy” businesses (no, not that kind!): Fashion designers, travel agents, photographers, wedding coordinators
- “Fun” businesses: Toy shops, video game designers, professional roller coaster testers
- Everything else
The A and B camps have it good when it comes to blogging. It’s easy to put together 500 words on Fashion Week in Milan or give your readers a sneak peek at your newest game. But if you’re in the C camp, your blogs can get a bit … boring.
You’re passionate about your industry. It’s why you do what you do. But if you service septic tanks or sell volume-discount vacuums, people probably aren’t lining up to read your blog. So if people aren’t reading it, why waste time writing it?
It’s time to dig yourself out of the doldrums! If you write posts for a “boring” business, these blogging tips will make it a lot less tedious.
Add Value
Do you know who’s interested in reading a blog post about how to quickly unclog a toilet?
Someone with a clogged toilet.
Even the most “boring” blog post can be valuable to someone who really needs it, and let’s be honest — you’re not trying to win a Pulitzer here. As long as the post is well-written (that is, clear and follows a logical progression), informative and can solve a problem, someone will read it, and be happy for the opportunity.
Show, Don’t Tell
A landscaper could write a 450-word piece on the correct way to prune a rosebush in their sleep. Thing is, it would probably put their audience to sleep.
Instead, share step-by-step pictures of the process, or, better yet, embed a video of you pruning the rosebush while narrating the steps as you go along.
According to science (and this infographic), people process visuals 600,000 times faster than text. And whereas they’ll only remember about 20 percent of what they read, they’ll retain about 80 percent of what they see.
Be visual. It works!
Cater to Your (Imaginary) Friends
Most readers are bored by information that doesn’t apply to them — which is why creating personas is one of the best blogging tips for new writers.
A persona is an imaginary friend who serves as a slice of your target market, and when you write specifically for a persona, you can cover all your bases and come up with some pretty terrific ideas in the process.
Let’s imagine you’re a landscaping company. You’re trying to please three different personas: Myrtle, a 75-year-old retired schoolteacher living on her late husband’s pension; Steve, a married 45-year-old attorney; and Randy, a 21-year-old eco-conscious college student living on a strict budget.
Myrtle can’t do the yardwork herself, so a how-to article won’t be of much value to her, but she does enjoy birdwatching. A post about what types of flowers attract hummingbirds would interest her.
Steve is a busy guy, but he does enjoy doing some of his own yardwork when he can find the time. He’d find a quick video or infographic with timesaving tips very useful.
Randy can barely afford his nightly ramen, let alone a landscaper, but he is interested in how to conserve water while still maintaining his lawn. A detailed step-by-step how-to guide about rainwater collection would help him out a ton.
Three very different personas have just created three very different blog posts, none of which are inherently “boring” and all of which provide value to a piece of your target market!
Your business isn’t “boring.” If it was, you wouldn’t be doing it! It’s how you’re presenting that business to the world that causes people’s eyes to glaze over. When you use these blogging tips to change the way you blog, you will change your audience’s entire perception of your small business.
Need more small business marketing tips? Mischa Communications is here to take you from standard to standout! Call or email us today and let’s get started!