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Archives for June 2014

June 27, 2014 By Dawn Walnoha Leave a Comment

Blog, Song — Same Diff

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Woman Playing An Acoustic Guitar In Spacious Warehouse

Writing a great blog is like penning a Top 40 hit. Whether you’re into Brad Paisley, Ani DiFranco, Romeo Santos or Paul McCartney, you know a great song when you hear one. There’s truth in a great song — be it emotional or comedic gravitas — and a perfect blend of lyrics and melody. A hit song has a great title, a catchy chorus, a revealing bridge and that extra something that makes you want to play it again.

The same is true with blog writing. Just as songs are really poems set to music, blogs are essays posted to a specific place on the Interwebs. Both require a unique take on a central theme, whether that’s love or marketing. They have to reach their audience with a message that feels like it’s crafted just for them.

As blog writers, our goal is to spark a feeling with your blog. In songwriting, that’s known as the hook. Just like the way hearing a heartbreak song makes you think of your long lost first love, we strive to write something that inspires your audience to connect emotionally with you and your business. Say you’re an accountant. That can be dry stuff, accounting. How do we make a hit out of that subject matter?

Well, the main job of any blog is to establish you or your business as a trusted source of a product or service. When I’m choosing an accountant, I want to know that he or she is informed, personable and easy to work with. Your blog can show these things directly (“New State Rules Go Into Effect July 1”) as well as by using accounting and money issues as a springboard (“Family Saves $437 on Disney Trip with This Simple Tip”). Let’s say I’m a busy marketing professional and mother of four. Which one am I going to click on? There’s your hook.

And if they end up wanting to “play it again,” they share the blog via social media and suddenly you’ve got a revolution on your hands.

If you like what you’re hearing, book us for your wedding contact us today to learn more about how Brandsplat ghost(song)writers can help make you a hit.

Filed Under: Brand Engagement, Online Marketing Tagged With: blogging, writing a great blog

June 20, 2014 By Dawn Walnoha Leave a Comment

Hire it Out — Or, How to Stop Worrying and Embrace What You Suck At

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Outsourcing
In addition to ending blog headings in a preposition, I’m awesome at taking stock of my faults. Most of us are (frankly, we’re a little hyper-critical about the whole thing, but that’s another blog). For example, I suck at maintaining order on a day-by-day basis. By 9 p.m., my house looks like a tsunami hit it. On the flip side, I’m an ace speed-cleaner. I’m also really good at deep cleaning. True, these two skills came as a result of what I suck at (see maintaining order, above) — but if you’re reading this blog, you feel me.

And I’m OK with the fact that I suck at this. I’ve been inspired by a friend and colleague who is a marvelous writer and marketer but an awful project manager. As recently as a year ago, when her clients would approach her and ask her to serve in that capacity, she’d sigh and agree, eager to please. But recently, she’s become OK with her limitations and now finds that it is much more satisfactory — both to her and her clients — to hire out that component of the work. How did she figure this out? She realized that it cost her too much in terms of her own time and mental energy to continue to take on this work. So she reached out to a trusted colleague, formed a partnership where this colleague sends her the writing work he hates doing and she sends him PM work, and now everybody goes home in a limousine.

Just like in your own business, there are those things that you have the time, talent and wherewithal to do, and then there are those things that, frankly, you’d rather never ever ever do. If blogging is one of the things on your “never ever do” list, get in touch with Brandsplat. We’ve got a team of awesome writers who love nothing more than getting to know you and your business needs and then writing the hell out of a blog just to put a big smile on your face and bring you business.

Did I mention I’m also embracing non-run-on sentences as something I suck at?

Filed Under: Brand Engagement, Digital Engagement, General, Online Marketing

June 6, 2014 By Dawn Walnoha Leave a Comment

Brandsplat’s Secret Recipe, Part II

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Brandsplat's Secret Recipe

 

(Editor’s note: This is the second installment in our Secret Recipe series. If you missed the first helping of our tips on content marketing greatness, click here.)

Main ingredient alert: We’ve reached the part in the Brandsplat Secret Recipe where we disclose a big, protein-dense tip on successful content marketing. It’s the one that has moved more than one client to accuse us of using slight of hand and other forms of magic to boost their website traffic and conversion rates. (Hey, we’re not above that; if your coven has any tips, please let us know.) But getting more visitors to your site isn’t magic — nor is getting them to offer up their email address for your newsletter or to engage with your company or brand on social media.

In our first post, we listed several key ingredients to tasty content:

• Focus on benefits, not just features;

• Use the active voice;

• Use bulleted lists (see what we did there?); and

• Be brief.

And those are great tips. But this one’s even better:

Write to one audience member.

We know what you’re thinking: “What in the heck does that mean?” We mean you should write like you’re having a conversation — like you’re sitting with your next potential customer or client at a T-ball game, cheering on your kid’s team and chatting between at-bats. Write like you’ve just finished listening to them describe their needs and have an idea to share. After all, your business is built on anticipating those needs.

Writing with this in mind helps build a real connection between you and your audience for one simple reason: They feel that you are dialed in to them and their needs. They feel seen and heard and recognized. In a world in which most people struggle to connect meaningfully with others, this is a powerful tool — one that sets you apart from your competition.

So how come we’re giving away this tip? We know writing to a single audience member is a lot harder than it looks. It takes time, patience and creativity (in addition to awesome writing) — and most companies simply don’t have the resources to keep awesome writers on staff. That’s where we come in. If you’re looking to boost your Internet conversion rates, let us hear from you. Together, we can cook up a mighty fine dish. And stay tuned for more tips!

Filed Under: Online Brand Management, Online Marketing Tagged With: blog writing tips, content marketing tips, successful content marketing

BRANDSPLAT creates articles, blogs, social media, and all written content in the voice of your brand. Our clients include entrepreneurs, personalities, mid-size companies, and some of the world's biggest brands.

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