Why Are Business Blogs So Dang Hard To Write?
People ask variations on this question frequently. I have a short and simple answer that may help clear the fog: biz blogs are challenging to write (especially to write well) because they require a balanced combination of personality and professionalism.
That may not seem so difficult on the surface of things, but think about it. Most of us have our “professional” voices, the way we sound on letters to our clients, on our websites, and in our elevator speeches. We also have our regular, or “personal,” voices, the casual way that we talk to friends and family. From our early moments in the business world, most of us were trained that the two should not mix.
A little bit of my theory: our culture has evolved from a community-based marketplace of corner stores where everyone knew the shop owners, to a more isolated marketplace where the transactions were kept fairly sterile. This is where the “professional” voice came from.
In the last few years, it seems to be evolving again, back to embracing the concept of personal connection. Now huge companies like GE are writing business blogs to reconnect with their clients on a more personal level.
How is this relevant to you? Well, if you’re an independent service provider, your entire business is likely based on a strong community connection, and the goal of your biz blog should be to bolster that sense of connection with your current and prospective clients. You want to find a way to convey a sense of your personality through your blog, and yet you want people to take you seriously as a professional service provider. This is why biz blogs are so hard to write (well).
So what do you do? You learn a new way of writing–create a new voice, one that embodies the spirit of you within a business context. I’m not saying it’s easy, but it’s certainly possible. I’ve been toying with the idea of having a business blogger support group, in part to help people work on this challenge.
Rachel Whalley is a business blogging and writing coach based in Seattle, WA. Check out her other pearls of wisdom at www.writewithmeaning.com.
February 1st, 2007 at 9:57 pm
Yes, business blogging support group.
Where do I sign up?
I love this post because it’s exactly what I think about when I write: how casual or how professional should I go? Should all my posts be uniform in some way?
I seem to have several “voices,” i.e. the informational voice, the poetry and philosophy voice, and the artist’s voice.
In any case I’m not getting too many comments and perhaps that’s a subject for one of our meetings…how to get more feedback from readers.
February 1st, 2007 at 10:10 pm
I just put the first biz blogger event posting up. You can find it here: http://biznik.com/events.html?id=252. I’m excited about the interest I’ve seen so far in this group.
I hope you sign up, Hannah, because it would be great to have a chance to connect with you in person.
Getting feedback from readers is a hard one, and not all my posts are commented on. It’s certainly a topic for this group–how to get more comments, are they really necessary, etc. One thing that I’ve found useful is getting people subscribed to my feed or email-version newsletter.
February 1st, 2007 at 10:13 pm
I advise most clients- when in doubt, don’t doubt.
There is an aspect of blogging that many people picking up blogging have a hard time bending around… we are not all talented writers who can write subtle changes to different audiences.
Yet we can all expose ourselves. Believe it or not, there is a world of people out there that will find you and like what you right. For every nut-ball, geek, intellectual, or jerk…. there is an audience dying to read what you say.
The best comparison is music. Do you like Death Metal or Jazz? Regardless of what you like… the best Death Metal and Jazz musicians are embracing who they are. They play from the personal level.
This is the same place that 99% of the world should blog from.
If you are in the 1% of the population that was born to be a gifted writer who can appeal to different audiences- kudos to you. If not, grab a cup of your favorite drink and spill some of who you are into your writing.
The hardest part of this method is that you actually have to *love* what you are doing for a profession. That zest and energy will attract clients if you share it with them.
February 2nd, 2007 at 3:32 pm
Business blogs are not hard to write.
Have something interesting to say. Say it well, conversationally.
Be yourself but be appropriate, and stay on topic.
Get busy writing and stop commiserating. That’s all for now.
http://themoneyisinyourwriting.blogspot.com/
February 2nd, 2007 at 3:45 pm
Hey Barry and Joseph,
Thanks for chiming in.
Barry, I agree that not every blogger needs to have an array of voices. The point I was trying to make was that people often find it challenging to accomplish the “purpose” of a biz blog if they’re stuck in either “professional” voice or “personal” voice. What I find useful is a hybrid voice that I use consistently wherever I post.
I love your emphasis that what really matters is having passion about the topic. I think you’re right on–what I most want to see in a biz blog is that the owner/writer is jazzed about her work.
Joseph, I think some people do find biz blogs hard to write. One of your main passions is writing, so for you, yeah, not so hard. But for someone who is thrilled by interior design work, for instance, and not by stringing words together, it can be challenging. You and I continue to differ on our methods of “getting busy writing.” For me, an extrovert, chatting with folks about writing is incredibly useful and motivating. I write with more passion after a great conversation. But I can see how, for other folks, chatting can be a procrastination tactic. So I like to be open to the idea that people can work successfully either way or somewhere inbetween.
February 2nd, 2007 at 8:34 pm
Rachel,
I respect your right to have a point of view. Yours is interesting and defensible.
But I’m going to hang tough on mine. Not everyone is cut out to blog, or even write, for that matter. If someone finds writing, and therefore blogging difficult, maybe they should just look at that and say, “Hey, it’s not my talent. I should stay with what I do well.”
Yes, I write easily. Got the genes for it. See me knocking on wood.
But I don’t agonize over not being able to golf or sing. Writing ability doesn’t come from a lot of writing therapy. You got it or you don’t since it’s largely a talent.
Writing aspirations these days seem proliferated by the blogging phenomenon. People are getting freaked out about blogging, like if they don’t do it, some precious part of their body might fall off.
If you can’t write well, and therefore can’t blog, it’s not the end of the world. There are lots of good ghost bloggers out there. It’s pretty amazing actually how much blogging is done by hired pros. And good stuff, too.
I say we do best to stick to what we do well and hire out the rest. That’s why there have writers for hire. And I say it’s not fair to people to make them think there is something wrong with them if they can’t write. Something they need to fix. They don’t. It’s just not their talent.
One of the most common mistakes indies make is trying to do everything themselves. Does it make sense to take up boatbuilding so you can go on a cruise? Why not just buy a freakin’ ticket?
February 3rd, 2007 at 12:07 am
Ahh, I didn’t quite understand your point previously. I think I’m clear on it now. Yes, I agree that blogging isn’t for everyone. But there are those who would like to learn, who have things to say and are stuck on how to get it out, OR who might be writing a lot and just somehow not connecting the way they want. Many of us are DIYers, after all. I wrote this post to offer some perspective and support to those of us who are slogging through the biz blogosphere and taking our best whack at it.
I would never say everyone *should* blog. If you hate writing, don’t kill yourself trying to blog! But I will say that, for independent service providers, I’m not fond of the idea of a ghost blogger. A copy writer makes sense to me, but I want hear the true voice of my therapist through her blog. There’s no substitute for your own voice when it comes to connecting with your community. Your clients want to know and trust YOU. And Barry’s right, it doesn’t have to be perfect; it just has to be authentic (and, hopefully, passionate).
February 5th, 2007 at 7:23 am
Rachel, I believe your point is more subtle than whether you’re good at writing. I consider myself a talented and fairly prolific writer. And when I’m writing my personal blog, I rarely feel any hesitation. But when I’m writing a client’s blog, or writing a blog about how to write business blogs (which is what my business blog is about), I sometimes have to dig to find the right topic for a post that’s relevant, timely, and sticks (mostly) to the point.
I think a business blog writer interchange is a great idea and I’m signing up!
February 7th, 2007 at 8:15 pm
Yes Barbara, you’re right. My original point was that blogging is a very specific type of writing, unlike any other, which makes it a challenge to do. If the professional voice is like ice skating, and casual voice is like roller skating, I’d say biz blogging is like roller blading. A little of both, but totally unique and something that needs to be perfected through practice. You can be an ice skating and a roller skater, but the first time you put on roller blades, it’s gonna feel a little different and require you to learn how to combine the skills you already have.
February 8th, 2007 at 3:34 pm
I hope that people reading all this don’t get scared off by all the complexity. Not everyone can rollerskate, and many could but are afraid to try. Blogging could be thought of as more like walking, since in reality it’s just talking…
Dennis
February 8th, 2007 at 11:56 pm
Good point, Dennis. Let me clarify that my intention was not to make blogging sound complicated, but rather to demystify it and validate the feelings of those who might be finding it difficult.
February 12th, 2007 at 8:03 am
One of the side notes missing in all of this is the true purpose of a business blog - “Create Business.”
Constantly changing relevant content on your business web site is a good way to continually increase your search rankings.
If your intentions are to espouse your personal views, then little attention is needed for content and form. Mainly because in reality nobody really cares what you think except like minded people, and they’ll understand the message clearly.