Blog Content Writers’ Triggering Tidbit Challenge

"Where do you get your ideas?" is the question Malcolm Gladwell discusses in the preface to his latest book What the Dog Saw. In that same vein, today I’m posing a business blog writing challenge – along with a batch of freebie "triggering tidbits" – to readers of my Say It For You blog posts and those who need corporate blogging training.

What I dub a "triggering tidbit" is nothing more than a piece of unusual or little-known piece of information which bloggers for business can use in their posts, tying that information to explanations of their own company’s products, services, and culture in order to capture online readers’ interest.

The tidbits I’m listing today come from the latest issue of one of my very favorite magazines, Mental Floss.  There are always good ideas in the magazine applicable to writing for business.

Here’s the Triggering Tidbit proposition:

As an Indianapolis blog writer to all my business owner friends and readers, my challenge to you is this: Develop a blog post for your SEO marketing blog by building your business blog writing around that tidbit of information. Use that tidbit to explain your way of doing business or to clarify the way one of your products works, or why one of the services you provide is particularly effective in solving a problem, or enhancing a user’s appearance or health.

E-mail the link to your ‘triggering tidbit"-inspired post blog by the end of May, and I’ll give it a mention here in my own Say It For You blog. Don’t yet have a corporate blog site  on which to publish your post? E-mail your creation to me, and I’ll publish it here (how’s that for free publicity?)

I’m just that curious to see how different businesses can come at the same information from different angles.  And of course, as a trainer offering business blogging help to business owners and employees, I’m anxious to verify my theory that good ideas for writing for business are all around us all the time.  We just need to keep our ears and eyes open.

Tidbit #1:  "Redheads require 20% more general anesthesia than non-gingers before going under the knife."

Who might use this tidbit in corporate blogging for business:

• Hair salons (to talk about hair color analysis and treatment)
  
• Dentists (to promote individualized, gentle dental care)
• Skin care clinics (to provide information about delicate skin)
  
  
  

Tidbit #2: "About one in every 4 million lobsters is born with a rare genetic disease that turns it blue, which makes it easier for predators to spot."

Who might use this tidbit in business blog writing:

• Marketing companies (how to make yourself stand out from the crowd)
  
• Patent lawyers (discussing how success can trigger infringement efforts)
  
• Billboard advertising firms (drawing attention with skillful use of color)
  
• Wardrobe and fashion advisors
  
  
  
  
  Tidbit #3:  The "Poems in the Waiting Room" charity was founded in 1998.  The organization distributes cards with poems to the waiting rooms of medical practices in the British National Healthcare System (and, since 2010, in the U.S.).

Who might use this tidbit in writing for business:

• Book stores
  
• Physicians
  
• Psychotherapists
  
• School tutoring service
• Medical centers
  
  

Tidbit #4:  The myth of the 5-second rule says that if a treat spends less than 5 seconds on the ground, it doesn’t collect germs.  Dr. Paul Dawson of Clemson University showed that "bacteria such as salmonella transfer onto food instantly upon contact."

Who might use this tidbit in corporate blog writing:

• Restaurants (to how off their high standards of cleanliness)
  
• Instant hand-sanitizer manufacturers or vendors
  
• Housecleaning services
  
• Grocery stores (to emphasize their extra precautions taken with produce)

Won’t YOU rise to the Triggering Tidbit Challenge?  This Indianapolis blog writer will be looking forward to your e-mails with examples of creative writing for business!