Ease-the-Pain-and-Prevent Blogging for Business

The latest issue of Backpacker magazine turned out to hold a more-than-ample supply of ideas for us freelance blog writers in Indianapolis to use, and this week I’m focusing my Say It For You blog posts on a few of the most interesting Backpacker March 2013 articles.  

The “Troubleshoot This” section of this month’s magazine talks about snowblindness, explaining that the condition results from sunburned corneas. The article is divided into two sections: “Ease the Pain” and “Prevent It”.

The “Ease the Pain” part quotes Antarctic expedition doctor Gavin Francis’ advice to cover eyelids with moist gauze and take Ibuprofen.  (Curating materials from various l and inviting readers to explore further can add content marketing value to your blog.)

The “Prevent It” section offers advice about wearing wraparound dark lenses with a VLT (visible light transmission) of 5-15% and using campfire ash below the eyes to reduce glare.

Corporate blog writing for business, it occurred to me as I read the piece, will succeed only if two things are apparent to readers, and in the order presented here:

• It’s clear you (the business owner or professional practitioner) understand online searchers’ concerns and needs
   
• You and your staff have the experience, the information, the products, and the services to solve exactly those problems and meet precisely those needs.

Backpack is following author Steven James’ advice to novelists: Put things readers care about in jeopardy; in an SEO marketing blog, start with the “threat” (in this case to eyesight), demonstrate that you have the solution. Only then should your blog content writing turn to the prevention side.

The flip side of this business blogging help tip bears mentioning. In too many business blogs designed to market a product or service, the content is meant to scare consumers, so they’ll be moved to do something about that fear – now!

As a corporate blogging trainer. I advise more of the middle ground I found in the Backpack article on snowblindness: Go ahead and identify ways in which something customers value could be in jeopardy, assuring searchers they’re not the only ones to find themselves in this predicament or having this need and showing them you've solved these precise problems for customers and clients many times before.

But then, so that every reader (even those not yet ready for your shopping cart) finds value in having visited your site, offer helpful, actionable “prevention” information.