Marketing Blog Tips Photo by StockSnap on Pixabay
Many marketing blog tips only focus on the “how” of writing individual posts, like how you draw in readers, choose relevant topics, or keep your readers reading. However, for today we’re going to talk about something broader: your tone, which is different from style and encompasses things like sentence construction and grammar. Instead, tone focuses on the emotions that your pieces evoke, through word choice, calls to action, and themes. Your tone helps you establish trust with your target audience, and as you know, trust is where you get your bottom line. The voice you use to write your blog is just as important as any other branding you do, so it’s important to get it right. Here are four marketing blog tips to get you thinking about the tone on your blog and how it reflects on your organization.
Study Other Blogs
Take time to read posts from other blogs, some in your industry and some outside of it. Note the different tones each company chooses to promote products or services. While some aggressively promote, others will present themselves as experts on a topic, and still, others appear more like a friendly partner learning along with their customers. As you read a variety of blogs, you will find yourself identifying with some more than others. Note the tones that appeal to you and what you are trying to accomplish. This is a good starting point for finding your own voice.
Write Your Values
Ultimately, you write your blog to communicate about the topics that matter to you and to your audience. And the values that matter to you influence the way you write about issues and ideas. Think carefully about the traits you and your target audience value. These traits inform your choice of words, topics, and themes in your blog posts. Perhaps you are writing with a tone of motivation and aspiration, encouraging your readers to move forward. Or instead, maybe you present factual information that helps the customer make decisions. Other possibilities for tone are excitement and vigor, advice and personal experience, or critique and alternative options. Really, the options are fairly limitless.
Define Your Voice
To further define the tone of your company’s blog, choose 2-4 words that embody your company’s voice. Maybe you are quirky, relevant, and fun. Or perhaps instead you are clever, forward-thinking, and motivated. Whatever your organization’s particular characteristics, these words will define the way you write and present yourselves. It also impacts the sorts of people who are inclined to listen to your voice.
Identity: Know Yourself and Your Audience
You know who your company is. You know who you want to serve and how you want to serve them. But in order to market yourself to your target audience, you must speak in a way they can hear. Make a list of the identifying features of both your organization and your audience. No company will appeal to everyone, so what makes your customers different? Other organizations are doing similar work to yours, so what makes you unique? Once you establish these essential traits, you craft a conversation that suits both parties.
The tone of a blog often influences readers beginning in the first sentence. By knowing your organization and your target audience, your writing forms an instant connection. You establish trust, thereby creating a relationship that will benefit both parties moving forward. Don’t be deceived in thinking that you can write a marketing blog without a tone of voice. If you haven’t intentionally chosen a tone, it’s time to go back and evaluate what messages you may have been unintentionally sending. Are you looking for more marketing blog tips? Check out our archive of blog posts full of tips.