Still Breaking the Blogging Rules (among others)

I've written recently about white papers that aren't quite white papers, and about landing pages that don't follow the rules. Crazy? Only if you think common sense is.

Folks, articles with scary headlines about content such as '5 THINGS YOU MUST DO TO GET READERS' should be taken with a grain of salt. If you know your business and your brain has had the benefit of a cup of coffee, you can make your own decisions about content marketing's MUST-FOLLOW RULES.

Below, a post I wrote about breaking the blogging rules, way back in 2014. I reviewed it and deem the info still worthy today.

The bottom line? Your content needs to work for you and your business. Consider those "rules" a list of suggestions and if you need help getting your message across, work with a writer who gets your business. < shameless plug

Excerpt from Blog Rules to Know and Break, originally published in October 2014

The Steveology Blog is always a great resource, and I found a series of interviews with Lou Hoffman was especially so. My favorite: part 3, about storytelling, highlighting some "rules" of corporate blogging that many organizations break or ignore.

And there I go again, breaking the rules. See what I did there? You and I know that you're not supposed to put an outside link in the first line of your blog. *Sigh* Go ahead, click away laughing - but know why I do this: I think writing should be more useful to readers than it is to the writer - in this case, me.

Which may explain why I don't just blog for a living. But I digress.

Engagement isn't easy, nor is it overrated

Your corporate blog needs readers and you need patience and commitment to get them.

Just because monkeys can write blogs and many blogging tools are free doesn't mean it's a good idea for monkeys to have blogs. *Ahem* Sorry, my snarkiness is showing.

If you've been charged with writing a corporate blog or any kind, don't fall into the content trap and think your task is all about writing. Blogging is copywriting, and copywriting is marketing. Or that word no one likes to say out loud anymore: advertising.

Copywriting vs. Content 

Copywriting, of course, is not just writing, or even storytelling. It's advertising. Meaning, before you write, you have to know your product (or service), your target audience, and how to reach them quickly and effectively.

Sounds a lot like content management, doesn't it?  Coincidence? I don't think so. Nor is that external link placed at the end of this post. Another rule arbitrarily broken? Or valuable content, offered in trust? It's your call.

~Diane Stresing