Business Blog Content: Telling Beats Selling

The evidence keeps adding up by market researchers: content marketing wins over readers more than advertising. This means business bloggers have the clear advantage since blogs are the best way to communicate stories.

According to an Adfusion survey, article-based advertising is preferred by 51% of respondents who are “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to read and act upon the material.

The survey asked respondents to rate their likelihood to read and act upon five types of online advertising: banner ads, pop-up ads, e-mail offers, articles that include brand information, and sponsored search engine links. By ad type, respondents said they were “very likely” or “somewhat likely” to read and respond to:  

    * Articles that include brand information: 51%
    * Email offers: 47%
    * Sponsored search engine links: 39%
    * Banner ads: 25%
    * Pop-up ads: 13%

Thanks to Chris Baggott from Compendium Blogware for the heads up on this survey.

Chris says, "Seth Godin has a great line about websites being for facts and figures and business blogs being for stories.

"This gives us tremendous support for the core ideas behind why business blogging is your greatest customer acquisition strategy.

"What this study articulates so completely is that prospects prefer to engage with stories above all other forms of online advertising."

But you can't just slap any blog up on the Web, start publishing stories and expect to get clients. Even Brian Clark had to study, learn and practice his way to 40,000 subscribers.

• Copyblogger is packed with key posts that tell how to do this
• Darren Rowse's Problogger tells you
• Men with Pens tells you
• Writing on the Web blog tells you
• This blog also tells you how to Build a Better Business Blog.

You must remember that telling a story on your blog has to:

1. Grab attention
2. Focus on a solution to a problem: educate and inform
   
3. Entertain and engage readers
   
4. Enrich the lives of readers by saving them time, money or energy
5. Inspire action

Ask

Where does your blog content fall short? How do you know? When's the last time you surveyed your readers? What are your strong points? How do you know? When's the last time you asked an expert?

If you can't answer, don't be surprised. Very few of us can see what an outside expert eye can see.

If you're interested in learning more about your blog strengths and weaknesses, why not get an Extreme Blog Makeover? The Blog Squad can help you use your stories to get clients.

Comments

[hydrone]

Business Blog is so good to every bloger!
do you know copyblogger ?

[dape]

Thanks for the advice about business(stealth slogging)blogging, these type of surveys can help to set strategy in SEO campaigns.

[Jim]

Hmm great post.Interestingly enough I recently focused my attention away from PPC to SEO and after reading this now have some concrete evidence other than a "hunch". Again as mentioned before "Content is King".

Jim

http://www.helptobusiness.com

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