If you’ve been tasked with crafting a B2B blog for your business, fear not. Good writing is not out of your reach.
A great B2B blog is built around engaging the reader with writing that is informative and helpful. Knowing your audience is key, but it’s only half the battle.
Thankfully, writing is not just a gift bestowed upon few — it’s a learned skill. Every writer can improve and continue to grow. If you’re constantly describing yourself as a bad writer, are you making any effort to change? Before you sit down to ponder how you’re going to write a B2B blog, try implementing some good writing practices into your process.
Stop Saying You’re a Bad Writer and Use These Tips To Improve Your B2B Blog
Sometimes the hardest part of writing is getting started. Writer’s block might seem like the biggest hurdle you have to face in the creation of your B2B blog post, but it could actually all be in your head. Ann Handley, author of Everybody Writes believes writer’s block comes from within.
“More often than not, writer’s block — or the reluctance to begin — is rooted in fear and anxiety about knowing where, exactly, to start. I get that, because I procrastinate, too.”
If you’re up against a deadline, eventually you’re going to have to start writing. Handley suggests making the blank page appear more friendly by writing Dear Mom at the top. This can work for your b2b blog too. Think about who your customer is and imagine that you’re having a conversation with them. Making your writing environment more comfortable can help you get rolling and jump that hurdle.
Making an outline can also help light the fire for your blog, and it’s also a key way to get organized. If your post isn’t organized, your readers won’t be able to follow or understand it, and your blog isn’t going to have a positive impact on your business. An outline makes a key difference when you’re starting to write because it helps you stay on track with what you want to say. Good writing is built on a foundation of clear, concise ideas, and if you plan them out, your blog will easily be successful.
Good writing is like math: it has logic and structure. It feels solid to the reader: the writer is in control, having taken on the heavy burden of making a piece of writing clear and accessible.
Want Your B2B Blog to be Successful? Think About Who You’re Writing For
If you want to stop feeling like you’re a bad writer, you need to build some confidence. Having confidence in what you’re writing isn’t difficult, you just need to have a good understanding of who you’re writing for and what you’re writing about. Knowing your audience, or in this case your customer, is key to creating engaging blog posts that will help give your business exposure.
Swap places with your reader. Be a skeptic of your own work. Get out of your own head, and into your reader’s or your customer’s
An easy way to create topics is to think of your posts as an answer to questions that your customers have. By giving them the information they’re looking for, you’re establishing yourself as a thought leader in your industry. Your customers will start coming back to you for more answers once they see that you’re providing relevant and helpful information that matters to them.
Making sure it matters is another key to good writing. If your customer doesn’t care about what you’re writing about, they’re not going to read your content. Ask yourself when you’re creating topics, what does this do for my customer? If you’re not answering a question, you should be providing some insight on a part of the industry that you’re in. Don’t write about human resources if you’re in manufacturing. Your customers aren’t going to be interested and your writing is just going to be ignored. Make sure your posts are helpful, and that your readers are getting something from them and you’ll be on the right track.
Engage the Readers of Your B2B Blog With Good Writing
Now that you’re on your way to making great topics and conquering writers block, it’s time to zoom in on your writing. The golden overarching rule that applies to every kind of writing is show don’t tell. When you’re writing, there’s a big difference between saying “he heard the door open,” and “he heard the hinges creak”. The first sentence is boring. It just tells you what’s happening. The second sentence creates a sound in your mind and shows you what’s happening.
Good writing is made of showing your reader what you’re telling them rather than just giving them information. When you’re writing your B2B blog, think about how you’re explaining your topic. Are you just pushing information at them or are you showing them a clear picture of what you’re talking about?
Good content — and good writing — doesn’t preach or hard-sell. Instead, it shows how your product or service lives in the world, explaining in human terms how it adds value to people’s lives, eases troubles, shoulders burdens, and meets needs.
Don’t fill your page with boring jargon about your industry, show your readers how the topics you’re talking about apply to the real world and their day-to-day experiences. Your customers will feel more engaged while they’re reading, and by showing them how it matters they’ll view you as a thought leader in your space.
Once you’ve got your draft down, sit on it for a few hours (or even a day) and then come back and edit. You can’t have good writing without good editing, so don’t leave this part out. Be sure to check for typos because even spell-check isn’t perfect, and if your readers find one, it’s easy for your post to lose accountability. One of the biggest issues that B2B bloggers face is feeling like they have to seem overly professional or intelligent in their writing so they stuff their sentences with unnecessary words. Most of the time, less is more.
Good writing is for everyone. As you tackle your next B2B blog, keep these tips handy and always be thinking about your reader. The more you practice, the more it’ll start to come naturally, and your posts will start benefiting your business in bigger ways.
