I recently attended a local Chamber of Commerce afterhours party where one of the discussions turned to Social Media Marketing as a business tool. An interesting point was made that prospects, cross-industry, aren’t as open to direct sales calls, but would rather search the Internet for information related to potential purchases for everything from shoes, cars, homes and restaurants - to web hosting.

Do you write content for your website or blog?
It only follows that if prospects (for your products or services) are keying in search queries to find relevant information on the Internet, that you should be there. I guarantee this – your competition WILL be there.

Writer’s Block
Don’t know what to write about? Select anything you’re passionate about. What do you know about your product or service that could be beneficial to the reader? Very often, if you just start jotting down notes throughout the day, some topic will jump off the paper and hit you square in the middle of your forehead. The real key here to just do it. There are NO excuses for NOT writing. All of us lead very busy lives, bombarded with demands on our time and energy.

Providing information relevant to the search query is paramount
First, pick a topic geared to providing information, either how-to or solutions based – the goal being to help / provide insight. Start with a topic in your specific niche, like “Website Design” or “Automotive Repair,” then create a title based on emotion, or anything that you think would draw a click through. Some examples would be, “Unlimited space and bandwidth = unlimited risks” or “Increasing the quality of marketing campaigns.”

Keep your paragraphs short
I realize you’re excited about your stuff, but loooooooooooong paragraphs turn OFF most surfers. Break your content down into specific thoughts or steps, with one paragraph leading or flowing to the next. Try to compile some fashion of chronological order. Hopping around will only confuse the reader and cause them to lose focus.

Touch as many of the five senses as possible
Of the five senses, I mean sight, smell, touch, taste and hearing. Obliviously, these won’t all apply to each article, but through a combination of graphics, and painting pictures with words, you’ll create mental images that will reinforce your call-to-action.

End with a recommendation
Recommendations can be tips, cautions or proposed solutions. Prospects are searching the Web to alleviate some pain or issue, grow their company or enhance their lives. Try to stay positive.

To your success

- Steve

Excellent article and thanks for reflecting the meeting points over here. I especially liked the idea you have touched concerning making recommendations and providing information for the web purchasers. The online customers are truly turning to the net globe for every single purchase nowadays they are going to make and the informative websites tend to get visited and also better monetized.

That's a great article. Thanks Steve for sharing it. The point about touching five senses is new for me, I have to give it a try. About the recommendation, does it refer to what other internet marketers name "calls to action"?

Great read, Steve!

I've been contemplating on starting a blog for HostLeet with the same purpose you mentioned. These tips will sure come in handy when I do.

I thank you for posting such a great article right there!

These tips are truly helpful for all the blog writers out there. I agree that you don't have to write long paragraphs because it will not attract most of the readers at all. It's also kinda boring. Thanks for the tips!

Very nice article. Good read and valubable info! Thanks

Very nice points. Especially in today conditions of the e-marketing. Looks like inbound marketing will be dominating the marketing at least in 2010. Btw have you seen the latest survey report done by Hubspot on the efficient marketing methods for 2010? (if not take a look at it here http://www.hubspot.com/Portals/53/do..._marketing.pdf)

I agree totally with the premise of the article, but...

Some of us just aren't writers, even though we may be excellent technicians. And for some hosts, their time is better invested in to higher level business and technical tasks than writing blog posts.

Point being, if you don't have the time or talent to create quality content, get help, outsource.

Thanks for the nice article.

I am too lazy when it comes to writing (esp. for blog).

Engage-Engine, excellent point. Writing is a profession for a reason: it's hard! As the internet makes it possible for anyone to set up shop and be heard (the great equalizer) it also makes everyone feel like they have to do everything themselves. More than that -- people are ENCOURAGED to do everything themselves. This is a huge road-block for those who can't. I am a writer and, as such, don't have too much trouble creating written content. BUT, I am not a technician or web designer. When it comes to those tasks I need help! I'm a huge proponent of networks where folks can exchange services. I write your articles, you design my website, everybody wins!

Also good to think about outlining a series and then link to each part of the series. That keeps readers coming back for sure!

Good idea mustanguze.

Definitely! Not only does it keep people coming back, it also keeps you moving content-wise. I find them to be so helpful in keeping me on a regular posting schedule. Also, they give you plenty of time to develop an idea and really cover it from every angle.