Fnu Lnu, a term used by authorities to identify unknown suspects, is actually an acronym for
First Name Unknown, Last Name Unknown, a John Doe, as it were. When you're selecting keyword phrases to use in your website and blog content, it's useful to remember that you are the fnu lnu in the equation. Online searchers don't know your name - or the name of your business!
In fact, unless your business name is precisely the service or product you provide ("St. Louis Cosmetic Dentistry" or "Cincinnati Heating Services Specialists" or perhaps "Best Doggie Care in Des Moines"), at Stage #1 of their search, what the majority of consumers are likely to have typed into the search bar are words describing:
- Their need
- Their problem
- Their idea of the solution to their problem
- A question
Blogging for business, then, means introducing yourself to strangers. Not that it isn't a good idea to email links to your blog posts to existing customers and clients, but, for developing new relationships, your blog will be your central prospecting tool.
To convert those "strangers" to friends and customers, then, address your blog posts to them, and write about them. Fact is, they're going to care about your name only if and when they know you care about their problems and needs, and that you have just the means to take care of them.
Because of the relevant, recent, and frequently posted content you've been delivering to the blogosphere, search engines have delivered prospects to your fnu lnu door. Now that they've arrived, introducing what you sell, what you do, and what you know about - with your business name attached! - is what you get to do as the reward for all that diligence.
This is the stage when "Aha!-I've-Come-To-Just-The-Right-Place", readable, engaging blog content counts most. Getting from fnu lnu to Joey's Body Shop, Maggie's Hair Salon, or Hendricks Bankruptcy Law Office - that's the getting-to-know-you business blogging goal!
The "
fear, is far too nasal to make for great listening, I've developed an interest in the art ever since someone dubbed me the "voiceover lady" in describing my work as a professional ghost blogger.
ago. Nibbling hors d'oeuvres, I was enjoying a chat with a small group of people when a young man approached. Recognizing we'd met somewhere before (but not remembering my name), he offered, "I've met you - you're the voice-over lady!" Well, that impromptu opener certainly suggested an interesting perspective on what I do as a
past two weeks is my way of saying "No way!" You see, one complaint I hear far too often from beginning business bloggers - or from business owners putting off business blogging - goes something like this:
Idea "hooks" for business blogs can come from the funniest places - and I mean that literally! From interactive buildings to luggage concierges to golf swings - everywhere you stop to look and listen, you can find unique ways to present your own ideas and to explain to online visitors exactly what you sell, what you do, and what you know a lot about.
There's just no end to the "learning around" process for business bloggers. Last week I talked about learning from feature stories in newspapers and magazines, from visits to sports training center, and from current controversies in your field. The whole idea is this:
You can say only so many things about what you sell, what you know about, and what services you offer customers and clients, right? Wrong. Sustaining an engaging business blog over the course of years is very do-able - so long as you stay engaged. In fact, as a business blogging trainer, my theme for this week's blogs is "learning around". That means staying alert for tidbits and teaching tools (after all, what is a blog if not a teaching tool?) to keep fresh ideas flowing for your business blog posts.
This week, my Say It For You blog posts are all about picking up ideas from everywhere and everything to keep your business blog full of fresh, interesting content.
One quality that make for a great ghost blogger is a "third ear", I always say. That's because a ghost uses that extra "ear" to hear not only what the business owner client wants to say, but to pick up on that owner's unique style and business beliefs (the things that often aren't expressed in words).
As a business blogging trainer, one concern I hear a lot from business owners is that they'll run out of things to say in their blog posts. Many can think of a fairly long list of things they want to share about their products, their professional services, their customer service standards, and their overall fix on their industry or profession. But, looking at their business blog from the front end, most can't even imagine what they'll have to say two weeks from the start date of their blog, much less two or three years into the future!
method of solving proportions called the
Attending a trade show for one of her clients,
Blogs do it better, I realized all over again while reading my Home and Away magazine from AAA Hoosier Motor Club. AAA Vice President Suzanne DeCelles' article, "Travel Beyond the Internet" is what college English teachers call an "argument paper", telling the professional travel agent's side of the do-it-yourself-travel story.
how many people you reach; it's also a function of how many times you reach them, and how much you spend reaching them,". Bryan Farrish explains to speakers trying to get
Indianapolis Zoo. Whoever wrote the copy for that placard promoting the zoo's new cheetah exhibit, though, would make a great blogger for business!
"
Advertising maven Donny Deutsch looks for the human, emotional connection between a product and its audience. "The market is not an abstract entity," says Deutsch, but "real people with real desires and needs". Pointing to the "great fiasco" of the New Coke, Deutsch says the product failed because it was attempting to solve a problem that didn't exist.
press releases. The opening sentences of each blog post must make a clear connection between what the searcher needs and the "what" your business has to fill that need.