Blogging for Techies - Who wants to read it?
The Marketing Team wants a blog and you’re the subject matter expert. The world doesn’t need another blog. But your business does. They want to show off how clever you are, so that prospects will trust you with their business.
So. How to get it done, and write it well enough that it’s acted upon? You already know this process; before you start writing, you need to think about what you want the blog to do. You probably do this with tech projects too?
Ask yourself: who am I writing for?
Maybe it’s the Chief Technology Officer, a platform architect, a developer, a sales whiz, marketing guru, product team, someone else?
Pick one type, or maybe two close together. Don’t try and write for the Dev and the CTO at the same time. Focussing will tell you how much technical detail you can go into, how many whimsical metaphors you need, how many robust stats they want to see (lots).
What does your reader want to know?
This may well be different from what have you got to say. It will definitely help with the order of information (take a look at Part II).
If you’re stuck for ideas, these might help.
• An example of how something actually works in practice or a particular industry. Do you have a solid result to share?
• Your opinion on a hot topic in your industry. Check out your trade publications for lively issues. Prospects are often behind the curve. How can you get them up to speed?
• A challenge your clients face. Is there something they’re always asking about? Could you give a little insight? Do you have an unusual example?
Now think about your Call to Action.
This may feel like it’s starting at the end, but it’s all about getting the reader (and the point of the blog) in full view. You can mention your call to action in your opening paragraph.
It’s probably something like:
• Schedule a call or a demo
• Contact you via an email or a form
• Sign-up to an event or webinar, or newsletter
• Comment on your blog
• Share your post with a friend or on their socials
• Download a paper
Thinking about your reader first can make it easier to get your ideas down. It more interesting for the reader, so they’re more likely to act.
The down side is; if it works, Marketing will ask you to write another one.
Would you like to try this out?
Word Savvy runs blog sessions for techies. We work on your actual blog in the session, so you can show Marketing you’ve done something.
We’ll show you how to:
• Think about your reader
• Structure your thoughts
• Work out your story
• Use proof effectively
• Edit to sound expert
Once we’re done you’ll have content you can use with prospects; post it on your website, put excerpts on LinkedIn, mention it down the pub.
