4 Secrets to a Professional (and Successful) B2B Blog Post

Writing is hard, and writing well is even harder.

B2B companies are discovering this as they try to put content marketing initiatives into production. Companies realize that they need top-notch writing to attract an audience and then turn them into customers – this is especially true with their corporate blog.

A B2B blog post should be personable yet informative for the B2B audience. It should be written well enough to keep readers coming back, and they should have compelling calls-to-action that help convert a reader to a prospect (and eventually into a lead, and then customer.)

That’s a lot of pressure for a simple blog article, isn’t it? Here are four secrets that professional writers use to produce high-quality B2B blog posts every time.

1. Avoid overusing clichés and adverbs

  • A cliché is an idea or expression that has lost its meaning through overuse. It’s has no weight behind it anymore.
  • An adverb is a descriptor word used to modify a verb. It’s usually the mark of poor writing.

Both clichés and adverbs are the mark of lazy writing. Instead of relying on them, why not rewrite your content to be stronger? Instead of “paradigm shift”, try “a new way of thinking”. Remove the adverbs, and you’ll find your writing becoming more active. Your writing starts to move and becomes more persuasive.

2. Use the same language as your readers

By using the same language as your readers, you’ll notice that they keep coming back. Why? Because the words resonate with them. They find themselves nodding along to your content as they read, agreeing with your words. They begin to trust you because they feel like you know them and understand them. It’s an unconscious reaction, and they’ll start to know, like, and trust you.

3. Help, don’t sell

A B2B blog post isn’t the place where you sell your products. Readers come there for informative posts on topics they’re interested about. You have product and sales pages on your website to handle the sales side of things. Concentrate on helping your readers through your blog.

Added bonus: By helping them overcome obstacles, your readers will subconsciously think you can solve every issue they have, and will come to you first when they’re ready to buy.

4. Just stick to the facts, not opinion

For the most part, keep your blog posts evidence-based. Use facts and figures to make your case, and avoid giving your opinion. (Though opinion-driven posts are okay, just keep them to a minimum.) The facts and figures help lend authority to your words, and help strengthen the relationship you’re building.

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From the Backbone archive, first published December 29, 2014. How we help with content →

Questions people ask about content

What is B2B content marketing?

It's creating useful articles, guides, videos and posts that answer your buyers' questions, so they find you, trust you and get in touch. Good B2B content teaches before it sells, and it's built around the problems your product or service solves.

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How often should a B2B company publish blog posts?

Consistency matters more than volume. One or two well-researched articles a month, promoted properly, usually beat a weekly post nobody reads. Publish on a rhythm you can keep, and update your best pages as things change.

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  1. President

    How does content turn into revenue?

    Buyers research before they talk to sales. Content that answers their questions puts you in that research, earns their trust and brings them to you better informed. We measure it by the leads and deals it helps create.

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  2. VP of Marketing

    How do we keep content consistent with a small team?

    A short plan tied to your goals, a rhythm you can keep, and one voice across everything. We write, edit and publish, and your experts spend minutes reviewing instead of hours writing.

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  3. Marketing Manager

    How much time will our experts need to give?

    Usually a short interview for each piece. We turn what they know into articles, pages and posts, and they check the facts before anything goes out.

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    Can you write content my reps will actually send?

    Yes, and that's often where we start: answers to the questions buyers ask on calls, comparison pages and customer stories. If reps use it, buyers read it.

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