Blogging is the new black at corporations.
Everyone is doing it.
And it’s not just large companies that fall under the technology umbrella. Want to know what’s on the mind of Bill Marriott and the “wacky” world of hotels – latest post titled “Honesty Is The Best Policy” – no problem.
It makes sense. After all, why wouldn’t companies take advantage of what amounts to digital pulpits to communicate their perspectives to the outside world.
Unfortunately, this corporate blogging phenomenon is generating a ton of content with writing that can kindly be described as dreadful. Why does the writing quality and specifically the entertaining quality of a blog matter?
Given a choice between dull or compelling, people gravitate toward compelling. This is why more people watch American Idol than C-SPAN and how Jim Cramer has built the Mad Money franchise (although I’m not suggesting yelling is a form of a storytelling).
That’s the idea of applying storytelling techniques to blogging. It pushes the content toward the compelling quadrant.
No one expects a scientist coming out of R&D to write like David Pogue from The New York Times. Geez, I wish I could bring such cleverness and levity to my own blog.
But that same scientist can absolutely improve his or her blog content by using techniques found in classic storytelling.
For example –
Just trusting your ear and writing with a conversational tone improves a blog.
There’s a reason that anywhere from 10 to 30 percent of the content in Economist articles are anecdotes. They entertain and show a certain realness.
Recognize that drama comes from contrast, showing the difference between “what was” and “what is.” The greater the difference, the greater the drama.
All of these concepts and others help people who don’t write for a living tell their stories in a more entertaining fashion.
Conventional wisdom holds that you shouldn’t be different for the sake of being different.
I disagree.
There are millions of blogs out there.
It’s tough to break through the noise.
If you’ve got a way to be different, give it a shot.
Your Google Analytics numbers will tell you whether it worked or not.