Tag Archive for: blog writing tips

Don’t write like a spiny cedar!

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The triangular spikes that studded the tree’s bark caught my eye along the Costa Rican trail. They’re the spiny cedar’s protection against sloths who would scale it. When you write, please don’t put spikes on your text. They’ll turn away the time-pressed readers who are your sloths.

What are the spikes in your writing?

In many cases, the spikes in advisors’ writing are ten-dollar words: fancy-schmancy jargon or Latinate words that could easily be replaced by plain English.

For example, I’ve long disliked the word “mitigate,” as I wrote in “Can you make a case for mitigate?” “Financial writers clinic: Getting rid of ‘mitigate,'” and “BNY Mellon: I liked your ‘truth ad’ until you used that word.”

By the way, if you’d like to see a genuine spiny cedar, my husband and I took this photo on the Teak and Canal trail of Hacienda Baru on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast.

Turn questions into blog posts

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Tired of writing explanations for an audience of one?

Your clients, prospects, or even folks doing Google searches, may contact you with questions. Depending on your relationship and availability, you may respond at some length. This takes time.

Your blog makes it possible for you to get more mileage out of these inquiries. If the question fits your blog’s theme and has reasonably broad appeal, consider turning it into a blog post. You can write it as a simple Q&A, as I did in “Reader question: How can communicators manage difficult portfolio managers?” or a plain blog post.

Should you mention that your new blog post originated in a question from a client, prospect, or reader? Yes, if you want to seem approachable and interested in your blog’s audience.

Another alternative: Add to FAQ

If the question isn’t right for your blog, it may still be worth sharing. Consider adding the question and answer to the frequently asked questions (FAQ) section of your website.

Image courtesy of xedos4 / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Focus your blog post or lose your readers

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“I’m trying to frame the hawk,” said my husband pointing

My husband's best shot of the hawk

My husband’s best shot of the hawk

our camera at a spot high above the Cape Cod Rail Trail. He didn’t want a teeny-tiny bird image to get lost in a big landscape. His comment made me think about how bloggers need to do something similar.

A photo in which a hawk is a tiny speck won’t draw the viewer’s eye. Similarly, a blog post that deals in generalities, and fails to get specific, will lose readers.

Hawks and financial bloggers

What might this mean for a financial blogger?

For example, you can’t cover all of international investing—the entire “sky”—in a single blog post. Instead, focus on one “hawk,” such as the role of non-US stocks in a portfolio or how developed-market stocks differ from emerging-market stocks.

Need help finding the hawk in your blog post?

If you have a hard time finding the focus of your blog posts, you’ll benefit from my blogging class for financial advisors, investment and wealth managers, and the professionals who support them. Check out “How to Write Blog Posts People Will Read: A 5-Lesson Class for Financial Advisors.”

 

 

3 posts that can improve your blogging in 2013

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Looking over my 2012 posts about blogging, I see three tips that could change the way you blog in 2013.

1. Stay on the right side of the law!

The experts who write about compliance have overlooked a vulnerable spot for bloggers. That’s fair use of other people’s copyrighted words. You can do the right thing with the helpful resources I identify in “Legal danger for financial bloggers: Two misconceptions, three resources, one suggestion.”

2. Think creatively

Are you at a loss for topics to blog about? Pick a photo and use it to brainstorm ideas using the method I describe in “Photo + Mind Map = Blog Inspiration.”

3. Add personality

Your personality can be a powerful marketing tool. Use it to your advantage with the tips in “How to add personality and warmth to your financial writing—Part one” and “Part two.”

What about YOU?

How do you plan to improve your blogging in 2013? Are there blog posts from other bloggers that inspire your 2013 plans? Please share. Also, if you’d like to boost the effectiveness of your writing, consider taking “How to Write Blog Posts People Will Read: A 5-Lesson Class for Financial Advisors.”

 Image courtesy of  Vlado / FreeDigitalPhotos.net