Being a freelance writer based in the Asheville, NC, it's hard to avoid the deep cultural feelings for General Robert E. Lee.
Lee has been lionized for his civility, his self-denial, and is considered the consummate Southern gentleman as much as a consummate soldier. Though not a voluble man, when Lee talked, people listened.
I came across a comment of Lee’s that seems to be appropriate for those writing B2B blog posts: "The devil's name is dullness."
Lee's comment was pointed at bad behavior, and it seems to me the bad behavior of so many content writers is that they fail to keep their content interesting. Excessive focus on keywords or self-serving marketing copy quickly leads to a click to other pages.
A recent post on b2bbloogers.com rightly points to this as one its secrets behind strong business-to-business marketing strategy:
Don’t be a bore
The best information will remain undiscovered if it lacks a certain level of entertainment. Even with content strong enough to inspire the reader to finish the entire piece, they (most often) will only remember a fraction of what you have said. With this reality, we understand the importance of creating content that leaves a lasting impression. Be smart, but be bold— or your content will be buried before it is ever seen.
The author's other points about content strategy are worth considering as well, and include having a goal, providing useful and engaging information, making it personal, and providing easy to access points of contact— never forgetting that communications is a two-way street.
If you're a B2B blog content writer, never forget that writing itself is always the main thing. If you're hiring a content writer, be sure to assess his or her skill as a writer, not just as someone with technical Internet savvy. Failing to do so may lead to an Appomattox, and considering what you're investing in Internet marketing, you surely don't want to surrender, no matter how graciously you can do so.
