Blogging Lessons from Business Psychology

Blogging really is an artform. You write your ideas and impressions on things and people read and respond. If you are using your blog for business, you are likely showcasing a product or service; even if you have decided to provide only information on your industry in your blog, you are, in essence, showcasing yourself and whatever it is that you provide.

Your ability to ellicit a response or reaction from your audience is what makes you a successful blogger. When you are blogging for your business, the importance of being able to engage your reader is magnified tenfold. While some people naturally have this ability, the rest of us can take some lessons from business psychology.

Attractiveness
First and foremost, it is important to note that readers will simply go on to the next blog in yours does not look professional, graphically interesting and is easy to read.

Priming
The attractiveness of your blog is not only about being eye pleasing. Research shows that what you see “primes” your brain to receive a certain type of message, such as bright colors are typically associated with happy and funny, while somber colors are associated with serious information.

Reciprocation
This concept involves a very simple concept: by giving someone something however token, he is more likely to respond positively to a request (reciprocation). For example, in the case of a website designer, by offering a limited number of your designs for free, he can increases the odds that someone who downloads his designs will give a donation or purchase an upgrade when he contacts them later.

Commitment and Consistency
People have innate desires to keep promises. Once a person has publicly avocated for something (committed), he is significantly likely to continue to advocate (consistency). You can use this concept for your business’s blog by encouraging or providing small compensation for positive comments made on the blog, such as a free download or a coupon for a discount on products or services.

Social Proof
If you can demonstrate that others find your blog valuable (social proof), you will increase the likelihood that new readers to your blog will find the same value. You could do this by highlighting testimonials or positive blog comments. A prime example of “social proof” in practice is the use of canned laughter in sitcoms; even though viewers know the laughter is fake, viewers find shows with canned laughter to be more humourous, and thus more enjoyable, than comedy sitcoms that do not use canned laughter.

Liking
People are significantly more likely to agree to the requests of those they like (liking). Consider that this concept has two elements: there are those we imagine to be like us and there are those we want to be like. If you are trying to sell your services as an online personal trainer through an online blog, providing pictures of yourself “before” and “after” may incite a reader to want “to be like you” and provoke him to purchase your services. Using the same example, if you want to market your services particularly to women trying to lose weight after having a baby, you would want to share your own experiences losing weight after having children, so that your reader can see you as similar to herself.

Authority
People tend to follow the advice of those they deem to be authorities through education, experience or both. Your business’s blog should focus on positioning you as an authority in your industry. You can prove your expertise by the types of posting you write, the depth of the questions you answer and by promoting your own qualifications. When writing your blog consider: why should a reader take my advice or believe my definition?

Trustworthiness
On the other side of authority is trust. Even if your reader can accept you as an authority, what information can you provide so that they can trust what you are saying. You have seen this concept in ads touting a money-back guarantee. Apply the concept of trustworthiness by inviting readers to inform you if information you use is correct or if something should be added.

Scarcity
By believing that something is scarce, a buyer is more likely to buy and it to pay more. This concept can be seen in statements such as “the next twenty callers” or “this Tuesday only.” You can apply this concept to your business blog by using the concept of limited supply when including information about the number of new clients you are willing to accept, the number of samples available, etc.

Incremental Exchange
By first presenting a small request, you increase your chances of someone accepting a larger subsequent request. If you use your blog to explain concepts and the relevance of news specific to your industry, consider offering fact sheets for a small fee. Upon sale of the fact sheet, offer a longer white paper for a higher fee. By incrementally raising your request, you increase the likelihood that your reader will buy the higher priced white paper. Even if you do not use your blog as a marketplace, consider using the concept of incremental exchange to encourage your readers to read older posts or navigate to other areas of your blog in order to engage the reader in the long term.

Serial Positioning
When writing your blog, serial positioning is a very easy concept to include. People remember what is at the beginning and at the end the best. As you write your blog, include that information or perception that you want your reader to take with him.

Exposure
Repeating information not only makes a person retain the information better; it also makes them believe it. Use the concept of exposure in your blog by repeating the information you want your readers to retain and understand, such as your expertise, reasons they should hire you or buy your products over another company’s, etc.

Self-reference Effect
By making the information in your blog posts reference your reader directly, particularly if you deal with a specific demographic, you can ensure that the information you post will be more likely to be retained by your readers.