If you’re reading this particular post, chances are you’ve had problems in this area in the past. You’re doing almost everything right. You’re churning out some great content. You’re publishing new content consistently. You’re promoting to your audience via email and social media…
So, how come no one is reading your blog?
The answer is probably very simple, but it is also likely to be the one thing you’ve been overlooking: the language you’re using in the articles. This is an easy trap to fall into, especially if you’re an engineer or developer first and a writer second. The good news is that there are several solutions to this problem, including working with technical copywriters.
This is where I make a brief shameless plug for our services. At BeezContent, we work with a seasoned team of staff writers and freelancers, and we pair up writers with clients who need good content in specific industries and niches. We can make the messaging in your blog appeal to any audience and help you build good branding through great written content.
Now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s talk about how we accomplish that. The advice that follows mirrors the way we approach creating more technical blog content for our clients. You can place your blogging needs in our hands or just take the advice we’re about to give and tweak your own writing to have a broader appeal.
#1: Know Your Audience
This goes without saying. If you were just managing an internal blog for your employees, we probably wouldn’t be having this conversation. You are probably trying to appeal to a broader audience with your blog, so you can attract new business. If that’s the case, you need to be very sensitive to the needs of your audience.
Engineers and technically minded people tend to overestimate the average person’s intelligence. What makes sense in their own heads can be confusing, or even incomprehensible, to most laypeople. How, then, do you go about ensuring that the right messaging makes it through without “dumbing down” the language or coming across as condescending?
The answer lies in knowing everything you possibly can about the client(s) you want to attract. If you haven’t worked up an ideal avatar, that’s a good place to start. The next few tips are what should come next.
#2: Find a Good Balance with the Language
A good rule of thumb for a technical blog is to write copy on a high school level. Avoid using too many “big words” and offer as much in the way of definition as possible for terms you can’t simplify. Never assume that the reader has a working knowledge of the subject going in but don’t assume he (or she) is an idiot either. Find a good middle ground and run with it; write as though that high schooler has had a little exposure to the concepts you’re attempting to convey.
For the sake of example, people probably don’t know the first thing about increasing throughput, but they would probably be interested in knowing how to make their internet faster. The two concepts might be synonymous in your head, but the latter is what is going to hit the hot button for the reader. “Throughput” is confusing, whereas “faster internet” is a much clearer concept. See the difference?
#3: Use Real-World Examples
I remember having a conversation years ago with a friend of mine who was doing level 2 IT support for a large East Coast cable company. Cable modem technology was in its infancy at the time, and one of the selling points of the service was the increased bandwidth the technology offered over antiquated dialup connections. To the technical mind, “bandwidth” is a simple concept. To the average customer, however, it didn’t mean much.
He went on to explain how people would call in during peak times complaining that their connection was too slow. He could have simply told customers that there was less available bandwidth during peak hours, but that wouldn’t mean anything to the average customer. Instead, he came up with a great way to explain it that made far more sense.
“Imagine you’re in a tunnel,” he said. “It’s 5 p.m., and rush-hour traffic is bumper-to-bumper. Drive through the same tunnel at 11 p.m., and it’s probably going to be a lot less congested. There are fewer cars and fewer things slowing down the traffic.
“That is how bandwidth works in a nutshell. During busier times, there’s lots of traffic in the tunnel and things slow down. During less-busy times, things speed up.”
It didn’t make people less angry, but at least they understood what was happening.
The above is a great example of taking the tech out of the talk and explaining the concept in a way the average person can understand. Use simple language and points of relatability that explain the complexities in a simpler way. If you make the effort to do that, people will find your content much more engaging.
#4: Format Your Blog Posts Well
This concept works in all kinds of blogs, but for more technical subjects, it is especially helpful. When you write in shorter paragraphs, the reader’s brain immediately thinks “simple.” When you present huge bricks of text, that communicates “complicated.”
You don’t have to change or shorten the article at all; just break it up into smaller paragraphs, even if they seem really, really short. In this instance, shorter will always be better. Remember, this is a blog, not a doctoral thesis. You can play fast and loose with some of the rules.
#5: Link Out to Other Sources
Using hyperlinks in your blog posts helps boost SEO, but it does something equally important, too. It lends credibility to your messaging and helps you establish and build trust. However, this is only true if you link to known credible sources.
Be sure that the links you choose complement the messaging in the blog well enough that the reader won’t feel lost when they click and start reading. Your blog should help prime them for more technical content. They should click on those links already feeling smart enough to handle more complex messaging.
Final Thoughts
Remember that your interpretation of your writing and someone else’s could be radically different. At a minimum, you should have someone less tech-savvy reading your drafts before you publish. Ideally, you should be collaborating with technical content creation professionals. The latter will eliminate much of the trial and error and help you position yourself more as an authority with your readers.
