Image by qthomasbower via Flickr

When I first started writing this blog, my posts were rather dry.  My newsletter too.  I knew content marketing was important (though we didn’t really use that term then), so I was dutifully writing, without really thinking too much about it and without a real b2b content marketing strategy in mind.

Dull. dull dull. Not quite as bad as sharing what color socks I’d worn for the last five days, but pretty boring.

Since I was doing b2b marketing, I was trying too hard to be professional and formal instead of personable and likable.

Nobody wants to be lectured at, or read a dry recitation of marketing advice. It has to be entertaining. Heck, I didn’t even think to add pictures. Duh. So here are five b2b content marketing tips to make  your newsletters, posts, and email marketing more interesting. Your readers will love you for it.

Make your content marketing interesting

If you want people to read what you write, start with a great headline, like “The Worst Marketing Idea Ever” or “Ten Secrets to Successful Landing Pages.” Talk to them in a conversational way.  Ask some questions about what they are struggling with. Point out your own failings, and how you compensated for them.

Add illustrations to your posts

Don’t just write text, add photos or other images to your blog posts, newsletters (if appropriate) and social media posts.  People like looking at pictures, especially of other people. Use them to draw more attention to your site. There are lots of places to get free images for your blog.

Be personal

That doesn’t mean you have to go back to your sock colors, or write six paragraphs about the terrible headache you had two days ago. It just means sharing what you’re comfortable sharing. Showing that there’s a real person behind the curtain. Talk about dumb things you did, or setbacks, and then how you got over them; like writing boring posts about your socks.

Make connections

If they leave a comment, answer it. Respond to your emails. If someone new leaves a comment, email them and thank them. Go check out their blogs.  Leave them a comment or two. Comments can also be a great source of new blog post ideas.  Either use your own comments or refer back to other blogs or posts you’ve read or commented on.

Promote your readers

If they do something you think your other readers will like, showcase it.  I’ve started writing posts about my readers’ ebooks, videos, and newsletters. If you’ve got something you’d like to share, send me an email.

Have you tried any of these?  What are you doing to make connections?

P.S. And one simple way to confuse them – forget to edit the default post ID number so your title doesn’t show! Oy!