Full disclosure. Rod Santomassimo is a friend and a client. That’s why I read his blog even though I’m not in commercial real estate. Which is why I saw Rod’s March 25, 2014 post titled “Hey Duke -You Can’t Simply Show Up Anymore.”
Lots of us do posts where we react to current events. When you do a post like that, you can use Rod’s post as an example of things you can do to make your post better.
React to a truly current event
We live in a rapid fire world. If you wait too long before blogging about a current event, it may not be “current” in the reader’s mind any longer.
Rod’s post reacted to the Duke basketball team’s loss in the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament. Duke lost on Friday. Rod’s post was up the following Monday.
Make your basic point early and often
Rod makes his point in the second sentence of the post, “my beloved Duke Blue Devils reminded me that you can’t just show up and expect to have success.” Then he elaborates on the situation.
Tell your readers why your point is important to them.
Rod makes the point specific for his prime audience of commercial real estate brokers. He uses the language of the business.
“It reminded me of how some commercial real estate professionals go into meetings and/or presentations with existing clients and assume they will simply be handed the new opportunity. Then they are shocked to learn a competitor, who also presented, was more prepared and thus ‘stole’ the client. It’s not really stealing when you give your client away.”
That message also echoes messages from Rod’s coaching practice.
Reacting to a current event can make a powerful post. Remember to be really current, make your point early and often, and tell your readers why it’s important to them.