Writing for Freight Broker Training – Top 3 Lessons in Business Blogging

I recently found a gig on oDesk writing for a freight broker training blog. It’s exciting work because (1) it feeds my thirst to learn, and (2) I’m discovering things about business blogging that I normally wouldn’t have if I’m just ghostwriting an ebook.

Writing an ebook is a one-off thing, so learning stuff will only be for a short period of time...unless you start liking the topic and you end up having a passion for it. Blogging, on the other hand, is more or less an on-going activity, so learning is also continuous.

image by trucktrend.com

Tooting My Horn

But first, since this is a portfolio blog, Imma gonna list down the recent articles I wrote for the blog:

1. 10 Top Reasons Why You Should Become a Freight Broker Today. The best reason? Your family is set for life. Sort of. If you're good at it.
2. Freight Broker Jobs: 9 Ways to Find Work LinkedIn. There are indeed networks within LinkedIn that you can leverage. And the knowledge sharing is mind-boggling.
3. Freight Brokers, Freight Agents, and Freight Forwarders: What’s the Difference? Basically, freight brokers arrange for stuff to be shipped domestically...with the help of freight agents, who works on commission. Freight forwarders help you move your loads in international waters (or air, depends).
4. Ultimate Guide to Being a Freight Broker – Role & Responsibilities. In a nutshell, freight brokers are business owners who are awesome salespeople and suave networkers. 'Nuff said.
5. 3 Legal Requirements to Become a Freight Broker. In the US, apparently, freight brokering is a federally regulated profession so you have to be licensed to operate.
6. A Brief History of the Freight Brokerage Industry. Freight brokering is a fledgling industry...in fact, it only came on the scene with the emergence of trains and railroads in the US.
7. What Every Freight Broker Needs to Know About the Transportation Industry. A brief introduction on the ginormous industry that powers freight brokering.
8. 6 Legal Areas All Freight Brokers Must Know About. Besides the basic requirements, there are at least six other rules that circumscribe freight brokering in the US.
9. Co-Brokering and Double Brokering: The Boon and Bane of Freight Brokers. Co-brokering and double brokering--apparently, there's a wealth of difference between this two similar-sounding freight broker practices.
10. 8 Traits Successful Freight Brokers Have in Common. Freight brokering could turn into a rat race so freight brokers need to cultivate these characteristics if they're not to become part of the cold statistics for "inactive property broker licenses".
11. 10 Goal Setting Hacks for Freight Brokers. Benefits not only freight brokers but all entrepreneurs aiming for success.
12. How to Build Your Freight Broker Business Plan. A business plan template that any self-respecting entrepreneur seriously aiming for success should craft beginning right now. (Ah, alliteration heaven!)
13. Niche Marketing for Freight Brokers. May also benefit small business owners and professionals targeting a particular niche.
14. The 5 Pillars of Effective Networking for Freight Brokers. Advice that's not only good for freight brokers but for all business people in general.

Top 3 Lessons in Business Blogging

With that horn-tooting out of the way, there are three things I learned about better business blogging—while ghostwriting for an industry—that’s totally new to me.

Here they are, in no particular order:

1.   Create an editorial calendar so you don’t run out of ideas for posts.

The one thing that freezes bloggers—experts and newbies alike—is what to write for the next post. Some have a list of 101+ blog post ideas in front of their work station to show the way. (I do actually, heh.) Some just totally wing it and pray that inspiration will strike as soon as they sit down to write.

The last tactic, as you may have discovered by now, is totally a recipe for disaster. I’ve gone that route once on a personal blog that has since been deleted—the lag time between posts were 6 months in between, hah! It’s not something you’d want to do for your business blog, believe me.

Writing for the blog, I lucked in on a freight broker training curriculum. Without further ado, I created blog post titles following the course and incorporated these into an editorial calendar. It was a pretty awesome calendar and it told me what to write when. Remind me to share with you how to create your own editorial calendar (plus the template I use) in a later post.

2.   Continuous learning is a non-negotiable requirement if you want your business blog to succeed.

I have a baccalaureate in hotel and restaurant administration and one of the subjects I had was one on the travel industry. So writing for a business blog that dealt with the transportation world wasn’t so difficult. Yet freight brokering was a totally new animal to me and there was a learning curve that went with it.

Fortunately, learning new stuff has always been my passion. In no time at all, I had a functional knowledge of the industry.

I learned from the stalwarts of the trucking, logistics and transport industry. For the better part of the week before I started writing, I scoured blogs, websites, and forums (oh, and borrowed books from our local library) for everything freight brokering. I asked questions, followed discussions, and everything else necessary to learn (short of stalking people, that is).

When writing for your business blog, don’t be an island. Learn as much as you can. Follow the thought leaders and influencers in your niche. Set up Google alerts for updates about your industry. Connect with other bloggers in your space and talk shop. There’s always something that you can learn from others...which in turn will inform the knowledge and advice that you’ll be sharing in your business blog.

3.   Always be helpful and accessible to your readers and online network.

By putting up your business blog, you’re telling all and sundry that you have the solutions to their problems. That creates a kind of responsibility to your audience to be there for them whenever they need your help.

If you’re starting your business blog with the “What’s in it for me?” perspective, then you’re limiting what it can do for your business. You'll be writing marketing messages, not helpful articles. Online savvy people can easily spot a sales message within nanoseconds of your blog loading. That’s a sure way to increase your bounce rate—and turn away potential friends and customers.

Turn that outlook on its head and think instead, “How can I help my readers and site visitors?” People are on your site looking for pain relief—solutions to what’s bugging them—so they’re expecting to see that. If they want to know more, and they have come to know you and trust you, they’ll usually connect with you—via email, contact form, comments on your blog post—to discuss their pain further.  That’s a good way as any in building trusting relationships with people who can become your customers or leads later.

Make sure that you reply to questions, comments and feedback however trivial or serious they may be within a reasonable time. (Spam is another issue all together. I give you the permission to nuke them off your inbox and comment queue with all due haste.) If can't write back quickly, acknowledge the message and respond the first chance you get...or have one of your employees/associates address it without delay.

So there you have it—the top 3 lessons I learned while blogging for a freight broker training business. If you have questions, fire away—use my contact form or the comment section below. And be sure to share your own business blogging lessons while you’re at it to help others who’re just starting out. ;)