B2B Writers: How to Flex Tone and Write with Passion

Indeed, B2B writing is sometimes boring.

As a B2B writer, you’ll have to deal with a landmine of vague and generic content briefs daily. At some point, it does get tiring. And in most cases, it leaves you with two choices;

Start outsourcing work.

Or find a way to cultivate a passion for the words you write.

I’ve tripped up and lost multiple clients outsourcing work. So I advise you to forego the ‘outsourcing option’ and focus on cultivating passion.

But how?

• How can one develop a passion for mundane software features and keyword-branded briefs?
• How can a B2B writer make the writing experience somewhat entertaining for oneself and profitable to clients?
• How can one write blogs that are memorable, compelling, and in sync with the brand voice without feeling worn out or overstressed?

Well, it’s simple.

Introduce ‘Tone’ to your writing.

Wondering how? Stay tuned for a head start.

What is ‘Tone’ in B2B writing?

TONE is the flavor you add to your voice to blend content with context.

It’s how you express the level of formality most appropriate for specific narratives.

Tone helps you tie loose ends with internal narratives.

It gives your words meaning and a mood to work with. It might be formal, serious, enthusiastic, respectful, irreverent, casual, playful, etc.

As a freelance B2B writer, your brand’s ideal voice and the theme of your blog determine your Tone: how memorable or compelling your words will be.

Introducing Tone: Where You Might Find Yourself at Your Wit’s End

Indeed, introducing Tone to a B2B blog helps you tap into emotion. It gives your voice wings to express itself and adds layers of meaning to your work.

When flexed rightly, Tone has the power to paralyze doubting thoughts. Plus, it can make readers fall in love with the idea behind your piece and inevitably move a customer up the discovery funnel.

But the sad truth is, not every B2B writer knows how to flex Tone.

Some of the most experienced writers still find themselves at their wit’s end each time they try to wrap a blog around the desired Tone.

And this is not because they’re not skilled writers or can’t cultivate passion. However, you must constantly try to perfect your writing skills to flex Tone effortlessly.

Anyways, in most cases, the mere thought of having an internal narrative behind a B2B blog leaves writers at sixes and sevens because of a simple yet easily ignored ‘brand-building principle;

‘’There is one voice for a B2B brand and many tones that refine that voice.’’

Voice is a reflection of a B2B brand (overall) character.

Tone is the mode—in-the-moment ambiance and atmosphere—you use when expressing an idea.

Here’s an example in motion,

“You might disagree – perhaps strongly – that B2B writers get to live large.”

In the above sentence, the expression “Perhaps strongly” stresses tone. Every other thing revolves around voice.

The gist here is that “Tone is the flavor you add to a B2B brand’s voice based on factors like audience, situation, and message.”

How to Introduce & Flex Tone in Your B2B Blogs

Tone in a B2B blog comprises word choice, sentence structure, paragraph length, punctuation, and other writing essentials that help convey how you feel about a topic.

The above essentials are needed to bring your blog’s Tone to life.

However, when it comes to flexing Tone and cultivating passion, factors such as the ideal reader, state of affairs, and the theme takes center stage.

Wondering how? Allow me five minutes to explain.

Know Your Audience

• Who is your ideal reader?
• To whom would your headline be a thumb-stopper?
• Who’d want to give a penny for your thoughts?

Picture your audience and write in sync with how you’d address them in person. You don’t need to use jargon or informal words to prove this point. The goal is to have them in mind as words come to life.

If your ideal audiences are children, you might want to try a casual and playful tone; CEOs and CMOs? You want to be formal and enthusiastic, or maybe athletes; try being irreverent and funny.

Though there are no white lines here, sometimes, depending on brand and context, you might find yourself creating blogs for CEOs with a casual and irreverent tone.

Best bet; instead of aiming for brilliance out of the gates, take time to study your audience. Another thing. Ideal customers are not always your ideal readers. Make sure you know who you are writing to.

Identify their Situation

• Which problem is your blog addressing?
• What wins is the brand’s product bringing to the table?
• What state of mind do potential customers need to be in to want to read your blog?

We’ve all had—and continue to taste—our fair share of the success muddle. So it’s a known fact that life deals us doses of highs and lows at multiple phases, leaving us to find our balance creatively.

Of course, most of your B2B blogs’ potential readers, whether CEOs, CMOs, SEO experts, etc., will only actively seek your blog when they are at a low or transcending moment – or perceive there to be a steep step along their path to success.

That’s why for the idea behind your blog to be memorable and compelling—and hopefully, have a ripple effect—you must understand the state of affairs and possess firsthand insight into the situation your ideal readers are in.

Highlight the problems and the wins your blog addresses. Then study the situation of your audience till you understand ‘where and how’ the highlighted information influences their everyday decision. Then write. Don’t settle for any tone till you fully understand the situation.

Build Your Blog around a Theme

• What’s the theme of your blog?
• How do you want readers to feel after reading your blog?
• What’s the primary purpose of your message?

Nothing happens in a vacuum. Every word you tie together sends home a message. Your B2B blog is no different. And the process of cultivating passion is no different.

Indeed, it’s common practice to create a SaaS blog around a specified headline, keyword, or content brief. But don’t make the mistake of limiting your understanding of the key message to a specified brief. Otherwise, passion won’t bloom.

For your words to cut through the noise compellingly and memorably while leaving you enthusiastic about what you do, I’d recommend you build your blog around a theme, a purpose, or an idea that supersedes or sheds new light on an already existing notion.

Of course, your theme doesn’t need to revolve around your brief or keyword. However, your theme must be an underlining truth that perfectly reflects your primary message and intuitively represents the brand’s voice.

Wrapping up

The sad truth is you will still, at some point, get exhausted and feel like outsourcing a writer or reworking an existing software comparison blog with AI. It’s a trap, don’t give in. Discipline is fundamental to cultivating passion.

Please don’t force it whenever you feel weighed down and not in sync with a blog’s topic. Gently get up and do something else. Fundamentally, your mood detects your Tone. And your Tone creates room for passion to bloom. Stay woke!