Framing Conversations
Timberframe and energy-efficient design/builder Tedd Benson, president of Walpole, N.H.-based Bensonwood Homes, frequently speaks at industry events about building better, greener homes and has written several books about home building. He started his blog, New House Rules, as a way to test and hone his own ideas about design, building, and housing issues. Its philosophical bent reflects Benson’s deep, yet thoughtful, passion for quality, craft, and sustainability in home building.
“I care about our built environment very much, as well as about how we’re doing as a company, and the blog gives me a chance to reflect on the big picture with posts springing from the things I see and do, what our company does, and our interactions with other builders throughout the country,” Benson says.
An English major turned carpenter and builder, Benson has always enjoyed writing and the refinement of thought produced by the process, whether the goal is a book or a blog entry. Although visitors to his blog certainly can gain valuable insights, Benson notes that its first benefit is to himself and his company. “The blog is an opportunity for me to get my thoughts in order and make them cogent, and put them into a context, either local or national,” he says. “The more time I put into the blog, the more effort I put into the words and thinking, the more I have to research—the more I get out of it than any reader possibly could. Therefore so does our company. It turns out it’s completely selfish.”
To read his thought-provoking blog, you might think he spends days researching and writing each entry, but Benson says he spends only an hour or two each week arranging and composing each post. Although he’s found that many of his blog followers are industry peers, it’s not aimed only at pros. His blog, while sometimes technical, is still easily accessible to the general reader, and he has been contacted by prospective clients who read it.
The company also is increasing its Facebook activity, with more frequent updates to its page highlighting recent entries to Benson’s blog, interesting news articles, his speaking engagements, new company initiatives and house plans, and project photos. Benson also tweets frequently—nearly every day and sometimes several times a day.
Educational Value
Over the years, remodeler and design-builder Jamie Wolf of Avon, Conn.-based Wolfworks Designers & Builders has found that there are certain stories he tells to every client as part of the process of educating them and explaining his company’s approach. He launched an eye-catching, magazine-style blog, Homes that Fit, in August 2009 to capture those stories and to connect with potential clients.
“One thing we’ve learned is that there are certain principles you have to jam down people’s throats several times so that they understand,” Wolf says. “There’s a host of important pedagogical and rhetorical messages we find we need to communicate to people for a variety of different reasons: to get them interested in us and then to train them to be good clients—to understand their role so they work well with us.”
He still talks to clients about the energy and home design issues he’s most concerned with, but they also can refer to the blog for that information. It helps draw potential clients interested in the same topics and serves as a kind of compass test. “It’s an alignment thing,” Wolf adds. “Do they like how I think? The blog should reinforce the notion that I’m a thoughtful person and a thoughtful designer and that they can trust me.”
The blog’s Web magazine format incorporates attractive and dynamic graphic elements to catch readers’ eyes and it’s organized with user-friendly drop-down menus instead of the more typical string of posts. Wolf structured his blog around five primary themes—Think, Design, Build, Energy, Guidance—as a way to help him organize his thoughts and keep himself on track. He knew he couldn’t keep up the pace of daily blogging, so he adopted a posting schedule similar to that of a magazine. He writes at least one entry for each of his five themes on a two-month publishing schedule.
Wolf keeps his blog entries relatively short and “digesty,” he notes. He also downplays the more technical elements of construction and design to keep discussions on an accessible level for readers. “Whenever I can, I try to avoid describing things in terms of measurement, and instead focus on why it’s important,” he says.
To drive traffic to the blog, Wolf sends out an e-newsletter every two months, highlighting the most recent entries in each of the theme categories. He also tweets. Although he’s certain that Twitter doesn’t reach his target audience, Wolf finds it is an effective tool for increasing traffic to his website and blog.
