-
Mastery of spelling, grammar and sentence structure
-
Inquisitiveness and thoroughness as a researcher
-
A breadth of knowledge and expertise
-
Flexibility and easy adaptability
-
An innovative and fearless storytelling style
BLOGS
​
Blog writing serves multiple purposes, from standalone inbound marketing to more complex marketing campaigns involving social posts, newsletters, email campaigns, press releases and more. Blog writing also involves the ability to easily change gears at any moment to write in one of three voices:
​
-
The voice of someone else
-
The voice of oneself
-
An uncredited brand voice
To serve the goals of blog writing, the Content Marketing Institute identifies five qualities to look for in a content writer:
​​
​
​
​
The last quality represents individual style. While two writers may appear similar in skills and experience, one may create a homogenous blog that attracts little traffic while the other may create a thought-provoking and engaging blog that attracts and converts based on signature word-craft developed through time, individual experience and cultivated confidence.
​
Said another way: Countless marketers offer tips, tricks and insights about how to create distinctive and engaging blogs for business. They say generic things like “Tell a captivating story” or “Construct an intriguing headline,” which sound great. Yet few ever say how to do it through words because most simply don’t know.
​
The how involves the alchemy of a writer who can transmute vague ideas like “Tell a captivating story” into actual words—and do so with a style that distinguishes a blog to improve reader engagement.
​
I’ve written blogs to serve multiple marketing purposes. I’ve written as myself, as a ghostwriter and as an unknown. I have a fearless style of writing by which I’ve happily served the goals of businesses. At request, I’ve also written many homogenous blogs that were nonetheless well-researched and well-written. By all of this, I have a wide scope of knowledge and experience in many different areas of blog writing.
​
A few things I've written:
Health and Nutrition
Marketing and Business Optimization
Animal Health and the Pet Business
Music Reviews and Feature Interviews
Testimonials
​
“I just read your article on ‘How to Make Money in Music in the Age of Streaming.' I thoroughly enjoyed reading it and learnt a ton! Your writing is straightforward and simple. Pretty much the best I've read on the topic lately.”
—Sanyath Naroth, musician
​
“We would also like to thank the following for their contributions… Xristopher Bland for contributing yet again with QUALITY CONTENT to make this Holiday Issue extra Special!
—Candice Marshall, Editor-in-Chief, Starlight Music Chronicles
​
“Working with Xristopher was an absolute pleasure. He is without a doubt one of the most creative, focused and talented writers I have ever worked with. Xris takes the time to educate himself about the subject he is writing about and produces excellent work. He's friendly and was always open to suggestions and critiques of his work, which was a refreshing change compared to other writers I have collaborated with.”
—Tim Kholmetz, graphic designer
I’ve ghostwritten advertorials, news landers and other blog-style articles for Facebook and ClickBank.
Blogs are often part of multi-component campaigns for which content must be created quickly. Example: When the California Legislature revised its Business and Professions Code in February 2019, I was tasked with writing a blog, sales script, handout/product sheet, emails, and a rough Facebook Live script within a few days for LifeLearn to promote its ClientEd product.
"Does not happen often (trust me!) BUT every once in a while someone comes along who totally gets me and my music! Xristopher Bland is THAT person. He’s a writer who enjoys writing and sees it as an art. It’s poetry!”
—Grammy Award-winning guitarist Amrit Sond
“What a beautiful piece with such great ideas and insights. I wish I were a fraction as insightful about it as you are. Among my [favorite lines] is ‘the quiet industry of everyday living.’ That’s the best interpretation of the title I’ve heard.” —Don Rooke, The Henrys
“Phrasing. BOOM!” —Abrar Shahran Khan, language teacher at World Education, referencing my SMC feature story “Mickey Loves Mallory.”
“You are a star-crossed writer. I love seeing someone who is so comfortable with their writing talent that every word falls naturally within the density of every sentence. You made me happy with writing something honest and lightly journalistic without me having to push out press releases full of ambiguous explanations for something that is so simple and impulsive at its core.”
—electronic violinist Eugene “Dr.” Draw
My roots as a music journalist go back quite far to the earliest days of MuchMusic and then-relationships with people from labels like MCA, BMG, A&M and Duke Street Records, through which I had the opportunity to interview many artists and music personalities, including Gord Sinclair (The Tragically Hip), Jane Sibbery, Dave Betts (Honeymoon Suite), Erica Ehm (author and award-winning songwriter), Jean-Marc Pisapia (The Box), Dalbello (recording artist and songwriter for people like Bryan Adams and Chaka Khan), and Denise Donlon and Laurie Brown (cohosts of The NewMusic).
​
Along the way, I had the opportunity to enjoy many amazing experiences, like appearing in a rock video for “I See Red” by the Silencers (A Letter From St. Paul), hanging out with Juno Award-winning singer-songwriter Molly Johnson at the Cameron House, and enjoying an afternoon chat with Nash the Slash (founder of the Canadian progressive rock band FM).
I also had 15 minutes of national fame when Citytv Toronto quoted me in a TV promo for The NewMusic.
​
I’ve also interviewed many actors, filmmakers and television personalities, including Jennifer Dale (Whale Music), Elisha Cuthbert (The Girl Next Door), David Suzuki, Bruce Greenwood (Star Trek: Into Darkness), John Stoneman (The Last Frontier), filmmaker Walter Williams (Mr. Bill), Kenneth Welsh (Twin Peaks) and Jean-Michel Cousteau.
In the late 1980s,
I provided national exposure to many Canadian musical artists by transforming TV Guide Canada’s MuchMusic what’s-on column to include artist interviews, which TV Guide had previously never run
in the column.
Indie X (Independent Blogs)
Psychometrics: Science or Swindle?
If you’re looking for a job or a change in employment, chances are you’ll run into one of those psychological hiring assessment tests called psychometrics. And if your first reaction is “What a load of twaddle,” you’re in good company.
>> Read the article on LinkedIn
​
“Well said, Xristopher.”—Flint McGlaughlin, founder, MECLABS Institute
