How to Blog for Ecommerce

Did you know that blogging is one of the most effective ways to help improve your ecommerce website search result ranking, while also improving the overall aesthetic of the website and information available to your consumer? If you operate a business with the primary focus of ecommerce, you may not see the importance of blogging. but your company can definitely benefit from regular posts to your blog. If you are ready to build on your web presence and increase sales.

The Benefits to an Ecommerce Blog

A lot of small business owners aren’t capable of spending thousands of dollars each month on advertising and marketing, but they still need to promote their business. Blogging allows for an effective, but low cost method to drive traffic to your website through keywords, content and user experience. Once your potential customer has arrived to your website, it’s up to you to show the benefit of why the customer should purchase from your company and not your competition. Your ecommerce blogs can do that.

Ecommerce Blog, Where to Start

So, now you are sold on the idea of blogging. Great! Now the challenge is deciding how to best use your blog to engage customers. As an ecommerce website owner, you may be thinking, “I sell running shoes, what am I supposed to blog about?” Granted, certain businesses may be more difficult to blog for, but this is where you have ENDLESS possibilities. Don’t just think of your blog as a sales tool, but also write about topics that will not only inform, but entertain your customer. It’s your business, and you started it because you had passion for what you do. Express this in your first blog. Let the consumer know why you are the best choice for their shopping experience. Show your expertise in your business niche. Let’s use our example of a running shoe business owner. As the business owner, you have an opportunity to blog about all things related to running. Consider writing topics about snacks for runners, and the dangers of not properly hydrating. Maybe take the time to blog about a personal achievement like running a marathon. Blogging can help humanize your business so that the consumer can relate to you and your products, thus increasing the chance of purchases. In addition to writing personable material, one of the most effective blog topics to write about is your product line.

Products as an Ecommerce Blog Topic

This is a no brainer. Your products are your ecommerce website’s life blood. Sure, you have a product description on your product page, but that is designed to give the consumer a brief description. A product blog has the ability to reach out to the consumer and show them the full scope of your inventory. Make sure you blog about these products: Featured Product Blog Posts – Showcase your current product line. Focus on a single product like a specific model TV or even an entire brand or niche. Show comparison between products. New Product Blog Posts – Everyone gets excited about new stuff. Highlight your new products in a blog, especially if the product can get “lost” in your vast product catalog. Coming Soon Product Blog Posts  – Generate excitement about incoming products. Let your customer know in advance of a new product on the way so they can prepare to make their purchase. Consider that you sell electronics and a new device is hitting the market in a few weeks. Since technology changes so quickly, you are providing the service of information to your client. It would be possible that a customer would become upset with purchasing an out of date device if a new one is on the horizon. Informing your consumer allows them to make the decision if they should purchase the older model device or if it makes more sense to wait for the upgrade. This is likely to garner a customer for the long term. Product Curation Blog Posts – Provide insight into your product line ESPECIALLY if the product is uniquely exclusive to your business. For example, movies are often released on Blu-Ray and DVD with cover artwork exclusive to a specific retailer. This could be a contributing factor on why a consumer would purchase from one ecommerce website over a competitor. Gift Ideas – A lot of consumers are clueless when it comes to gift giving. Take the time to write about great gift ideas. Think about birthdays, holidays and “just because” type of gifts. Product Testing Blog Posts – This is where your expertise come into play. As the business owner, you are in a unique position to sample all the products in your inventory. Create blogs that aren’t just information about the product, but rather put the product through testing to show your ecommerce consumer how products compare. This will help your customer decide on the best product for their need.

• How is the product made – are your products hand made or manufactured? Explain how your products development is superior to your competitor.
• Facts about the Product – why is this shoe superior to another?
• How to Use – troubleshoot your clients potential challenges to using your products and provide blogs about best practices. If you sell an electronic device that requires the customer to change settings, explain how, why and when the consumer may need to make these changes. Maybe offer a variety of these custom settings for the customer to test.

Customer Review Blog Posts – studies show that consumer reviews are a huge trust signal for potential buyers. Many websites offer a review section, but your ecommerce website can go beyond this. Best Buy has a consumer blog network where customers can create a profile and submit blogs to Best Buy to publish on their own website. This is the ultimate trust signal. These are not employees leaving reviews, and the consumer will appreciate the candid responses. Sales Promotion Blog Posts – Tell your customer about a big upcoming sale in a blog BEFORE the event. Get your customer excited about saving money on a product they have been wanting for awhile. Letting your loyal blog readers in on the sale “secret” ahead of time will help them travel farther down the conversion funnel and ultimately lead to a sale.

Blog about Your Company News

Talk about the great things your company is doing. Whether it is volunteering in the community, sponsoring an athletic or musical event or simply having an employee appreciation banquet, take the opportunity to write a blog about the business. Cover these business happenings in your blog: Store Opening Blog Posts – mainly for larger companies, although small companies that are expanding can greatly benefit from informing the consumer base of a new store opening in their area. Company Update Blog Posts – Will your company refocus on a certain product line? Is the business opening a new manufacturing facility? Maybe the company just merged or acquired a competitor. Either way, tell your customers in your blog. Share your company news to your loyalists so they continue to trust you. Remember the trust factor. If your customers don’t trust you, they won’t buy from you. Employment Update/Promotions Blog Posts – Show your internal employees in your blogs. If they are getting promoted or will be speaking at a conference or they have a change in familial status, then use this platform to inform the world of their success. Trending Topics Blog Posts – The world is always changing and this is always evident in ecommerce as well. Inform your readers of future changes in products, consumer habits, etc. Event Marketing Blog Posts – Describe creating, designing and implementing a themed exhibit or display in a sponsored event. There are online and offline events that can be blogged. If your business will be at a trade show, inform the reader of the show, what they can expect to see if they attend and the challenges your business faced when creating the event.

Ecommerce Video Blogs

If you aren’t much of a writer, but are more charismatic in person, consider a video blog or vlog. This way you can film a product, while giving a description. This will help improve your customer experience, just be careful with the length of your vlog, the language and demeanor you use.

Examples of ecommerce Websites

Here are a few examples of highly successful ecommerce websites and their blogs. Notice the types of blogs they publish, how often and how it relates to the consumer. Even an ecommerce giant like Amazon understands the importance of blogging. Notice that Amazon’s blog is updated regularly and they include a store opening, a recognition of an employee and company news about being a great place to work. Groupon has a simple blog but it is focused on trends. Groupon is informing the consumer of the where and why. The current example is a blog about tattoo trends. In a way, the blog gives insight into why Groupon sells the service of tattoo removal and where consumers are most likely to purchase this service. This could be valuable information for a doctor who is contemplating using Groupon to promote their business. It also provides the casual reader something of interest that links to the Groupon website. This has the potential to drive search traffic that would not have otherwise visited the Groupon website to now look around and make a purchase. Most of us recognize Target as a physical store location, but they do offer Ecommerce. Take a look at their blog. Target is promoting a product that the company has exclusive rights to sell. This is a unique selling point that can be highlighted in a blog. Additionally, they offer company news and a new product line.

Smarter Ecommerce Through Blogging

Now that you have an arsenal of ecommerce topics to blog about, it’s time to get started. Remember that you do not have to reinvent the wheel here. Just write about your company, your products and your employees at first. After that, you will have the confidence to become a little more adventurous in your blogging. Focus on your ideal client base and offer them information that is of interest to them. If they feel a connection to you personally, then your website visitors are more likely to become customers!

Tags: Ecommerce