- A blog is a must-have for a successful business; 77% of all Internet users read blog posts.
- Seven types of evergreen content you should include in your content strategy include: posts with stats, content relevant to your potential customers, product or service guidelines, testimonials, examples of your work, posts that help users solve common problems, posts on how to avoid typical mistakes, and content with media such as infographics, images, videos, etc.
- Successful blogs offer consistency, quality, targeting, focus, use of graphics, and balance selling and informative content.
- Blogs must avoid plagiarism, poor readability, irrelevant content, keyword stuffing, and a lack of proofreading.
In today’s world of digitalization and rapid technological progress, businesses are going online to expand their horizons and extend their reach to potential customers. Over the past years, it has been numerously proven how online sales can enhance one’s business and help it evolve.
However, a successful venture can’t operate on sales alone. For more significant results, you also need a powerful marketing strategy and a blog!
Some of you may wonder what a blog has to do with the success of a business. As one delves into the essence of e-commerce, the doubts will start vanishing, while you will be opening up more and more opportunities for further growth.
Did you know that companies who run a blog get on average 97% more links to their site? This phenomenon can be easily explained by the fact that 77% of all Internet users read blog posts, which basically means that if your business doesn’t have a blog, you are potentially missing out on this 77% of potential customers.
So, why is having a blog a must-have for a sales website?
There are plenty of benefits that you can get from running one. Here are some of the most significant ones:
- Growing brand awareness. If you regularly deliver high-quality and engaging content, your reach will expand, which means that you will gain more opportunities to be found by potential customers;
- More traffic. In combination with a smart content strategy, it will result in the natural growth of organic visits to your website;
- More sales. Your brand will become more recognizable, and the traffic will grow. This will result in a larger number of sales!
All these benefits justify the time and effort you will invest in the blog! Moreover, the points mentioned above are only a small part of all the opportunities and benefits your business might obtain from a blog.
In the list below, you can find all types of content that constitute an evergreen content strategy. Each of these options is proven to be effective and work for most businesses. Therefore, if you are wondering where to start in launching your own e-commerce blog, here are a few hints to get you rolling.
Posts That Include Stats
There are quite a few reasons for creating publications with relevant stats. First of all, such posts are interesting to read, which means they will engage more users and, thus, generate more traffic.
Besides, adding valid statistical data adds credibility to your source, which helps build up relationships with potential customers.
Posts About Your Consumers
As a rule, publications that somehow relate to your target audience bring the best results. In such posts, you can spotlight the primary needs of your potential customers, problems they face, or what criteria they use to assess the products in your niche.
Speaking of such matters and then offering a solution that will satisfy the audience’s needs will help you grow the customer base.
In-Depth Guidelines on How to Use Your Product or Service
Another effective type of content for an e-commerce blog is one that helps users find out more about the products or services you offer.
Many companies, for example, Ahrefs, use their articles to give prospects a better understanding of the solutions provided. This strategy works pretty well.
True Testimonials
As a rule, before purchasing a specific product or service, most consumers will search for other users’ opinions on it. Therefore, sharing positive testimonials and stories that tell how your product has helped someone is always a good idea!
However, keep in mind that testimonials you share must be true. To collect them, offer your customers rewards for sharing their feedback!
Samples/Templates of Completed Works or Successfully Utilized Goods
It is always a great idea to show what exactly you have on offer. Providing testimonials helps, but it is even better if you can show examples of your work.
For instance, experts from professional essay writing services share examples of their work to showcase their skills. In such a way they prove to potential customers the experience and good command of language. Similarly, photographers, videographers, designers and many other freelancers use specialized platforms where the best samples are offered for review.
Posts That Give Hints to Avoid Typical Mistakes
Identify what problems your target audience tends to face most often and then offer them content that resolves these issues.
Publications that contain guidelines and tips on how to avoid common mistakes or solve certain problems often find good feedback from the audience.
Interactive Posts with Custom Images, Infographics, Videos, Podcasts
Today, no one enjoys reading a plain text only. Even if the content is high-quality and engaging, a publication that doesn’t feature any media elements will likely fail to gain many clicks.
However, once you add some of these elements, you will drive readers’ attention and get the most of your post!
Top E-Commerce Blog Do’s and Don’ts to Keep in Mind
According to the most recent stats, more than 50% of marketers confirm that blogging helped them gain customers. However, how did they reach the ultimate goals? In brief, the key to success is a wise content strategy.
From the previous part of this article, you’ve learned about the types of content that work best. However, that’s not enough. To achieve your aims and start a useful blog, you also need to know about some of the most common mistakes.
If you are new to blogging, it can be easy to make mistakes. However, knowing the essential do’s and don’ts will save your time and help in creating a blog that works best for your business!
DO’s
- Know your target audience
To produce content that brings value, you need to know who your ideal customer is, what they like, what are their needs, what problems they are facing, and so on. Targeting is vital for your blog’s success!
- Stay focused
Here is one essential thing to keep in mind – every article should have a specific angle, and the more accurate it is, the better! Therefore, be sure to find a particular focus and don’t try to cover too much in a single piece.
- Position yourself as an expert in the field
If you want to build trusted relationships with prospects, you have to share your knowledge and establish credibility. One of the main goals of your blog is to show the audience that you are a thought leader in your industry.
- Find a balance between selling and informative content
Remember that your blog doesn’t always need to sell products. Its main goal is to drive attention, bring value, and be generally useful for your target audience. If you can make it catchy and exciting, the sales will increase on their own. Thus, keeping the fine line between the content that engages and the one that sells is a golden rule!
- Stay active
Consistently adding new blog articles will help you keep readers engaged. It will also boost the rankings in search engines, which will result in higher brand awareness and more sales.
- Use social media to your benefit
Today, social media channels are powerful tools for marketing. Sharing your publications across different platforms is a great way to attract more readers.
- Include graphics
We’ve already mentioned the importance of adding graphic elements to your content, so don’t forget about it!
DON’Ts
- Plagiarizing
There is no need to repeat common knowledge — neither readers nor search engines like plagiarized content. Therefore, be sure to deliver fresh and unique materials only!
- Writing on irrelevant topics
The only way to make readers stick to your blog is to consistently deliver content that is relevant, useful, and informative.
- Unreadable materials
A good blog post should be easy to read. Therefore, be sure to use various techniques to increase readability, and don’t forget to optimize your source for both mobile and desktop users.
- Keyword stuffing
Using relevant keywords is a great way to increase your positioning in search engine results. However, it is essential to use keywords wisely and avoid stuffing.
- No proofreading
Proofreading is an essential part of successful blogging, so never overlook it!
Final Words
From this article, you’ve learned about the most significant benefits of blogging for business, and the key do’s and don’ts of e-commerce blogging. Now, let’s recap some of the main ideas we’ve discussed here:
- A blog is a must-have for every successful business;
- There are at least seven types of content that should be included within your evergreen content strategy, including posts with stats, content that is relevant to your potential customers, guidelines about your services or products, testimonials, examples of your work, posts that help users solve common problems, avoid typical mistakes, and publications with media such as infographics, images, videos, etc.;
- Some of the key do’s of successful blogging are consistency, quality, targeting, focus, use of graphics, and a balance between selling and informative content;
- Some of the critical don’ts are as follows: plagiarism, poor readability, irrelevant content, keyword stuffing, and lack of proofreading.
Hopefully, the tips gathered in this article will help you to get started but if you need help skyrocketing your content to the top reach out to the content experts here at Redefine Marketing Group.
