6 Reasons Why Your E-Commerce Business Needs A Blog

People start blogging for a great number of reasons, which includes the desire to share a passion, teach others what they know, sell products and services, build a brand, or a combination of everything that was mentioned.

A blog for your ecommerce website will give you a platform where you can do all of that and promote your online store in a way that is pretty much free. Blogging may even help you reach more people and generate more sales for your online store.

If you are using Shopify to run your online shop, then you’ll know that your shop comes with a blog engine already in place for you to work with, no matter what Shopify plan you choose.

The great thing about blogging is that it allows your brand to be creative and to experiment with how best to reach your audience with different types of content.

Starting a blog can be hard work, but it’s the kind of work that can really pay off if you remain consistent enough to meet your goal. It is one of the ways for your site to get that organic traffic that will help you get your online store and brand rolling!

Now let’s jump right in and talk about why starting a blog can be a great asset for your ecommerce business:

1. Helps You Share Value

Starting a blog for your online store gives you a wider opportunity to connect with your customers in a way that your shop alone may not be able to do, in the sense that a blog helps you share more value and information to your consumers.

The value that your shop brings can be in sharing insight and information, not just in seling your products, but also in cultivating the interest that your target demographic shares.

For instance, if you were to open a dropshipping business selling trendy athleisure and street style outfits, then you can start a blog to share valuable style tips and news with your readers. If you can create a blog filled with valuable content and link in some of your products now and again, then this will definitely help you promote your store and its products.

2. Blogs Are Shareable

Blog articles are shareable on social media. Not only will starting a blog give you better material to share on your own social accounts, but you will also be increasing the likelihood of others also sharing your content online as well!

Having share-worthy blog posts can increase people’s awareness of your brand. This is because it allows you to extend your reach to new customers and direct audiences straight to your blog and online shop.

For instance, if you were running an online shop selling hiking gear, you can create an article on the top 10 must-haves for every outdoor enthusiast and share it on your social media page or on online hiking and outdoor communities.

3. Search Engine Optimization

One of the best things you can do to improve your ranking on search engines like Google is to start a blog. That’s right, blogging is great for SEO and can help you improve your rank and discoverability on search engines.

Why is this relevant? That’s because people go on Google pretty much whenever they need to search for something on the web. If you run a blog with high-quality content that is relevant to your target audience, you can then improve traffic to your site, which can make a huge difference in how well your ecommerce business performs.

4. Keep Customers On Your Site Longer

Someone who discovers your website through your blog post has a lot more reasons to stick around longer and to read your article than if they land on a page with less text and informational content. This is especially the case when your blog post contains relevant information to your target demographic.

Research conducted on SEO and search engine ranking found that blog posts of 2000 words tend to fare better than shorter blog posts. Your target market may be out there in search of information, and if people are interested in what you have to say, then they might want to check out your shop and the products that you recommend.

5. Helps You Connect

Blogs usually take on a more personal tone than other information-rich content on the internet, and it is meant to help you connect with your audience whose interests align with the content of your ecommerce blog.

Blogging gives you the voice to speak out to your audience directly and to share things that are a common interest between you and them. When your audience reads something from you that they loved or found particularly useful, not only are they more likely to share your content, they will be more likely to keep coming back to your website, and even sign up for your email list.

6. Establishes Credibility

People want credible leaders and authors whose experience and knowledge puts them in the lead in their field. Building a blog and posting on it regularly will help you not only appear current and in-the-know, but it also helps you build industry authority that your customers are likely to recognize.

This is one of the most significant points to blogging because authority builds trust, and you need to earn your customers’ trust before they will even consider making a purchase with you.

What Should You Post On Your Blog?

Now that we talked about how a blog can benefit your online store, let’s go into what type of content you should be posting.

The world is pretty much your oyster when it comes to what you post on your blog, so get ready to be creative and diversify your blog content to keep things fresh and interesting for your readers!

If you are going to run a blog, it doesn’t mean that you have to limit yourself to one type of content. You have to keep things different to keep people interested with your diversified approach.

For instance, you can add:

• Behind the scenes glimpses- People love to see the work that goes into the products that they buy. It adds to the sense of the perceived value of the product or brand and makes them more excited about their purchase.
• Contests and giveaways- Running a contest or giveaway is one of the best ways to connect with your audience, and to increase their activity. Your blog would be a great place to reveal your contests, giveaways, and it’s winners.
• Interviews- Interviews are a great way of humanizing your brand, and interviewing experts in your niche (including providing a bio on yourself or your brand) can be a great way of establishing trust and increasing traffic to your online store.
• Product reviews- Today’s consumers are more well informed than ever before, and they feel entitled to the information that they want and need. That’s why product reviews are so popular, and having them on your site can help you sway the buying decision of your customers.
• Product testimonials- People are moved by the testaments of others, and many online shoppers need verification from real product users before they make the purchase themselves. Featuring testimonials on your blog will also help in swaying your readers into making a purchase.
• Round-ups and lists- “Top” rankings are attractive to readers and consumers, so roundups and lists are a must-have for any blog in promoting your products.
• Infographics- Infographics have the best of two worlds, marrying images with text to create a medium that delivers information with efficiency. Infographics make for great content no matter what you are trying to share with your consumers. It’s definitely one way to deliver information quickly and in a way that sticks.
• Video content- Just because blogs traditionally comprise of text and a few images doesn’t mean that you have to be limited to that alone. Video content is particularly captivating, whether you are sharing footage of your products or sharing whiteboard animation to educate your consumers.

Back To You

The key to blogging, like in any other method of promoting your online business, is consistency. Whether you plan to publish daily, weekly, or bimonthly, keep the content coming in a steady stream.

Blogging takes a lot of time, a degree of skill in writing, creativity, and lots of dedication, but it is one of the best ways for you to attract new visitors to your online store. It’s also a wonderful complement to your social media campaigns, as you can share more content that leads your target audience directly to your store’s website. We can definitely say that blogging is one of the most effective ways to promote your store, improve your search engine rank, and establish your business as a trustworthy authority in your niche.

Your Thoughts

Thinking of starting a blog or implementing other methods to promote and grow your online business? If you are and you have a project in mind, please feel free to start a conversation with Ecommerce Pro today. We love to discuss the future plans of online business ventures and to share practical solutions to help you meet your ecommerce and dropshipping business goals.

Originally published at https://ecommercepro.com on September 25, 2019.