Entering The Blogosphere : What A Blog Can Do For Your E-Commerce Business
Right now, you are reading the blog for Wholesale Match. Now ask yourself – why exactly are you reading this? Hopefully, you have come to this blog in hopes of learning new information for your online dropship or wholesale business, and this is more interesting and personable than, say, a piece of paper. This not only is directed straight at you, but it’s written by someone who understands what you’re trying to accomplish with your online businesses, and wants to give you the tools to succeed. Since blogs gained significant popularity starting in 2005, companies have adopted using them as a method to reach out to their audiences and become more personable. There are some benefits to adding a blog to your business.
Writing Blogs For Your E-Commerce Website
1. Easy To Use
Blogs are very easy to use. Unlike some other forms of communication with customers – newsletters, websites, etc. – blogs can be created in about five minutes, are free, and are pretty easy to understand. One of the most popular blog websites, is Google owned blogspot.com. However, this blog is powered by WordPress, which is more complicated than Blogspot, but it is easier to incorporate it into our website design a lot more effectively. You don’t need to know HTML, designing, or really any technological things to start a blog or make it look nice – it just might take a little time looking around the features that the blogs offer.
2. Low Cost Alternative
Like mentioned above, since blogs are easy to use, you don’t have to worry about paying someone to make a really nice newsletter for you, or someone to completely build a website either. However, I would discourage using solely a blog as your storefront, but more like a nice addition to your website. For example, recently I have been looking around for a photographer. Most of the photographers I have been interested not only have a website that has all of their galleries and pricing, etc., but they also have a blog. They usually keep their blogs updated with a couple pictures from a shoot they did that day, and a little message to describe how it went. This lets you see the most recent work the photographer has done, as well as an idea of their personality when they write about the shoots they just did. However, sometimes the only way to show off their work was through a blog, and 99% of the time I would simply move on to the next photographer’s website if they only had a blog. When it comes to photography, it’s difficult to look at galleries and pricing if they aren’t organized and put together nicely like they would be on a website.
This photography blog example could work with any business type. If you got a new product that you’re excited about, feature it on your blog and write a little bit about why you’re excited about it. Blogs let people comment on what they see, so it can also help with figuring out what your audience is looking for – their likes and dislikes.
3. Quick And Easy
Again, blogs are quick and easy. Writing a blog can take anywhere from a five minute quick post to an hour with something a little more in-depth. Don’t forget to format it in a way that is appealing for people to read. We will get into blog designs and layouts in a later post.
4. Share Expertise And Thoughts
Blogs are a prime location to share your expertise about any subjects and your thoughts. Keep in mind that this isn’t going to be a personal blog that you can tell your customers about how your niece / grandson / daughter / pet is the cutest thing you ever saw, and how you hate when it rains in the middle of summer – try to keep your thoughts solely on building your business. For example, let’s image that your business is selling customized t-shirts and apparel online that have funny pictures and sayings. You just got in a new shirt, and you want to feature it. All you need to do is stick it on your blog, write about why you stuck it there, and you can even ask what kind of quotes or designs people like on their shirts so you can look for more for them. There’s something about the internet and anonymity that makes people feel comfortable commenting on things people post.
Simply put, blogs are something that can highlight your online business. They aren’t necessarily going to be the focal point, but more like a way for you to interact with your customers through pictures, comments, and posts.
I have been thinking of writing a blog for my website and as a side business. Thank you for the information, it was quite helpful and timely.
the dropshipping business is also great as long as you can find a great supplier.;~;