The problem with blogs is that so many companies that have them do not know what they have them for.
They know what it is, they have spent money on building one that looks nice and works well but when it comes to actually putting content on there, that’s where the problems arise. This is such a shame as a good blog can be an excellent tool for boosting online sales.
Most Common Mistakes
There are a few common mistakes which it is good to clear up first and foremost. Probably the most common is to use your blog as a way to display every single new product as it becomes available. This may seem like a great idea but it is not what people will come back looking for. If they want to find your new products they will look in your shop, not on your blog. You can turn this around though by occasionally writing something interesting and useful about any new products while avoiding just posting that they exist. This more wholesome method is far more likely to get your online credit card processing system in action.
Another common mistake is not using them. Nothing looks worse to someone trying to find out more about a company who makes the effort to visit your blog only to find a big empty page. ‘Is this company still operating?’ they will ask.
So How Do You Use Your Blog for Good?
Think of your blog as a place where you get to know and interact with your customers. If you keep this as your basis and you won’t go far wrong. Customers will come back to you for more interesting information and only then should you think about slipping in some sales orientated information, preferably towards the end of your post. Remember don’t push people towards your payment gateways. Just give them the best information to get there themselves.
Get to Know Your Customers
Before you write anything, get to know your audience. This may seem obvious to you but do a bit of research into what sort people actually go online who may be interested in what your business offers, and think about what sort of information will be appealing and of use to them. Tailor your blog to answer their questions before they ask them and they will (hopefully) become regular visitors to your blog.
Social Distribution
Using your well written tailored blog as information to distribute via social channels will also be of great benefit to your store. If you have ‘followers’ then you can use them to great advantage using your blog. Try ‘tweeting’ a link to each blog with a clear message of its benefits for example and see how many people start turning up at your site and maybe even buying something.
Blogs are incredibly powerful when done properly so be sure to dedicate enough time to them and pay them the respect they deserve.
‘The Apprentice’ is a very popular television program which features Lord Alan Sugar as he puts a group of budding entrepreneurs and business types through a string of rigorous and ingenious business and marketing tasks, in what must be one of the toughest job interviews ever created. The prize for the winner at the end of the series is to be awarded a quarter of a million pounds in order to start a business of their own.
Ecommerce stores are notoriously difficult to manage. Not necessarily because of the technology, but because of the users. Most people who visit ecommerce stores fail to do exactly what you want them to do or what you have predicted they will do. It would be all plain sailing if every visitor went straight to what they wanted and immediately completed a purchase or at least made an enquiry. This unfortunately is for the most part not the case and there are hundreds of factors in your ecommerce sales process that can cause users to decide not to make a purchase.
One thing is for sure, ecommerce store owners want their users to buy their products. They will go to great lengths to find ways in which people can be convinced that a certain product is the one that will change their life for the better. This might include altering the product, changing an advertising campaign, re-designing their website and fiddling around with their pricing. But one thing many ecommerce sites are unwilling to change is their registration process.
Trust is one of most important things for shoppers. Gone (well practically) are the days when we can walk into a shop and be sweet talked by a savvy salesman into buying something we don’t want. Shoppers know their rights more than ever and are also particularly careful with their money. This is especially true online as we have no reason to stick around and read or listen to anything about something we don’t definitely want to buy.
With every person and their dog now owning and using a smartphone or tablet PC to access the internet, and with apps (downloadable applications) rapidly becoming the normal way with which people interact with these devices, you must be interested to hear what having one will do for your business…and what not having one will do to your business.
Other than during the initial cyber bubble in the 90’s, no.
Since the launch of the iPad in 2010 it has met a generally favourable response from users, reviewers and businesses. Time Magazine even listed it in their top 50 best inventions of the year 2010. There are now many copies (though some say they had the idea first) of this product which certainly shows that it is being bought in high numbers. But aside from it being a great invention, how can it help your or your business’ productivity in the real world?
When a visitor or potential customer arrives at your website for the first time, they form an opinion of your site and your company as a whole in a few seconds. This means that you need to make sure that every element of your homepage (primarily) and all the deeper sections of your site are completely tailored to give your visitor the best emotional response and first impression. Think about the last time you arrived at a site that looked odd, was unappealing, and made you feel awkward in some way…did you stick around? I doubt it. You don’t want to be in their shoes.
