Blogging can get you more Sales

The numbers are in: 53% of marketers agree that blogging is the most popular content marketing initiative—according to a recent study that was conducted by HubSpot. Simply put, if you are not using blogging as part of your digital marketing strategy, you are saying “no” to more sales. Certainly, blogging requires know-how, a focused strategy and patience. But with the right approach, you can use blogging to get more sales.

One: Ranking for Long Tail Keywords

Long tail keywords consist of three or more words in a search term. They are the most effective SEO method because most people search using common phrases, and not one or two-word search terms. A variety of tools exist that can help you find these “money” keywords to integrate into the blog posts you publish.

Properly formatted blog posts will capitalize on using long tail keywords to garner rankings and attract click-throughs from interested readers and shoppers. Hit Tail—a tool that helps businesses find long tail keywords—advises that the competition is less, and the search volume quality is higher with these types of keywords. When targeting them in blogs for e-commerce, this means that your hard work will result in targeted traffic that is likelier to convert on the products and services that you’re offering.

Two: Guest Blogging on Niche Sites

Blogs don’t always have to post to your blogroll; they are also powerful conversion tools when placed as guest blogs on niche sites. Whether these sites are partners that you currently work with or specialty sites that you target for placement, when done properly, they can drive highly targeted and organic traffic your direction. What’s more, guest blogs can link back to your online store, such as a landing page or related blog post, adding authority and relevance to it in the eyes of Google, which helps you outrank your competition for various keywords.

Three: Creating a Social Media Following

Social media is one of the most powerful conversion methods in e-commerce. While certain posts are always going to get traction, promoted posts that feature content always drive a healthy average referral value. Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram all offer a way to sponsor posts and improve engagement. Depending on the types of products or services that your online store offers, you can determine which outlet is the best place to spend money on paid promotion. The detailed reporting offered by these sites can help you A/B test your paid promotion strategy to improve the results.

Four: Paid Content Outreach

A well-researched blog with the right keywords and syndication puts you three steps in the right direction of success. But you can take things a step further by doing one more thing: Syndicating that content via promotion engines. Services like OutBrain get your content featured in the “Sponsored” section of millions of sites worldwide, like Yahoo, CNN, NBC, Time and countless others. You only pay for each click that comes through, and you can set your daily budget and monitor results with detailed reporting.

Five: Infographic Distribution

Content that is visually reinforced tends to be better received overall. This is where infographics can help you drive better engagement. You don’t have to be an experienced graphic designer to add an infographic to your blog post, either. Services like Piktochart let you easily create infographics by using premade templates and a user-friendly, drag-and-drop interface.

Six: The Power of Listicles

If you are looking for easy ideas for your next blog, consider listicles. Reports by Forbes, ConversionXL and others find that more than 36% of people like to read articles such as these (hint-hint, you’re reading a listicle right now). When using blogging to get more sales, a list article appeals to the 43% of readers that skim—according to HubSpot—and is favored by millennial readers as well. Listicles are powerful conversion tools that give your readers plenty of reasons to consider making a purchase of your products or services, while reinforcing this logic with a list of veritable facts.

Seven: The Power of the Call-to-Action (CTA)

Not only does blogging enable you to capture a reader who may not have otherwise visited your website, but it also enables you to get a chance at making a sale with the CTA that you strategically place inside of the blog. CTAs have been found to capture 90% of readers who read your title, and are a proven, time-tested conversion tool for e-commerce.

Eight: Establishing an Authority Voice

Consumers have millions of online stores to choose from, making it vital that you separate your store from the rest. One of the best ways that you can accomplish this goal is by establishing yourself as an authority voice. People are more inclined to make a purchase from a business that gives them unadulterated information on the products they are interested in without the clutter, unnecessary jargon or fluff. The Clever Consultant advises that to add authority to your blog, you must mind these rules of engagement: Relevance, Perspective, Simplicity, Expertise, Real-World Examples, Practical Tips, Active Voice and Proper Grammar.

Nine: Long Term Traffic Results

Blogging is one of the most efficient content marketing strategies that you can use, and is also one of the most cost effective. When well researched keywords are used (tools like Moz, SEM Rush, Hit Tail, SpyFu and others help you find such keywords), your online store can show up in the search engine results for various keywords over time.

Such efforts bring about long-term results, too, because your blog posts will continue to drive traffic for years to come. The Experts at Go Blogging Tips advise that you create a solid content strategy that involves publishing several posts per week to build an effective traffic stream. Results typically begin to show within four months of publishing your first post, after which—provided you are delivering succinct, engaging content on a continuous basis—you’ll notice a gradual but steady increase in traffic, and conversions.

Ten: Creating a Steady Stream of Inbound Back Links

Lastly, routine blogging helps your site maintain its search engine rankings because it also has the potential to create a steady stream of inbound back links. If your blogs offer a valuable resource for readers, other writers will also find them and reference them in their blog posts, helping your blog to rank even higher while also driving more traffic to your online store. It’s a win-win situation that can yield long term remuneration for your writing and marketing efforts.

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