As a product based business owner, you’ve got a lot on your plate. From designing to shipping to reaching out to stores your to do list is pretty packed. You may cringe a bit with today’s post and what I’m about to tell you: your business needs a blog. If you’re not blogging you may be missing out on connecting with your customers, sales + growth.
Raise your hand if you’re cursing my name right about now. It’s so easy to give up on your blog, or not even get started because it usually takes time to see some sort of result. Blogging takes time and creativity. Some days it feels like the words flow easily and endlessly. Others it’s like pulling teeth. If you’re just getting started, tried blogging in the past and didn’t see the results you wanted OR you are feeling stuck when it comes to deciding what to write about this post is going to help you gain clarity about why you should be blogging and give you a list of topic ideas to help boost your creativity. These are the reasons why your product based business needs a blog:
Building your blog will help get you noticed which can lead to more sales
We’ve all heard about how Google likes rich content. Want to increase those rankings? Blogging is a great way to get on the radar. Connecting with your audience through your blog will allow you to learn more about them. As your business + blog grow you can use analytics tools to see which posts they responded to most. Maybe it was a new release or a post about how to use one of your products. Either way, you’ll gain valuable insight into the mind of your customers.
It helps build brand awareness
You’re probably familiar with building know, like and trust for your business. People want products that make them feel good and to buy from sources they trust. When you talk about the why behind your business, share some behind the scenes moments and promote community your tribe will get to know you as a company that does more than make great products. Personally, I’m more than happy to pay a bit more for an item if it supports a great cause, has a passionate and original designer behind the brand or has a unique story.
Your blog boosts SEO
We all know the magic of SEO, and how it can boost our business rankings and help to make our company visible. By blogging you are adding additional pages to your website and increasing the chances that others will share your content (SEO gold!) It also shows that your website is current which engines like Google will see and in turn, give you a bit of a boost in the rankings. I’m by no means an SEO expert (though I’ve got some great recommendations if you need one!) but what I can say is that in all the research I’ve done for my own business the benefits of blogging outweigh the costs.
It allows you to educate others about your brand + business
There’s an amazing shop small + local movement in the marketplace right now and there’s no better way to highlight your bells + whistles than in a blog post. Do you print everything by hand with a 100 year old letterpress? Is everything manufactured in your hometown? Use this space to talk about what sets your products apart and the story behind your business. Speaking to these points can also help you justify your pricing. When a product is priced too high sometimes people pass, too low and questions about your quality may arise. Paying $20 for a pack of 6 notecards may sound high, but when I hear they’re hand pressed I’m going to be much more understanding of the pricing.
You’re simultaneously creating Pinnable content
Pinterest is a search engine that perfect for highlighting your products. While you can pin images from your website a blog post generates richer content for pins. For instance, you round up your 10 favorite gifts for mothers day and include one of your items. Anyone searching for “mother's day gifts” will come across your post, a graphic with awesome options and a link to your website. Getting them to find you online is the hard part, once they’re on your site if they like what they see you’ll probably end up gaining a new customer!
It creates content for you to share on social media
We’ve all had those morning where we know we need to post on our Instagram feeds and Facebook pages and end up spending hours trying to take the perfect shot and to create a post. Your blog post gives you share worthy content that you can utilize across every platform. Leverage your social media profiles and pages and direct visitors to your website blog, they may like what they see, explore your shop and become a customer!
Your Blog helps to grow your email list
So many businesses get caught up in growing their social media followings that they forget to focus on building an email list. With algorithms constantly changing social media is a bit like the Wild West, unregulated and a bit unruly-- What works today won’t necessarily work tomorrow! If your profile got hacked or your account had to close would your business be impacted? Email lists are a direct link to current and potential customers so use your blog to help build it! One thing to remember though, if you’re inundating you list with promotions and coupons you’re running the risk of losing subscribers. Balance these types of emails with other beneficial content. Maybe you’re sharing a link to a local magazine feature or you’ve been on a podcast-share it! Make this content as diverse as possible so you’re not coming across as just being in it for the sale.
It Helps build your community + encourages engagement
When the competition is fierce you need every tool in your arsenal to set yourself apart. Your blog is a great place to tell your story, share what makes your brand unique and establish your company as a reliable resource. It also encourages communication between you and your customers. When a customer feels heard they become more invested in your business. I may not buy right away, but you’ll leave an impression in my mind that is so strong you’ll be my first choice when I’m ready.
Blogging is a slooow process and often times it can feel like nobody is reading or responding to the great content you put out which makes you want to throw in the towel and gain some valuable time back to your day. I came across this awesome quote about blogging that I always think back to when I’m ready to take a break. Ready for me to blow your mind?!
“You never know who’s reading. Except of course, when you produce nothing for people to read. Then you know that that number is precisely 0.” -Dan Wang
Still feeling a bit stuck when it comes to blogging about your product? I’ve got a free list of 22 Killer Content ideas for your biz! You can find it inside the free resource library.
