Currently, there are 7.9 million online retailers in the world. It is easy for anyone to predict that they have to face aggressive competition when they start a new business online.
With increasing competition in the world of ecommerce, it has become unavoidable for online store owners to implement strategies that set their business apart from the rest of the competition.
One of those strategies is to market your online business through blogging. According to recent research, brands that leverage blogging gets up to 67% more leads than those that do not.
Also, all types of businesses can benefit from blogging. Blogs improve your brand visibility in SERPs and also represent your expert image in front of potential customers.
While creating a business blog is easier than you think, promoting it right now is a challenge. Almost every online store has a blog these days, and they're producing tons of quality content to drive traffic to their websites.
So what branding and promotional strategies can you follow to make your business blog shine in 2024?
Today, we're going to uncover the top 10 methods to promote your business blog. But first, let's have a quick look at blogging-related statistics that prove why every online store needs a blog to attract more traffic in 2024 and beyond.
Blogging Statistics Every Online Seller Needs To Know
Although blogging is so beneficial for the success and growth of any online business, the bitter reality is many ecommerce sellers still consider it a hobby. We have talked with many budding entrepreneurs who were hesitant to start a blog assuming their business is local, and a blog won't help in any possible way.
Then some think they belong to the technical industry, and no one would want to read their boring posts.
But as we said, blogging helps businesses of all types and sizes.
According to Dream System Media, 23% of total internet usage time is dedicated to blogs.
Another study by Content Plus reveals that 60% of buyers feel confident about a brand after visiting the content section on their websites.
More than 78% of marketers consider content as the future of marketing.
Still not convinced? Here are key reasons why your online store needs a blog to increase user engagement and drive sales.
Key Reasons Why Your Online Store Needs A Blog In 2023
Helps You Position Yourself As An Industry Expert
The biggest hurdle for any newly established business is to build trust and credibility. There are already many experienced sellers out there in the market who know what exactly they're doing. People trust them because of their industry knowledge and expertise.
Your business blog is your chance to position yourself as an industry expert. Do not limit yourself to product features and benefits only. Highlight issues beyond your products and services that your target audience might be interested in.
Brainstorm different content ideas and find out topics that provide value to your users. Remember, your goal as an online seller is to establish your image as a go-to source of knowledge in your area of expertise.
Generate Leads And Build Trust
Present-day customers are curious. Having a dedicated business blog on your website will enable you to clear your customer's doubts and solve their concerns.
By blogging about subjects important to your buyers, you portray the customer-friendly nature of your business. That goes without saying that customers prefer to buy from brands that value their problems and make an effort to solve those issues in time.
Another perk of having a blog section on your website is that it enables you to drive leads and tons of quality traffic. B2B companies that blog twice a month generate up to 70% more leads than those that don't.
Improves Brand Visibility And SEO
The obvious benefit of having a business blog is it improves your brand visibility in search results.
As mentioned above, a blog enables you to drive more traffic to your website. When search engines crawl your website and find lots of valuable information there, they will automatically rank your website better on search results.
Also, blogging helps you earn more inbound links which also improves your Google ranking. In a nutshell, if you're serious about improving your brand visibility and organic traffic, blogging can be your safest bid.
Improves Interaction
Another benefit of having a business blog is that it provides your customers with a way to interact with your brand through comments.
Never turn off your comments section as it offers your visitors and blog readers a path to stay connected with your brand. The comments section also allows you to make recommendations about your products and other relevant blog posts.
It’s Cost-Effective
If you calculate ROI metrics before investing in anything new for your business, then let us tell you the ROI of blogging can be phenomenal.
How? Let us explain. See, when you create a blog on WordPress, BigCommerce, or any other platform, you don't have to invest in any additional money except for the amount you need to spend on using the platform or installing a theme.
Also, the ongoing costs of maintaining a blog are nothing if you compare it with the benefits that come along with the process.
Thus, having a blog is a good idea if you want to reach out to your customers without investing in expensive marketing efforts.
If you have already created a business blog for your website and are now looking for ways to promote it, then the following section includes everything you need to get started.
Fuels Your Social Media Presence
According to Bill Gates, "Content is king."
Bill Gates made a prediction back in 1996 that "content would be where the real money would be made on the internet."
Today, if we look around, his prediction could not be more true. Content is dominating the digital landscape, and no business can survive today without having a robust content strategy in place.
Now you must be wondering what's the connection of content to your social media pages.
The answer is pretty simple.
When you create quality content for your blog and share it on your social media channels, you get to drive lots of organic traffic to your site. If you don't have a blog, you don't have a lot to share on your social media channels.
If you're looking to fuel your social media presence or if you're already too active on social media, then not having a blog can cost your business a lot in terms of traffic, engagement, and of course, conversions.
How To Promote Your Business Blog In 2023 | 10 Proven Tips
1. Promote Your Blog Through Case Studies
You don't always have to implement sales-forward methods to promote your content. Sure, these strategies spread direct awareness about your brand and offer, but everyone else is also doing the same.
Also, when customers see any sales-centric content, they quickly know the brand is trying hard to sell its stuff.
You want to implement a promotional technique that doesn't look like a run-of-the-mill strategy and helps differentiate your brand from your competition.
One effective yet often overlooked strategy to promote your business blog is by using case studies.
Displaying case studies on your blog provides insightful information about your brand and its achievements to your site visitors.
With case studies, you can highlight your product benefits and features using visuals, statistics, and reviews. All of this contributes to the trust-building process and helps you gain the trust of your existing and potential customers.
2. Use Social Media To Promote Your Business Blog
According to Datareportal, there are more than 4.33 billion social media users worldwide. Having a stable social media presence is a ticket to success for online store owners.
If you already have a decent social media presence, leverage your following to promote your business blog online.
The process is quite simple. Whenever you publish a new blog post, link it back with a short message on social media to invite your fans and followers to visit your site, read your post, and share their valuable opinions.
This strategy can drive tons of organic traffic if done right.
3. Promote Your Blog Through Email Marketing
There is no channel as effective as email marketing to promote your business blog. If you're currently building your email list, make sure you gather as much information as possible about your target customers.
After creating a comprehensive email list, the next step is to segment your customers based on their age, gender, location, psychographic factors, and behavioral data.
Now start sending updates to the relevant audience whenever you publish any new blog post.
The key here is to encourage people contextually to read your posts. Remember, the very essence of email marketing is the user's consent.
Do not try to force them to visit your website as it may result in your business losing a loyal customer.
4. Promote Your Blog Through Guest Posting
Writing guest posts for other websites is another proven way to promote your business blog. Obviously, you cannot start writing value-driven posts for another website without some groundwork.
The idea is to contribute as an expert to other people's websites which isn't possible without pitching interesting guest post ideas.
Guest posting can be a wonderful tactic to reach a new audience. Just ensure you pitch ideas within your business niche and craft content that conveys the right message to the right audience.
5. Promote Your Blog Through Link Building
If your goal is to increase your page views and build credibility, you must consider leveraging the best link-building practices. Start by researching websites that are related to your area of expertise. Shortlist options and use a tool to scrape contact details.
While not every website will show interest in collaborating with your brand, you'll eventually find sites that want to partner with you. So keep hunting, and you'll find options that are worth it.
6. Promote Your Blog Offline
Sure, there are many ways you can promote your business blog online. But did you know you can also market your blog through offline channels?
For instance, you can include your blog URL on your business cards or talk about it at local community or business events. Check out our interesting blog post about the importance of local marketing.
7. Promote Your Blog Through Paid Advertising
Unless you're doing pretty well in terms of revenues, this option isn't for you. But if you do have a budget, we'd recommend promoting posts on social media using paid advertising channels.
Obviously, you can't sponsor every blog post. So choose options that you think have the potential to bring more value to the table.
8. Repurpose Content To Promote Your Blog
Content creation and marketing is a tedious and expensive process. But you don't always have to pitch new ideas and create fresh posts to capture your audience's interest.
You can also tweak and repurpose your existing posts to promote your business blog. For instance, you can combine two or three posts and convert them into a detailed infographic post.
Also, you can take some of your similar posts and create an ebook out of them. Possibilities are literally endless...
9. Link Your Blog To Other Popular Blogs
Today, every business, whether big or small, is leveraging influencer marketing to promote its products online.
The good news is you can also collaborate with popular blogs to promote your business blog.
There are many ways you can put this concept into practice. For instance, you can create a post from scratch revolving around a post recently published by an influencer.
Also, you can interview an influencer and transform that interview session into a Q&A post.
10. Leverage CTAs To Promote Your Business Blog
Adding CTAs at the end of your blog will help readers interact with the post further and take your desired action.
For example, you can add a 'Read a Related Article' CTA following a conclusion to help your readers stay engaged with your website.
Similarly, you can also add a CTA asking your visitors to drop their comments or sign up for your email list or newsletter.