Basics of Blog Marketing

Why use weblogs "blogs" as a marketing platform?



1. It's a cheap or even free platform - you can even get "free" domain name (such as yourname.blogspot.com) for your blog



2. Easy to update text, photos, contact information - the Content Management Systems (CMS) for blogs are some of the most well-built and advanced



3. Submission to blog and rss directories - Blog directories will typically only accept submissions of blogs or if you have rss built-in



4. Many free widgets (little side programs / scripts) to insert, such as counters, cbox, contact form, etc



Most common misconceptions by BlogShop owners



1. Once its up and running, people will definitely know about it



2. BlogShop design is not important, just have to look cute and colourful



3. Using comments function or basic email as a media for collecting orders



4. Not updating the BlogShop products at least once a week



5. Saving time by placing multiple photo shots into a single post



How to improve the sales of your BlogShop?



1. Improve the base theme / template of your blogshop to have a nicer, coordinated look and feel and (at least) appear more professional and reliable



2. Optimise your pages for Search Engines - tagging's important and keep to one product per post / page



3. Submit your blogshop into major directories - not just local blogshop directories but also the internationally renowned blog directories



4. Update the information on your blogshop at least once a week. Either update posts, photos, products or say something about your week. There's a reason why it's called a Blog in the first place



5. Make use of shopping cart functions to allow your customers to place orders - easier for them to click and order through shopping cart and easier for you to track their orders



6. Make use of RSS / XML technology to communicate with your viewers. Allow easy subscription to your updates via email through Feedburner