When I started my Etsy shop, I was faced with a ton of challenges and struggles – getting traffic, developing my customer base, and increasing sales to name a few.
I talk quite a bit about
Etsy SEO,
photos, and
marketing strategies. Have all those things played a major role in the success of my business growth? Yes they have.
However, I was introduced to a new (and better way in my opinion) to represent my brand drive traffic to my Etsy shop.
And that is threw blogging.
Starting a blog and providing valuable blog posts has created a foundation that allowed me to grow my business. Here's why... my blog allowed me to refine my business message. It provided me the space to share with my audience my expertise in a way I couldn't fully do on social media.
Blogging allowed me to connect with my target audience, build trust and makes sales.
Yes, make sales!
I was told often why blogging was essential for my business, but I lacked the vision to start one. I must admit before I started my blog, I struggled with whether it was a good move for me.
What would I talk about? Because surely no one wanted to hear me solely harp about hair bows.
How would I start one? I didn’t have a clue where to begin.
Truth is, it ultimately boiled down to fear. I spent too much time focusing on avoiding something new and less time understanding how transformative it would be for my business.
Eventually, I caved in and added blogging to my business strategy.
GOOD MOVE on my part.
Since starting my blog, I have increased the growth of my email list and have made a major impact with connecting with my peeps. Cutting to the chase, I believe every business should create a blog, despite their niche or industry. I also believe that you can leverage your blog to grow your audience and increase your sales.
Before I lay out the benefits of blogging for my business, let me just say...blogging is
NOT easy and does not take off on it’s on. Like your business, you will need to have a strategy, be consistent, and put in the work to ensure the success of your blog. And to ensure you aren't wasting your time or the times of others.
So, in today’s post, I’m detailing the benefits of blogging as a way to grow, connect with your audience and increase your sales.
Let’s start with the importance of creating a blog. Blogging can grow your email list, generate engagement amongst your peeps, build authority, and increase your traffic.
All of that? Yes, all that goodness.
And with all that goodness, how could you pass on the idea of taking your business to the next level – even when you have an Etsy shop.
Let’s talk about those benefits.
1 | Repeat Shoppers
Once a customer makes a purchase from your shop, they may or may not come back for more. And if they do, it is certainly not guaranteed that they will return as often as you would like. But with blogging -- oh but with blogging, it is a completely different ball game.
Blogging creates a channel to keep customers and potential customers coming back for more. The more you pump out valuable content, the more your audience will visit your site, learn more about your business, beg for more content, and will purchase your products.
With your blog, you have the ability to showcase your personality, tell your story and feature your products. You are the expert when it comes to your products. You are able to lay out details of what they are made of, how they are made and any special features. The more attention you put on your products, increases the chance of more sales.
2 | Better marketing tool than social media
Social media is an awesome way to connect with your tribe and market the heck out of your business. But it is extremely unstable and causes quite a fuss when it comes to making an impact on your business. Social media is just way too unpredictable for me, which is why I never rely on it entirely.
You can still utilize social media but push your audience back to your blog instead. Doing this puts you back in control. Because with your blog you have all the control...the ball is in your court at all times.
3 | The root of your business
Your blog ultimately becomes the focal point of your business. It gives your audience a road map of where to go to purchase products, business updates, behind the scenes, product launches, and anything else that is useful.
But Frankie, I share this info. on social media.
Yes, you do, but while posting on social media works, it doesn’t ensure that your audience will see EVERY one of your posts (I hate to bust your bubble). Not to mention, it becomes difficult to convey your message with just a few sentences (it’s just not enough space on
Instagram). Your blog post however really makes a real
BANG. It is the thing that gives your audience a reason to keep coming back for fear of missing something.
If you’re ready to set up a blog, I recommend HostGator for hosting. I use it with my WordPress site and I’m pleased with the easy set up and its performance. If you use my special link, you can snag 25% off of your order. Once your blog is set up in its entirety, you can simply add a link to connect your Etsy shop.
4 | Building trust = Increased Sales
And as your audience continues to return to your blog, the more potential you have to build trust with them. I’ve found that you can harp on and on about your products, but in order to have an audience that will purchase your products, you have to build trust. You will always be faced with the job of proving to be trustworthy to make an impact on your sales.
The good news is blogging is a great way to build trust. As you provide valuable posts that your audience will benefit from, the trust factor will increase...
Hello, sales!
5 | Expanding your reach
If I haven’t convinced you enough...
Here’s one that I love personally...
As you write good content that people enjoy reading and share. You reap the benefits of ranking high in search engines. Each and every link to your blog, be it from other blogs or social media, signals to Google that your blog is of value.
Back to social media...you can promote your shop multiple times a day consistently. But the hardcore truth is your efforts will only produce a minimal shift. But blog posts really push the envelope.
When you write blog posts, you have much more to share outside of your Etsy shop link and product photos. You have content and material that encourages people to read and share.
6 | Creates credibility and authority
I must admit, blogging can be intimidating at first. You aren’t sure what to write about. Not to mention if people will even care to read your posts.
Who would really trust what I have to say?
Don’t discredit yourself. I know it’s tough when you’re just starting out to snag the chance to truly showcase your knowledge outside of the products you make.
But blogging allows you that opportunity. It allows you to create content that establishes your expertise beyond your physical products. And again, it helps position you as a trustworthy authority in your niche.
And with good content, means more attention from others within and outside of your niche. This attention leads to more eyeballs not only on your blog but to your Etsy shop as well.
7 | SEO Game Changer
Sure you have a small audience...
...hey guess what? That doesn’t mean you can’t or shouldn’t start a blog for fear that no one will read your posts.
In fact, not blogging is a surefire way of keeping your audience small.
You have to start somewhere, right?
Even if you’re not getting gobs of traffic to your blog in the beginning. That will eventually change especially when it relates to SEO.
How so?
For starters...
More pages:
The more you blog, the more pages you add to your site. The more pages your site has, the higher your website will rank in the search engine results. Higher ranking results in more traffic to your blog.
Got that? Nice!
Next,
Backlinks:
Now, outside of multiple pages, there’s also the matter of links from other sites. Whenever anyone of your posts is linked to from other sites –known as backlinks or
inbound links-- your page rank skyrockets in the search engines.
If you are pumping out good content, the likelihood of people sharing your posts on their sites and blog posts increases. And for each time someone links back to your website, that is another nudge up the search ranks.
Can you make this happen with solely sharing your products?
Possibly? But, it’s much easier to obtain backlinks from your blog posts as opposed to your products or shop.
And lastly...
Keyword Ranking:
Similar to Etsy, you should aim to rank based off of keywords and phrases that are related to your blog topics. The content you create, make sure to add relevant keywords to attract your ideal audience. It also benefits your Etsy shop that you link to in your blog posts.
Well, there you have it. Blog to not only increase your customer base but to showcase your products and increase sales.
Although blogging takes a lot of time and TLC, similar to the amount of time you pour into your Etsy shop. It will be one of the best investments you could make. Ponder this--how would you like to create content that will live forever, provide everlasting value, and generate endless sales?
In the comments below, tell me what are your fears when it comes to blogging?
