How to Create a Blog for Your E-Commerce Website (And Why You Need One)

AMZ Seller Financing • November 19, 2018
If you want to become successful and make it as an Amazon seller, you will need to do more than just selling on Amazon. Yes, this sounds a bit strange, but it’s completely true.
Let’s reword this. In order to become a top seller on Amazon, you will need to go above and beyond Amazon itself. Simply put, relying on Amazon to do everything for you isn’t enough.
That’s why you need a blog to help you along the way. Remember this, every successful online store should have a blog.
Amazon is a great selling platform, with a lot of opportunities for you. But you can’t expect a platform with literally millions of users to take care of you.
You have to do that for your online store. Amazon is just a place where you’re selling, not a guarantee that you’ll make it by selling. That’s a whole different story.
The internet is getting bigger and bigger, and there are no signs of stopping. In order to become visible and draw new customers to your online store, you need to have a good blog to back you up. Let’s tae a look at how to create a blog.
The Benefits of Having a Blog
In short, here’s why having a blog will do wonders for your online store. You will:
- share links on social media platforms,
- rank much higher on search engines (and much easier, too),
- reach out to new business partners and influencers in your niche,
- look more professional and present your online business in a better light.
And these are just some of the main things your blog will do for you. But only if you create it.
Unfortunately, many people think that it’s enough to have profiles on social media. Although it’s great to use social media to promote your online store, it’s definitely not enough.
In order to rank on search engines, you will need to get off social media and enter the “real world” of the internet, as many jokingly refer to search engines.
Also, you can’t rely solely on Amazon to drive new customers to you because there are literally hundreds of visits every minute. And the competition you face is fierce.
A blog will drive a lot more sales to your online store because it will provide what you crave the most – exposure.
How to Create a Blog
There are still many people who shy away from making a blog because they see it as something that’s too complicated, time-consuming or even a complete waste of time. But it’s not.
With the right knowledge of how to create a blog, you will be able to create a blog very quickly and start driving traffic to your online store in a reasonable period of time.
Also, many people still can’t make a distinction between a blog and a website. A website is a much larger construction, with a lot of additional features. A blog can be really simple, like a web page that you constantly update.
On the other hand, a blog can also be a part of your website, like a small section. For example, what you’re reading now is a blog within a website.
In this post, we will focus on that kind of blog, which you include in your website. Here are the things you need to do in order to create a blog that draws customers in.
5 Steps For Creating a Great E-commerce Blog
1. Create a Content Calendar And Stick To It
Step 1 of how to create a blog is starting with a content calendar. And you should make one even before you publish your first blog post. Basically, a content calendar is your publishing schedule. This means you need to have some kind of plan for your publishing. Let’s call it a publishing rhythm.
You should publish new content at least once a week, although many people prefer publishing twice a week, or even more often. Whatever you choose, be sure to stick to your schedule. This is why it’s important to have a content calendar.
Prepare enough topics for at least two months in advance, develop an outline for each topic and start writing (you can also outsource and hire freelance writers to do it for you, that’s up to you). But a content calendar is a must. Many people give up after two or three blog posts because “they don’t have the inspiration”.
But, in fact, what they don’t have is simply a content calendar.
2. Write About Engaging Topics (And Write Long-Form)
You need to write about those topics your customers find worth reading. That’s why it’s a good idea to reach out to them on social media and ask them what they would like to read on your upcoming blog. You can even make a poll and see which topics get the most votes.
Also, you should do some research on your competitors (see what they’re blogging about). This will give you an idea of the content you should create. Remember, engaged customers are recurring customers.
Also, be sure to write long-form content. If your customers see a short post (less than 500 words), they will be less likely to read it. It sounds like a paradox, but it’s true. When people see a longer a post, they will immediately figure there is more value in it (and they’re right). So, make every blog post at least 800 words long. The longer, the better.
3. Apply SEO magic And Maintain Consistency
How to create a blog is one thing. How to create a blog that drives people to it is another matter.
You need to optimize your blog if you want it to draw in new customers. Focus on your keywords, and include them in the title and in the text body. Don’t overdo it, a couple of times is more than enough (search engines will figure out you’re stuffing the blog with keywords and you won’t get far).
Be sure to use long-tail keywords and keyword related terms. It doesn’t have to be just one word, it can be several. Here’s the thing – the closer you are to what the customers are typing in the search bar, the better. And if you want to get even better SEO results, you can hire an SEO expert to help you out.
The most important thing, however, is to maintain consistency. If you make a blog for your e-commerce business, it needs to stay relevant and add value to your customers. Never allow a drop in quality. If you apply all of these things, your e-commerce blog will be a success.