If you run a retail operation that has a storefront, there are certain items you need on your retail blog that blogs in other markets don’t need. Here’s a list of the ones I can think of for now:
- An inviting picture of your storefront on the main blog page.
The reason why is obvious, of course, but because blogs are in their own little world on the Web, with some attributes that differ from non-blog sites, it’s easy to lose sight of the obvious. You get all wrapped up in sidebar content, fiddling with your blogging system, and producing worthy content, you can forget the fact that the blog is designed to drive traffic to your store.Having a lovely, inviting picture of your shopfront is crucial. Even better, an entire gallery of interior shots as well, showing happy customers (not staged!) interacting with your exceptionally talented & dedicated staff. Many blogging systems have picture or file upload capabilities.
- Driving directions & address, complete with a map.
Again, this should be obvious, for the reasons stated above. You’ll want a blogging system that easily supports multiple pages. If you’re incorporating your retail blog into an existing site that already has this material on it, make sure you link to it from your blog. More people will land on your blog from searches than any other part of your site, so a little redundant navigation is important. I’ve seen various degrees of blog integration, from the smooth to the jarring (I’ll write more on blog integration later).Link to Google Maps or some other mapping service you like that shows your location so folks can get driving directions from where they live or from their hotel if they’re tourists. By the way, including your address should help people find your store via geographically localized searches.
- Store hours of operations and phone number.
Not much to say about this one; people need to be able to contact you and to know when they can drop in to shop. Again, even if this stuff is on the main site (if your main site and your blog are separate or not well integrated), don’t assume people can easily work their way to that information. Make it easy for them. - Make it obvious what you sell.
Do this in the blog title or in a header at the top that’s independent of any posts. This helps qualify visitors and helps with search engine optimization. - Some kind of special pricing or event announcement.
Give people a good reason to show up. If you’re running a sale or promotion, make that obvious on the blog. You should keep an area in a sidebar or above the normal posts for such things.One way to guage the effectiveness of your retail blog is to offer a special, small discount to shoppers who sign up for email newsletters through the blog or who say they found you through the blog. Put text to this effect somewhere on the main page so people know they can mention it when they’re in your store.
If your store offers events and seminars (like for gardening, poetry readings, or outdoor gear), then of course these should go on the blog!
While this shouldn’t apply to ecommerce, it may not be a bad idea to incorporate a “how did you find us” drop-down as part of your purchase process (conversion funnel). Include an option for people to choose “blog”.
I’ll post more on this subject in the future as new ideas come to me. If you have any suggestions or comments, please feel free to add them below.
