1. Share what you know
Unlock Your Blog’s Potential: Attract Customers with How-Tos and Product Expertise
Hey bloggers, you’re already masters of crafting helpful articles. Your industry know-how is a goldmine – why not share it with the world? Blogging offers a powerful platform to showcase your expertise and attract customers like moths to a flame.
Here’s how to turn your blog into a customer magnet:
Go for the gold (mine): Ditch generic topics and focus on “how-to” guides relevant to a large audience. Share your tips on everything from online shopping hacks to getting the most out of your new purchase.
Become a product whisperer: Show off your product knowledge like a pro! Use your blog to educate potential customers on your offerings, highlighting how they can make life easier. Don’t just push sales – empower them with valuable information.
Case in point: Take Good as Gold and their new Veja shoes. While the Veja sneakers aren’t quite ready for purchase, they’ve already published a “Veja Fit Guide” blog to help customers find the perfect fit. It’s all about building trust and setting themselves up for a smooth shopping experience later.
So, bloggers, grab your keyboard and unleash your inner knowledge-ninja. By crafting helpful, informative content, you’ll not only establish yourself as an industry authority but also attract customers who appreciate your expertise and trust your recommendations. Remember, happy readers become happy customers, and that’s the golden formula for blogging success!
2. Answer customer questions.
Even if you have a page that asks what customers most frequently, having a blog is a great way to go in-depth about the things that customers are asking you. Use the topics in your frequently asked questions (FAQ) to generate blog post ideas. Also, think of different ways that you can answer some of your customers’ most common questions.
Baskin Robbins, for example, has a very comprehensive FAQ page with drop-down menus related to many different topics. Many of the questions related to customized cakes. Baskin Robbins frequently gets asked questions about their customized ice cream cakes. Since this topic generates a lot of questions, they could write several blog posts on custom ice cream cakes.
3. Connect with your customers.
When someone leaves a positive review on Yelp, encourage them to write a blog post about your restaurant.
If you have a lot of social media followers, use what they wrote to generate blog post ideas. If someone recently posted a very positive review on Yelp, contact them to see if they are willing to share their story in a blog post.
4. Your blog posts should provide useful information.
In general, don’t be too promotional; save that for your advertising. Instead of writing about how your product or service will benefit customers, use customer reviews to identify the needs that customers have that you can meet.
If someone comments on a review that said they loved eating at your restaurant because you specialize in regional food, you could write a blog post about comfort food and how it helps people settle in to a new city.
Announce new releases and updates to your products.
You can create blog posts that focus primarily on selling your products, but try to be as informative as possible. Use your blog to announce new product lines. If you have an online store and are starting to carry a new product line, use your blog to introduce the product line to your readers.
If you’ve made changes to one of your products, explain them in a blog post. Explain why you decided to make the changes and what the impact will be on your customers. Write a blog post about why you decided to make the changes and how the new, improved product will benefit your customers.
5. Share the latest news and trends in your industry.
You probably know what your industry is doing. Whether you own a home service business or a small bakery, you’re probably constantly reviewing trade magazines and going to industry conferences to stay informed. Trends in your industry can give you great blog post ideas.
If you own a plumbing company, you have to keep up with changes in wastewater laws and regulations. Even though you’re writing really technical content, you can use it to help customers stay compliant whether they own an old house or a new building. Adding a compelling headline to your blog like How new wastewater regulations could cost you money will grab your readers’ attention.
6. Participate in the life of your community.
When you own a brick-and-mortar store, it is part of your community. Local nail salons are a great place for friends to meet and to make plans. Do not forget that taking your dog to a pet groomer is a great way to pamper them and show them how much you care.
You are a part of your community. You are expected to give back to it. Use your blog to share interesting things about other local businesses. Or write a column about what will be happening in your neighborhood each month. Whether you own a clothing store or a small salon, report on local fashion events or partner with a salon to report on hair trends.
7. Introduce the team.
People like to get to know the people in their communities.
People enjoy getting to know the people who work at their favorite companies. This article aims to help people do just that. Do a series of blog posts or video interviews highlighting all of your employees. That way, customers will get to know them and their personalities. As long as they feel comfortable being interviewed, ask everyone on your team for an interview — at every level of your business.
If you do that, your subscribers will get to know a lot of your employees. They will discover ways in which you and your employees can work together to achieve a common goal. They may discover some common ground that they had never considered before.
8. Ask your customers for ideas.
There is a simple way to find out what your customers really value, even if it’s not through doing reviews or interacting with other people online. Ask your customers what they think. Send out a survey to your subscribers asking them what they think matters to them and what they want to learn more about.
Even if you don’t get a good response, you can always look at your blog analytics to see what posts get the most attention, and then use those insights to come up with more topic ideas.
9. Use different types of media.
You don’t have to stick to writing blog posts. People like to see people do videos and photos on their blogs. People will get bored if you only post short articles or lists of information. Add videos and pictures to your blog. You don’t have to be a professional photographer or videographer to take great pictures or record videos to share with your followers.
Many inexpensive phones have cameras that are very similar to the expensive models that are on the market. When you’re speaking at a conference, make a video that explains what you’ll be talking about and invites people to your session. Film a few videos showing how you bring your products to life.
