Use a Blog to Better Promote Your Products

For promoting products, content marketing, and a blog in particular, promises more traffic than many online retailers realize. Why do retailers hesitate to use blogs for content marketing? They fear that by marketing through blogs that their websites will appear spammy and become less appealing to consumers.

However, blog content can be an important way for you to promote your products if you achieve the right balance. It’s one of the easiest and least costly ways to gain exposure for your products, even if you don’t believe you have the time or skill to blog often or well. If you’d like to develop blog content with care and skill, keep the following ideas for success in mind.

Give Practical Tips and Tricks

The primary purpose of selling a product is to offer value to a customer. Think of your blog content as another way to deliver value by discussing practical tips. If you sell pest control, for example, you can write a blog post about common household remedies for occasional insect infestations. And at the end of the post, you can mention that if the problem is more severe, the reader can call on your business to take care of the situation.

Highlight Your Favorite Themes and Products on Your Website

Show confidence in your products by turning the spotlight on some of your favorite items. People are naturally drawn to products that are popular, and your blog post will show potential customers which items are most fashionable or effective. Here’s a great example from a company that sells party favors, invitations and similar goods. The company has published a few blog posts on its favorite products and themes for parties, which highlights how some of the most popular items will make a party more memorable.The information is useful for its customers, and it makes each product seem more exclusive when it has been presented in the blog.

Share New Product Launches

A successful retailer regularly promotes new products and services for its customers, so you might as well share those as enthusiastically as you can. Every time a new product is launched, write a quick press release about it and upload it to your blog. It's also fine to combine several product announcements in a single post if several new and appealing items happen to hit the market at roughly the same time. These types of posts can also be used to promote your products on social media. And remember, publishing your press releases on every social profile will further the exposure you receive for each product launch.

Show How to Use Products in Context

Most of your customers probably don’t really need to know how to use your products. If you sell home décor items, for example, your customers will know immediately what the purpose of each item is. However, they might be happy to receive ideas about how they can use those items for their own decorations and events. For example, you might write about the best artwork for darkly painted rooms, trendy colors for the upcoming season, or how to pair furniture with throw pillows. Mention your products in each blog post, and help prospective customers see the value through your presentation.

Internal Links in Your Blog

Internal links might not have the same impact on your search rankings as outbound links, but they’re still a useful tool for your blog. Links to product pages give customers examples for where your products might be useful, and because it’s your website, you can link to as many of them as you want. Using internal links is a great way to sell a specific product without getting too pitchy or spammy with your promotions. You show readers how to use a product in context, then provide a helpful link so they can make a purchase without a lot of effort.

Don’t be afraid of the potential uses for your blog. Try some of these tips with a little of your own creativity to promote your products and increase your sales.

Larry Alton is a freelance writer whose work regularly appears in Huffington Post, Entrepreneur, Inc. and Adweek.