I've shown many times here on this e-commerce agency's blog how to create an online store. However, this will be the first time I'll show you how to set up an e-commerce business starting with an e-commerce blog.
This strategy requires the production and periodic publication of SEO content on a blog. In effect, the idea is to build a loyal audience around this content before you start selling something. Therefore, it requires above all a little patience.
How to set up an e-commerce starting with content
How to build an e-commerce business from an e-commerce blog? First, long before creating a product mix , opening a company, and developing an online store, you will need to build a loyal audience.
To do this, you can use the ideas from the book " Content Inc. " by Joe Pulizzi, who states that building a content-based business has 6 steps:
• The sweet spot:
Here you choose a subject on which you have some mastery, skill or knowledge. Start creating the first content, which may include texts, photos, videos, audios, infographics, etc. It thus wins over the first readers and/or viewers.
• Content adjustment:
At this point, you will need to adjust the focus of your content. According to Pulizzi, you will have to find an area within your chosen subject that has little or no competition (a Blue Ocean ). Ultimately, this will allow you to tell a unique story that will capture people's attention.
• The construction of the base:
Okay, now that you have the idea, the differentiation, and you already have a small audience, it's time to prioritize the base. Many companies prefer to use a magazine or a video channel, for example. In this case, however, your content base will be your blog, which will soon be an e-commerce blog.
• Cultivation of the public:
Now is the time to grow your audience and convert occasional readers into subscribers . To do this, use social media as a distribution tool and employ SEO techniques to index your content on Google and other search engines. Capture emails and send your content via email marketing.
• Diversification:
When the blog acquires a loyal and growing audience, diversify. That is, in addition to the blog, launch a video channel. And when the audience is good on this channel, launch more like a print magazine, for example. Diversification allows reaching people who gather information through different platforms.
• Monetization:
Finally, monetize! When you reach this point, you will have spent more than 1 or 2 years in the sector. That means you now know the subject, the subscribers and the opportunities. Start by selling a product on the blog (a software, a course, a t-shirt, etc.). From there to the virtual store is one step away!
How to set up an e-commerce: from blog to virtual store
Now that you're publishing content daily and have a loyal audience, start testing the sale of products and services. Launch a Minimum Viable Product (MVP) from your blog and offer it to small groups (parts) of your audience.
Observe how this part of your audience reacts to the product launched. If the idea is good, then offer the product to other batches of audience gradually. If, however, the idea is bad, refine it and launch it again.
When the minimum viable products and/or services on the blog reach maturity, then you will know that the time has come to develop an e-commerce platform , that is, to create an online store.
Finally, this is where you'll need to rent an e-commerce platform to create and manage your online store, preferably a top-of-the-line one that allows for scalable growth. Additionally, you'll need to register a company to be able to issue invoices to customers.
From then on you will be able to launch new products on the blog in small batches, test them, optimize them and finally include them with other products already developed and that are being sold in your virtual store.
