The Benefits Of Blogging For Business And Marketing

It is shocking how many crafters, makers, artists and other creatives have stopped blogging. I reviewed my blog reading list to see who was still posting. I ended up purging from 125 blogs to 6, and 2 of those 6 are mine. Most crafters hadn't posted since 2015. A handful had posted in 2017 and after that, none of the 125 bloggers that I was following had posted. Something happened around 2015 in the crafting/makers/creative community where people stopped blogging. I asked myself is blogging dead?

Here are some possible reasons blogging has all but stopped in our creative community. Do any of these reasons fit you?

1. There seems to have been a general loss of enthusiasm, disillusionment and disappointment about online selling. 
2. Seeing many listing websites come and go. The demise of ArtFire, Dawanda and others was depressing. While some creatives migrated to other venues, some gave up listing.
3. The postal system started to increase fees yearly, negatively impacting handmades income. Sellers had to raise prices often when they did not want to.
4. Life has become more busy. Can't find time to blog.
5. Sales have fallen off and can't find a way to increase them.
   

One crafter said to me recently that back during the time when creatives were blogging the public couldn't get enough of handmades. I think there is still a love for handmades but other product types have flooded the market. Etsy's homepage is filled with digitals and printables, which I made the jump to because I love graphic design. POD sites are doing well and 3-D printed products are taking hold. Despite this, many handmades sellers are still doing well but they are not blogging. They are overlooking the greatest value of creating blog posts, advertising and promotion. 

Paying for online advertising is not affordable for most independent creatives. We are left with sharing through the few social media sites that are active. Social media, however, does not provide the value that it used to. People rarely interact anymore and there may be likes given but they lead to few sales. Any economically productive ways to market online have dwindled as well. So, why is blogging important for business? It gives us an easy way to draw potential customers and increase sales.

Consider These Benefits Of Blogging Then Ask Yourself Is Blogging Worth It

1. Can be used to market and promote without being flagged as a spammer. 
2. No advertising fees. 
3. Format, content and length of posts are controlled by the blogger. 
4. The frequency of posting is controlled by the blogger.
5. No limit on images in a post. 
6. No limit on links in a post. 
7. The type of SEO used, words or long-tail phrases, is controlled by the blogger.
8. Blog posts can be found by search engines. 
   

If you are blogging, you should continue and tweak your style and process. If you are a creator and you are not blogging but asking yourself should I blog, you should start. Selling competition has exploded over the past few years, since 2010-2015. Savvy blogging is a great way to successfully compete. The challenge is to:

1. Learn simple ways to start using keywords and phrases in blog posts, product listings, etc. The easy techniques in this book will guide you. Learning and using keyword search doesn't have to be expensive, tedious or frightening. In Simple Keyword Search That Even You Will Feel Like Doing, you'll learn to conduct fast, free and easy keyword phrase searches and add the results to your marketing content.
2. Choose a schedule to consistently prepare posts. You really can post as your schedule allows. Of course, the more frequently you post the better. You can choose to post once a week or twice a month but the key is to post every time you have set aside a time frame to do it. The goal is to be reliable to readers and potential customers. As you become adept at creating posts and are able to free up more time, you can increase your frequency. If you can never make more time, keep posting on your original time schedule.
   

Though I have been consistent with blogging over the years, I've known for some time that I'm too sporadic with posting. I've never given up that I will develop a good blogging schedule. Blogging as a marketing tool is invaluable when used with skill and commitment.

Here are some articles on the value of blogging that I found to be helpful:

 6 Reasons Why Blogging Is Important For Marketing And SEO by Kristi Hines

17 Ways To Get More Traffic To Your Blog In 2022 by Brian Dean

 How Long Should A Blog Post Be In 2022 by Lena Sernoff

Do People Still Read Blogs? The Truth About Blogging In 2022 by Rowena Zaballa

Do People Still Read Blogs In 2022? by Ryan Robinson

Truelist Blogging Statistics by Maja Josifovska

Learn Keyword Search To Use In Blog Posts, Product Descriptions And In Other Marketing Content

 

Simple Keyword Search That Even You Will Feel Like Doing

Book Funnel Definition Sales Funnel Stages

A book or sales funnel is a marketing method designed to lead visitors and potential customers to a purchasing decision. It is composed of several processes that may include a landing page. While a landing/sales page and a book funnel can work together, they are also different. 

Some book funnel landing pages can be annoying with their in-your-face graphics, popups and extensive length. They lose the potential customer long before the visitor reaches the end. Landing pages, however, are only as good as the writer of the book funnel.

Potential customers often need to be led on what to think and how to think it. Sometimes they seek but do not follow through when they find what they desire. Sales funnels can lead them through the steps to obtain what they are seeking, which are the published products that you and I are offering. Learn how to skillfully create effective book/sales funnels for your written products here:

Book Funnel Optimization: Essential Tips to Convert Leads into Paying Readers

 

What Are Landing Pages Used For?

Have you ever considered creating a landing page for your product or service? A good landing page definition is an online page where potential customers are presented with detailed product info that will motivate them to buy.

To get my feet wet, I've decided to learn to create an effective landing page for my first ebook. I recently published it at my shop: Simple Keyword Search That Even You Will Feel Like Doing.

What Are Landing Pages In Marketing?

Landing pages and sales pages are similar. Sometimes, they are called funnel landing pages or sales landing pages in marketing. While landing pages are usually shorter and more brief than sales pages, both are used to steer potential customers to buy.

CopyBlogger Media says:

A sales page and a landing page are both crafted specifically to encourage people to convert. While landing pages are virtually the same as short-form sales pages, long-form sales pages tend to be more detailed than a typical landing page.

What Is A Book Funnel Definition?

A book funnel or sales funnel is also a marketing tool but it encompasses both types of pages. It can include links to any number of landing and/or sales pages. These are all used as strategic conversion tools. They are ways to convert visitors, browsers and lurkers into buyers.

EmailDrips shares about funnels:

It’s a strategy used to take readers on a journey to convert them into paying customers. Typically, the funnel is like a book with the same function as a normal sales funnel. So inside the funnel, there are links to strategic pages to the website, newsletter opt-in, or sales page. A book funnel is a great way to build relationships with your readers, even after they read your book. 

Since a landing page can be the beginning of designing a book funnel, I will be studying Abs Farah's article on Book Funnel Optimization: Essential Tips to Convert Leads into Paying Readers. Abs is one of the founders of Payhip, a selling platform where you can offer digitals, physicals, memberships, subscriptions and courses.

Implementing savvy marketing tools like landing pages, sales pages and sales funnels doesn't have to be overwhelming. There are many free and easy to follow resources online.

Roberto Blake On Successful Brand Deals

When asked if he finds it more difficult, as a person-of-color graphic designer and Youtube creator, to obtain brand deals in comparison to others, he replied,

Not really but I’ve also built a system for brand deals...I also do better on brand deals than most Creators my size or larger regardless of their background, due to my ability to negotiate and package my deals.

While discrimination is often endured daily by many of us, his successful focus is on evaluating how to deliver more value to the clients/customers whom he does acquire.

While I'm not aspiring to produce and upload YT videos (the unpopular slideshows format works better for my schedule), I love Roberto's content. He's clear, engaging and relevant. This is not the first time that I've written about him. 

I like making a pit stop at his channel to see what he's currently sharing. I am also a graphic designer but I don't freelance. I prefer to design pre-made products and services. Roberto produces many videos with inspiring content that can apply to any creative pursuit.

Check out his YT channel and website for great info on boosting the success of your brands.  

About Roberto Blake

Roberto Blake is dedicated to building the creator economy through helping creators and influencers build brands and businesses online. Learn how to monetize your creativity and skills, grow an audience, sell products, monetize YouTube videos, make money online, and build a personal brand. He has grown his Youtube channel to over 500,000 subscribers.

Find Roberto Online

Youtube Community

Youtube Channel 

Awesome Creator Academy 

Roberto's Youtube Starter Kit

Interested In Sponsoring Roberto Blake And Sharing Your Brand With His Viewers?

info@robertoblake.com

725 Ponce De Leon Ave
ATTN WeWork Roberto Blake 2nd Floor
Atlanta GA, 30306 

 

 

 

One Tip For Blog Growth

Online a lot and wondering why your blog following is not growing? Reduce your time posting at forums, groups and social sites and devote more of it to posting at your blog. In an attempt to drive readers to your website, you are squandering precious content at other places. Even simple, short comments can be published as asides at your blog. At the very least, you should be copying over the comments into blog posts. Ideally, you could originate the comments at your website.

Consider This: Maybe you need to spend more time drawing readers rather than driving readers. To do this, you need to be at your blog. 

Blogger Email Follow Replacement Svcs

In seeking a replacement for the discontinued Feedburner email follow widget, I've been seeking a free-to-start, easy to use email mktg platform. I've seen ConvertKit recommended often, along with MailChimp. MailChimp has been moving away from being known primarily for email marketing, so I'm not sure how simple they have remained.

I took a peek at Mailchimp and saw plans titled Marketing Platform and Transactional Email. Just that quick look-around made me feel tired. ConvertKit's pricing page is straight-to-the-point, easily understood, at least to me, and shows many features for the free tier.

I subscribed to Peggy K's weekly newsletter to see how she does it, although I'm not sure I want to take on the extra work of newsletter production. I just want an easy way for my readers to follow by email.

Peggy K writes about a variety of tips and tricks for creators on many platforms. She chose to use Revue, a newsletter platform acquired by Twitter, to replace Feedburner's terminated RSS to email svc.

If you are interested in exploring newsletter sharing, you can read about Peggy K's overview of svcs here: Alternatives To Feedburner's RSS To Email SVC She overviews not only newsletter svcs but also RSS to email svcs.

Google Domains Alias Emails Feature Adds Professionalism

If you are using Google Domains for your blog or website address, you can set up alias emails to forward to an email that you use. 

 

The value of this feature is that you can create alias emails with your domain name as the @domain.name in your subject-dedicated email addresses.

For instance, I've used Outlook.com email addresses for years, which have served my communication purposes very well. For my website, Printaphoria & Creative Living, my domain is printaphoria.com. Through my Google domain, I can create alias emails such as info@printaphoria.com, questions@printaphoria.com, feedback@printaphoria.com, etc.

Emails sent from these addresses are forwarded to me through whatever email address I choose. I chose the Outlook email that I generally use. With @printaphoria.com as my email, my shop and website addresses look professional. 

Up to 100 aliases can be created through a Google Domains account. Don't continue to overlook this wonderful feature that can take your brand to a new level of professionalism.

Google Domains is easy to use and affordable! I am not an affiliate, just a happy customer.