Creating content for your website’s blog is one of the most important ways to market your business. Blog content can help you stand out from the competition, show off your expertise, and ultimately increase your bottom line. In this article, we’re going to outline how you can ensure your blog content leads to more sales.

Let’s get started.

Publish content that will help customers make the best possible purchases

People will be much more likely to pay for and be happy with your products or services if they understand exactly what they need. There are lots of different kinds of content that can help your customers make informed purchases and build trust with your target audience. Let’s break down a few of them.

Buying guides are designed to simplify the buying process; they tell the reader everything they need to know about a particular product or service before making a purchase. These are great at generating sales, particularly if you have several different offerings of similar products, for instance — creating a buying guide can help the reader determine what is right for them.

Take a look at how Best Buy, the electronics store, helps their customers with their video games buying guide. They outline console exclusives, tech specs, accessories, and more, helping the reader determine which systems or games are best for them. On your website, consider doing something similar — outline all of the considerations one needs to make to help the reader make an informed decision. This will build trust with your audience, leading to more sales.  

Comparison pieces are similar to buying guides, but they compare products directly, rather than giving general information and letting a reader come to their own conclusions. Comparison pieces are better for readers who already know what product or service they need but are trying to narrow it down to a specific brand, for instance. 

Best Value Schools has a series of very successful buying guides. In their article on the most affordable online MBA programs, they outline a variety of different schools, including their costs, pass rates, locations, and more. This is an excellent resource for anyone that already knows they want to get their MBA, but who just don’t know what program will be best. On your website, don’t be afraid to make recommendations, as Best Value Schools has — you’re an expert, after all, and this is a strategy that will build trust and lead to more sales.

Product demonstrations are another great way to help your customers make good purchasing decisions. These demonstrations give the viewer an idea of what your product is like in action. They’re helpful and engaging, making them great at getting more sales. 

Headspace, a meditation app, has a short product demonstration outlining how their app works and when their customers like to use it. It’s fun and colorful, featuring unique characters and a narrator with a soothing voice. It gives the viewer a great idea as to what they can expect from Headspace, making it effective in getting more sales. On your website, think about if you can make a short video demonstrating your product or service in action.

Lastly, case studies are a great way to prove your worth to your customer and help them make a purchasing decision. If you use case studies to track any results you get with your products or services, it will build trust with your target audience, encouraging them to purchase from you. 

Optinmonster, an email marketing website, uses this tactic well in their case study series. This particular case study outlines their success with Cosmetic Packaging, who saw a 2,326% increase in sitewide revenue after using their services! 

This is an impressive case study that shows Optinmonster’s target audience that they are great at what they do, thus encouraging them to make a purchase. When working with your clients, be sure to track your data and results — publishing them in case studies can work as a great selling tool.

Use strong calls to action to encourage more sales

A call to action, or CTA, is a word or phrase, often separated by a button or underline, that tells the reader what they need to do next. Sometimes, your website visitors just need a bit of a push to do what you want them to. Here are some tips for creating a strong CTA:

• Use strong command verbs
• Tap into a customer’s emotions
• Use bold, contrasting colors on your button
• If you have something free to offer, let them know

Let’s look at a few examples of websites that use CTAs in their content well.

For instance, take a look at how Hasbrook & Hasbrook, a trial attorney firm based out of Oklahoma City, uses a CTA effectively in their blog post about car accident settlements. 

After providing information about why someone would need a car accident lawyer, counteroffers, and more, they tell the reader to “Reach Out Today” and have a form immediately available to get in touch with an attorney. CTAs like this are very important for law firms — in this article, they build trust and tell a potential client what they can do to get additional help. On your website, consider offering a phone number or contact form so your potential customers can easily get in touch.

BlueApron, a meal kit delivery service, uses CTAs effectively in their blog content, as well. Throughout their blog, they have recipes for various meals that they offer in their packages. A website visitor can browse through the recipes for free. On this particular recipe for turkey and cavatappi pasta, there is a clear orange CTA against a white background that says, “GET COOKING.” This CTA leads the user to the Blue Apron sign-up page where they can get the recipe simply sent to their door. It’s effective, clear, and will likely get them more subscriptions. On your website, think about how you can incorporate CTAs into your free content and blog posts. Leading to your product pages or sign-up page is a great way to generate sales.

Promote your products or services without a hard sell

Content marketing is a great way to promote your products or services without a hard sell. If you choose the right topics, you can provide plenty of helpful information for your website visitors and naturally introduce the products or services you offer. This will help get your business on your audience’s radar without them feeling like you’re being overly promotional. Consider creating listicles that break down different products you offer, or answering questions, and offering your services as a solution.

Let’s look at a few examples of businesses that use this tactic well.

For example, Service Provider Pro, an agency management software provider, has an article on why your agency should have a client portal. 

The article is informative about client portals in general, but also subtly promotes SPP because it shows how the platform can address common pain points. The article sells their services without being too promotional! On your website, consider writing articles about your products or services that focus on their benefits and how they can help customers in order to get more sales.

Similarly, Chewy, an online pet retail store, has an article showing off the best TV and movie character costumes for dogs. 

The article shows off many trendy and classic costumes to suit your dog up in — and all of them can be purchased on Chewy’s website. This article is charming and fun without pushing the products too much. Even if you’re just hypothetically looking at ideas, you’ll enjoy the article — and maybe just find something your pup has to have. On your website, have fun with your promotional content! Use fun images to show your products in action and people will be more likely to buy them.

Earn your customers’ trust by showing you’re an expert 

People want to buy from companies who know what they’re doing and talking about. That means it can help to publish guides to show that you are an expert in your field. Not only will it be good for increasing your sales, but it can help you boost your search engine optimization (SEO) and get you higher rankings on the search engine results pages (SERPs). In short, Google wants to send its users to the most relevant and helpful websites possible. For this reason, they tend to rate sites on their expertise, authority, and trustworthiness, or E-A-T. 

Let’s look at a few examples of businesses that have done a good job at creating expert content.

Venveo, a digital marketing agency specializing in marketing to architects, shows off their expertise in their definitive guide on selling to architects. 

In the article, they explain the importance of creating buyer personas, understanding architect’s relationships, and more. This article very clearly proves that Venveo knows what they’re talking about, as it’s so thorough. Because they know their stuff, this article is bound to get them more sales. On your website, think about what topics in your industry you know inside and out. Writing articles on them will help you show you’re an authority in your field, boosting your sales. 

Lilach Bullock also shows her expertise in her article on how to write content for SEO. Because it’s an ultimate guide, it covers everything a reader would need to know about the subject — beginners and experts alike can learn something from it! 

Bullock covers why SEO is important, what types of content work, and more. This shows that Bullock is a knowledgeable source of information, leading to more sales. On your website, think about what types of guides you can create to help get your target audience started with your products or services.

Create content with different segments of your audience in mind

Keep in mind that your audience isn’t just one homogeneous group — there are likely to be different ages, genders, and preferences that you need to cater to. Each piece of content you create isn’t going to appeal to every single person you want to attract. Instead, you should try to keep a different segment of your audience in mind when you’re creating a piece of content. 

Consider surveying your customers to see what types of content different segments of your audience prefers. You might find that younger parts of your audience like things like videos and infographics, while older people in your audience prefer guides and blog posts. 

Utilizing this tactic can help you increase your sales! When different parts of your audience see that you’ve created content with them in mind, they’ll be more likely to trust you and spend money with you as a result.

Summary

Content marketing is one of the most powerful tools that you have at your disposal! In this article, we outlined different ways that you can help ensure your blog content generates sales, including by targeting specific segments of your audience, showing off your expertise, and using strong CTAs.

Need more help with building your eCommerce business? Take a look at some of the services Lilach Bullock has to offer. She can help you manage your website, sell your services, and more.