5 tips for selling products through your blog posts

Do you want to learn how to sell your products through your blog posts? If you answered yes, then you're in luck!

I spent the last decade building our brands through content marketing. I knew that content marketing was crucial for improving brand awareness and boosting sales early in my career, but I never imagined it would have such a strong impact today.

For context, 60% of people say they are more likely to buy a product after reading blog posts published by the same company. This eye-opening statistic should give you all the proof you need that content marketing is more relevant than ever in 2022.

You'll be happy to know that there are plenty of creative ways to convince customers reading on-site content to make a purchase. Today, I'll share several tips we've used over the years to ignite engagement, boost sales, and develop an irresistible content marketing strategy.

Are you ready? Let's get started!

Get to Know the People Visiting Your Site

I can't stress how important it is to get to know the people visiting your website. Imagine if you had to buy a present for someone you've never met. You have no idea whether they will love or hate your gift, so you just have to guess.

This same concept applies to businesses and their customers. You can give your customers information (a gift) by publishing content on your blog every single day. If the content isn't relevant to your readers, they will leave your site without looking back.

Failing to research your audience puts you at a disadvantage because you don't know if customers will love or hate your content. But if you spend time learning about your audience's goals, pain points, and needs, you can gather actionable data and create content that appeals to most people who visit your online store.

Once you gather enough data, you can segment your audience based on their various interests and behaviors. For example, a footwear store would likely segment its audience based on people who want dress shoes. Meanwhile, they have another segment with sneakers for people looking for a more casual shoe.

Segmenting your audience allows you to branch out and publish new and relevant content. Despite the advantages that come with this strategy, only 63% of marketers create blog posts based on buyer personas.

There are a ton of ways to learn about your customers. Common strategies include:

• Creating on-site feedback forms
• Sending email surveys
• Reading and responding to social media comments

Focus on Customer Education

Now that you know a little more about your audience, you can shift your focus to the content on your site. It may sound counterintuitive, but the best way to sell products through your blog is to focus on customer education over traditional selling.

Consumers are savvy and know that they have countless options for any given product or service. If you want people to pick your brand from a sea of competitors, you should offer your readers information that will help them find success.

We generally break educational blog content down into two categories.

First, there's general advice. These posts are great for people who are new to your industry and want to learn more about various industry-specific tips and strategies. For instance, our email marketing software website has content that shows people how to grow their email list. The people reading these posts likely need a service provider or specific product. They are more likely to invest in your brand if you're there to help them get adjusted to the industry.

You can also create how-to guides and technical walkthroughs to show customers and casual readers how your products and specific features work. This technique will help you educate users while highlighting your value proposition.

Don't forget to use eye-catching headlines across your blog content. It won't matter how much time you spent creating the post if readers are not compelled to click when they visit your site.

Share Success Stories

Another powerful way to sell products through your blog content is to share success stories and case studies. Everyone loves a good success story. When readers see that other people have used your product or service, they are more likely to take the same action.

This psychological response is rooted in social proof. Simply put, social proof in marketing is the concept that people are more willing to make purchases and engage with brands if other people are doing the same thing.

Here's an example of social proof so you can see what I mean;

Think about how you would react if a friend told you how much they love the new restaurant down the street. You know that you and your friend have similar tastes in food, so you'll love it there too. Later that day, you may decide to order take-out or stop in for dinner at the restaurant.

Your reaction was in part due to social proof. Someone else told you about their experience, and you felt compelled to go there too.

Interestingly enough, social proof isn't limited to close friends and families. People rely heavily on user reviews and case studies when they're thinking about shopping with a new brand.

I suggest reaching out to people or businesses that left you positive feedback and asking for their permission to write about their experience with your brand. In many cases, the person or business owner will say yes!

We try to publish one case study a quarter. Depending on your audience size and resources, this may be feasible for you too.

Choose Benefit-Oriented CTAs

Your call-to-action (CTA) can have a massive impact on your content-based sales. After a user reads one of your blog posts, you want to encourage them to take the next step. In many cases, that includes purchasing a product or service from your website.

One mistake I see new business owners make is choosing generic CTAs, like click here or download. If you want to turn visitors into customers, think about ways you can rework your CTA and surrounding text so readers can see the benefits of taking action.

We found that readers are far more likely to click on calls-to-action that describe the next step. For example, instead of download, you might say, 'Download your free trial now!' The heading above the CTA could say, 'Are you ready to see an explosion of new email subscribers?'

This messaging clearly describes the benefits (email list growth) and mentions the next step (download a trial). Feel free to experiment with different CTAs, colors, and placements until you find a system that works for you and your customers.

Ask for Email Addresses

You may be shocked to learn that 96% of the people who visit your site are not ready to place an order. Your blog is a great way to keep these users engaged, but you need to stay in contact with prospects if you want to turn them into customers.

Cue your email marketing strategy.

Email is a great way to nurture these users with special content and offers. As your email list grows, you'll find opportunities to engage with your audience, secure sales, and grow your brand.

You can ask readers to subscribe to your list using targeted pop-ups or by adding a signup form to the sidebar of your website. There are other options, but these methods work best for us.

There's a strong correlation between blogging and lead generation. Research shows that companies that blog receive 67% more qualified leads than non-blogging brands. Many leads will eventually become customers. If you're not using your blog to build your email strategy and sell more products, you could be missing out on a significant sales opportunity.

Wrapping Up

As you can see, blogging is more relevant now than ever before. There are plenty of exciting ways you can use your content to sell your products or services. The five tips I outlined today worked for us, and I believe they will work for you.