I recently approached a client with the idea that a blog might be a great way to promote their products. My client had two websites. One that sold adhesives and the other site that sold green adhesives exclusively.

When my client balked at the idea (we don’t have time to blog and what do we need one for anyway), I suggested a test. We put a blog button on both sites and set up their Google Analytics to count the number of visitors that clicked on the link.

After three months, we checked the statistics for both sites. (One or two months seemed too short to get a statistically significant count.)

The standard glue site only had 4% of visitors click the blog button. No need there. However, the “green” adhesives site had 15% of visitors click on the blog button.

This was a clear signal that the people visiting the “green” website were looking for more than just “green” adhesives to buy. They were looking for information.

Because ”green” adhesives is a relatively new industry and new product lines, people want to know more about the products; what makes them green, how to properly use them, are there restrictions, what can you use to clean them up, which ones are compliant with “green” housing standards, etc.

The owner concurred that this was a prime opportunity to connect on a long term basis with visitors, create relationships with people interested in “green” adhesives, and establish himself as the “green” adhesives expert and “go to” resource. He is also implementing an e-newsletter for those who prefer that form of communication.

And I am creating for him a library of articles written by myself, experts in the “green” construction and manufacturing fields, and also submitted by the manufacturers with more technical and safety information about the various products.

If you aren’t sure if a blog is the answer for your firm, perhaps a similar test will give you a true perception of what your visitors are looking for. And that’s the beauty of the web. You can test everything.

Bob McClain or WordsmithBob, has been a website copywriter in Minneapolis and St. Paul, Minnesota, since 2000. He has focused on developing new, more effective approaches to web writing, web content, web copywriting and Search Engine Optimization. Starting with a BA in Technical Communication and a minor in Creative Writing from Metro State University in St. Paul, McClain has worked diligently to end the use of "corp-speak" and "technospeak" online. His approach is to “humanize” the Web, using real information to guide people to buy rather than turning websites into advertisements that people can easily ignore. McClain is also the creator of Cheap SEO Website Marketing, a website devoted to helping people with the best solutions to DIY SEO at an affordable cost with tips and software reviews. More at Cheap SEO Website Marketing

WordsmithBob

View all posts by WordsmithBob
WordsmithBobs website

PHP Freelancer

Originally posted 2008-11-05 22:44:04. Republished by Blog Post Promoter

Be Sociable, Share!

• 

• Sales Authority Through Social Media Equals Maximum Gross Sales Image via Wikipedia "Sales Authority" may sound like a strange term to most people. Especially...
• Pyro Marketing has some good ideas... Pyro Marketing by Greg Stielstra is a marketing book based on the idea that if...
• Online Marketing for Authors and Publishers podcast [/caption] My presentation to the Midwest Indepedent Publishers Association (MIPA) went very well. No rotten...

• Tips for Improving Number of Blog Visitors All bloggers are looking for ways that they can improve...
• Example Of Using Your blog To Brand YOU! As much as I love The New Plan Network and...
• Web Site Design And System: Staking The Island Inside An Sea Of Data If it were that easy then a internet is sure...