Blogging Tips – HiP Blog Challenge (Part 4)

So far, Tara Gentile from Handmade in PA has shared excellent blogging tips in her HiP Blog Challenge.  We have learned how to write a mission statement to focus our blog, build a community to help increase blog comments, and tips to make it easier to help search engines to find blogs.

In part four of Tara’s blog series, she spotlight on what bloggers write about on their blogs.  Stuck on what to write for a post?  Consider one of these options suggested by Tara:

• Photo.  “Sometimes we forget that, often, simple can be beautiful! Post a picture of your last project, your studio, your inspiration/muse, or a work in progress,” said Tara.
• Tutorial.  “Don’t think that by posting a how-to on an aspect of your work that you’ll be losing business,” Tara tells us.  “Quite the opposite! Your readers will gain a new appreciation of your process. You’ll gain readers by posting useful information. And you’ll inspire your readers to create themselves!“
• Extend.  “Pick up a previous post where you left off.  Follow-up, offer new insights, and be sure to link back to your previous post,” she says.  Tara points out that linking to other posts within new posts makes your blog sticky.  This is a great way to boosts your blog’s search engine rankings!
• Events.  “Let your readers know what events you’ll be vending at. They might also want to know where you’re taking classes,” Tara tells us.
• Inspiration.  “Choose a piece and tell everyone the background story,” Tara suggests.  “Where did you get the idea?“
• Collection.  “Choose a piece and put together a collection, outfit, or gallery of pieces from other sellers that have a similar style but don’t compete with your piece,” Tara said. “Be sure to email/convo the other sellers so they can link back to you and help you promote the post!“  Although Tara says this is her of my favorite types of posts to do, it takes some of your time to get everything in order.  “But well worth it for page views!” Tara says.
• Links.  Tara suggest posting a list of links you’ve found helpful in the last week.  If you have time to contact those you are linking to, it may be worth it for your blog’s SEO practices.  HandmadeMarketing.org often times those in the handmade community are willing to link to your site if you link to theirs!
• Host a Giveaway.  Tara suggests hosting a giveaway one of your own products.  “There are some really helpful tips later in this post!” she says.  For more information about what handmade sellers think about giveaways, check out the HandmadeMarketing.org article about blog giveaway ideas. (http://handmademarketing.org/etsy-blog-giveaways/)

For more helpful ideas, Tara looks to two Problogger articles – post ideas and solving a reader’s problem.

“The second post is concerned with more “information” problems, but you can utilize the same techniques to identify the gap between search engine queries that point people to your blog and the actual merchandise in your shop,” Tara said.

Tara has another great web resource for bloggers.  “Chris Brogan, a social media powerhouse, wrote this post detailing 40 ways to deliver killer blog content.“

Tara outlines fabulous tips for hosting a giveaway.  “Giveaways are, of course, a great way to boost traffic to your blog and to your shop,” she said.  ”But how do you get the most from a giveaway?“

“Jessica, from JessicaKnows.com, offers tips how to get more out of a blog giveaway,” Tara tells us.  Tara says a giveaway is a domino effect – “more traffic, more exposure, more buzz, more street cred, more sales!”

“Tsh from Simple Mom and Darn Good Blogging offers these tips for hosting a great giveaway and staying sane!” Tara said.

Tara suggests an easy way to let others know about giveaways you are hosting on your blog.  “To boost traffic for giveaways here on Handmade in PA.net, I submit all giveaways to Etsy Giveaways, Mom Giveaways, and Everything Up Close,” she says.  ”There are plenty more giveaway clearing house sites out there where you can list your giveaway for free – it’s generally not worth it to pay to list! – and they’ll help you promote your site.”

Tara also uses Facebook to promote her giveaways.  You can post the link to the giveaway on your Facebook profile, but Tara suggests creating an Facebook event to attract others to the giveaway.

“You can create an event from your profile page, shop business page, or group page. You can invite all your friends and shop fans to the event, and ask them to share the handmade giveaway with their friends,” she said.  “It can go viral fast!”

Tara has a homework assignment for bloggers:

“Check out the list of post idea above. Which have you not written before? Which have you not written for awhile? Pick one that you don’t normally use and, well, use it!”

Leave a comment with a link back to your post here at HandmadeMarketing.org, and also post your comment with Tara at HandmadeinPA.net.

*Special Announcement*

Interested in re-vamping your blog?  Increasing your social media presence? Investing in a website to sell your handmade products?

HandmadeMarketing.org has been privileged to sponsor HandmadeInPA’s HiP Blog Challenge series, bringing Tara’s tips to a whole new group of crafters!

Because of the success of this series, the website design company behind HandmadeMarketing.org has partnered with Tara Gentile to offer website design and marketing services to handmade sellers.

Contact White Label Graphics or Tara Gentile for a free website quote and consultation for ideas to help boost your marketing efforts online.