Best of the Blogs /

by Lauren Zaczek

Provide Value to Your Readers >_your>_com> Last month we scratched the surface of how blogs should be used to establish your presence as a leader in munity and a provider of that community’s needs. Engaging in blogs and using social media tools are simply the online manifestation of a basic human need to connect with others, to matter, and to be led. Once you begin using a blog to lead your community, you need to ensure your tribe continually returns to the blog so they feel as if they do matter and are being led.

This month CBA Retailers+Resources sat down with Ryan Burns of Logos Bible Software to explore a few easy ways bloggers can continue lead their online community. At Logos Bible Software, Burns leads their social marketing strategy efforts and also runs his own blog, www.GoingtoSeminary.com. Here’s what he had to say about attracting consumers through blogs:

As retailers, your goal is to make money. While certainly you have other goals—probably very noble goals—if you don’t fulfill the goal of making money, then you’ll have to close up shop and you won’t get to fulfill any of your goals.

So, what does that have to do with blogging? Well, remembering that you’re in business to make money will help you as you approach your blog. Blogging shouldn’t just be seen as a cool or fun idea in and of itself, even though it can be both cool and fun. If it isn’t helping grow your business, then you must seriously weigh the investment of time and energy it can require.

With the idea that your blog is a tool to help grow your business, the question arises, “How can I use my blog to make money?” Savvy bloggers answer this question by publishing value-added content rather than just static information about their store or ministry.

When running a blog, it’s important to remember that you need to write things that will both serve your readers and be interesting enough for them to want to read. Simply telling everyone that you’re having a sale this weekend or that you have a new shipment of books isn’t all that interesting or helpful. The result is that your customers will rarely check your blog and that, in the end, means your blog isn’t helping you sell product.

How then can you provide value to readers? To

begin with, think about how you approach each post. Is there a deeper story or information you can give your readers that will benefit them? A great example is study Bibles. Both ESV [Crossway] and NLT [Tyndale] have recently released new study Bibles. Now, you could simply hop on your blog and write a post announcing that you now carry these new titles, or you could add value to your readers by writing an article that explains what a study Bible is and how it will enhance their personal study of the scriptures. Then, when explaining all the benefits, you can point out to your readers that you’re now carrying two brand-new study Bibles in your store. You no longer are simply posting an “announcement,” but rather are helping your readers. The result will likely be that customers who would have never bought a study Bible, thinking they have no use for one, will now buy one since they see the value of it and how to use it.

Another issue you face in blogging is “stickiness.” The concept of stickiness is that if someone leaves your blog or store Web site, the odds of you making a sale greatly decrease. So, how can you add value to your blog and still remain sticky? A great example here would be Bible references. As a Christian retailer, hopefully you reference the Bible from time to time in your posts. The challenge with citing Bible verses is that unless you want to cite the whole text of the verse, you are forced to manually create a link to other Web sites, like Bible Gateway. This, of course, causes your readers to leave your blog. This is where a product like Ref Tagger ( www.Ref Tagger.com) can come in handy. This is a free, easy to install, plug-in that will automatically transform all your Bible citations into links that, when moused over, will reveal a tool tip box that automatically shows the text of the verse. This gives your readers the ability to interact with the text you reference (adding value to them), while allowing them the option to not navigate away from your site (stickiness).

When it comes to blogging, this isn’t a Field of Dreams. People won’t come just because you build it. Your blog needs to provide readers with information that’s useful to them. Once you get them to your blog, keeping them on your site increases the likelihood of converting them into a sale. Value and stickiness are the key. R+R

The Official Magazine of CBA

02.09 | CBA Retailers+Resources 7