# Blogging Solely For The Purpose of Sales?



## etctees (Oct 11, 2007)

Hey there,

Relative newbie, still in the process of finalising some designs and setting up my own brand, with an e-commerce site to do the majority of the selling. I want to launch with 20 designs, and my designs are a mix of my brand (etc.) with an accompanying little design, and what I deem my "funny" designs. You know, the usual sort of funny slogans, puns, wordplays, that sort of stuff. Some are downright nerdy ("Redundancy Incorporated Inc.", "Wiitard") and some every mysogonist teenage boy can enjoy ("Respect Women: Especially Ones With Nice Racks!") 

So now that you get an idea of what sort of stuff I plan on selling... Does having a blog increase the overall experience of buying a tshirt? I'm not a blogger, but I can type out stuff off the top of my head until the cows come home. I figured I wouldn't mind doing up a little blog if it would increase traffic, or make people more interested in coming back to my site, or just to simply make it more than just a shop. Even if it were just a place to go "Yeah, new design up today. This is what gave me inspiration for it.... blah blah blah" 

What are your personal thoughts on this matter? Do you personally run a blog beside a tshirt shop, or a tshirt shop beside a blog? Do you think it's an all right idea to post little bits and pieces about your own designs? Or is that too close to "explaining the joke", you know?

Thanks in advance guys,
Mitch


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## ajazzlover (Sep 30, 2007)

etctees,

I am no expert but also wondering if a blog would be beneficial. Because I too am trying to get a few designs together before starting a business and web. A blog in my opinion is almost a necessity. What I do believe is that if your products are appealing (and selling) another way of sharing ideas, encouragement for others in the business, and just for good customer relations, a blog may assist further in sales. This also means the blog would have to be watched very closely for use, abuse, and effectiveness. You sound like your t-shirts and site will be an interesting one. Good luck! Gary...


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

etctees said:


> So now that you get an idea of what sort of stuff I plan on selling... Does having a blog increase the overall experience of buying a tshirt?


I don't think it would help in your particular market. Now that blogs have become the latest website fashion accessory, I think they are an inviting trap for many businesses.

If you maintain it, keep it in line with your audience, keep the content worthwhile, and enjoy doing it, then I think they're an asset (to some businesses; pointless to others). I add "enjoy doing it" because if it's *purely* a shrewd marketing move, I think a) you run the risk that will show, b) you can use your time more effectively elsewhere.

But a stagnant blog is a major turn-off; in those cases a site would definitely be better off with nothing. Likewise a blatant attempt at keywording and commercial blogging isn't very attractive (and sometimes that's a thin line).

To give you a couple of examples of blogs that I think work: Indigo Clothing in the UK runs a very commercial/corporate blog. A lot of the product stuff is blatant advertising (their blog, their prerogative; doesn't mean the audience will like it), but it puts a human face on a large service company, gives people something to link to, etc. Overall it works.

Seibei runs a fairly personal meet the owner sort of blog. It doesn't go _too_ over the top in terms of being a personal "this is how I got drunk *this* Saturday!" blog (as even some business blogs devolve to), but at the same time it shows both the business side of Seibei, and the personal side of who creates the brand and what it stands for. It's entertaining.

Some blogs that don't work as well: Wavelength Clothing's blog is a bit of a downer (and runs a risk in being a little too honest) when it approaches business, and gets a little boring when it deals with politics (the brand is political so the topic is appropriate, but the brand doesn't bring a fresh view).

Johnny Cupcakes blog is too self-consciously cool (and consequently dull), not updated enough, and too shallow on content.

Neither of these blogs is downright bad - they both have good points and are both off to a good start - but neither is anywhere near as good as they could and should be.

One thing a business blog really needs to do is balance between being about real people (and their interests), and being about the business itself. Indigo is heavy on the business, but that's appropriate for what they're doing. Seibei has a pretty good balance most of the time. Wavelength didn't show enough personality of the man behind the curtain. Johnny Cupcakes is too much about the persona of Johnny Cupcakes, and not sufficiently interesting or convincing.

And all four of these blogs are significantly above the out and out average blog that is ubiquitously stuffed onto every new website.

But the simplest truth is this: those who can't write, shouldn't blog. Some people think it's easy, anyone can write, right? Wrong. When a soulless cretin sets out to write a blog it shows. When someone who finds the whole process awkward and does it to fill word count does it, it shows. When the person who has taken one too many swigs from the communal Kool-aid at the marketing meeting decides that readers love nothing more than to read press releases in the thinly veiled guise of a blog entry, it blows.

So everyone who thinks of doing a blog should at the least ask themselves this one simple question: _can I do it?_ As small business owners we have a tendency to throw ourselves into every task to find out whether or not we can pull it off. For writing, I wouldn't recommend that - it's not hard to do a little self-assessment first and figure out if it's right for you, so do that.

*Or* bring something else to the table: photo blogs are good too, so if you can't write but you can take *appropriate* photographs (and enough text to fill in the blanks) then that's a perfectly valid option too.

*Or* someone who can't write could get a friend to do it: the blog doesn't need to be done by the owner.



etctees said:


> What are your personal thoughts on this matter? Do you personally run a blog beside a tshirt shop, or a tshirt shop beside a blog?


I don't run a blog for my business, simply because I don't believe it would get updated enough to be worthwhile. I'm hoping at some point things will be more settled and that it'll be a good fit for what I'm doing.



etctees said:


> Do you think it's an all right idea to post little bits and pieces about your own designs? Or is that too close to "explaining the joke", you know?


Exactly how much you reveal will depend on just what you're doing, but there's always some behind the scenes tidbit you can post (whether it's the motivation behind a design, what you get up to on an average day, a sneak peak at an upcoming design, an influence on your work, some photos of your process, a work in progress snapshot, etc.) that will suit your brand.


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## etctees (Oct 11, 2007)

Solmu - woah. Thank you very much for your input on this. I think you've really cleared up a lot for me.

Much of what you said about Seibei's blog seems to be what I'm aiming for. I was thinking of maybe making weekly contributions (a HUGE commitment, I know) with recurring themes. My designs are all aimed at the 15-25 year old market, and as I sit firmly within that age group I figure that I'll start off with stuff that makes my friends laugh and evolve from there as they spread the word. I am lucky in that I have a minimum of about 30 friends/family who are _really_ excited for me and my brand, and are willing to do a lot to help it succeed. Up until this point the best I could think of was referring their friends/associates to my website to look at my designs and hope they like them - but with the initial idea of this blog and your excellent post to go by, I'm very confident that this could be the way to go. 

I guess my reasoning is that I aim to put up a new shirt design twice a month. Newsletter style subscription services are nice to update customers, but having a blog there that they become accustomed to reading once a week or so really would hold their attention to my brand just a little more. Instead of coming to the site and going "great, one new design, later bo" the average joe might actually turn around and read a bit into the design, or into what me and my gang of tshirters have been up to lately. I definitely don't see it turning into a Johnny Cupcakes, and I don't expect to be one of those A-list bloggers from pre-social-network days, but I still think that it would be possible to keep a close-knit group of supporters that evolves into a slightly larger following. 

Enough of my gentle ranting however - I'm super keen to see what everyone else has to say!


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

I think what you said just then on why you want to do it + updating once a week, is reasonable. Good luck with it.


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## cybe (Oct 15, 2007)

Check out "Our Audio Life" Untitled Document -- It's from Elemental Designs, and it's really gained them popularity.

Their products cater to the audiophile or car audio enthusiast, I'm sure there are 'casual fashion enthusiasts' too!

It's almost like reality TV.


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## karlking85 (Sep 26, 2007)

I have been considering the same thing for my site. I wasn't sure if it was worth the effort, but it's worth a shot, you never know until you try.


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## bmunch (Oct 23, 2007)

Yes, I agree that blogging take up alot of time. But I think a fairly frequent updated blog can drive some traffic to a new shop. My personal feeling.


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## mamabloom (Jun 16, 2007)

i think seth godin knows alot about on-line marketing (just type seth into google and his blog will come up) . He points out that just remember people are only interested in things thats are relevant to them.


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## LaMamaHen (Jul 31, 2006)

For me, the beauty of a blog is keywords, keywords, keywords.

Also, the people who have become regular readers have an "investment'' in me. They are fans, supporting a mom, a business woman, a fellow traveler. And, they talk. They have friends. They tell them, refer them. They shop.

I write about my business and bits of my life. Nothing too personal and no extreme details about my business or my family. No downers. That's what real-life friends are for. 

I update about two to three times a week. Sometimes less, but on average two to three.

Oh, and I add relevant links to small business, internet marketing, other mom businesses, etc.

Good luck.


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## conceptsti (Mar 7, 2007)

great tips


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## MiNGLED (Aug 22, 2007)

I think that blogging is a perfectly good way to promote your sales but you simply have the same problem of getting people to go to the blog site in the first place. You can be committed and have a great, frequently updated blog but it's only worth it if people are reading it. Again, it's all about the promotion.


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## skanes (Feb 6, 2007)

i agree with most here. it can be a great way to increase the average time spent at your online store...in fact, it's something that i too will be doing.

the key though, is diligence and maintenance of it. i beleive lewis suggested in an earlier post that (something to the effect of) an unattended blog can be perceived as worse than having no blog at all...that hits the nail pretty square on the head if you ask me.


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## karlking85 (Sep 26, 2007)

Is there a particular piece of code or template that can be inserted into a page to setup a blog? I know it's a silly question, but I have never set up a blog before. I did build a php forum, and it was actually much easier than I thought.


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## Solmu (Aug 15, 2005)

karlking85 said:


> Is there a particular piece of code or template that can be inserted into a page to setup a blog?


There are *lots* of scripts, full-fledged software, etc. but Wordpress is dead easy to install and particularly good.

I'm ambivalent as to whether or not blogging is a good idea for the average shop, but it is at least extremely easy to install and operate a blog for those wishing to try.


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## karlking85 (Sep 26, 2007)

Thanks Lewis, I have heard alot about Wordpress, but I'm still new to the process. I think I will give it a try though. I agree with you on wether blogging is really beneficial or not to the typical webstore. I guess it works for some, but not for all. Who knows, maybe I'll be lucky!


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## LaMamaHen (Jul 31, 2006)

I really, really believe it is helpful. Particularly if you pick a theme and stick to it. I write about raising a bilingual child, my culture, being a fish out of water, traditional Spanish songs, bilingual books...and guess what? The people who would buy my tees are interested in those topics.
I get a greater variety of keyword searches on the blog than on the business site and the blog is organic in that it changes whenever I write. If there is a hot topic: a new TV show (like Cane), or if something headline worthy is happening, I can write about it and voila...found by the power of Google.

Even if your tees are not based on a particular theme, are they funny? Scary? Write and post funny, scary things...Post pictures, host contests...People who are into that, will find you and pass it on

Yes, you have to promote it, but I've seen how all of a sudden somebody has added me to their blogroll that I have never "met'' or read.

It's interesting and worth a shot, if you can write regularly and well. If you are not "a writer'' then just write short entries. People like short. They appreciate short.

If blogging isn't for you, then try StumbleUpon, Flickr, Facebook, YouTube. On StumbleUpon bookmark things that support your business, a theme, if you will. (Again, I mostly bookmark things of Latino interest)

Social networking is a great way to advertise your business for relative little cost. Though, it does eat up time.

Just my dime's worth...Again.


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## karlking85 (Sep 26, 2007)

Well, I will be selling shirts with a southern theme, so I have been considering creating a blog that highlights interests that my market would be attracted to, such as hunting, fishing, 4-wheeling, all the stuff that people do in the south. 

The only thing is, even though I live in the south, I have never done most of these things, or at least don't have a working knowledge of all the terminology. I occasionally play along with the customers in my store, and kind of fake my way through, just to help them to feel more comfortable, and like we are "one of the guys." But in the store, I don't have to know every last detail of how to catch a ****, or what kind of ammo to use on a 12-point buck. I believe a blog would require alot more detail.


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## Rodney (Nov 3, 2004)

karlking85 said:


> Well, I will be selling shirts with a southern theme, so I have been considering creating a blog that highlights interests that my market would be attracted to, such as hunting, fishing, 4-wheeling, all the stuff that people do in the south.
> 
> The only thing is, even though I live in the south, I have never done most of these things, or at least don't have a working knowledge of all the terminology. I occasionally play along with the customers in my store, and kind of fake my way through, just to help them to feel more comfortable, and like we are "one of the guys." But in the store, I don't have to know every last detail of how to catch a ****, or what kind of ammo to use on a 12-point buck. I believe a blog would require alot more detail.


Keep in mind that you're not the only person that is new to hunting, or unfamiliar with the terminology.

Your blog just has to be you YOUR voice. It doesn't always have to be an "expert" voice.

So the theme of your blog could be for hunting/fishin/4wheelin newbies who are learning about some of the things that happen in the south.

You could learn a lot of interesting stuff along the way.


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## LaMamaHen (Jul 31, 2006)

I've been a Latina from Miami living in Nashville for 16 years and still don't totally get it.....

You could post odd little Southern stories (there are so many!), you could post things you hear, but don't get (while not making much fun)...

Just make yourself some notes for a while and see how it feels.
Share them with someone you trust and see.
Don't force it. It'll show.

Good luck.


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## karlking85 (Sep 26, 2007)

If I do it I definitely want it to feel natural, not "forced." I wouldn't mind learning some new things along the way, so long as it doesn't hinder my management of the business. (But then, I don't think I can picture myself shrugging off a days work to go out frog giggin' with a big audit coming up.  )


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## SunEmbroidery (Oct 18, 2007)

There are 2 versions of Wordpress. wordpress.com (hosted, easy for beginners) & wordpress.org (you host, more flexibility SEO wise but more work. Another easy, hosted option is Blogger. 

I maintain a business related blog on Blogger (Custom Embroidered Apparel). It's not particularily thrilling to read unless you're interested in the business. I don't get much web traffic from it but it has gotton me into the habit (I post once a week) of writing about the business. This has helped me develop new content for my web so I can update more frequently.


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