Booksellers Blog

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If you have an email newsletter with a healthy subscriber base, do you also need a blog for your store?

I say yes. Here’s why:

• Google loves blogs – Blogs typically have frequently updated and relevant content, so Google indexes them quickly. You can spend days writing the most brilliant email newsletter, but Google won’t see it (unless you have it archived online, and even then it will likely take longer for Google to “see it”). If you want to increase your store’s visiblity, a blog is the way to go.
• You are not restricted in how often you post – Because blog readers choose when and where to read your blogs, you can post daily or multiple times a day and not worry about “spamming.” How often have you sent out a newsletter and then moments later found out about an event or something else that you felt your customers should know?
• You are not limited by space constraints – your blog posts can be as long or as short as they need to be.
• Your readers can subscribe to your blog via RSS – RSS is a very powerful tool that allows your blog readers to be notified whenever you post an update. Readers can also choose to get your blog in their email box if you provide that option. I wrote a little bit about RSS here. RSS takes away the need for people to remember to check your blog for new content.
• Older content is still “live” – older blog posts are as equally accessible to your readers as new blog posts.  New readers to your blog will often read older posts. An email newsletter post about a staff favorite, for instance, usually only lives on for the time that the newsletter stays in customers’  inboxes.
• Blogs can reach potential as well as existing customers. Your email newsletter reaches people who have already opted in to receiving news from your store, whereas a blog post can be found through many other means (links, search engines), widening the audience beyond your existing customer base.

With all that being said, I want to go firmly on record as saying that I believe email newsletters are still important. It’s vital that you own your customer database. People who have opted in to receiving your newsletters are a valuable segment of your market, and there are probably more people checking their email than reading blogs. But I think that newsletters and blogs can go hand in hand.

I’d treat my email newsletter subscribers as “preferred customers.” Use your email newsletter to offer coupons, news of sales and discounts, first availability for event tickets and autographed books, etc. Link to your blog in your newsletter. And then also market your newsletter through your blog, offering a place for readers to subscribe to your “special” email newsletter. In this way, your level of communication to your most important customers will be increased, and you will have the benefits of both newsletter and blog. You may find that you can send out fewer yet more effective email newsletters in this way, filling in the gaps with blog posts.

If your store has both an email newsletter and a blog, I’d love to hear how you are using them. Please let us know in the comments.

On Monday: Blogging FAQ, Day 4:  What do I blog about?

Previous posts in this series:

• Ten Days of Blogging FAQs
• Day 1: Who’s going to read our blog?
• Day 2: Where do I find the time to blog?