About blogging when not so tech savvy

bluecrabtrading · Posts: 1

I'm new to ecrater and don't have anything listed yet. I've always had a brick and morter store and my online selling experience consists of ebay, (who pretty much bring the buyers in for you). I have never blogged and don't know how to. I don't know how to go about starting a blog or where one would go to get one. My daughter-in-law said just write about what you are doing in a blog, but all I do is work. I don't do anything interesting to write about!

The few blogs I have seen, say in the rules that they do not want anyone promoting their online stores or any products you will make a profit from. How do you find one that will let you talk about your store and merchandise?

So how does someone like me go about promoting an online store, when I know zip about blogs, or keywords, or getting search engines to find you, or any of that? I'm not exactly a computer whiz! And where do you find the time to blog? The only way I found the time to read this forum and post is because I'm NOT getting items listed on ebay like I should be, but am interested in finding an alternative to their high fees and crazy rules. Plus nowadays it doesn't seem to pay to have all your eggs in one basket!

Any help anybody here can give me would be greatly appreciated. I can promote a brick and morter store through ads all day long,but I'm clueless when it comes to blogs and such. I don't even know how to put any emotion icons in this post! (So insert confused look here)

Thanks!

acread · moderator Posts: 11986

bluecrabtrading, you can do one thing that is simple and would work like keeping a blog. You can start a topic in the Promote Your eCrater Store section of eCrater Community page (just go to that section, first read the rules at the top then start a topic in that section for your store). When you are in Promote Your eCrater Store section just click on "new topic" button at the bottom. And enter in the subject like what the name of your topic will be. Then post stuff about your store, your products, discounts, promos you are running, coupon info, whatever, put url (web address) of your store homepage, url of your product pages. Keep posting daily to the same topic (using "post reply" after you open your store's topic). You can treat it like a blog. It will help you draw in traffic the way a blog will do. And it is simple enough to do.

Here is the link to Promote section:
http://www.ecrater.com/community/viewforum.php?f=16

Here is the link to the rules:
http://www.ecrater.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=6949

And here is my topic in that section as an example:
http://www.ecrater.com/community/viewtopic.php?t=9204

PS. to put a confused face (an emotiocon) in your post, while typing it at the point you want to insert that take your mouse on top of the smiley faces on the left site of where you are typing the post. Go on top of the one you want to put in and righ click it will type in stuff with colons and paranthesis and stuff into your post. Don't erase it leave a single space and keep typing. When you post it will appear as a smiley face. Confused look is a colon : with a question mark ? right next to it. You could also type them in if you know what stands for what smileyface.

eclectik · Posts: 60

I'm focused on putting items in my storefront, and letting the Google Product search engine take care of the cataloging. Having a blog that I'd have to then promote in order to promote my storefront seems, to me, a real waste of time.

I'd certainly like to hear some success stories of sellers who are generating more traffic from blogs, etc., than from Google.

thelivesandlovesofmaggiethecat · Posts: 10159

Blue Crab, get your store set up before you start promoting it. You don't want people clicking on an empty store.

acread · moderator Posts: 11986

PetsAdored · Posts: 62

We blog about "pet" things...... jokes, photos, how to care for... anything we find or think about.
our blog is at http://petsadored.blogspot.com/
You hyperlink not only your own store but other sites that have to do with what you are talking about.

I use the blog thru google (blogspot) because I can schedule blogs. I can sit when I have time.... do 5 or so blogs in one sitting & just schedule one per day to post.