How Does Christian Business Blogging Actually Generate Sales?
June 17th, 2008 Categories: Christian Business Blog
Well, it’s time to talk shop for a little while here on the Kingdom 2.0. So far, it’s been all pithy little articles about how much good a blog can do for your Christian business or your Church. Now, we’re going to get into the nuts and bolts of what makes a blog better than a static web site for generating leads (people who want to buy your shiny red widget, or people who want to attend your church, etc).
To kick off the session, we need to identify what it is that creates sales to begin with. If two hardware shops with identical inventory sat side by side on a city street, which one would people shop at and why?
There are actually several factors that would play into that decision, but I submit to you that the two most important factors to me would be trust and personality.
Trust. One of those two hardware store owners is a personal friend of mine. I’ve known him for years. That makes it an easy decision for me, and probably for you as well. I trust that he’ll give me a fair deal, and that he’ll shoot me straight about what I really need to purchase. I know that he won’t take advantage of me because we know one another, and people who know one another simply don’t take advantage. Or so the saga goes.
Personality. Lets say that I don’t know either shop owner, but that the guy in store number two always has a smile on his face or a joke when I line up at the checkouts. My perception is that, all things being equal, I’ll have a better time doing business with this guy, so that’s where I end up spending my money.
SEO is just a junk drawer full of nuts and bolts. You can do something with it in a pinch, but it’s never going to be enough to build something lasting. For that end, you need to leverage your “voice” to convey your trustworthiness and personality.
The fact that blogs work more effeciently in search engines than static web pages is academic at this point. If you don’t believe me, just google it. Google never lies. But that being said, getting web traffic isn’t the end game of the Christian business. Getting sales is.
Most people who responded to my call to action on my real estate blog and became clients eventually said something to the effect of “I feel like I’ve known you for years, and I just really wanted to deal with somebody I could trust.” That’s something that could never have been accomplished with a static page and my resume. It takes voice. It takes a blog.
We Build Blogs
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Three Ninja Secrets of the Christian Business Blog
June 13th, 2008 Categories: Christian Business Blog
Ahhh….welcome, young grasshopper. I see that your training has led you to this blog post. Congratulations. Your journey is almost finished.
You have no doubt already answered life’s great questions by now: What is the meaning of life? What is my life’s calling? What happened to that other black sock? Now, you’re ready for the Holy Grail of questions….
What are the ninja secrets of the Christian business blog?
Very good question. There are three ninja secrets of the Christian business blog. They are as follows:
1) A Christian Business blog can do everything a static page can do, but better. It’s kinda like having a ninja basketball player. It’s one thing to be able to dunk, but a ninja player can do the backflip dunk….but I digress. The blog can do anything, absolutely anything, that the static page can do, but with the added functionality of being a Google….well, ninja. It’s sneaky like that.
2) A Christian Business blog can vanquish foes faster than a Chinese star. It’s called market dominance, and you’ll have it after three months of consistently writing about your shiny red widget, or whatever else it is that you sell. Why? Because blogs use special ninja power to leverage search engines to work on your behalf. All you have to do is stay on topic, deliver some quality content, and try not to scare anybody away with your startlingly loud “keeeeee-ya!”
3) A Christian Business Blog can make you smarter and thinner. No, but that would be cool. But it can leverage the time you spend online to make you a lot of money, which will make you feel smarter anyway. He He. Still, the previous two points remain true. Many, many small business owners devote large sums of money to pay-per-click advertising, billboards, newspaper ads, and more. The truth is that those types of leads are only partially qualified when compared to genuine, long tail searchers looking for your exact product. The best way to reach these folks, by and large, is the blog.
How do I get one? It’s weird that you should ask that question. I actually know a guy. He designs cool, beautiful, functional, powerfully optimized blog solutions for Christian businesses. You should write him.
Seriously. Click the link.
We Build Blogs| Discussion: No Comments »
What SEO Experts Don’t Want Christian Businesses to Know About Blogs
June 12th, 2008 Categories: Christian Blogging Tips, Christian Business Blog
I could fill a book (and perhaps someday will) with the things that supposed SEO experts won’t tell you about blogs. Most will now confess that a blog is an all-out SEO machine, but will still try to hoc their services to you to “increase traffic” or “give you that extra push.” Here are two things that SEO experts don’t want Christian Businesses to know about blogging, SEO, and the internet:
1) There is no magic formula. The SEO experts don’t know anything you can’t find out on your own. The last time I checked, Google isn’t giving inside looks at their algorithm for search results. You simply have to figure out what works. And, google changes said algorithm often enough that nobody will ever fully “figure out” what makes it tick. So, you probably aren’t going to learn anything about SEO from a highly paid SEO expert that you wouldn’t have learned from a good SEO book and a few hours of internet study time. It’s kinda like my Criminal Justice degree. It sure was a great way to spend money, but I didn’t learn anything I couldn’t have gotten from a bag of popcorn and a Cops marathon on the tube.
2) If you blog it, they will come. The previous point being thoroughly established, there is one thing that you need to to in order to ascend to dominance in the search engines for shiny red widgets (or whatever it is that you’re selling). You must blog it. Write an article every day about a new and exciting aspect of your shiny red widget. Tell people why they should love your shiny red widget. Tell people why your shiny red widget is a great value. Winning in the search engines is about creating focused, keyword-rich content. Other than that, there is no secret. Blogs do it better and easier than static websites, but you can achieve SEO bliss with either platform with enough study and patience. Now, get to it.
On a side note: if anybody is actually able to capture a photo of an SEO expert in real life, I’d like to see it. My understanding is that they are kinda like the Loch Ness Monster. You hear a lot about them, but when it’s time to prove that you’re an SEO expert, you’re left with a grainy photo of something resembling a website….weird.
We Build Blogs| Discussion: 2 Comments »
Three Reasons Why Every Christian Business Needs A Blog
June 9th, 2008 Categories: Christian Business Blog
There are a lot of great things to spend your money on, and I know that better than anybody. When it comes to business expenditures, the Christian business owner needs to really do their homework to see if something is worth purchasing or not. That being said, I have three good reasons why having a custom-built, Christian business blog is a great idea:
1) Great ROI. It’s a simple fact that people (mostly Realtors at this point) who use our products outsell their competition. Why? It’s not exactly a trade secret that blogs are better SEO machines than static websites. People are increasingly becoming e-consumers, so you do the math.
2) Adding a “Voice.” Studies indicate that people are about a million times more likely to do business with somebody they know. Of course, that’s an exaggeration, but you get the idea. The point is that your current website displays some product, offers some pricing information, and doesn’t do a whole lot else. A custom blog allows you to inject some personality into your web presence. People feel like they know something about you, and the more you interact via commenting and social media, the more likely they are to utilize your company when they are ready to purchase your widget.
3) Lose twenty pounds, guaranteed. You’ll become so hooked on blogging that you’ll forget to eat, thus contributing to your bottom line….the one that your belt wraps around. Of course I’m kidding, but blogging is supposed to be fun. The more money you make, the more fun it becomes. I can personally attest to it.
We’re serious about advancing the Kingdom by helping Christian business owners create the strongest, most refined web presence possible. We’re going to launch out on a whole bunch of business blogging designed to lift your blogging skills, motivate you for writing, and creating business blogging bliss. I know you can hardly contain yourself.
We Build Blogs| Discussion: 4 Comments »
