I don’t know if anyone else has thought to name this particular kind of blogging, so I’m calling it “commerce blogging.” Commerce blogging is how we blog about the products we sell (and more) in order to sell more products. Believe it or not, gadget blogs and yogurt blogs can teach us a lot about how to do this effectively. Skeptical? I hope so, because that means you’re thinking and paying attention. Read on…

What Gadget Blogs Can Teach You About Commerce Blogging

What kinds of posts do gadget blogs have?

• Product reviews (and tons of them).
• Unboxings, which is when they film the opening of a product’s packaging and its set-up (yes, for real).
• Prototype and concept products speculation and images.
• Announcements and news about problems with gadgets.
• Comparison or “vs.” posts (iPhone vs. Android, PS3 vs. X-Box 360).
• Accessories and management products revolving around the “main” products (like iPhone protective cases or chargers).
• Hacking and how to get the most out of a product’s features.
• Unexpected benefits or consequences of a product.

These kinds of posts are runaway successes on gadget blogs—especially electronic gadgets, but also for kitchen gadgets and sports equipment. What cracks me up is that the best writing on these items is being done by people who aren’t selling the products! In some cases they may be affiliates, but I’m amazed at all the ecommerce and retail sites on the web that don’t have blogs.

How to create killer content for products has already been figured out: pay attention to how gadget blogs have succeeded. Substitute your products for the gadgets, write the same kind of posts, and you’re golden.

It’s a Lifestyle Thing, Baby

Writing about the products themselves is only part of the picture. Lifestyle is the other part. Now, in some cases, lifestyle may not be a thing: everyone needs mobile phones, right? When you see old dude trying to figure out how to stop his phone from trying to record voice commands because he accidentally hit the wrong button, he’s not exactly “living the life” the product makers want associated with their phone.

You can write about the lifestyle instead of the products, because it provides context. Ecologically-minded product marketers know this. You’re not just buying a product, you’re voting with your dollars, putting your money where your mouth is, trying to make the world a better place.

Stonyfield Farms makes organic dairy products, mostly yogurt and milk. But they don’t blog about yogurt and milk. They blog about farming–on where the products come from and the stories of the people behind them.

When products serve as status symbols for a particular lifestyle, that makes for great blog content, it really opens up new blog post possibilities. What’s really great about this is that you’re never selling overtly. This is powerful “back door” or “under the radar” stuff. Not only do people not mind it—they love it!

When somebody wants to partake in a certain lifestyle, they buy products that give them (in their own eyes, at least, and in the eyes of their friends, they hope) status in that lifestyle. They buy the outward markers that communicate their identity to the world.

A blog can chronicle that lifestyle, champion it, and educate about it. The more people living the lifestyle, and the more strongly they identify the products with the lifestyle, the more they will buy, because their own self-identity is wrapped up in it. Think about the success of Harley Davidson. They’re not about motorcycles, they’re about the Harley lifestyle.

Education, Not Selling

If you sell products on your site, you can do this, too. In my last group blog coaching call, one participant said that every time she blogs about products, sales increase for those products. It’s really that simple, as long as you keep in mind you’re educating people. She ran a crafts site and sells supplies. When she makes a project, order for the project materials go up.

Another client of mine runs a local shop and struggles to compete against big box stores. She educates her customers on how once driving time and fuel costs are accounted for, the big box stores are actually more expensive than her local shop.

5 Great Ideas to Make it Happen and Get Results

You can do this! Here’s how:

• When new product comes in, take a zillion pictures from every angle and distance and post them on the blog (use Flickr) and social media sites. Write up the product’s features and benefits and link to the product page in your ecommerce site.
• Grab a Flip video camera and film the unboxing of the product, or film a demonstration of how the product is most effectively used. Again, link to the product page in the shopping cart.
• Write up a “tips & tricks” post that shows people how to get the most out of a product. Remember the old saying: an educated customer is the best customer? It’s totally true.
• Interview your own customers about why they bought a product (text, audio, or video—video is best). The answers the customer gives will be the same reasons why others will want to buy.
• Write up a comparison between two products in a “vs.” style post and encourage readers to comment in favor of one or the other and say why.

Want even more ideas? Check out my post about adding a blog to an ecommerce site or my top 10 ecommerce blogging tips.

I’m sure we could come up with many more ideas. What are your ideas for blogging about products?