Archives post

Interesting Insights

12 ways of using a blog to sell your startup

If you are a startup, there is always a question of how to blog such that you can relate to your customers and break through the clutter of thousands of blogs out there?  Came across this very interesting questions and answers regarding this.

Of course, the common ones are – to create stories around your customers and to include customer feedback into your content.  But some of the suggestion merit some thought.  The one that stood out for me was “Creating an Actual Editorial Program”.

Consider an actual editorial program.

Take two startups as an example: Bundle and Of a Kind.

Bundle (personal finance) devised an attention-getting editorial program that dealt with consumer finance. They did interviews with people about their financial lives; they published actual journalism that addressed people’s very real concerns and behaviors about spending and saving. That was their audience for their services, so why not use those tools to draw people in?

More recently, Of a Kind (small-batch direct-sale fashion) decided that they didn’t want to just put up a product for sale; they saw that they wanted to inform and engage a community of potential customers, so they treat their ‘sales’ site like a magazine. This is smart. It helps people identify with the seller, with the product and with the company.

Actual editorial programs in all manner of service-related businesses bring attention, bring customers and bring value.

Another one that seems to suggest not directly focusing on the product per se is – where the writer suggests to claim the “space” and not just talk about the product.  I agree.

Talk about your space, not about your own product.

If you are creating a task manager, write about productivity, workflow, etc.

This can go broader too, in this case, your target market is.. companies, startups. -> write about startups, about life behind your startup, how you decorated your office, what rules you live by, startup tips, … see where I’m going?

When you’ve done that, after you’ve “informed” your target market, you can take it one step further and teach them. Going from the example case again, teach them about productivity, teach them about running a startup, …

Your own product doesn’t matter, if you center your blog around your product, no-one will care. Base it around a space, a target market, now that’s another thing. And once you got them where you want, stealthbombing your product here and there is as easy as pie.

Finally, here are 10 succinct ways of making your voice heard via a blog and do well for your starup.
Read Quote of Ryan Skinner’s answer to Blogging: What topics should a startup blog about? on Quora

photo credit: Pink Sherbet Photography via photopin cc

Enhanced by Zemanta
15Oct
Interesting Insights

How will Google’s new Search Algorithm – Hummingbird – impact sites?

Google’s new search algorithm update, Hummingbird is out.  It is generating quite a buzz out there.  Blogs and content sites are wondering how will this new change impact them.  It will change...

15Oct
Interesting Insights

Amazing Growth of Internet Use from 1984 to 2013 (Infographic)

Internet has grown in an incredible way in the last few decades.  A rate that has been unprecedented in the history of business.  No other product or industry has been adopted by so many people at such...

15Oct
Blogging

Ghost, Node-js based Blogging Platform opens to public

We have a new kid on the block of blogging platforms.  Ghost.   The site gives the following benefits of the new platform: Never stop writing, format on the fly No messing around...

15Oct
Blogging

Photopin: Find, Download, Credit free Creative-common Photos and Add them to your blog like a breeze

Getting creative commons pictures is a pain for the bloggers.  The best source is obviously Flickr.  But it is not easy to download pictures from Flickr.  And then to tag and give credits etc. Now all...

FOLLOW @ INSTAGRAM