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View Full Version : Should I put a (slightly)unrelated blog on my site?



helen6
07-21-2013, 05:17 AM
I run a Magento ecommerce site which specialises in Campervan gifts and accessories, I have a blog on there which I struggle to post regularly owing to lack of relevant material, however I also run a retail shop for general giftware and often get amusing incidents which when I have time to put them on my private facebook page they raise many comments and people say I should have a blog for them. is there any merit to adding this to my campervan site or as it is not really related to campervans is it the wrong thing to do? If there is no advantage to the site in running it then I can do without the extra work really
Much appreciated.

Freelancier
07-21-2013, 07:21 AM
There's no advantage to an unrelated blog on a site. And unless you post regularly, there's not much advantage to having a blog at all on the site. Blogs are basically link bait, but if there's no bait, there's no fish to catch.

Lots of ways to do a free blog without any effort in setting up or maintaining, so if you really feel like you want an outlet for your stories, then get one, otherwise, don't.

Harold Mansfield
07-21-2013, 11:28 AM
I agree. I wouldn't put an unrelated blog on your ecommerce site. Blogs are easy to set up and cheap. $12.99 for a domain, and you already have hosting.
Just put one up and write. It doesn't have to be fancy if the content is entertaining and you have a following.

dianecoleen
07-22-2013, 07:48 PM
There's no advantage on adding up an unrelated blog to your e-commerce site. If you'll build separate blog to advertise the other retail shop that you have, then that would do. You would not want your customers be perplexed with your website's services and your blog anyway.

marrick
12-23-2013, 02:34 AM
Well, I think you should look to the nature of information that are distributed to other blogs that are in your niche. If they have the same situations like you, then I think you are in a right track as long as you are updating your blog with good contents. Never mind the frequency of post that you should make.

LeadMaster
12-27-2013, 05:18 PM
There's no advantage on adding up an unrelated blog to your e-commerce site. If you'll build separate blog to advertise the other retail shop that you have, then that would do. You would not want your customers be perplexed with your website's services and your blog anyway.

Yes, including unrelated content in a niche blog will most likely confuse readers and have them question your dedication to the primary subject of the blog.

edthomason
07-05-2014, 10:44 AM
i wouldn't do it. as the previous poster says they are so cheap why would you want to mix content?

JonV6
12-21-2014, 01:40 PM
Yeah I would place irrelevant content on there. I would think it would be better to invest the time in creating less frequent, higher quality and relevant, blog posts for your site. It's not all about quantity. If you can create content and place it in the right places online one blog a week would be better for your site than one blog a day.

smallbizfinancier
01-07-2015, 08:29 PM
Think of a blog as a highway and the posts as entrances and exits. The more posts the easier it is for people to navigate and the chances are you'll draw in more traffic. I disagree with what many say above about penning off-topic content. Just because people are on your blog doesn't mean they're necessarily just looking for info/entertainment about campers. My $0.02 are that you can publish content on whatever topic is appealing to you and relevant to growing your audience. People who buy campers may also buy headphones...the logic is that while they may have a camper, they may also be a fisherman and enjoy sitting next to the lake while listening to music or podcasts. If that's the case, why not hire someone from elance.com to publish an article about the top 5 headphones that are currently on the market. To make sure traffic is getting to your blog, link back to consumer websites where the items can be sold. If those retailers are small enough that they'll reciprocate the backlinking, write to them and send them a link to your blog entry where you highlight/recommend their site for headphone. Again, if you're lucky enough, they'll return the favor and link to your article and then push out your website's address via their social media outlets. The effect is that if someone who happens to follow their twitter/fb, etc hears of your blog/store, you might be able monetize your headphone article...you may have a new customer!

All the best,

smallbizfinancier
01-07-2015, 08:32 PM
I agree with freelancier. You've got to get your post on a schedule to attract an audience. Additionally, his comment about link building is also correct.

Another point not spoken about is that if you do create and maintain a blog, why not have video testimonials featured that are also sponsored with Google Adwords where you're capturing attention with keyword baiting. You might find that someone looking for campers is also looking for lanterns gets sent to your blog because you put an advert for lanters and a cute thumbnail image. Once they click and are taken to your blog, have a bit about lanterns, mention your campers and highlight your happy customer.

Adel Landman Steyn
01-27-2015, 02:13 AM
There are very valid points made on this thread.
Yes, posting off-topic content clearly for marketing purposes, may be out of place on a very niche blog.
However, it does not necessarily seem out of place on a more generalist blog.
The main thing is to make sure that you have good navigation on your blog site. You can do this by adding categories, or separate pages.
You could always link to your other site on your blog. Doing so would not be out of place on an About page, or in a widget, for example.
Keeping to a posting schedule is indeed important, although I personally don't think it need be every day.

The main thing is that, whatever content you post on your blog, should add some sort of value for the reader.
For instance, I once saw a blog from a small insurance broker with about 50 very thinly-veiled advertisements for various types of insurance. Some that I had never even heard of and I used to work for an insurance company as an accountant.
I ask myself, why on earth would anyone sit and go and read through any of that content? So I can find out why university students should take out life insurance just in case they die (of alcohol poisoning, I am assuming) to give their parents financial piece of mind. Another topic was about flash floods.
This sort of advertising preys on the fears and phobias of humanity. (Although, you should identify risks and manage them pro-actively.)

However, I can't imagine being in any way offended reading a travel blog, where someone is using a camper to travel all across the country, taking photos of the various places they go to - with a few smiling faces standing in front of a camper, waving to the camera.
Which brings me to my point that you don't necessarily have to do all your blogging yourself.
You could always get someone who has a travel blog (and even an established following) to market on your behalf.

And yes, Google does penalize paid links. But somehow I doubt one (or five) travel bloggers receiving some sort of gratuity for their advertising is going to be viewed on the same level as buying a thousand likes on Facebook.