Blogging for Retailers White Paper Provides Practical Advice for Online Merchants

Blogging for Retailers White Paper Provides Practical Advice for Online Merchants

A new white paper explores the benefits of blogging as an online retailer including how-to's and tips to improve customer communication, increase search engine exposure, and ultimately sell more stuff - I Want One of Those!

Vancouver, BC, Canada, January 23, 2007 -- Busy retailers striving to stay up with new marketing techniques face another challenge: blogging. What is a blog? Is blogging just hype? How is a blog different than a webpage? How will blogging help me sell more stuff? What's all this gonna cost anyhow?

This new White Paper explores these conundrums and offers guidance to separate the critical information from the buzzword-infused fluff. Besides exploring the fundamentals and benefits, "Blogging for Retailers" offers an overview of blog platform options and a mini-course to familiarize online retailers with the key concepts of the blog o' sphere.

After first examining blogging in the context of the "Web 2.0" communication revolution, the White Paper then outlines tangible and practical reasons for retailers to begin blogging by focusing on the benefits including: market research, getting the word out and helping people buy more.

Written by experienced corporate blogger and podcaster, Dave Olson, Blogging for Retailers also puts forth five "Critical Success Factors" to ensure blogging turns into a beneficial campaign for resource and time-constrained retailers. As Olson puts forth, "Blogs and Web 2.0 tools in general are about creating and sharing compelling content. Blogs provide a uniquely affordable opportunity for retailers to cultivate conversations with passionate customers. This paper aims to assist savvy retailers in reaping the significant rewards gained from having conversations with their customers."

Olson draws on his new media experience and marketing savvy to offer pragmatic, real life examples of retailers "doing it right," (e.g. CoutureCandy.com, Ice.com), as well as candidly pointing out pitfalls to avoid (character blogs, PR-run blogs) and encouraging alternate strategies.

A glossary translates technical buzzwords into business-person's parlance and the paper finishes with an 11-step journey through a variety of leading semantic web tools and sites for an effective crash course.

Readers are also invited to comment and obtain more tips, examples and resources by visiting: http://www.getelastic.com. The blog posts are further augmented by a Get Elastic podcast episode discussing the paper and offering more examples of successful retailer blogs.

"Blogging for Retailers" White Paper is sponsored by ecommerce software vendor Elastic Path Software (Olson's employer) who feel assisting online retailers is a critical part of their community building strategy. Elastic Path Software's VP Marketing Jason Billingsley points out, "We listen carefully to feedback from our retailer customers and are pleased to share these best practices with merchants seeking to attract and convert more customers and increase profitability."

About Elastic Path Software
Elastic Path Software provides a flexible ecommerce platform that gives enterprises the capabilities and control to deliver innovation in a complex environment. The Java-based platform enables integration with SOA environments and rapid development of custom features. Enterprises can now quickly adapt ecommerce tactics to gain a competitive advantage. Companies such as Aeroplan, Time Inc, and Samsonite use Elastic Path for maximum control over their evolving online stores. For more information, please visit https://www.elasticpath.com.