One of the ways to monetize your blog is to transform it into an online store. You can do this by either creating your own products for sale, or you can also sell other people’s products (Affiliate Marketing). It will help in both cases if you have a neatly designed website that can be easily navigated through by your customers. This way, they can easily find what they’re looking for and increase your chances of making sales.
Search Box
The search box is the best place near the top portion of your blog or website so that your site visitors can easily access it. They can then search for specific products or information by simply putting in keywords inside the search box.
Featured Posts
You can choose to feature some of your products by putting these above the others. This technique is best done for bestsellers, as they naturally have consumer appeal.
You can choose to feature as many products as you want, but the method will somehow lose its appeal if too many products are featured. It has been found that having only around 4 featured products can provide for the best conversion.
Use Slideshow
Slideshows are very appealing to the eyes, but they also serve another purpose. When you have a slide show configured on your home page, your readers will be able to glance at a great number of products without having to click on each one of your posts. They can choose to directly click on the slide show posts when a particular item catches their eyes.
Images
Keep in mind that you have an online store, and not a physical store. Your customers will therefore depend on pictures and images to get an idea about the actual products.
That’s why it’s necessary to present as many images as you can, preferably from different angles, so that they can scrutinize the product more closely.
Payment System
Your existing payment system should be clearly stated on your website. You can use payment option icons and shopping carts for this purpose. And you also need to be able to provide your customers with email receipts and confirmation messages.
Return Policy
One thing that can deter customers from buying online is the fear of ending up with a defective product. You can ease their minds by having a return policy or money-back guarantee.
Having this message in bold letters will work well in convincing consumers to buy from your website.
Use Social Media Links
Always make sure that Social Media links are included in your posts so that your loyal customers can share the word about your website. Satisfied customers will naturally want to share information and products that they find valuable.
