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5 Benefits of an eCommerce Content Writer for Your Online Business

Lisa Hoffart

5 Benefits of an eCommerce Content Writer for Your Online Business

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Table of Contents

Let’s see if we got this right.

You just launched a new website, and you’re excited to sell your board games/organic soaps/cruelty-free chocolate/recycled jewelry, etc.

You told your friends, family, colleagues, and even the random cashier at 7-Eleven about your new website.

The first day? You got a few visitors, but no sales.

The first week? Made a couple of sales, but nothing to write home about.

The first month? You’re still riding on those first couple of sales.

The first year? Ok, now things are getting serious. You’ve got to increase sales, and fast. Otherwise, your online business will join the eCommerce graveyard. And let me tell you, it isn’t a fun place.

eCommerce Content Writer Benefits

Source

Your first thought may be to start pouring money into PPC (Pay Per Click) advertising. And sure, that’ll get you more visitors for sure, and likely help increase your sales.

But as soon as you stop investing? Sales plummet.

So what’s the actionable, long-term solution?

eCommerce content writing.

Maybe you’ve already heard of the benefits it provides, or maybe you’re completely new to the idea.

Either way, hiring an eCommerce content writer is the best way forward.

With this professional, you can scale your blog marketing efforts to provide a steady stream of relevant, actionable content that serves your target audience, increases brand awareness, and ultimately land yourself more sales.

Want to learn how? Let’s get into it.

What Makes eCommerce Content Writing Unique

eCommerce content writer

You might think that content writing for eCommerce consists of writing articles about how amazing a product is. While it’s not unheard of to talk about product awesomeness in a blog post, the main focus of blog articles should be to provide information to a target audience.

What? Do you mean to tell me you’re not supposed to write article after article about company achievements, sales figures, and how the executives at our company are basically geniuses?

While you could write articles about those things, that isn’t really the point of eCommerce content writing or content writing in general.

What you want to do is showcase your company’s ability to be an authoritative resource through your articles, which builds trust and buyer confidence in your target audience.

In other words, you’re writing educational content to show readers that you have credibility, which convinces them that they’re making a good choice in purchasing your product or service.

Profile of an eCommerce Content Writer Writing for a successful eCommerce business

There are several competencies that make a good eCommerce content writer stand out. Namely, a writer should understand the nuances of different audience types and buying journeys, and how their content can educate and give potential customers the confidence they need to convert.

For content to be successful and serve its purpose well, the writer should craft content knowing the following:

The difference between B2B and B2C audiences

Writing content for a consumer versus a business has specific differences, even though the overall goal of the content is the same (to educate). An eCommerce content writer is put in a unique position because depending on the brand, they may be writing for a B2B audience, a B2C audience, or both. This means they need to know the difference between the two well and be able to switch up their writing to suit these different audiences.

When a content writer is writing for a B2C audience (i.e. a business selling products to consumers, or the general public) the content is typically written at a high level, general sense, rather than using jargon, industry-specific terminology, etc. Also, the writing tone is usually more conversational and lighthearted.

Writing for a B2B audience, on the other hand, requires a different approach. First, the audience you’re writing for is going to be a decision-maker at a business. This means that content needs to be more nuanced by providing clear solutions-based information, or, in other words, it skips the fluffy stuff and gets straight to the point. Also, you have to write in a tone that appeals to the specific audience you’re trying to target, which usually means that the writing has to sound like it’s coming from an expert.

Writing in your brand voiceBrand voice and tone

Ever sent a text or email to someone and had them completely misinterpret your tone? It’s not easy to convey tone in writing, but content writers do it all the time.

A good content writer will ask how you want your brand to be perceived in the content they write for you. Would you rather have a more professional formal tone? Do you want to be a matter of fact and straight to the point? Funny and witty? Roketto’s eCommerce clients span pretty much the entire spectrum of tone, but there’s one constant: nobody wants to be too formal or serious. And it makes sense from a reader’s perspective, as who really wants to read text that’s too formal? That kind of writing is usually better saved for academia.

Whatever tone you decide to go with, it should be static across all your external marketing and communications.

Making Content Readable

There’s significant evidence out there that suggests most people skim content online rather than actually read it. What this means for writing is that content should be structured in a clear, hierarchical way so that readers can find the information they’re looking for, even if they’re skimming.

For eCommerce content writing, this means being able to consider the structure and how it affects the tone and style of the content for the audience they’re speaking to. In other words, there may be different article structure considerations if they’re writing for a B2B audience over a B2C, and vice versa.

Write What Sets you Apart

Let’s be realistic: there’s a sea of eCommerce companies out there, and chances are your product or service has several competitors. With eCommerce content writing, the writer will focus on what sets you apart from the competition, aka your unique selling point (USP). Doing so helps your audience associate your USP with your brand, which helps them understand the value you provide.

In other words, an eCommerce content writer will weave in your USP with educational content that they write to convey “what you’re known for” in your target market.

Be Able to Write for Different Stages in the Buying Journey

eCommerce buyers journey

With eCommerce, the buying journey that a customer takes can be short or long, depending on the business model, the audience (B2B or B2C), and what steps stand between the customer and final purchase.

Writing for eCommerce means being able to recognize these different stages, and target customers within them effectively through writing. At Roketto, most of the time our content writers focus on Top of the Funnel (TOFU) content, because it captures potential customers right at the beginning of their buying journey, in the research phase. This phase is lucrative to target because customers are naturally looking for information, and high-quality writing can fulfill that need. Once customers are hooked with awesome TOFU articles, it’s easier to reel them in towards the sale.

That being said, there is a place for articles that fit in other stages of the buying journey. A B2B buyer’s journey, for instance, is typically much longer than B2C, meaning there is often more nurturing required to move customers to the sale. This means content writers can use case studies, product comparison guides, and more to continue to provide valuable information to customers in further stages of the buying process.

5 Benefits of Hiring an eCommerce Content Writer

Benefits of hiring an eCommerce writer

When you hire a writer that has demonstrable skills in blogging for eCommerce, you’re going to get content that:

Drives Sales

High-quality, informative content leads more customers to your website, which in turn will organically lead to more sales. But it’s not just about the number of customers; educational content captures customers at every stage of the buying process, giving them that extra nudge to continue moving towards the sale.

Think about it this way: a customer is hesitant to hit that buy button even though it’s clear from the website’s copy (i.e. the words on the website other than the blog that is meant to sell) that your product is a good solution. So they leave your site.

The next time this customer visits your website, they land on your eCommerce SEO blog. They skim through a couple of articles that ease their worries and provide answers to their hesitations, and they convert through a CTA at the bottom of one of the articles.

This is just one scenario, but the point is that eCommerce blogging can be a big draw for your customers if the blogs answer their questions and address their concerns through actionable, relevant information.

Helps Build Trust

A steady stream of accurate and relevant articles shows your audience that you know what you’re talking about, which helps them to believe in the products and services you’re selling to them, as well as your brand.

When you build trust with your audience, you get many benefits in return:

  • Repeat customers. If someone believes in your brand, they’ll return again and again to make a purchase.
  • Referrals. Have you ever recommended a specific brand or website before? The answer is probably yes. If your customers find your website helpful and like what you’re selling, they’re likely going to recommend you.
  • Credibility. If your articles keep coming up as great informational resources, through organic search, social media channels, and general sharing channels (email, messaging, etc.) then it adds to your credibility as a brand and as a business.

Helps Create Brand Awareness

Nobody is going to automatically know about your brand. That’s why marketing exists: to showcase your brand on various platforms so it can reach your target audience. Content writing is a powerful way to get the word out about your brand and help establish it as an authoritative and trustworthy player in your industry.

Educates your Target Audience

Any salesperson will tell you that education is one of the keys to selling, whether you’re targeting a B2B or B2C audience. People want to know that they’re making a good decision when they make a purchase, and thankfully blogging can help with that.

An eCommerce content writer will use audience research data to help determine the most important topics to write about, including answering your audience’s burning questions that are the biggest hurdles preventing them from becoming buyers.

Helps with Link Building

A good eCommerce content writer knows the importance of high-quality content and its relationship with link building. Producing great content often naturally leads to link-building opportunities, as other relevant websites link back to your content as a source. This is a signal to Google and other search engines that your website is an authoritative source in your industry, which not only helps with visibility and rankings but also helps with a positive brand image.

Challenges of eCommerce Content WritingChallenges of eCommerce content writing

While there are many benefits to eCommerce content writing, there are challenges that a good writer will have to overcome. The main challenges with eCommerce content writing include:

Promotion and Education: A Delicate Balance

Writing high-quality content isn’t a big secret among content writers. The good ones know the importance of good SEO writing and strive to make every article actionable and relevant. But the eCommerce industry is vast, and chances are there are anywhere from a couple of dozen to hundreds of other websites in your industry that are doing the exact same thing.

So at the end of the day, if a potential customer is landing on a blog article on your website and that’s the first and only page they’ve visited thus far, you’ll want a bit of self-promotion in the article to enhance brand awareness or guide them towards a purchase.

What separates a good eCommerce content writer from a not-so-good one is being able to balance salesy writing with being educational so that the self-promotion isn’t too in your face. This often means weaving mention of your brand within the article, so it’s still promotional but it’s also informative.

Not Going Niche Enough with Keyword Targeting

Being too ambitious with targeting high-level keywords can often mean that even good content gets buried in search results. When a content writer is doing keyword research, it can be tempting to go for a general keyword that has thousands of average searches per month, because if you could successfully land that keyword, it would give a gigantic boost to your blog.

But that’s not really how searching works, and a good content writer will know that. Instead of targeting a super general keyword, they’ll instead get a topic keyword and variations that serve your audience’s search intent.

What does search intent mean? Well, if you’re an eCommerce website selling backpacks, if your content writer knows what they’re doing, they won’t write an article with the topic keyword “backpack”. Instead, they’ll focus on your audience’s search intent and match it with the products you sell. So instead of “backpack”, an article could target “waterproof backpack” or “laptop backpack” as its main topic keyword, and use variations like “water-resistant and waterproof backpack differences” and “MacBook pro backpack” to support the content’s ability to rank for the core topic keyword.

It’s like fishing. When a commercial fisherman goes out on the water, they’re not trying to catch all the fish in the ocean, they’re targeting a specific type of fish. So, they’ll use bait and traps that have the best chance of catching their target species. It’s the same with blogging for eCommerce. The writer uses keywords as their tools to capture your audience’s search intent, so it increases the chances that you’ll land the potential customers you want.

Not Writing for the Right Audience

Not going niche enough with keywords is one thing, but the content itself has to be written with your audience in mind. Being too general with content writing, and not providing actionable and relevant info is a challenge with eCommerce blogging, especially if you have multiple audiences that could be interested in your product.

An eCommerce content writer can get around this issue by writing articles that target specific audiences. For instance, if a CRM could be used by customers in the insurance, legal, and real estate industries, the writer should craft separate articles that outline how exactly the CRM provides solutions for those industries. Using specific examples, scenarios, and language relating to the industry are just a few ways that a content writer can differentiate an article.

Types of eCommerce Content Writing Services

When it comes to content writing, there are several services you can choose from to write articles, build your blog content strategy, and even publish your content based on a schedule.

These services are summarized in the table below:

Content Writing Agency

Freelance eCommerce Content Writer

In-House eCommerce Content Writer

Often has multiple writers for faster content turnaround time

Takes more time to write an article (since there’s only one writer)

If writing is the only task, then content production may be faster than a freelancer

Different writers add to the diversity of content

No diversity in content since it's written by a single writer

Same as a freelancer; content diversity is non-existent

Content production is more scalable

Work is typically not scalable

Content production might be able to be scaled up in favour of other tasks

Is usually less expensive to hire compared to an in-house writer

Is responsible for editing their own content

Editing is the writer’s responsibility, but they may have support from others in the organization (i.e. to ensure content accuracy)

Has established processes to ensure content quality

Less expensive when compared to an in-house writer or an agency

Must pay a salary, benefits, vacation, etc.

So what’s the best pick out of these eCommerce content writing services? In our opinion, a content writing agency is the overall best choice. With an agency, you’re picking the best solution surrounding execution and scalability. In other words, you can start slow with content production and ramp up as you see the benefits to your business, or dive straight into the deep end and accelerate your organic lead generation with more articles.

At the end of the day, a content writing agency is going to be the best choice with effective content creation, production time, and scalability.

When choosing a blog marketing agency, be sure to read their website. Check out their past clients. Read reviews. Contact them and ask questions. As long as you do your homework, choosing the best eCommerce content writing service for your business is a straightforward process.

Conclusion

eCommerce content writing is much more nuanced than super general articles about products and services. Articles need to be focused on the target audience, as well as their search intent and how it relates to the products an eCommerce business sells.

A good eCommerce content writer should have a thorough understanding of your organization’s various audiences, and what their pain points and concerns are, and write articles that educate and provide actionable and relevant information to those audiences.


If you’re an eCommerce business looking for your next partner in crafting effective content for your website, then reach out to Roketto today. We’d love to chat with you!

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Lisa Hoffart

Lisa Hoffart

Lisa Hoffart is a professional writer with several years of experience crafting well-researched content for a wide variety of industries, from legal, real estate, technology, and more. Lisa is a huge technology geek that loves video games and computers. In her free time, Lisa enjoys sewing, crafting, and hanging out with her cat.