Greater Success

Independent small retail businesses rarely have the money for big advertising and marketing campaigns. Their stores are usually not based on the latest shop layout fixtures. Their locations are often not the best in town.

No, independent small retail businesses face challenges on a range of fronts due to limited financial resources.

The one area where an independent retail store can compete is in product knowledge. They often have employees in their niche who are more knowledgeable and passionate about their product categories than you will ever find in a mass retail outlet selling similar products.

But how do you get that message out? How can the small independent retail business compete with the massive competitor?

By writing a blog about the niche in which the business operates. Even a single person business can attract more traffic to a blog than a major corporation funding a blog on the same topic.

The key is content. Write fresh, knowledgeable and useful content regularly and build your profile with the search engines. Soon enough, your small business will get known for its knowledge and this can parlay into excellent sales.

Blogging is especially useful to a small retail store since in the blogosphere, money does not talk. Content is king and anyone can create good content. By blogging, you can setup a David Versus Goliath situation for your small store.

Here are some quick blogging tips for a retailer starting out:

Make sure that you do have valuable knowledge.
Learn to write crisp sentences and how to get your message across in 300 words or less.
Write regularly.
Include photos.
Don't advertise, tell stories. Provide context and insight. Make sure that the content is valuable to a wide reader community.
Use headlines with words people are likely to use when searching for your type of business.
Blogging is useful for commentary about topics related to your business but not about your business. Such commentary, if well considered and written can add tremendous value to how your business is seen and provide kudos to you as the author.
Don't start to promote your blog to your customers and suppliers until you have found your rhythm as a blogger and have some content live of which you are proud. It is like inviting someone to your home - you want it to be furnished.

Write with authority. Try and stay away from emotion. This blog should be about business and the niche about which you are most passionate through your retail store.

Remember, big is not always better. Use your blog to show how your passion and knowledge deliver value through the blog and through your own business. Be proud but not cocky as they say.

Track your visits as this is like people walking through the front door of your shop.