How to Start and Grow Your Ecommerce Shipping Blog with ShipStation
If you sell products online, you are aware of the significance of delivery to your company. Shipping serves as a means of delivering goods to clients as well as promoting your business, fostering loyalty, and establishing credibility. But shipping may also be difficult, particularly if you have to deal with different carriers, costs, services, and laws. Because of this, running a shipping blog may be a terrific opportunity to become an expert in your area and impart your knowledge, advice, and best practices to your audience.
However, how can you launch and expand an e-commerce shipping blog? And how can the top e-commerce shipping software, ShipStation, support you during this process?
1. Choose a platform and a domain name for your shipping blog
Selecting a platform and a domain name for your blog is the first step in starting a shipping blog. A platform, like WordPress, Shopify, Wix, or Squarespace, is the program or service you use to start and run your blog. The online address that readers use to visit your blog, such as www.yourshippingblog.com, is called a domain name.
There are many factors to consider when choosing a platform and a domain name for your shipping blog, such as:
Usability: You want a platform that doesn’t need a lot of coding knowledge or technical expertise to set up, configure, and update.
Features and functionality: You should look for a platform that provides the tools you need for your shipping blog, including security, analytics, SEO, plugins, and support.
Cost and scalability: You should look for a platform that is both within your means and can expand with you without sacrificing dependability or performance.
Compatibility and integration: You need a platform that works well with your shipping software, e-commerce platform, and other business-related technologies.
Because ShipStation interacts with over 300 e-commerce platforms, marketplaces, carriers, and other services, connecting your shipping blog with your e-commerce site and shipping operations is a breeze when utilizing it for your shipping requirements. ShipStation allows you to track shipments, print labels, automate workflows, and synchronize your orders all from one location. For instance, if your store is hosted on Shopify and your blog is hosted on WordPress.
When choosing a domain name for your shipping blog, you want to make sure that it is:
Relevant: The keywords that your target audience searches for should be included in your domain name, which should also represent the subject matter and intent of your shipping blog.
Unique: To avoid misunderstandings with other similar or rival blogs or companies, your domain name should be memorable and unique.
Concise and straightforward: You should refrain from using hyphens, digits, or other characters in your domain name and make it simple to spell, speak, and remember.
accessible: Your preferred domain name should be available for registration if it hasn’t already been registered by someone else.
You may verify the availability and cost of your preferred domain name using internet resources like Namecheap or Domain Name Generator, then register it with a reliable domain registrar.
2. Define your niche and your audience for your shipping blog
Identifying your blog’s audience and niche is the next stage in starting a shipping blog. The particular area or sector of the e-commerce industry that you concentrate on, such as electronics, home and garden, fashion, or beauty, is known as a niche. The individuals who are interested in your topic and might gain from your shipping blog, such as online buyers, e-commerce merchants, or shipping aficionados, are known as your audience.
Defining your niche and your audience for your shipping blog is important because it helps you to:
Stand out from the crowd: You may draw more attention and traffic to your blog by concentrating on a particular topic and demographic, which will help you stand out from other generic or rival shipping blogs.
Provide value and resolve issues: You may produce content that benefits your audience and niche by learning about their requirements, desires, challenges, and objectives. This will help you gain their trust and loyalty.
Grow and monetize your blog: By focusing on a particular audience and specialty, you may increase income and prospects for your blog’s expansion, including sponsorship, affiliate marketing, advertising, and the sale of your goods and services.
The fact that ShipStation supports a variety of audiences and niches and lets you tailor your shipping solutions to your needs and preferences is one advantage of utilizing it for your shipping needs. For instance, if you sell clothing, you may utilize ShipStation to improve customer happiness by providing free or flat-rate delivery, customized tracking pages, and return labels. ShipStation allows you to automate customs paperwork and taxes, compare and select the best carrier, service, and pricing for your shipments, and save time and money on shipping if you sell electronics.
3. Create a content strategy and a content calendar for your shipping blog
Making a content plan and calendar for your blog is the third stage of starting a shipping blog. The method and approach you employ to produce, disseminate, and advertise your content—such as blog entries, podcasts, videos, and infographics—is known as your content strategy. The plan and instrument you use to arrange, oversee, and monitor your content—including themes, titles, keywords, formats, deadlines, and distribution channels—is called a content calendar.
Creating a content strategy and a content calendar for your shipping blog is essential because it helps you to:
Provide inspiration and ideas: You may come up with ideas for your content and prevent running out of things to say by investigating and generating keywords and subjects that are popular and relevant to your audience and niche.
Generate high-quality and consistent content: You may deliver high-quality and consistent material while avoiding mistakes, lags, or gaps by adhering to a precise and organized method and timeline.
Measure and optimize results: You can raise your ranking, increase traffic, and boost conversions by utilizing best practices and tactics for your content, such as analytics, CTA, and SEO.
One benefit of utilizing ShipStation for your shipping requirements is that it offers a wealth of inspiration and ideas for content for your shipping blog, along with tools and resources to assist with content creation and optimization. To discover and discuss the most recent trends, news, advice, and best practices in e-commerce shipping, for instance, you may utilize ShipStation’s blog, podcast, case studies, and guidelines. Additionally, you may explain and show how to simplify and optimize your shipping operations and procedures by using ShipStation’s capabilities, which include rate calculators, label designers, automation rules, and reports.
4. Write and publish your shipping blog posts
Creating and releasing your shipping blog entries is the fourth stage of starting a shipping blog. The primary means of connecting with your audience, communicating with them, and delivering your message and value is by writing and posting blog entries. This is the central and most significant aspect of your shipping blog. For this reason, you should ensure that your shipping blog entries are:
Helpful and informative: Your shipping blog entries need to offer your readers pertinent, practical information and guidance, assisting them in resolving shipping-related issues and accomplishing their shipping objectives.
Interesting and captivating: Your shipping blog entries should draw in and hold the interest of your readers, allowing them to take pleasure in perusing and gaining knowledge from your writing.
Unique and genuine: Your shipping blog entries should be a reflection of your style and demeanor, as well as your knowledge and experience with e-commerce shipping.
Clear and succinct: Your shipping blog entries should be simple to read and comprehend, free of jargon and superfluous or confusing terminology.
Organized and formatted: To improve and arrange your material, your shipping blog entries should utilize headings, subheadings, lists, photographs, and other components clearly and logically.
One advantage of utilizing ShipStation for your shipping requirements is that it interacts with a variety of blog platforms and services, such as WordPress, Shopify, Wix, or Squarespace, making it straightforward to compose and publish your shipping blog entries. Additionally, you may link your blog to your ShipStation account using the ShipStation API. This will allow you to access and display shipping data and information on your blog, including tracking numbers, shipments, orders, and prices.
5. Promote and distribute your shipping blog posts
Distributing and promoting your shipping blog entries is the fifth stage in starting a shipping blog. Your material may be made more visible and accessible by promoting and disseminating your shipping blog entries, which will also draw additional readers and followers to your site. Your shipping blog postings may be distributed and promoted through a variety of avenues, including:
Social media: You may publish your shipping blog entries on social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, or LinkedIn with your current and future audience. Encourage them to like, comment on, and share your material with their networks.
Email marketing: To encourage your email subscribers to view, read, and click on your material, send them your latest blog entries using email marketing platforms like Mailchimp, Constant Contact, or AWeber.
Guest blogging: You may put your shipping blog entries on other people’s platforms and expose your material to their readership and traffic by taking advantage of guest posting possibilities provided by other blogs, websites, or periodicals in your sector or specialty.