Blogging and Shopping – How to Make the Marriage Work By: Manfred Luigi Lugmayr

April 13th, 2007

4 comments

Posted in: Blog Bash Expert Posts

Expert: Manfred Luigi Lugmayr, I4U.com

#13 of 30

Can combining blogging and shopping on your site be a match made in Heaven? Critics will quickly point out that blogs should be unbiased and free from commercial ties. I agree with the unbiased request, but not with the commercial ties. Sure there are many folks out there that blog just for the sake of being heard. But many people, especially those who are reading this, are blogging to make some money or ultimately to even quit their day job.

Issues with shopping related content can arise when you use links to shops that pay you a commission (I do not focus here on contextual ads or banners, as users are familiar with them). There is an intrinsic bias that your readers can pick up on or get upset about. I have almost never received negative feedback on our practice of linking to product offerings via affiliate links. Why?

For I4U NEWS, shopping is part of the content. A cool new product that is available for pre-order on Amazon.com or another site is interesting news. My readers are interested when I find a unique new product on an Asian export site.

I am up front in describing what the blog is all about. Our site title reads: “Technology News and Shopping Guide”.

If we review a product we offer prominent ways to purchase the product. I try to give users a fair choice for shopping by combining a link to my favorite vendor (highest conversion and commission ratio) and a link to our price comparison partners.

To maintain credibility for a blog that offers shopping, the important things to keep in mind are:

• Make it clear to your readers that your site is offering shopping tips
• Make shopping an interesting part of your blog content
• Give your users more than one choice to purchase a featured product
• Only feature products and vendors that you can personally stand behind
• Listen to feedback or complaints from your Users about featured products and vendors.

4 Responses to “ Blogging and Shopping – How to Make the Marriage Work By: Manfred Luigi Lugmayr ”

1. 
   shanda Says:
   April 13th, 2007 at 1:44 pm

   Excellent points, Man. Reporting on a new product is certainly newsworthy and there’s nothing wrong with also offering channels to buy that new product or ones like it as long you maintain standards and are honest with your readers.

2. 
   Darsi Says:
   April 13th, 2007 at 3:56 pm

   Great tips Manfred! Who thought shopping and blogging could be so perfect together. You made it work! Thanks for sharing.

3. 
   MasterBlaster Says:
   April 13th, 2007 at 4:18 pm

   Completely agree – I don’t think that blogging and commercial ties need to be mutually exclusive. In fact, it only makes sense to combine the 2 (if you’re giving a good review to a product, people will most likely want to buy it).

   The problem arises when the writing starts being influenced by a hunger for cash. Not cool. As long as you keep your writing honest, tying in shopping is beneficial for both you and your readers.

4. 
   Make Money Online: Weekly updates 28-April-2007 Says:
   April 30th, 2007 at 1:27 am

   [...] Manfred Luigi Lugmayr, I4U.com – Blogging and Shopping – How to Make the Marriage Work [...]

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