How To Manage and Create Blog Posts In Shopify

Few things are more valuable for a Shopify store owner than capturing the attention of customers. While your amazing products, great prices, and fantastic customer experiences can help you to drive more sales long-term, you still need a way to lure prospects to your store. 

Fortunately, Shopify makes it relatively easy to get started with promotion. You can connect your website to social media to take advantage of ads on Facebook and Instagram. Plus, there’s the option to leverage PPC campaigns on Google too. However, one of the best ways to boost brand visibility, increase the credibility of your company, and convert customers is with a blog. 

Taking advantage of the blogging feature within Shopify will ensure you can connect with the 77% of internet users who still read blogs on a regular basis. Plus, a good blog can also boost your search engine ranking (making your store easier to find), help you to establish your brand personality, and strengthen your chances of engaging with your customers. 

Here’s what you need to know about creating and managing your blog posts in Shopify.

Getting Started: Enabling Blogging on Your Shopify Store

The good news for business owners is that all Shopify plans (aside from the Starter plan), will give you access to a blog within your Shopify store. Additionally, the majority of paid and free themes available for Shopify support blogs, too, so you shouldn’t have to work to hard to enhance your online presence with content. You do need to make sure blogging is “enabled” on your store, however.

To do this, log into your Shopify store with your admin account and click on the “Online Store” tab, followed by “Themes”. Tap the “Customize” button next to the theme you’re currently using.

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When you’re taken to a new page to edit your theme, you’ll see an Add Section button. Click this, and it will open up a list of sections you can add to your home page. The options available to you will vary depending on your theme and Shopify plan. 

Click on the Blog Posts option, and “select” it. This will add a blog to your Shopify store, which you’ll be able to fill with all the content you like. 

Managing your Blog Section on Shopify 

Before you exit out of the theme customizer, you might need to customize your sections according to your themes requirements, to make sure your blog matches your branding. 

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You can do this by clicking on the “Blog Posts” section. Shopify will direct you to your Blog Posts page, where you can modify the default settings. You can select the number of “grids” or blog posts you want to show in the blog section. Clicking on the “Edit blog” link will also allow you to edit the blog category for each post. 

There’s also the option to add extra details to each blog post, such as the date of publication and the author’s name. It’s worth adding the author’s name at the very least, as this can help to improve your authority in the eyes of the search engines. 

You’ll also need to create navigation options to your blog page for your store, to help visitors easily find your posts. You can do this by adding links to your blog in the header or footer of your store. 

If you want to add your blog to your header, for instance, click on the “Header” tab in the left-hand side menu on the theme customization page. 

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Click on the “Edit Menu” link, and you’ll usually see two default menus show up: “Home” and “Catalogue”. You’ll want to add your blog to the header separately, so click on “Add Menu Item” to create a new tab for your blog. You can name your blog anything you like, but we’d recommend sticking to something simple like “Blog” or “News”.  

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For the link, select “Blogs”, to connect your navigation item to your blog posts. You’ll also need to select the “Blog Category” and click on the “Add” button. Once you’re ready, click on the “Save menu” option to preserve your changes.

Creating Blogs on Shopify

Once you’ve enabled blogs for your Shopify website, and you’ve made sure people can actually find them, the next step is to start filling your blog with content. Go back to your Shopify admin menu, then click on Online Store, followed by “Blog Posts”. 

You’ll see a green button to “Create blog post”. Click this to get started. 

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Next, you’ll need to give your blog post a title. Make sure it’s simple, informative, and eye-catching, so customers will want to read it. It’s also a good idea to include a keyword if you want to make sure your posts are optimized for the search engines. 

Underneath the title, you’ll see a field where you can enter your blog post content. You can format your post using the rich-text editor, and add images, videos, and other media along the way. 

Once you’ve produced the ultimate blog post, you’ll want to make sure your content is visible. You can click “Visible” in the Visibility post if you want to publish your post immediately. Or you can choose a specific visibility date if you want to introduce your post at a certain time. 

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To make your blog posts stand out on your website, click “Add Image” in the featured image section. You can use stock images, or a photo you’ve taken yourself, depending on your needs. You’ll also be able to add the name of the author for your blog post in Shopify, and select a “category” for your post. 

For instance, you might arrange your content into different sections based on the topics you cover. Just click “create a new blog” to create an additional category. 

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We’d also recommend writing an excerpt or summary for your post that can appear on your home page. You don’t necessarily need to do this, but it can be a good way to give your readers an insight into what each post is about. 

Shopify also allows you to add “tags” to your posts, which helps users to sort through them and find the content they need. Plus, you can choose a “template” for your post if you like too. Edit the search engine listing for your post in the “Search Engine Listing Preview” section, then click “Save”.

Enhancing Your Blog Posts

Shopify gives store owners a variety of ways to enhance their blog posts to encourage engagement, and sharing. For instance, if you want to start a conversation with your customers, you can allow them to leave comments on each post. 

Scroll down to the “Manage Comments” settings on your post, and you’ll be able to choose between allowing comments, allowing them after moderation, or disabling comments entirely. 

To promote your blogs, you can:

• Invite customers to subscribe: Create an automated newsletter sharing your recent posts with your followers, and invite customers to subscribe. You can add a pop-up subscription box and newsletter sign-up form to virtually every theme on Shopify. 
• Include social media buttons: If your blog posts are valuable to your customers, they might help you promote them by sharing your content on social media. A great way to enable this is to implement a social media sharing button into your posts. You’ll need to download a Shopify app to do this, but it can be a great way to boost your visibility.
• Optimize for SEO: Make sure your content can stand out on the search engines with SEO. The Search Engine Listing Preview section will help you to do this, by providing you with a place to edit page titles, meta descriptions, and URLs. You can also consider downloading SEO add-ons from the Shopify marketplace to help you. 

Now all you need to do is commit to creating consistent content and sharing it with your audience. Need more help making the most of Shopify? Contact Storetasker today to connect with one of our incredible Shopify experts! 

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