Over the last few years, marketing and commerce blogs have continued to grow in popularity, as businesses have recognised their value in engaging with prospective customers and building credibility.

Thanks to the rise in social media and its ubiquity in our daily lives, consumers have developed a heightened awareness of blogs and their content; as a result, traditional marketing channels like search and digital display ads have become less effective.

Marketing and commerce blogs provide a medium for businesses to communicate with customers, offering a degree of transparency that could prove valuable in establishing a direct connection with customers and forming trusting relationships.

This article will explore the rising popularity of marketing and commerce blogs and the benefits that they provide for businesses, so you can better position your brand within this increasingly influential sphere.

Why Should You Market Online?

In today’s world, the lines between marketing and sales have blurred, and businesses must now use multiple platforms to effectively communicate with customers about their offers and gain trust.

If you’re looking to grow your business, marketing online is a viable option, and you should seriously consider establishing a marketing and commerce blog. Why? Because according to HubSpot Blogs research,

• 87% of businesses said that they’re using blogs to gain and maintain brand credibility

• 71% use blogs to gain new customers

• 67% use blogs to generate leads

With a marketing blog, you can establish yourself as an expert in your industry, build a listening audience and position your brand as a thought leader.

You can also use blogs to engage with customers more effectively, gathering comments, questions and valuable feedback that you can use to improve your products and services, and gain a competitive edge.

If you’re looking to enter the field, consider establishing a marketing and commerce blog. Doing so could prove to be quite beneficial, and perhaps even game-changing.

Marketing and Commerce Blogs Are Popular

If you’re looking to enter a marketing and commerce blogosphere that’s already dominated by heavyweights like Bloomberg, Forbes, Huffington Post and others, you may feel intimidated by the sheer volume of content that already exists online.

But don’t be disheartened! With a little research, you can uncover a multitude of profitable niches where you can establish your blog.

Let’s take a look at the stats. According to HubSpot Blogs research, the popularity of marketing and commerce blogs is on the rise – and this represents a potentially profitable market for content creators and businesses that decide to take advantage of it.

In 2018, there were almost 4.4 million articles published on marketing and commerce blogs – a figure that’s more than doubled from 2016.

The majority of these articles (3.3 million) were published by businesses – and significantly, 66% of these articles were published by businesses in tier 2 and 3.

These figures indicate that businesses are taking note of the value that marketing and commerce blogs provide – and are acting aggressively to secure a slice of this lucrative pie.

The Top 5 Marketing and Commerce Blogs

To get an idea of just how influential marketing and commerce blogs can be, let’s explore the top five most-read blogs in this space.

In terms of sheer traffic, the Huffington Post marketing blog is the clear industry leader. It had 73.4 million monthly unique visitors in 2018, according to Google Analytics.

The New York Times business blog offers a more exclusive look into the minds of the industry’s biggest players, publishing the unedited real thoughts of CEOs and presidents of multinational corporations. It gets more than a million monthly unique visitors, too.

Forbes publishes daily content covering the most important stories in corporate news, financial analysis and insight on upcoming business trends. With around 12.6 million monthly unique visitors, it’s the clear choice for any business looking to get ahead in the world.

The Bloomberg business blog offers authoritative and innovative business and financial news from around the globe. Launched in 2006, the site now has almost 14 million monthly unique visitors – making it the perfect blog to fuel your business and financial research.

Finally, we have the popular, multilingual blog for the international community of consumers that is Marketocracy. With around 10.4 million monthly unique visitors, this is the blog for you if you want to reach out to a global audience and make a name for yourself in your industry.

All five of these blogs are authoritative, multi-platform publications that provide businesses with an unrivalled opportunity to connect with potential customers. Additionally, four of the five blogs are highly monetisable, offering businesses the chance to make money from blogging – even if you don’t yet make enough to support a full-time staff member.

The Benefits of Online Marketing and Commerce To Businesses

So, what can we learn from this analysis of the top five marketing and commerce blogs?

Well, for a start, we can see that businesses of all sizes can benefit from blogging. While some publications focus on in-depth analysis and reporting on the corporate world, others provide tips on how to run a more effective business.

The rise of digital marketing and content creation platforms like HubSpot have made it much easier for businesses of all sizes to set up blogs – and to establish themselves as experts in their industry. If you’re a business owner, or a marketer responsible for content strategy, consider blogging as a way to build your audience and establish your expertise.

Blogs can also be extremely useful for businesses that want to establish themselves as thought leaders in their industry. The New York Times, Forbes, The Huffington Post and others regularly publish the unedited thoughts of industry leaders and experts – providing readers with exclusive access to the brains of some of the most successful business people in the world.

If you’re looking to follow the lead of these successful business minds, establish your own marketing and commerce blog – and make sure to put your expert opinion out there for the world to see. Publishing regularly will help you to establish yourself as an authoritative voice in your industry – and help potential clients gain trust in your advice.