Do You Or Don't You?

Do You Or Don’t You: Maintain a Regularly Updated Blog On Your Website?

Only a quarter of you do this.

Published

9 years ago

May 6, 2015

INSTORE Staff Instore May 2015 Issue

Survey results for jewelers who write blogs

YES, WE DO

We aim to update our blog at least two times a week. Our content ranges from store event coverage, jewelry tips, celebrity engagements/weddings, YouTube videos highlighting particular pieces and providing information on individual gemstones. We actually have two blogs, one for our website directly and a style blog that is connected to our website. The fashion blogosphere has a massive following so we decided to mash our store’s inventory with our Polyvore account to create “looks” that we can discuss and talk about via our style blog. — Morgan Bartel, Susann’s Custom Jewelers, Corpus Christi, TX
I have been writing a blog for about five years and it is the best marketing tool I’ve had in the last 10 years. I write all the material myself. It deals with a myriad of issues in the trade as well as somewhat personal articles about me and why I do what I do. It’s on Blogspot but the latest articles are posted on the website and there are direct links to it on every page of the website. Best thing I ever did. If a customer comes into the shop looking and I can get them to go read the blog I almost always get them back as a customer.
— Daniel Spirer, Daniel R. Spirer Jewelers, Cambridge, MA
We talk about what’s trending, or anything that we have going on at the store. — Laurie Langdon-Gerber, Elisa Ilana Jewelry, Omaha, NE
We have a blog, but it’s ghost-written by The Jeweler’s Blog. — Sydney Nusinov, Charles Nusinov & Sons, Parkville, MD
We post to our blog two times a week. Content is created and gathered from interesting websites and primarily deals with jewelry facts, star power, myths and news items. It is part of our online mix with a total of about 265 posts dating back to 2012. We have an average of over 100 page views per day. — Richard Frank, Goldstein’s, Mobile, AL

NO, WE DON’T

A blog needs to be consistent and engaging to be successful. With all of our other projects we don’t have the time to do it right, so better to not do it at all! — Jeff Vierk, Vierk’s Fine Jewelry, Lafayette, IN
I had one but I never have time to keep it up. — Josh Rider, Dylan Rings, Montgomery, AL
We created one a few months ago but do not have the man power to consistently update it with new posts. It is one of our goals for 2015. — Whitney Lang, Burkes Fine Jewelers, Kilmarnock, VA
We keep in contact with our clients through Facebook, YouTube, Twitter and Etsy. We do not need a blog. — Deric Metzger, DeMer Jewelry, Oceanside, CA

What’s the Brain Squad?

If you’re the owner or top manager of a U.S. jewelry store, you’re invited to join the INSTORE Brain Squad. By taking one five-minute quiz a month, you can get a free t-shirt, be featured prominently in this magazine, and make your voice heard on key issues affecting the jewelry industry. Good deal, right? Sign up here.

When There’s No Succession Plan, Call Wilkerson

Bob Wesley, owner of Robert C. Wesley Jewelers in Scottsdale, Ariz., was a third-generation jeweler. When it was time to enjoy life on the other side of the counter, he weighed his options. His lease was nearing renewal time and with no succession plan, he decided it was time to call Wilkerson. There was plenty of inventory to sell and at first, says Wesley, he thought he might try to manage a sale himself. But he’s glad he didn’t. “There’s no way I could have done this as well as Wilkerson,” he says. Wilkerson took responsibility for the entire event, with every detail — from advertising to accounting — done, dusted and managed by the Wilkerson team. “It’s the complete package,” he says of the Wilkerson method of helping jewelers to easily go on to the next phase of their lives. “There’s no way any retailer can duplicate what they’ve done.”