Who Says Blogs Don't Make Money?

Anyone who still thinks that
A) blogs are something more than a type of easy-to-publish website;
B) that nobody makes money with blogs, or
C) that a company CEO has to be the one to blog,
should take a look at Sparkle Like the Stars , one of three blogs published by Internet jewelry retailer Ice.com.

Sparkle Like the Stars offers lower cost alternatives to the current bling seen on stars including Lisa Simpson (pearls) and (yick!) Paris Hilton (heart-shaped dangling diamond earrings.) It's breezy and light, and an excellent sales vehicle.

Sparkle's entry on Lisa Simpson begins:
"Bookish but bold, Lisa has a classic sense of style. She wears a flirty skirt paired with a classic strand of pearls.... Ladies, pearls are a jewerly [sic] basic and if you don't have a strand, it's time to invest. Here's a perfect strand of pearls to start you off."

The company's other blogs are, Just Ask Leslie, a "jewelry expert" answering questions, and the Ice.com "official blog" a heavy-handed sales pitch and SEO vehicle for the company website.

Sparkle Sparkles, the Others Just Pimp the Website
Sparkle is the only one of the company's three blogs that has content that is, well, sparkly. But the other blogs aren't meant to be masterpieces. They're used to drive up the company's natural search rankings through abundant SEO and linking. They're a dull read, but a cheap and more effective way to boost search rankings than over-saturated Google Adwords.

Ice EVP of marketing Pinny Gniwisch told Internet retailer, that the blogs are creating a 15-30% boost in natural search traffic to the parent site.

A full-time blogger has been hired to write the blogs and develop new ones on jewelry-related topics like weddings and etiquette. "We're going to be doing a lot more in this field," Gniwisch says.

Ice ought to amp up the content on Sparkle With the Stars, add a viral component, and advertise Sparkle Like the Stars on blogs.

hat tip to Kevin Dugan

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Ice.com, e-commerce, corporate_blogging, online_jewelry_sales, Sparklelikethestars.com, Internet_strategy, case_studies, Lisa_Simpson

I kind of like the trend here with companies increasingly hiring bloggers to educate and tell stories.

Could be quite a market there.

It is inspiring to know that there is a great job market for bloggers. This will definitely encourage people who have excellent writing skills and working from home. Certainly joy to lots of families!