Excerpts from Boost WebStore Sales with Free Content

Contextual product selling proves that when it comes to making money on the internet, content is still king.

By Nicole Shotland, Internet Computing

At Barnes and Noble stores across the county, book buyers are welcome to browse the store's inventory while enjoying comfortable couches, reading tables, and even a cup of coffee from its in-store vending stand.

Why would the company sacrifice valuable real estate to encourage such idle behavior? Well, creating a relaxed and enjoyable shopping experience helps ensure repeat buyers and establish brand loyalty -- integral components for creating a successful business.

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You may have already noticed fattened content on the sites of leading Web retailers including Barnes and Noble, Land's End, and others. They are carefully using content targeted toward their product types in order to enhance the user's experience. Barnes and Noble offers interaction with book authors and original book reviews by its editorial staff intermingled with its shopping aisles.

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Creating community

Barnes and Noble (New York) knows that talking about books generates book sales. That's why the staff has worked to create a online community where visitors can expect to find unique content such as interviews and live chats with authors, book reviews penned by Barnes and Noble staff, and feature articles that discuss the themes and plots of various titles.

The daily author chat is extraordinarily popular, users come to the site by the hundreds, sometime even thousands, to talk online with their favorite author.

"Wonderful conversations take place in our live chat", says Susan Boster, director of marketing strategy and communications for Barnes and Noble. "Our users tend to go in to meet authors and then not only talk to them, but find out what else they have written and go back and look at other reviews and articles."

Barnes and Noble is proud of the success it has had in building its community, pointing out that the number of site visitors who also in building its community, pointing out that the number of site visitors who also participate in online chats is higher than the average number at sites such as yahoo! Barnes and Noble attributes this to the targeted niche content it provides to its visitors.

Of Barnes and Nobles 200 employees, 20 are full-time editors and content creators. The staff knows it takes plenty of time and energy to nurture good content that resonates with site visitors. And with a niche market such as books, it was important to hire editors with book-selling experience.