Cigar Store Marketing Part Two: Techniques and Tactics That Work

Recently, I wrote a blog on cigar store marketing, the basics you need to know in order to promote an online cigar shop, or just to bring more foot traffic through the doors of a brick and mortar location using a website as a funnel. 

You know, given the fact that cigar stores operate in a PPC-restricted industry, they’re severely limited with respect to what digital marketing channels they can pursue. Paid advertising is off the table.

That’s one of the things I wrote about in my last post on the subject. But general-isms will only get you so far. No one doesn’t know that tobacco is PPC-restricted. I wasn’t really doing hardcore sleuthing with that one. 

So, now I’m back with some actual, actionable suggestions on how to market your cigar store online (mostly with respect to SEO, but with a few other tips thrown in). 

Let’s take a closer look. 

Launch a YouTube Channel

Cigar smoking is a thing that is best observed by watching, not reading. One of the best ways to connect with users that aren’t actually in your immediate vicinity is via YouTube. 

Post cigar reviews, make it podcast-esque, use it to promote new releases, that sort of thing. This is especially useful for people that are better at extemporizing verbally and not so strong with writing. 

Encourage users to sign up and use that channel to advertise promotions that will get users either to your website or through the doors of your physical shop. 

Social Media Magic (Instagram Is a Great Platform)

Some platforms are more effective than others, in this respect. Chances are your demographic skews older and male. That would make Facebook viable but Facebook is on the decline. TikTok is too young. That makes Instagram the way to go, at least at present. 

Again, you can’t advertise here, since Meta won’t allow it. But you can create an organic account, start posting, and interact with users. 

Take pictures of new releases to promote cigars, advertise your blog posts (see below), and use the channel to advertise promotions and specials. Most importantly, make sure you interact with your followers so the platform sees your profile as legitimate.

SEO Tactics That Are Proven to Work

Now let’s talk about actual ways to use SEO to get eyes on your website. This is by far the most promising digital marketing channel and in the long run will produce the greatest return. 

As long as you know what sorts of things to post about to create a healthy content marketing stream that will get attention. 

Here are some ideas to kickstart your creativity. 

• Answer common questions 

Do you know how many cigar smokers don’t really know what a Corojo is? Can’t tell the difference between a Connecticut shade wrapper and a Candela, just because they’re not familiar with the terms? 

What is sun-grown, anyway? What sorts of words are commonly used to describe the cold draw, retrohale and room notes of a cigar?

These are the sorts of things you can cover on your product pages, on CMS and FAQs pages, and in your blog. 

Consider a post that breaks down wrapper types, how tobacco is grown and cured, what tasting notes to look for, cigar vitolas (shapes) – stuff like that, anything that makes a cigar special. 

Don’t assume your customers know. They might not, and if you can answer their questions tacitly, you will become a trusted resource and an authority.

But really, what you’ll be doing is getting more eyes on your website, and that’s what you need.

• Cigar reviews 

This is a big one, and probably the one that’s going to get you the best visibility for the products you sell as a cigar shop.

The number one thing smokers search for before making a purchase is a review – just as is the case in other markets. 

But in this area, it’s a lot more involved and a lot more subjective, not to mention personal. Tastes in tobacco vary, and someone that likes a maduro with a heavy body might not like the fresh, light airy sweetness of a candela. 

Moreover, a cigar isn’t used in the conventional sense that other products are. It’s a consumable, more like a food, and preparing and lighting it improperly, or smoking it too fast, will ruin the experience.

A thorough review that details the cold draw notes, as well as how the cigar progresses through the first to the final third, will be of incredible value for someone thinking about buying one, let alone a box.

Things to consider when reviewing are the look and feel of the cigar, its toothiness, cold draw notes, how it lights, if it smokes hot, and if there are any errors in construction that cause canoeing, tunneling, or other burn issues. 

Of course, a good review is a prime opportunity to lend any other subjective notes about how you feel about the cigar, and any and all advice is useful. 

• Other reviews

You know, cigars are not the only things you can review. There are all sorts of other things you can write about or review, like different types of cigar cutters, cigar knives, case, hydration packs, lighters, even butane. And what about humidors, or even travel humidors? 

These are among the many tobacco accessories and peripherals for which cigar smokers might also be looking for information before they make a purchase, and if you publish a helpful review you won’t just get more website traffic, you could bring in leads. 

• Tutorials 

You know, smoking a cigar properly is honestly a skill. There are a few right ways to do it, and many, many wrong ways to do it. 

Here are something you could educate your customers on: 

• How to properly cut a cigar, and the difference between punches, V-cutters, and single and dual blade cutters, as well as cigar knives.
• How to toast the foot of a cigar without scorching it.
• The differences on lighting a cigar with a soft flame vs. a torch lighter.
• How to light a cigar with a cedar spill.
• How to prevent burn issues.
• How to sample the cold draw notes.
• How to properly smoke a cigar, without going to slow or too fast.
• How to retrohale.
• How to travel with cigars. 

And so much more. This is a short list but all of these topics (and others) have value to cigar smokers that just might be looking to your cigar shop for helpful, friendly advice. 

• Tobacco best practices

You know, handling and aging cigars, like smoking them properly, is also a skill. There’s a learning curve associated with it. 

For instance, what has experience taught you about the temperature and humidity at which to maintain cigars in the humidor? Are there any tips or tricks you have to keep it constant? What wood, in your experience, makes the best humidors? How do you shop for one? How do you age cigars? 

These are the sorts of questions you can answer in blog posts and CMS pages for the general education of your customers, and your potential customers. 

• Think outside the box – what other questions do cigar smokers have?

While you’re brainstorming, try to come up with some questions customers have asked you in the past that you were happy to answer. I can’t come up with everything on the fly, despite the fact that I do genuinely believe the pointers I’ve come up with here are a good start. 

• Use your own images 

One more SEO trick – use our own images, not only on your website and in your product listings, but on your social media accounts. Manufacturer images tend to be boring and on top of that, they’re duplicates, so they won’t be doing your SEO work any favors.

Get Started with Cigar Store Marketing for Your Tobacco Shop Today 

Higher organic visibility and more traffic are within reach for your tobacco shop. You just need to stop putting it off. Get started optimizing your website and your marketing channels with some of these tips today and watch the results compound on themselves. Just be patient, organic cigar store marketing is going to take two years or more.