Somewhere back in the 90s, everything changed and we now live in a different world. A new world. Sure, you can still start a business like “back in the old days,” but I wouldn’t bet money on your success if you did. Cluetrain was right. Out of this sea-change comes a new kind of entity: the online information microbusiness (Or IttyBiz, if you like. Hi, Naomi! 
).
Online Information Microbusiness
These online information microbusinesses are making it possible for people to live more fulfilling lives, make more money, and suffer less stress than a traditional job. Blogging is critical to their success, and that’s why blogging is so important. The online aspect of these businesses makes them look like strange aliens compared to the way things used to be. Let’s take a look at their key identifying points:
- There is no physical location for customers to visit. Customers visit a website.
- The website IS the business. The web is the medium for nearly every exchange, transaction, and communication.
- Information is the product sold.
- Information can take many forms, including the physical. A printed book or a DVD is still an “information product.” Consulting and coaching are also forms of information product.
- The line between products and services is blurred. In my opinion, the more blurred, the better. Clients purchase some kind of bundle or package which may have both product and service elements, rather than just, say, an ebook or a coaching call.
- Not only is information the product, it’s also how the product is marketed, because small amounts of information fuel the desire for more, and that causes prospects to become customers.
Note that last point. Information is not only the product, it’s how the product is marketed. Out of all the ways we have to deliver this marketing information for an online business, which way gets that marketing information to your prospects most effectively?
Blogging is the Way
I say blogging is the most effective way. A blog — better yet, using a full content management system with a strong blog feature set, such as WordPress & Headway — is the best way to do this because the above points are so easy to carry out with a blog.
I’m using the word blog in this case to mean website, because I don’t want to just use the word website. Neither do I want to use some awkward made-up word like “blogsite” or “blog/website,” etc. This use encompasses how blogs have evolved since the late 90s when they started to grow in number.
Adding the Spice
While not part of the operational or logistical elements of an online business, personality and passion are differentiators which help us position ourselves and attract our ideal customers. Blogging seems to be the best platform to deliver this “spice” to our prospects. At its heart, blogging is a platform made expressively for us to speak our minds, speak our hearts, to reach out and spark a connection with others.
Pointing the Way Forward (What this Means for You Now)
The above points and what I’m trying to express here are the result of many hours of working with my blog consulting clients and me trying to deliver some kind of “big picture” on the whole thing. I had to step back for a time and let my subconscious really work on this, let it stew (which is why it seemed I sort of disappeared for a while). Slowly, a framework and a vocabulary made itself known to me and I began to use this with great success for my clients.
The possibilities of a holistic, integrated (blurring those lines) business (HIB) are pretty skull-exploding when you really “get it.” Not to scare anyone away, but the seemingly simple-enough act of “starting a blog” changes everything, and the consequences are huge (in a good way).
Think about your own online business and marketing efforts in light of what I’ve written here. Can you map these identifying points and concepts to your own business? Some of them? All of them? Which ones really make you excited (or afraid) because now you see things in a new way? And… what are you going to do about it?
I actually pitched this idea to my boss today during a pretty lengthy presentation. We do a bit of blogging as-is but when I got down to the details about how our competitors don't really have a SM presence and don't produce a lot of content outside of product pages – it hit him hard and now we're going to move word with the project
Completely serious here: If you own a business today; you WON'T be able to compete in the future without a website or some kind of channel to share content. I know it's a bold statement but that's where the world is shifting and sticking to traditional brick & mortar platforms will quickly leave you in the dust – it's better to start today than to miss out on a great opportunity.
More importantly than even all that, Murlu, is that doing this will actually
change the way you do business. Glad to see you guys moving forward.
website is very important for any buisness…
Bless you for having taken a stand.
The problem with a blog (and why i will use kludges like “blogsite”) is that it has an insatiable appetite for content.
And my crowd, the people that do your taxes, fix your dui or sell your house…they don't wanna blog all the time. They don't want to do this regularly. The problem with the blog is that it has a never-ending hole to fill with content. That's the challenge.
But like life, the conversation never ends. You're never “arrived” or “done.”
You're absolutely right about that, Chris. We've created a “content monster”
and it's hungry. It's a challenge, one that is better met by some lines of
work than others. One thing I didn't state here but will mention in a future
post is that certain kinds of business do extremely well here, are more of a
natural fit: freelancers of all stripes, coaches, trainers, many types of
service professionals and consultants. These folks all benefit greatly from
an information product centric viewpoint with blogging & social media as
their main marketing channels.
In a different way, artists, craftspeople and all manner of “studio
professionals” can also benefit tremendously. They have more of a concrete
product (though they can still benefit from blurring the product/service
line).
This is the first time I have seen blogging described as critical to strictly information microbusinesses. Do the same principles apply to someone who is selling a product, rather than information – in this case, artwork?
Carole, they do apply. In fact the goals are the same but the strategies and
the content are different. An artist takes a very different content approach
to blogging compared to a consultant or a freelancer. See my post on Artist
Blogging 101 <http: 12=”" 2009=”" 22=”" artist-blogging-101=”" remarkablogger.com=”"> to
learn how.</http:>
I have talked to a lot of people from different companies about this, and what strikes me as the common question from companies that are not present online other than with a static website, is “what should we blog about?” Not much is happening, and they can't seem to find anything to share with their readers. And it seems that the people I talk to don't understand how they are going to have time to do this, because they're already working 100%.
On the other hand, it seems that more and more people are becoming aware of that blogging is important for their online presence, they just don't understand how they can be a part of it (and implement a strategy for blogging).
That's a great question, Jens, and it's also one I help my clients with all
the time, because every business needs it answered before they can proceed
with blog marketing. Because the specifics are different for each client, I
can only generalize here, but the answer has to do with who your ideal
customer is, what is their problem which you solve better than anyone else,
and what is the product (or product line) that solves this problem for these
exact people. From there, we can develop a successful content strategy.
What's interesting about this is that we actually end up reverse-engineering
the real problem backwards from painful symptoms like “no web traffic” and
“not enough sales.” Some people truly don't have anything worthwhile to blog
about, because they never put enough thought into their business design. As
soon as we address that, however, the floodgates of content (and
conversions) open up.
As far as spending time goes, well, if you're not spending time to acquire
new business, you're dead anyway.
I think it's very important in this day and age, as a photographer it gives me a chance to showcase my latest work on a regular basis and it's probably my most viewed page these days. It took me a while to cotton onto this though!
Well David I'm glad you did! Most people find that the blog gets more
traffic than any other page on their site.
Maybe our company should also use blogs to keep customers informed about new market and product developments.
This article give a good insight in why blogging can be important for your business.
http://www.care4air.nl
If you sell physical products, yes this is a good use of a blog. I've
written a couple posts on blogging this way you may find helpful:
http://remarkablogger.com/2008/07/23/the-top-10-e-commerce-blogging-tips-to-skyrocket-sales/
<http: 07=”" 2008=”" 23=”" remarkablogger.com=”" the-top-10-e-commerce-blogging-tips-to-skyrocket-sales=”">
and
http://remarkablogger.com/2009/12/17/commerce-blogging/</http:>
you're right, blogging is the best way, but i think that too many people started this and it's hard to find a good blog now..
On the contrary, the good blogs are easy to find. They show up in the top
search results for the main keyword related to the product.
I am now convinced I need a blog. I have read many other articles preaching why blogging is important. After yours, I see the internal signifigance of it. I see how it could compliment my business website and supplement my pocket book! Thanks
Cool.
If you need a blog consultant you know where to find one. 
Its also true that Content is Business provided you are bringing in the right audience (i mean the keywords). There are blogs which attracts many visitors but could not make profits as a business. It depends on the topic/market and the right audience. Business over Internet could be 3 ways (my thoughts)
- Share information as attract visitors
- Give a service to gain customers
- Sell products by finding customers
To mention, Your articles are written in depth on the topic ! Thanks
Exactly, Mr. Ven: attract the right people with the right content, gain
trust through that content and a valuable free offer, then the long-term
marketing can begin (always careful to provide value and maintain that
precious trust).