One Way To Profit From Your Conversation
John Battelle’s long blog post about conversational marketing offers the first chance I’ve heard that conversations within markets take place between three parties:
I’ve argued for more than 15 years that all commercial publications are conversations between three core parties - the author, the audience, and the advertiser.
It really is a good blog post and he’s got a lot of richness in this one. Grab a coffee and have a seat. It was the Cluetrain Manifesto that first got the ball rolling on markets as conversations with this one pronouncement: Markets Are Conversations. Seth Godin expanded on the idea of conversational marketing and has made a big career out of it. But all of that happened before blogging became the new way of business. Now, markets are conversations between more than just consumers and producers. It also includes advertisers.
Why does that matter? Because as a small business owner who is moving online to conduct business, you’ll be involved in a conversation. Who will be doing the talking?
Keep in mind that your blog will cost you time. It won’t make you much money, especially in the initial stages of your conversation. Your readers will provide some feedback, but keep in mind that many of your commentators will be other bloggers in your industry and people trying to take consumers away from you and back to them. That’s competitive conversationalism. What should you do about it?
First, be confident. You have a valuable product or service. You’re just as valid a producer as the next guy, right? But something you might consider as a small business owner is to get a sponsor - a noncompetitor - who will sponsor your blog. Call them a partner, or whatever, but it’s someone you might invite to be a guest author, someone whose banner you can put on your blog in exchange for a like-kind benefit. Turn your time into money by reducing the threat of competition. And enjoy the conversation.
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