Bloggers and their Micro-Businesses

I am getting the impression that a lot of the blogs that I link to are the social extension of a flourishing micro-business. I have no idea how widespread this phenomena is, but I am no longer surprised when I poke around in a blog and find a link to a full-fledged business website run by the blogger in question.

Few of these bloggers trumpet their wares. In fact, some are so discreet that you may only find their business accidently by Googling their name or specialty.

Some use their business experiences as a source of blogfodder. Anecdotes of business triumphs or, more likely, business catastrophies make excellent reading.

Lloyd Lemons effectively uses stories about his experiences as a writer to instruct and to showcase his considerable talent. Other bloggers use their blogs to survey people about significant changes they plan to make in their business.

Some blogs like Duct Tape Marketing and Curt Rosengren's Occupational Adventure make a flat-out pitch for business in a friendly and inspirational way.

Others like Denny's Book of Life are heavily oriented toward inspirational writing with a more subtle reminder that they provide a service that might be of value to you.

Then there is Jennifer Rice's What is your Brand Mantra which is in a class of its own. It provides the reader with penetrating analyses of branding issues and solutions and attracts comments from some of the best and brightest minds in the business. She provides insight into the convoluted  thought processes that complicate brand management in some corporations and at the same time she illuminates the basics of branding so well that I have been able to benefit from her advice with a fledgling micro-business.  Her blog contains only a single inconspicuous link to her company site.

Way out in another direction is the unstoppable Wayne Hurlburt, of Blog Business World, who serves up a steady stream of well-researched  marketing, public relations, and search engine optimization tips for bloggers, and still has time to give us a business perspective on the world of Roller Derbies.

Near the the top of the blogger/micro-business spectrum are writers like best-selling author/entrepreneur Seth Godin whose annual incomes probably exceed the boundaries of a micro-business. I earnestly hope so.

There may be many more bloggers in that happy condition, if bloggers continue to exercise their talents and encourage each other to extend themselves artistically and intellectually.

Blogging has a significant advantage over traditional print publication. It is not a zero-sum game.

Update: In my desire to get this posted, I may have failed to mention the business side of your life. Leave a comment and I will probably do better next time.

Comments

[Lachlan Gemmell]

I'm hoping this isn't too innappropriate but given the content of this posting I guess it's OK to publicise my own micro-business blog. Please delete this comment if you feel otherwise.

I'm documenting from day 1 the process of starting my software development micro-business in my blog at http://lachlan.gemmell.com.

It's early days and I'm not quite free of the clutches of my day job but I'm hoping my blog will become a good resource for anyone considering a similar move.

[ellie]

Interesting observations. I believe people are hesitant to mention their other business is because doing so often creates self-censorship. It's difficult to write freely while wearing the "other" hat.

[Lloyd]

Blogs may have started out being online journals but, like everything eventually does, they evolved--and will continue to do so. The technology will get more powerful. The interfaces more attractive and easier to use. Businesses may adopt the technology in a big way, or someone may invent a "new widget". I think many static sites have become a disappointment to those who have spent big bucks developing them, then spent more to optimize them. As for me, I love the blog. It's dynamic. It's a conversation. It's a learning tool. And most of all I love the way that one can integrate work and life.

[Leila Johnson]

I agree that several Micro-Business owners are taking advantage of the power of the blog. It's a great way to communicate with more people that you could ever reach with a simple newsletter. Plus, you don't have to deal with all the spam issues. I think that people like Seth Godin can probably credit alot of their success to their online marketing efforts.

I'm going to follow Lachlan's lead and post a link to my blog here. It's called the Micro-Business Gazette
http://www.datascribe.biz/blog/index.php

There is an RSS feed available on the site as well.

Enjoy!
Leila