It starts with a blog but it sells through email

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With speakers like @stevefarber , @chrisbrogan , @jeanniecw and @soniasimone you will quickly get thinking. A weekend of listening and talking gives a nice overview of the different business models that online entrepreneurs use today, the marketing techniques they do and do not use and the focus they have on their customer needs. A summary.


SOBcon13-fw3Chris Brogan, like many other entrepreneurs present, started his online entrepreneurship with a blog. After all, a blog is the perfect way to build an image as a thought leader . Moreover, you do not need any financial investment for it. Only time, commitment and inspiration. With perseverance you can be seen as an expert in your field, become a successful author and a sought-after and well-paid speaker. Witness several of the speakers at SOBcon.

Although your blog itself can be a means to earn money (advertisements, affiliate marketing, see below), 'knowledge products' are a more logical step for many bloggers. Closed websites full of knowledge that are accessible on the basis of subscriptions (think of the well-known but now discontinued Third Tribe Marketing by Brogan and Copyblogger), e-books, digital courses: all ways to efficiently sell and distribute knowledge and to make use of the network that you have built up through that blog.

Funnily enough, Brogan indicated that he now focuses south korea phone data on only one metric : email subscribers. During the rest of the conference, other entrepreneurs also mentioned that it is the email list that is driving revenue. Unlike in previous years, the focus seems to be much less on Twitter, Facebook and Google+. Blog + email lists is where it's at .

Monetizing blogs is a skill in itself
Of course, there are still bloggers who monetize their website through more direct methods: advertisers and affiliate partners. A great example that came up was glam.com , during a presentation by @diannarae . Glam's business model is a kind of combination of a blog network and affiliate marketing, if I understand correctly.

SOBcon13-fw-glamTheir biggest challenge, according to Dianna, is the continuous balance between the interests of readers, bloggers ( publishers ) and advertisers/partners. Readers want good content without annoying pushy advertising, bloggers want high quality content to earn as much as possible with it and companies want attention from the right readers and visible results. A precarious balance.