Blogging has changed!

Back in 2004 and 2005 talk about making any “real” money via blogging was often a taboo subject - not totally, but there abouts.

Blogs were meant to be a platform for free speech, to have your voice heard … and commerce was not going to ruin it.

Bah!

Thank God those days are over (well nearly).

Today, we have serious entrepreneurial bloggers looking to make not AdSense pennies but cold hard cash day-in, day-out. And it’s about time!

Traditional Internet Marketers are moving into the Blogosphere - with hiccups along the way (BlogRush - even IM guru’s need to learn the art of blogging). But the signs are there.

Brian Clark, writing over at his popular blog, CopyBlogger, has written a marvelous piece titled: Catablogging: Blog-Based Ecommerce and Affiliate Marketing.

Catablogging. Hmmm.

Deep thinking over a coffee and basically, that’s my model right here at KickstartPress.

Each product I produce - be it an eBook, Audiobook, Screencasts … whatever, will be surrounded by content.

Much like a mini-launch, ongoing compelling content (lots of it cornerstone) is the build up to a product release - no matter how big or small. And it continues from there.

It’s the perfect mix, in my opinion. You have a blog that you can develop into a conversational center surrounding your market, build a community and right from the get-go everyone knows the game plan: I’m a publisher selling my stuff. Enjoy the content but I’m here to market my products. I don’t mind if you don’t buy - means I’ve gotta change tactics.

My goal is to have 20 products in my “catablog” here within 18 months and surrounding each product will be a comprehensive set of content, discussion and general community involvement.

And that’s where Brian’s post hits home with me.

As Brian says…

Quality content and unique positioning are the only differentiating factors you’ll have when it comes to selling stuff that others are also selling. Start off creating some killer cornerstone content that applies to your niche, and build from there.

Brian links to a book written by a copywriter titled Catlog Copy that Sizzles - I’m off to purchase it in 3, 2, 1 and it covers various approaches to writing catalog-based copy.

Numbers #1 (naturally conversational), #5 (storytelling), #6 (All the Fact) and #7 (Informational/Educational) resonate with me the most strongly.

Now I know why one B.Clark is one of the most influential bloggers going around - and who’d a thought I was there when he first started his blog and saw his first “failed” attempt at a viral campaign only to go gangbusters from there.