“Content marketing” might be a new buzzword, but it isn’t a new concept.

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I’ve written quite a bit about conversion rates on this blog, but the fact is that most people that visit an e-commerce web site have no intention of buying. They are window shopping. Optimizing your web site to increase your conversion rate is very important, but you can’t forget about optimizing for the 70-80% of people or more that are “window shoppers.”

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Last night, I live-tweeted the Refresh Richmond meeting on Twitter and wanted to share the notes from this talk here on the blog. The topic was “Pro Blogging: A Panel Discussion” with John and Sherry Petersik of ThisYoungHouse.com, Arnold Kim of MacRumors.com and Jeff Kelley of Capital Results and Tobacco Avenue.

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I couldn’t resist posting a link to an exhaustive blog post from fellow Virginian Robin from Interactive Insights Group. Her blog post is a superlist of what NOT to do in social media. Given that most people — especially in the corporate and business realm — are relatively new to social media, it’s a great read.

Ok, I’ll start by saying that this isn’t easy. It’s not for the lazy. It’s not easy money. It takes a lot of effort, but you can do it. It’s making money from a blog. So how is it done?
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Think that blogging can’t have an impact on small, local businesses? This story definitely contradicts that notion. Family-owned St. Paul Classic Cookie in St. Paul, Minnesota was close to closing its doors when owner Katie Novotny blogged an appeal to her loyal customers (read it here).

The result was an outpouring of support which saved the cookie business. This case study shows that blogging is great way to reach loyal local customers. Novotny also publishes press releases, news and menu items on the blog. Small, local businesses should take note of the St. Paul Classic Cookie blog, read it, and get ideas for connecting with their customers.