The Wirecutter Represents Sea Change for Online Monetization


As we move into 2013, many things are changing. Among those changes is the way some online small business owners and entrepreneurs are monetizing their business Websites. We’ll look at this and other innovations in our New Year’s Eve edition of the small business news roundup. If you think of any trends we’ve missed, be sure to mention them in the comment section below.

New Models

Cutting through to new innovations. Former editor of Gizmodo and Gawker Media’s gadget blog Brian Lam has created a whole new kind of online business model. The Wirecutter challenges traditional online publishing approaches that depend upon increased volume to drive more advertising revenue. Instead, Lam has created a new twist on an old idea, and it could be the wave of the future! The New York Times

It’s resolution time! With the New Year comes new resolutions and Daniel Kehrer has 13 of them here. From fixing your Website to improving your customer service, to becoming a better Twitter user to nurturing leads, there are probably scores of things you would like to accomplish in your small business in 2013, and we’d like to know your plans, too. BizBest

Changes in Strategy

12 lessons learned. Online business owners use blogs almost without exception in their marketing, communications, and networking, but the craft of blogging continues to evolve. No matter what your business model might be in the New Year, blogs will probably still be an important part of the equation. Here Jane Sheeba talks about some of the lessons she learned in 2012. ProBlogging Success

New house rules. Social marketing is changing too as the New Year dawns. Some of the major shifts include Facebook’s promoted posts, a way to pay to insure specific posts definitely wind up in more of your fans’ news feeds. One social marketing coach and strategist teaches how to take advantage of the new feature to get your message out more effectively. Andrea Vahl

Other Trends

Content marketing mojo. Content marketing is one of the biggest trends heading into 2013, especially for online businesses. But content marketing itself has many trends that bear watching, trends that may prove very important in your online marketing and networking strategies. Here are seven trends in particular that will probably be used by you and your competitors soon. Ragan’s PR Daily

King of curation. One growing trend mentioned time and again in content marketing is content curation. However, a recent post claims it’s tough to see profit from this technique unless you own the platform upon which content is being collected and shared. Without control over sites like Facebook where businesses are building all their “social capital,” value can be lost with a single policy change, critics argue. Curation Traffic

Practice makes perfect. Not all new trends involve the Internet, at least not directly. For example, one of the first steps Jesse Jacobs, founder of Samovar Tea Lounges, took was to eliminate WiFi from his establishments to create a place of contemplative peace for his customers, many of whom, ironically, are part of the tech industry. Jacobs preaches a new approach to entrepreneurship and to living that may become a dominant trend in the New Year and beyond. Jonathan Fields

3 Comments ▼
3 Reactions
  1. Great roundup. I really enjoyed Jane’s 12 lessons’s learned post. Also, the “KIng of curation” traffic post seems interesting. I can see how if you wanted to profit from curation you’d need to own the platform. However, my only goal with curation platforms is to drive traffic to my blog. Thanks for sharing these great resources.

    Ti

  2. Thank you for the mention on the King for Curation above. I wanted to add one more thing on owning the platform, that’s exactly what it’s about really, at least that’s what my thinking. You efforts should be focused on curating to your own platform (blog) first. Then focus on other platforms. Just like this great curation here. You probably could or did share each one of these links individually but when you combine them, hosted here (on your platform) now you have a chance for conversion.