In spite of all the pro bloggers I’ve read online, none of them has recommended or referred to Professional Blogging for Dummies, by Susan J Getgood. Of course, they have their own ebook or info product to sell. Why recommend the competition.

I’m a fan of the dummies books. I like the format. The authors are inevitably impressively credentialed, and can write well. Usually I don’t read them from cover to cover. I browse, cherry pick and, sometimes, scan the contents.

This current one, I’m taking a bit more seriously. Blogging is a topic I’ve been keen on since before the development of the most popular blogging platforms, WordPress and Blogger. I have tried several thematic concepts. I’m still wandering in the forest.

Getgood seems to be of the school that encourages you to develop your passion and your unique voice. Offer something based on who you are, what you do, what you know.

The other approach to blogging is entrepreneurial. It’s market based. Find a crowd hungry for a particular niche of information, goods or services. Set up your online kiosk and begin serving exactly what they want.

The first one implies the service paradigm, “Give enough people what they want, and you can have what you want.” (Thank you, Zig Zigler for articulating that so well.)

The second is the merchant paradigm, “Buy low; sell high.” Bloggers in this category are market driven and entrepreneurial. That big word means you take a bite out of a valuable good that goes from where is stored to the person who wants it. You buy very low and sell at market rates.

There are many bloggers and sellers of information products n this field. My favorite is Lisa Parmley of InlineSEO.com. Her book promises to take you to the level of $1000 a month through publishing online. (Think blogging.) That’s a very modest promise. Incredible hype seems to be the norm.

Getting back to the unique voice, unique content idea, it’s not sales pitch driven. Yes, there may be some sales pitches here and there, but they’re not the main thing.

And let us note that no one has studied the art and science of the sales pitch more than internet marketers. The sales pitch dominates that segment of online marketing that sells to “opportunity seekers.”

As a content blogger, you may use a sales pitch to get a relationship started with your reader or client. Then you have to deliver and follow up with customer service. That’s the weak link in most sales pitch driven businesses. Luckily, there’s one born every minute. Right?

You’ve heard of the life time value of a customer. Without good follow up customer service, it’s an early death due to neglect.

In the decade that I have participated in this field I have been sold info products from most of the major players. I’ve also purchased smaller products from many of the minor players. I have been the opportunity seeker they are looking for.

Enough! I’m going back to the learner’s mind. I’m reading the for Dummies book first. I need to make some decisions.

Part of my program is purging my email subscriptions of 80% of the current active ones. A lot of “me too” is going by the board. Major players are forced to walk the plank. The few that I’m keeping have a unique voice and are service oriented. They use email instead of “Submit a ticket.” Good choice.

To sum up, I believe that whether you enter the pro blogging field from Getgood’s unique voice pathway or Parmley’s entrepreneurial pathway, you must end up with that unique voice that attracts some loyal followers. You must develop a strong position of service.