Blogger Stories: BL Ochman

One of the pioneers of internet marketing, in 1999, BL Ochman saw the business potential of blogs. However, it would take the technology a few years to catch up with her vision. BL's patience and persistence paid off. She must know what she's doing .. What's Next Blog is one of the top 20 marketing blogs in the world. 

Blogger Story Teller: BL Ochman, What’s Next Blog and Ethics Crisis

I’ve published newsletters about marketing and PR since 1985, first in print and then online through my website whatsnextonline.com where I had about 4,500 subscribers to a bi-weekly newsletter.

I first saw blogs in 1999 and thought the software would be much too techie for me. I totally lack the technical gene. I also wanted my blog to share a graphic identity with my website, but I couldn’t find a designer who knew how to design a professional looking blog for my business. And guess what? That’s still hard to find.

In 2001 I was asked to edit I-PR, a discussion group that had about 15,000 subscribers. We soon switched to Moveable Type software and I was instantly a daily blogger. It took me another two years to find a designer who could do what I wanted done. Once I did, What’s Next Blog was born and I finally had my interactive online platform.

The beauty of blogging is that it offers instant publishing, and allows me to write at 3 a.m. if I choose, without an IT person to post for me. What freedom! What joy. I blog sheerly out of the love of writing, sharing information and listening to my readers, so for me, blogging is big fun.

I’ve have done several blog-based experiential marketing campaigns, including the first Up Your Budget, which was an online treasure hunt that generated a million uniques and 10 million page views in four weeks. I also did an online contest called Wife in the Fast Lane for author Karen Quinn and Simon & Schuster that generated remarkably well-written essays, one-liners and videos.

I’ve also learned to generate clickthru rates as high as 5.7% with blog advertising – still the most under-rated and misunderstood advertising medium.

I will admit that I am completely addicted to blogging, but, hey, I could be doing a lot worse things! I’ve built my blog into one of the top 20 marketing blogs in the world, and it is a sheer delight that people want to read what I say.

The blogs also are my storefront and they attract not only clients, but also some of the most interesting people in the world, whom I really never could have met any other way.

Those are some of the many reasons I love blogging!