“To hold a pen is to be at war.”

Francois Marie Arouet Voltaire wrote these words.  Strong words they are.  We often think of warfare as it relates to air craft carriers, tanks, massive amounts of soldiers, logistics, and other aspects of the equipment needed to wage conquest or victory, no matter what the reason or form.  War can be offensive or defensive.  It’s defined by national interests, and those have varied throughout the centuries.

Then the pen comes to mind.  A mere thought on paper takes shapes and then shapes minds.  It moves from thought to action.  The pen is the mere instrument; it’s the ideas that hold the explosive power.

It used to be the power of the pen was in the control of the few–those that could publish.  Yet now, with Web 2.0 and CGC (Consumer Generated Content), the power has shifted to the hands of the many.  The pen metaphor becomes the masses story.  We create, we engage, we think, we “publish.”

Marketers thus have the challenge of cutting through this content clutter and getting your message, product, or service heard.  In one sense it levels the playing field; in another sense, the battlefield is very large.  So be specific and know your segment.  Know what your customer needs.  Add value and turn your pen into small business profit.

Turn the art of good content into the art of war.  Your small business has what your customer needs to win…