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b'A few weeks ago, Derek Halpern\\u2014who has made millions of dollars selling online courses\\u2014announced that he was quitting information marketing.\\nHe said he was burnt out. He\\u2019d lost track of why he was in the business in the first place. His information marketing business didn\\u2019t light him up.\\nHe announced a sort of digital fire sale of all his courses, one final time, and then took them off the market.\\nOver the last 3 episodes, I\\u2019ve been running down what I see as the top trends shaping small business in 2019 based on the interviews I\\u2019ve done over the last few years. Because of my behind-the-scenes view here at What Works (and yours, too!), I often get to see trends happening before they tip into the mainstream.\\nToday\\u2019s trend is no exception.\\nI can relate to Derek and the circumstances that prompted his decision.\\nTwo years ago, I was burnt out on advice culture and information marketing, too.\\nI felt pressured to be constantly turning my personal experience into something useful for thousands of people.\\nAnd? It just wasn\\u2019t. I didn\\u2019t have all the right answers for everyone who was following along. I didn\\u2019t have brilliant life lessons to share every day. I wasn\\u2019t an expert on all the things people wanted me to be.\\nI believe that information marketing, advice culture, and the expert brand ecosystem is going through a reckoning. Not only are people like Derek and I burnt out on it. Consumers are overwhelmed by it.\\nConsumers are becoming more interested in trusting themselves instead of some stranger they found on the internet.\\nNow, maybe all this sounds like a pretty bleak prediction for the future of information marketing.\\nAfter all, already two of the trends I\\u2019ve highlighted for 2019\\u2014focusing on real relationships and reapproaching high-touch services\\u2013are in direct opposition to the way information marketing has been executed for years.\\nBut I don\\u2019t think that\\u2019s the case.\\nInformation marketing is not dying.\\nInstead, there is a growing list of options for business owners who want to run lean and mean, make a great profit, and prioritize flexibility. But they look a lot like how\\xa0small business was done before information marketing!\\nThe option I took was to create value by making it easier for small business owners to talk with each other, by facilitating those conversations, and by creating tools for shared experiences.\\nThe option Derek took was to harness his marketing prowess into a wellness company with a mission that lights him up.\\nBut a big trend I have been seeing bubble up is creating physical products\\u2014tools\\u2014for self-exploration and learning.\\nI believe 2019 is the year we\\u2019ll see this hit the big time.\\nNow, those tools for learning and self-exploration aren\\u2019t always literal tools. Sometimes they\\u2019re the perfect pieces for a capsule wardrobe\\u2014like Jay Adams and Katie Doyle created with Brass Clothing. Other times they\\u2019re the perfect greeting card or gift when nothing conventional would fit\\u2014like Emily McDowell created with Emily McDowell Studio. Or, they could be sports bras designed specifically for women who enjoy an active, outdoor lifestyle\\u2014like Bridget Kilgallon and her co-founders did with Aret Basewear.\\nYou can find all of those interviews in our archives\\u2014but my choice for today\\u2019s interview is a litt...'