BERKLEY — April McCrumb of Catching Fireflies in Berkley is reaching out to customers with a brand-new marketing tool — a store blog — and she’s urging others to do the same.

"It’s become sort of an integral part of what we’re doing," said McCrumb, whose business has expanded from one storefront on 12 Mile Road to a second location in downtown Rochester. "People are looking for alternate ways to market and this has been a success for us."

McCrumb said business is tough these days for most retailers, especially downtown destination stores, and anything they can do to build customer loyalty and connect with shoppers is vital.

She thinks blogging is the way to go – and she’s not alone. Incognito, the popular fashion store on Main Street in Royal Oak, has a page on MySpace.com where customers, staffers and others mingle.

"It’s a personal thing, but it also lets us tell people what’s going on in our store, we discuss fashion and they talk about the other things they want to talk about, what clubs are hot, restaurants, bands, whatever," said Mary Topous, an owner of Incognito.

Long a tool for political commentators and news Websites, blogs are online, instant diaries where people push a point of view, comment on world events or profile their lives.

But McCrumb and others in the local retail world are using it a new way: to connect with customers. Her store blog lets McCrumb share daily experiences in the store, profile her travels, promote favorite artists and products and lets customers contribute recipes, music reviews, photos, whatever they feel like sharing at the moment.

Anyone can subscribe to the blog online to have updates sent to their computer or they can just check it out on the store’s Website at www.catchingfireflies.com.

McCrumb said her store blog is a way for customers to get to know her while she gets to know them. She especially encourages people to send in photos of their pets.

"You simply can’t chat with online shoppers as they browse your goods, so instead, I blog as a means of communication," McCrumb said.

Will it catch on? Topous thinks so.

"You can reach customers all over the world and sell your merchandise that way. It exposes you to people everywhere," Topous said. "There are always new people moving into the neighborhood or kids that finally reached an age where they can go shopping themselves and we want people to know what we have."

Shine, a gift store on S. Washington in Royal Oak has an in-depth Website similar to Catching Fireflies in that it’s billed as a "lifestyle" site with a point of view to draw like-minded customers. For instance, the site has a section where customers learn: "We believe in Sunday dinners … clean sheets …unconditional love … children, dogs and rock and roll."

"I don’t even know what people do with blogs, we just have an e-commerce site and the Website is going great," said Christine Burns, owner of Shine.

McCrumb is confident retail blogs are the next wave, saying they’re a great way for store owners to promote themselves in real time, all the time.

"I can create coupons or contests on a whim," McCrumb said. "There is also the benefit of immediate feedback from customers about new products or even tips for future items."