Tris has an interesting post asking should bloggers get personal on their business blogs? We could extend the question to commercial/entrepreneurial blogs also.
‘The problem is, I think, that blogs started off as very personal efforts. We knew about peoples’ struggles. We knew about their lives. Then as business blogging grew people started setting up rules for themselves, and others. Is that limiting? Are there rules. What about when something great happens in your life? Or bad? ‘
My opinion is that it’s important to define boundaries for your blog up front. Work out what you will and won’t blog about and stick to it. If you decide up front to inject personal posts, humor, personality etc into your blog because it fits with the overall goals of your blogging then I’m fine with that. On the other hand if you want a more professional, information oriented blog with little of yourself in it then that is cool also (as is anything in between).
Across my blogs I have a variety of approaches. If I want to announce something personal I have spaces to do that. Perhaps this is the beauty of multiple blogs.
Here at ProBlogger I try to inject a little personality into my blogging – but don’t reveal too much of what is happening in my personal life unless it impacts my topic at hand.
I think when bloggers get into trouble is when they start out one way and build a readership around a particular style and then they leave that style.
What do you think about getting personal in your business or entrepreneurial blog? Head over to Tris’s post to let him know.
For me, if there isn’t that personal edge, that blog never makes my blogrool / bookmarks / rss reader. I can get information anywhere. I read blogs because of the the author, the author’s opinions and personalilty. Info blogs without comment are useful if you just need facts, but the blogs that have that “must read” feel, I need have some connection with the author.
I know I may be different in this respect, but I expect it from every project I do and I’ve had really great responses from people because that’s the way I do everything. From professional communcations to silly personal blog posts to book reviews. Some people don’t like that sort of thing though, so I guess it comes down to personal preference and I don’t fault anyone for going either way.
I am, of course, biased, but so far I have gotten a whole lot of positive feedback from readers who say the reason they keep coming back to my blog is that I provide good information that people can really use, along with real personal insites into my subject matter. I agree whole-heartedly with Chrispian, and Tris, that posts of a personal nature can go a long way towards enhancing the connection a reader feels to the author. Of course, it goes without saying that this could be taken too far, or done in a way that actually has the opposite effect; and I think your point about starting your blog one way, and then changing it midstream, is spot-on…sounds like a surefire way to alieanate your readers.
While there are a ton of blogs about making money, I would argue that ProBlogger is as popular as it is because your voice shines through in every post. You’re a good man, and it shows in your writing, and that keeps a peson like me coming back for more.
On a sinister note, I think giving away too much information on your blog can be dangerous. I have seen blogs where people are extremely vocal about their private lives.
I worry about people who post detailed information about their lives and even pictures of their kids, where they school at,etc. They could potentially be making targets of themselves.
From this viewpoint, people have to be careful about how personal they want their blog to be.
Does personal info pertain to a business blog… probably up to a certain extent only. That a person mentions “I’ll be away for the next week due to vacations with my wife and kids” is perfectly fine, but I sure don’t want to read babblings about the baby or the latest trick from the dog on a *business* blog. On a personal blog, sure (although the degree to which some people unveil themselves is sometimes pretty alarming). Just not on something related to business.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that such blogs must be completely impersonal, and that no personal opinion must ever be written (on the contrary!); simply, the level of connection must be toned down depending on the topics. When I read a business blog, I trust its writer to not feed me with information that would, say, only interest the close family.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that such blogs must be completely impersonal, and that no personal opinion must ever be written (on the contrary!); simply, the level of connection must be toned down depending on the topics. When I read a business blog, I trust its writer to not feed me with information that would, say, only interest the close family. This site is great, they were right about this thing that the blogs here are worth reading