One of the primary rules of blogging is to personalize content in a manner that entices the reader and encourages dialogue.  Yet many businesses are dumping all kinds of articles into their blogs to fulfill what they perceive as an obligation rather than an opportunity

My recent visit to the website of a major regional professional firm revealed a blog filled with “canned” articles that obviously originated from an outside writing service.  The format and length of the postings suggested that they probably were intended for newsletter use and were ill suited for blog format.  There were no replies or comments, which suggested that other visitors were as bored as I was by the content.

Clearly, this blog is meeting its perceived obligation of posting regular entries. However, it is missing the opportunity to generate enough interest to motivate dialogue.

Blogging requires some thought and time, but the rewards are worth the investment.  Your entries need not be lengthy.  In fact, many of the best blogs are able to express wonderful ideas and raise questions for discussion in just a few short paragraphs.

By writing in your own voice and sharing your own perspectives, you can turn your business blog into a reliable vehicle for new business development.  Just think of your blog as an opportunity, not an obligation.