A business blog has been much tougher for me to write and maintain than my personal blog. I can not be as spontaneous and take the same risks for fear of alienating customers or being off-message. I was off to a good start when I realized something was missing - READERS! Self doubt started leaking in. What if I am spending time on my business blog that could be better spent on other parts of the business?

I asked my friends on Linked-In for their opinion of business blogs. Did they read them? What were their expectations? I found that my business friends are short on time. If they did read a blog, it was not usually a business related one. They were more likely to read Political or humor blogs that took risks, were updated frequently and entertained.

I also noticed the Business side of the Buzz is not as active as the personal (People) side. I was starting to get discouraged.

But today I was given hope! I had a new customer place an order for a co-worker condolence. She found me on the internet last night. In addition to perusing my website, she took time to read my blog. She especially enjoyed my story about the request for a basket full of breath fresheners.

Turns out our website was compared with two other competing ones and won out because of our blog. The customer could see that we care about our clients. This is just what I needed to hear! A blog can make a difference!