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Maybe you’re thinking about getting into blogging, but you’re not sure. How can you tell if blogging your busuiness is for you?

Or maybe you think it’s a fad, and if you wait long enough, it’ll go away?

Well, even if it were a fad, it’s one that is very beneficial to small businesses. so what’s wrong with that? Done right, it can help you connect with customers, share your expertise, and build your business. It’s cheaper than a radio ad, and lasts longer.

So here, for my contrasting two options post (#9 of 20, if you’re counting), I give you: To blog, or not to blog.

To blog:

1. You can afford to spend some time each day or so (anywhere from 1/2 hour - 2 hours, depending on your ambition and energy) or you can get someone to help (employee, family member, client).
2. You are passionate about some aspect of your business and want to share the details of how you do what you do.
3. You are free to do what you want, in terms of a web presence.
4. You have a unique product and need some unique marketing.
5. You are willing to hear negative comments, to be proactive about problems.
6. You are comfortable with computers or willing to learn.

Not to blog:

1. You don’t have a spare second, or anyone to help you.
2. You like your business, but it could easily be something else — it’s basically just what you do to make money.
3. Your franchise controls the look and feel of all marketing and web presence.
4. You’re selling mass quantities of some commodity, such as clothes, hardware, widgets.
5. You want total control over what people hear about your product, so you can keep problems out of the public eye.
6. You are uncomfortable with computers and not willing to learn.

Here are my thoughts on these items:

1. Blogging does involve an investment of time. But it doesn’t have to be your time, if you don’t want it to be.
2. If your business is a Subway franchise, it’s probably a little harder to get passionate about it. But, if you did find some interesting aspect, some way to engage readers, you’d really stand out.
3. Some franchises (not sure about Subway, but I do know it applies to Prepaid Legal) control the marketing collateral and web presence, so that the company as a whole has a uniform look and feel. You may want to blog about your business, but you probably couldn’t without violating some part of your contract.
4. It’s harder to blog about something that everyone else is selling, like chewing gum, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be done. I’m no marketing whiz (although I’m working with someone who is) but a lot of marketing is about engaging the emotions, anyway. With some imagination you might just find an aspect of chewing gum to blog about that will, once again, help your business stand out.
5. As if! Total control is impossible these days — even if you don’t blog, others will. And what better way to head off problems than by discussing them openly and honestly in a forum where you can hear from customers before the rumors start flying. And when they do start to fly, you’ll have something to point to, to counter them.
6. Blogging is getting easier, but there’s no way around it — computers are involved. But you don’t have to be the one to worry about the techy details — you can find good help for that. Heck, you can scribble your screeds on paper, and mail them to someone else who can put them online for you.

I guess it’s clear what I think about blogging, but even I’ll admit there are some negatives — it takes time, energy, a willingness to learn, and to accept that there might be some negative comments made on your blog. It’s not for the faint-hearted, but it is a great opportunity for those who are willing to take advantage of it.