I’ve recently had a few people ask me, "I have a business website, why would I want to add a blog?" There are plenty of terrific resources and blogs out there with their own perspectives. Unfortunately, some might want to tell you there’s only one way to blog and give you some arbitrary rules (David is a passionate defender of the notion of the blog as "citizen publishing" and has a brilliant response to the folks who think they have ALL the answers to "proper" blogging). Yes, there are some things that work better than others; there are also some guidelines that businesses should consider when creating their blog. Yet, just as each individual business is different with its distinct culture, physical environment, etc., so too is the organization’s blog.

Getting back to why a blog when you have a website. I recently made this distinction to a new blog friend:

A website is informational, a blog is conversational. If you consider your website to be a virtual storefront for your business, your blog is like you standing outside of your storefront door welcoming people inside.

Remember the days when a storeowner would stand outside their door and greet people as they passed by or entered their business (I don’t…I’m a Gen-Xer, but I’ve heard stories from my dear grandmother)? This is the blog and what it can be. It’s not just marketing, it’s personally relating with your customer. It’s asking your long-time customer about their kids and learning what your potential customer needs. It’s about treating people like people. And the best business bloggers understand that it’s about treating people like friends.

So, if someone tells you there’s just one way to create and foster a business blog, get skeptical. And challenge them. By all means, you can start with me. I could be wrong, but I doubt it.