Business Blogging Part 3: Blogging Topics to Avoid

Okay, you’ve established a reader base. Now keep them… all!

The blogosphere has traditionally been a free-for-all atmosphere for people to express themselves in the most controversial realms. While this philosophy is still dominant, you must change your tone if you choose to represent your business via a blog site.

This particular article may be the one in the series you personally opt to disregard. I must warn you against making that decision.

You might be sitting at your computer right now thinking “this girl is crazy if she thinks she can convince me to keep my mouth shut about the things that matter.” You could be saying, “if they (your readers) don’t like what I have to say, they don’t have to read it.”

You may be just that confident in your opinions.

Hear me out. You’ll want to protect your reputation as well as the image of your business.

You must consider your readers and the purpose for your blog when you are writing an article for your business.

AVOID:

1. Religion
2. Politics
3. Abortion
4. Gay marriage
5. The death penalty

And oh how the list goes on… Avoid taking a stand on all issues that have the potential of dividing your readers right down the center.

One of our readers and forum participants, ChicagoDrew, said it best on our forum when he mentioned that “in Chicago you can mention or cheer for the Bulls, Bears, Blackhawks and even the Fire without repercussions, but if you mention Cubs or Sox you can pretty much kiss almost half your potential clients good bye.”

It’s something that he knows will divide his audience – possibly to the point where they will look elsewhere for an agent. So, he takes his baseball opinions and shoves them in his back pocket discussing it with his buddies over a beer rather than on his business blog site.

Know your demographic. If you live in Orlando, Florida you probably adhere to different “no-speak rules” than someone up in Bangor, Maine. The point is, you are aware of what you can talk about without turning off prospective clients; you know your market.

Keep in mind that I am not suggesting that you completely ban the above topics from you site.

I am emphasizing the importance of not taking a stand.

Write about controvercial news in your area – just leave it to your readers to inject personal opinion. You avoid alienating yourself, and you’re still producing link-worthy content.

If your thirst for the controvercy is not quenched by simply reporting the news, start a new blog. Don’t link it to your business in any way, just develop a blog site that is dedicated to something you feel passionate about.

Your voice is welcome in the blogosphere, but self-censorship on your business site will definitely pay off.