Personal Stories & Business Blogging - Compatible?

The question often comes up - "How much of my personal life should I share on my business blog?" Yesterday during our teleseminar on social networking this issue was also discussed. Is it appropriate to share about your kids - in my case, my kitties - when networking or marketing online for your business?

Certainly you want readers to know a few things about you as a real live human being. So I'm going to repeat here my 'rule of thumb' about this:

Always write with the readers' interests in mind. Tell a story that includes your family members only when there's a reason and it's teaching something valuable that will help your readers live better lives.

That said, here's my story, a tale of two kitties...

Last night my youngest kitty Huey escaped out the front door that had been left open by mistake. My husband and I took flashlights and searched under bushes and trees to no avail. Unable to sleep, we camped out in the living room all night in case Huey came back on his own.

At 3 a.m. our oldest kitty Dewey started whining. He wailed and moaned and kept looking out the front window. Sure enough, twenty minutes later, Huey was at the door. Dewey somehow sensed that Huey was close to the house and started talking loudly to wake us up.

If anyone has ever lost a pet and been reunited, you know what it's like. You can imagine the feeling of relief. I've tried to find a reason to post about this and tie it into business blogging, but the truth is, I can't. I just needed to share this story with you.

Denise lost her kitty Pele for 6 days when she moved to Ottawa. I can't imagine anything worse...

Sometimes it's okay to share a personal story without there having to be a point to it. Do you agree? Disagree? Find my kitty story "too fluffy" for you? I'd like to know your thoughts!

Comments

[Merlyn Sanchez]

I love your kitty story! My cocker spaniel ran off for 3 days (little did I know he was in a neighbor's house right behind ours!) and I twittered about it. I also updated when I found him.

It just depends on who your audience is and how connected you are to them. Even after being away from corporate America for almost 7 years, I still catch myself thinking that something "isn't professional". I think that's why I resisted Facebook for so long.

[Lois]

I like your fluffy kitty story too but I think it's a matter of keeping the personal stuff relevant generally on a business blog - or look at how you can include it in a natural way. Sometimes you just want to share! Like your kitty story, I was delighted (as an expat Canadian) to wake up one morning in my London (England) house a couple of weeks ago to find that snow had settled. And, as it was packing snow, I was itching to start rolling balls for a snowman. I made a discrete mini man on the patio table rather than have my neighbours wondering why their 60+ neighbour was going mad acting like a kid.

I was proud of my little snowman and took his picture. I used it in a post on my home exchange blog to demonstrate that, as weather can be unpredictable, it's a good idea to offer outdoor clothing and boots to home exchange guests so they don't have to bring so much stuff with them just in case.

Cheers

[Patricia Campbell]

I like it - it's good to know something about the writer other than strictly business. I've found with my blog - while technically it's the "companion" to my business - I end up writing so much about travel, restaurants, etc. that it's been listed in with "Lifesyle" or "Recreation" categories. But that's fine with me, because the personal posts are the ones that get comments/email.

Plus, I feel mine can be a bit "different" since Bella Figura USA's selling objet d'art from all over the world; and the travel tales come in naturally to the blog.

I always maintain a zone of privacy though. For example, I'll write and publish photos of my dog; but I'm pretty careful about any "family" stories.

Blog on ladies!
Patty
www.travelswithbellafigurausa.com

[Judy Rodman]

Patsi, I LOVE your kitty story. I'm a dog person - loving mutts, myself.

I think personal stories can add stickiness to the copy, if done with consideration for the reader's time. If I perceive I'm reading something from a human being, it's more likely to build my trust. I think Facebook guru Mari Smith is a genius at this.

One can overdo and cause the dreaded delete button to be activated, but my business (music) has always benefited by adding the artist's personal stories to sell product.

[Casey]

I like the occasional personal info woven into blogs. You get to know the blogger on a more personal level, which adds more dimension to the relationship.

I'm finding it hard to put personal info in my own blog - yet. I have to become more comfortable before I share more.

[Rhonda Porter]

I have found that my readers/clients enjoy the personal stories I tell...they feel as though they know me a little bit better. I don't go into specific details or names of my family/kids--that's their private information. I tend to save personal stories for the weekend when my readership is all ready lower and it's a "lighter" piece than mortgages.

[Patsi Krakoff, The Blog Squad]

Thanks so much, Rhonda, Casey, Judy, Patricia and Lois. Your contributions mean a lot to me. I think anytime you go out and share a personal story, you wonder, "oh, people might think this is lame...or, so what? who cares?" so I appreciate your support. I know there are others who are in a hurry and only interested in getting the latest insider info that can help them make money, but everything's connected and interrelated. It's all part of life.

[Sandie Law]

I absolutely agree that it's ok to share personal stories on your blog! Even though the web takes away some of the personal interaction between people, it also allows us to become closer to our business partners and colleagues. I enjoy hearing personal stories about people and I feel honored that they've included me in their world.

I'm glad your kitty came back. Losing a pet is really hard...especially when you know they're out there, lost and alone.

[Joan Schramm]

I have to come down on the side of sharing personal stories on your blog. If it's a business blog, I wouldn't want to read kitty cat stories every day, but an occasional personal tidbit can humanize you and give readers something else to relate to.

A few years ago, I was taking an online marketing class and the presenter made a particular emphasis on having a "professional" picture on a website. He said, "I mean, you won't want to be out there, presenting your business, with a photo of you and your dog. No one will take you seriously."

For me, if I had a choice between two equally qualified people to hire, and one had a photo with a pet and one had a more professional-looking picture, I'd go with the pet photo every time. It tells me something about the person that I might not get otherwise. As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words.

Thanks!

Joan

PS -- I'm so happy to hear that your kitty came back. One of our cats is a Houdini and, despite our best efforts, she's gone off on adventures several times.