Ghost writers can't write blogs for you....

They can't cover the unique range of topics that might pop into your head and they can't present it, no matter how much they study up on you, as authentically as, well,... as only you can.

In an article about CEOs and blogging in last Sunday's New York Times (reg. required), Randall Stross considered the very accessible and authentic blog written by Jonathan I. Schwartz , president and CEO at Sun Microsystems, in comparison to similarly positioned blogs written by PR teams for CEOs.

This point, in particular, caught my attention:

"The regularity of his posts, which blend serious content and an informal writing style, and their wide-ranging scope make this blog [Schwartz's] the apotheosis of expository writing: thought made visible."

People read people. People buy from people. People invest in people. People connect with people. Common ground from which to launch a conversation or relationship (personal or business) can be found therein. And, common ground is what a woman's buying mind especially, in all its holistic glory, is seeking.

Here's the deal: By way of his blog, Mr. Schwartz has become for his readers: "John, that guy I know who is running that company I own stock in," and not simply a corporate figurehead that people only see in photographs shaking hands with other bigwigs in The Times Business section.

He doesn't deliver policy lingo or "well-crafted," though irrelevant, messages. It is his thought, made visible.

You read his words and you start to feel like you know him. You start to understand what interests, drives, motivates or peeves him, and you may better understand why he makes the business decisions he does. You feel like you can trust the guy, which makes you more likely to trust the corporation. And, no one else's words could do that to quite the same effect.

Whether it's your CEO, company owner or top manager's blog, the language/copy on your site and in your brochures, or words delivered at a conference, THAT level of authenticity and transparency is key to connecting in an emotional and human-scale way with your customers.

"Thought made visible" simply presents more opportunity for finding acres of common ground with your customers.

P.S. Debbie Weil, a well-respected business blogger, is quoted in Stross's article. Her new book, The Corporate Blogging Book, (Portfolio, 2006) sounds like something worth looking into if you'd like more information on how to keep your corporate blog authentic and accessible.

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