I keep thinking about my former boss and company, trying to picture the president blogging, discussing how the
company is growing or the challenges to meeting payroll or the desire to find the perfect video converter to make vodcasts.

Never.
In a million years. Never.

Marketing Guru (and, of course, good friend here on Avenue Z — kinda) Seth Godin said he thinks CEOs shouldn’t blog.

Here’s the problem. Blogs work when they are based on: Candor, Urgency, Timeliness, Pithiness and Controversy (maybe Utility if you want six).

Does this sound like a CEO to you?

I’m a one-woman shop here in my small San Diego apartment, so I’m hardly a CEO. But am I doing myself a favor with this blog, or will potential clients think I’m too quirky or folksy? My Avenue Z Writing Solutions website looks very professional, at least to me. It’s beige, for goodness’ sake.

But this website is perhaps too candid, though I’m hoping it’s up to snuff in the pithiness department. I started it to document the development of a new small business — dealing with health care, procrastination, new business mistakes, working from home, watching the budget, etc. But I’m obviously becoming very chatty in this public forum as I discuss what I want for dinner, what I ate for breakfast, what I do all day. A good friend wrote me last night and said I had “cyber-sass.” Can I make a living as a professional writer showing off my “cyber-sass?”

The good news: so far the feedback on this blog has been very positive, and yesterday one of my regular commenters contacted me to ask about a potential project. She thought my writing style might be just what her company’s new website might need.

And I also picked up a new gig as a small business development columnist for The ESPRESSO, an independent newspaper for the San Diego coffee shop community (circulation 36,000 monthly). I called to inquire yesterday and sent the publisher to my site, and he wrote me with the confirmation last night.

But, for every person who compliments or asks for more info, do I turn off three who think I wouldn’t be serious enough to write their most important brochure?

Oh well. On I blog, appropriate or not.

Here’s a list of the Top 10 CEO Blogs from Marketing Nirvana.