This is another fear that I hear from small business owners who are considering whether or not they should blog. This is perfectly understandable – no one wants to have their dirty laundry hung out in the front yard for everyone to see. However, when you do make a mistake or are criticized unfairly, I think there are advantages to having it done on your blog.
It gives you a chance to correct your mistakes. Every small business owner that I know would rather have a customer complain to their face rather than complain behind their back. How many times have you said "If I had known about that problem, I would have fixed it!"?
It allows others to see for themselves if a person is being unreasonable. People will criticize you unfairly. If they do it on your blog, you have a chance to explain your position. Others will be able to see when you are being attacked unfairly.
Your customers and prospects know you are human – they know you make mistakes. How you handle those mistakes is what they want to know. The worst thing you can do is ignore criticism on your blog (or elsewhere).
A blog (and marketing in general) is about conversation. You can’t prevent people from talking about you or control what they say. But you can join in and contribute to the conversation.
