While it’s true that you can get a little personal in a business blog, and blog writing is normally done in a familiar person-to-person intimate voice, there is an important distinction to be made between a personal blog and a business blog.

Some business bloggers run by micro-businesses made up of one or two people, will occasionally share some personal news, especially those items that may affect potential interruptions in communication, or the background information that leads to a company event such as a sale or the debut of a new product or service.

So where is this line? What is the difference between a personal blog and a business blog?

One key difference is the theme, though it is not an absolute.

A blog about a person’s private life is obviously a personal blog, though some personal bloggers will look to earn enough from ads to pay hosting fees, and if earnings begin to climb, evolve their blog into a mini-business.

However, most blogs about a person’s private life fall under the category of a personal blog.

A blog about a person’s public life, can be either, such as in the case of a writer or an actor blogging about their next public appearance. So topic matter isn’t a completely reliable distinction, though it is important to note.

Another more reliable difference to note would be the blog’s purpose. Is it an effort to create additional exposure for products or services? Or is it just a collection of personal thoughts unrelated to any core theme or industry?

Even if products for sale are not mentioned in every post, or linked from every page, if the blog exists as a vehicle to promote a business or site, then it’s a business blog.

Whether it does this effectively is another question entirely.

There are also two main types of business blogs, internal and external.

Internal blogging is mainly for communication within a company, while external is from a company to an audience outside the company, such as its prospects and customers.

Most of my focus will be on external blogging.

However, I and my fellow bloggers will delve into the area of internal blogging as well. In the meantime, I’d suggest taking a look at the Corporate RSS Communications Blog as well.