Brelsford said he used to think, who has time to read blogs (when everyone from the local vet to the Transportation Safety Administration has one). “That’s why we didn’t do it for a long time,” he says. “Others were blogging, and we were not.”

Last year, Brelsford realized his company, which also provides conferences and workshops, has to catch up with the new wave, and with the competition. Not only it’s a must for anyone who wants to have high ranking in search engines but it’s also the best way to keep visibility on the Web. So for the last six months, Brelsford has been learning the ropes of blogging, and has found it a great way to make daily contact with his customers. Now, blogging is a daily habit over morning coffee, and while so far his posts have been light and short, he does plan to ramp them up after April, posting more analytical content as well as excerpts from his upcoming new book.

“My blog does allow me to have a conversation with my 20,000 customers on a personal level,” he says. “I’m getting good feedback because people have a connection with me.”

“We want people to be somewhat entertained, yet get useful information,” he explains the concept of the blog. “We don’t want people to get bored from just real estate information.”

Jacobson compares today’s blogs with Web sites 10 years ago, and says having a static Web site is almost as good as not having one. “Static Web sites are a thing of the past,” he says, and adds that blogging even weekly of monthly is better than never.

“I’m finding blogging is a very effective marketing process,” he says. “The challenge is to find good articles consistently. It’s not for everybody — but it’s another tool in the Realtor’s tool box.”

“Another tool in the tool box” is a good way many business owners look at blogs. Anne Thatcher, co-owner of Farm Kitchen in Poulsbo, says blogging allows her and co-owner Hollis Fay to show another layer of their business, which provides banquet space and commercial kitchen use. “It’s just using another media outlet,” she says. “It’s a tool we felt was helpful to have, to give more texture to our description of Farm Kitchen.”

While the blog has been more of a “value-added” service for Farm Kitchen (www.farmkitchen.com), Thatcher says they have observed the value of blogging on many occasions. For example, a Seattle wedding planner mentioned them on her blog, and a New York City resident who read about it there decided to have a wedding at the Farm Kitchen. “That’s an example of how people find out about other businesses in places in the casual world of blogs,” she says.

The casual, personal nature of blogs is what appeals to many entrepreneurs. Hollis says, “It’s a nice outlet that can interrupt the serious side of the Web site and show the lighter side.”

The lighter side can even help “serious” professionals to better connect with their clients. Sara Lingafelter, an attorney with First Ascent Law (www.firstascentlaw.com) in Silverdale, blogs about her business and professional life, as well as on law topics. “For me, it’s an opportunity to let folks know about me and the way I practice, and for me that means being more conversational,” she says. “My blogs tend to be more casual than most in the business community.” Casual, yes, but still sound. Lingafelter has a sounding board of other professionals who keep an eye on her posts to make sure she’s on track.

Lingafelter is also the Webmaster for the 23rd Legislative Democrats, where she also blogs (unlike her own blog, this one is by approval). She says blogging is the perfect way to get accurate information out quickly, whether it’s about a political event or the latest company news.

Almost any type of business can find a way to use blogs — to inform customers about trends, company changes, provide tips, even quickly dispel rumors. “If you want to have an ongoing relationship with clients in a way that keeps them engaged with your business, then blogging is a good tool,” says Doña Keating, a business consultant and owner of Professional Options. She cautions, however, that once a person commits to a blog, it must be maintained — otherwise, the customers will walk away, virtually speaking. She says for some businesses, newsletters or trade publications may be a better solution, and says even in an interactive blog, sometimes other features like podcasts or webcasts should be integrated to keep things interesting.

“A blog may not necessarily attract a lot more business, but it’s definitely a big visibility plus,” she says.

Dameon Welch-Abernathy, a.k.a. “phoneboy,” says visibility is exactly his reason for blogging, but he did get “new business” through that visibility — he got hired by Nokia nine years ago, and allowed to telecommute, strictly because he has been posting topical content for quite some time. Welch-Abernathy’s phoneboy.com blog, with a worldwide following, has topics ranging from telecom to security and VoIP. From his Gig Harbor home, he also blogs daily for several blogs, some of which pay him. “Am I doing it for the money? Not really, more to keep my name out there,” he says. “I’m a known commodity.”

He says a blog is like an online resume, so people do need to be careful about what they post, since it will be there forever. He includes a disclaimer about working for Nokia’s enterprise network security division, and that his opinions are not those of his employer. Even so, he knows what he says must not reflect poorly on his company.

Welch-Abernathy says blogging is much better than a press release in many cases, because it allows the personality to come through and the person’s viewpoint. “A blog done right can humanize you,” he says. He does admit he has “too many blogs,” and that it can be time consuming because part of blogging is about keeping up with other blogs and what they’re saying. He spends a couple of hours every day reading and writing blogs.

Jacobson, who reads about 200 blogs as well, acknowledges that blogging is a huge time commitment, even if many blogs are only snippets of information. Still, he wouldn’t have it any other way. He says static sites are like “dead emotions,” and is not concerned about giving away too much free advice. In fact, he says he “can’t say enough” and that the more educated his customers are and the more transparent the industry is, the better.

He says there is no fast track or quick way around learning the ropes of blogging, and invites anyone who wants to learn more about blogging to join him and Flanders for their weekly 8 a.m. coffee meetings on Thursdays at Global Beam in Silverdale. He believes blogging is a requirement for any entrepreneur who needs to market services or create visibility.

“If you have a Web site, you owe it to yourself to have your Webmaster incorporate a blog platform,” he says.