Susan Mangiero of Pension Risk Matters: LexBlog Conversation

In the words of Pension Risk Matters blogger and financial analyst Susan Mangiero, blogging can be "a lonely endeavor." That’s why it’s so rewarding when readers respond with praise, appreciation, suggestions, and even criticism.

The CEO and President of Pension Governance, Inc., Susan started blogging at Pension Risk Matters because, she says, "I love to write and I feel passionate about the need to improve institutional investment best practices."

In her time blogging, she’s noticed something that other lawyers and legal professionals have encountered. She tends to see less feedback and fewer comments on her blog posts when she writes objectively on a topic, as opposed to when she writes something more opinionated.

Yet Susan, and certainly others, can be concerned that taking a strong stance on issues may be counteractive for business development, often the main reason professionals decide to start blogging in the first place.

"Importantly, the tone set by a blogger should reflect his or her objectives," Susan says. "If the goal is to develop business, one should probably take more of a ‘helper’ approach. If instead someone seeks to build their views as part of brand name recognition, their blog posts will likely reflect more of an op-ed column."

Ultimately, Susan tends to err on the side of a balanced, even-handed approach.

"Unlike some bloggers, I try hard to present both sides of an issue, rather than taking a staunch advocacy position," she says. "There are some exceptions. For example, I’m a big advocate of self-regulation. A recent post about financial markets and capitalism drew a lot of attention. Some people disagreed with me. I’m going to post their responses in the next few days (on an anonymous basis). I like to engage people in an honest debate about critical issues for our industry."

If you have confronted this decision about what tone to take in blog posts, feel free chime in below in the comments. And read more of our Q&As and conversations with LexBlog clients and other successful bloggers.