The question will inevitably arise, Should I sell other people’s stuff on my blog? It’s an important question and not a real easy one to answer, but I’ll give you a few tips on how you should go about answering it for yourself.

You’d think that your business blog, which is all about trying to obtain new customers for your business, might be all about your business and that you should try selling other people’s stuff. That might be sage advice most of the time. But it could also be deadening advice.

People look to you as an expert in your field. If you blog about a specific niche then they want to know your opinion on something. They’ll also expect you to be honest. That means two things. First, if you see a product that you like, that you genuinely is recommendable for your target audience then by all means recommend it; they’ll respect you for that if you are honest about your recommendations. Secondly, never ever recommend a product you don’t like just because you’ll earn a commission on it. There is no surer way to lose credibility with your audience.

Blogging is marketing. There are a certain number of people who are not going to purchase your service because they’ll want to do it themselves. Why not make money on them anyway? You can choose a product that you genuinely recommend and offer it to your blog readers as an alternative to your service. Make sure that it is a product that you would purchase yourself (it helps if you already have purchased it so that you can write about it honestly). Then, don’t be afraid to make the recommendation.

In the end, it’s really all about how you want to position your blog. I know some bloggers who never recommend anything outside of themselves. If they have a product they want to offer besides their service, they develop it themselves. That OK, but it does take time and money. Meanwhile, you have a certain percentage of readers moving on. Ultimately, it’s your decision, but it helps to make it on the facts.