Basic Blogging Etiquette

A big Thank-You to Ann Marie who led me to Cherie's Tips on Blogging Etiquette, and much gratitude goes Cherie's way for being so gracious in allowing me to re-post this. :-) This is truly a must-read for every blogger.

- Basic Blogging Etiquette -
There are some "rules" to this blogging thing that make it a whole lot more fun for yourself and everyone out there.

1. Comment, Comment, Comment. I wrote a post awhile back on comments that was very popular. We all love them. When you get a comment it is like receiving a "Blog hug" and who doesn't need a hug on a regular basis. Make new friends, don't just lurk, comment and make someone's day and validate what they wrote.

2. The pictures and words on someone's blog are their property. If you are going to use a picture or you like what someone wrote and want to use it on your blog - first, ask permission. There is nothing worse than seeing your pictures or your words show up somewhere and the person who borrowed them didn't leave a comment or ask permission. It is usually just courtesy to link back to whoever's blog the idea, etc... comes from. If you look at my Valentines Goodies post below you will see how I have linked each person's blog to the craft I talked about so that they would get blog traffic and also get credit for their craft. Likewise with pictures - tell where you got it if you did not take the photo yourself.

3. Respond to people who comment on your blog. I have made many great friends and am still making friends through great comments and blog dialog. It lets people know you appreciate their comments, and that you want them to visit again.
If you are not receiving many comments on your blog and you want more, you need to look at how often you are commenting on other peoples blogs. From what I can tell the more comments you give the more you receive. Likewise if I comment on someones blog for awhile and they never respond I will probably quit commenting - it's a 2 way street.

4. My pet peeve - Don't use small pictures on your blog. OK this is just my own personal thing but for heaven's sake if you are going to go through the trouble of posting a picture do it large so we can see it! (In another post I will have a tutorial on not allowing your pictures to be enlarged to screen size if this is what worries you - no one will really see those wrinkles around your eyes - haha). Also, if you decide to make your blog into a book in the future, if you use small pictures the quality will not be as good.

5. Some people write a lot like me, others have short posts. If you write a long post make sure you put breaks or pictures between your paragraphs. Looking at a page full of words can put some people off. They might not want to tackle reading it. If it is broken up it is easier on the eyes.

6. Music. The majority of people out there say "Get rid of your music". There is nothing worse than clicking onto someone's blog and having their music blare out at you, especially if it is late at night or early in the morning. We know you love your music so do keep it on your blog, but don't have it on auto play. Leave it at the top where people can press play if they wish to hear it.
Other problems with an automatic music player is that if you put a video on your blog then the person has to go find your music player to shut off your music so they can hear the video. Annoying.
The last problem is that people who are sight impaired often use a machine to help them vocally "read" your blog. If you have a music player going they will never find it to shut it off.

9 comment(s):

Indyeah said...

Absolutely loved the etiquette lessons:)specially the one on music..:D its my pet peeve...
thanks for sharing this.:)

Indyeah said...

And hey did I mention that your new profile pic is beautiful!:)

Unknown said...

Thanks, Indyeah! :-)

Majtolina said...

This was very interesting..I really enjoyed reading it and I hope I will try to make my blog according to these etiquette....And if I use this article on my blog, of course you will be asked your permission to do this...I also loooved Shakespeare's blog :)
Have fun today...

OrangeOreos said...

Maybe this si jsut because I'm slow, but I just noticed your new layout! It's teh awesomus, Ana!

And I hope you don't mind me giving linkage back to your blog from mine in a post. :\

Anyways, I liked this! T'was most helpful to new bloggers, such as me. Thanks!

Anonymous said...

I need to relaunch my blog. I haven't blogged at all since October 2007. And I'm really starting to miss it. :-(

Unknown said...

Launch it, Parker! I'd read it for shizzle. :)

Brittany said...

that is very helpful! :]

Ann Marie said...

Thanks for the link!
I loved it also!
I like the music.. just not when I read. Sometimes I turn on people's playlists while I clean!

I especially hate when I go to watch a video they have put on, but have to find the music to turn it off.. Grrr..