I’ve been blogging for almost two years and in that time I’ve learned a couple of things about how to be a good blogger.
There is a method to this madness, an unspoken etiquette that bloggers follow and some very important dos and don’ts.
For those of you feeling super ambitious, follow these tips and you may be crowned: The Best Blogger in the World! Please try to refrain from eye rolling until the end.
1. Write an informative, insightful, witty, fantastic post every. single. day., complete with links to others and professional photographs to illustrate your points.
2. Publish your fantastic post at midnight on the dot, if you live on the east coast and 9:00 PM, if you live on the west coast.
3. Promote your fantastic post on Twitter (multiple times throughout the day), Facebook, (which includes your blog fan page, your personal Facebook page, the Studio+ 30 and 5 Minutes for Mom pages and any other Facebook pages that will allow you to, Stumble your fantastic post and add a teaser to BlogFrog (or other favorite community site) and join multiple memes/linkies and/or blog hops that apply, even if it’s stretch. It’s called multi-tasking, people. Oh, and driving traffic to your site.
4. Reply to each and every comment your fantastic post receives. Bonus points if you do this within minutes of receiving the comment.
5. Follow every single person that follows you, whether it be on your blog or Twitter and engage. Hourly. Read their posts, comment on them and promote them.
Ugh.
Clearly, I’m kidding! There is NO WAY in hell anyone could do all this. Even with an extra 24 hours in their day. Though the “blogger guidelines” are unspoken, it sometimes feels like you have to be in people’s faces all the time just to keep up. It gets to be too much sometimes, doesn’t it? It does for me.
Truly, my only advice is this: write from the heart, be true to who you are and do your best to encourage, support and learn from others.
That’s it. Simple, right?
Blogging shouldn’t feel like a chore. It shouldn’t cause you angst or pressure of any kind and the minute it’s not fun anymore, you should take a step back and reevaluate why you do it in the first place. Why do you blog? I hope it’s not to be the best blogger in the world.
By the way, I did post this on the Facebook pages mentioned above and will Tweet it in hopes of RTs all day. I will try my best to respond to all of you IF you comment, I’m sorry if I don’t already follow you and I would have included a photo but I couldn’t get my son to cooperate. No, he’s not relevant to the subject matter, but he sure is cute. 🙂
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Great post! You’ve got it figured out!
Although I’d LOVE to be the best blogger in the world (lol), it’s not the reason I blog. I enjoy writing and engaging with others, and I’ve found that online journaling and blogging is a great way to connect. I really adore the people I’ve “met” through blogging, and I feel like I’ve learned so much from them.
For me, blogging is a hobby that, if it one day enables me to make money, that’s great. If it doesn’t, that’s fine too. I’ll still do it, and I’ll still enjoy it. The day it becomes a chore and a drudgery, I’ll have to find a new hobby!
This is good timing for me. I’m beginning to feel like a GFC whore. I’m new to the blogging community and still trying to figure out all the rules, especially the unwritten ones! Thanks for reminding me why I did this in the first place!
Visiting from weekend linkup
This is PERFECT. Bam.
My heart was fluttering and my palms sweating just reading your tips, and knowing that at one time I TRIED to do all of that and I just couldn’t!
Love this!
Way back when I first started I tried to do it all, but that was when I had 20 followers and wasn’t on Twitter. Nowadays, NO WAY, JOSE! Not possible.
Um, yeah, I’m never gonna that that award bc I’m not that good! No way I can write a witty post every time. Most of mine are just normal but it makes me happy, and that’s what matters.
Exactly! If you have something to share, share it. The rest just doesn’t matter. At all.
Cannot accomplish one single thing on that list … not a one.
But thats ok, and thank you for reminding me that its not normal if you can 😉
(do you think there are people out there who do? I need minions, i def need minions …)
My God I hope there are not people out there doing all of that. That would be really really sad.
shoot…I think I might be the WORST blogger in the world! Loved this. There is a lot of pressure, that’s for sure. Most days I find that it doesn’t really get to me because I don’t have time to let it!
Pressure is no good. Especially self induced pressure. Sounds like you have found a nice balance.
You nailed what’s most important!
I used to feel guilty if I couldn’t get to every single blog that I follow every single day and if it took me til the next day to respond to comments, and *insert anything else here that means I wasn’t doing it all.*
But, none of us can do it all.
I was going to add something else here, but really what it comes down to is what you already wrote up there in bold.
Thanks, Shell! Guilt and pressure should never be a part of the blogging equation. I hope you’ve found a nice balance.
Does this mythical blogger have children? I am pretty sure she doesn’t have friends IRL or virtual. I am pretty sure I wouldn’t like her much.
Trust me, I wouldn’t share a bottle of wine with her either.
You’re absolutely right! I’ve had to take a few breaks and think about why I started blogging. It should definitely not feel like a chore.
Never. It should be fun and inspiring and helpful and an outlet… Never ever a chore.
I learned two things while reading your post: 1) i can be totally gullible – I was actually starting to feel bad when you mentioned replying to every comment within the hour, and 2) i’m SO relieved you were joking and that everyone realizes those parameters are unrealistic. Nicely played!
Can you even imagine if someone wrote a post like this and was seriously? OMG.
I just happen to be sitting at the computer BTW. 🙂
So that’s the ticket – reply to all comments within minutes! 😉 Great post Tonya. Not sure who the person is that can do all of this. Off topic – love that you put a YouTube button on your site. Makes me smile. 🙂
I need to get back in the Vlog Talk swing of things, but thanks for noticing my YouTube button:)
Agreed. Can’t do it. Don’t try.
Phew! I’m glad you let us off the hook. 😉
I knew I was missing something! Haha- nice one. I especially love the one about responding back within minutes. I’m FAR away from that one.
When I started blogging 3 years ago I seriously tried to keep up with blogging in this fashion, because that’s what ‘everyone’ did and what advice bloggers were given. Then I took a year break from blogging and it was the best thing I could have done. Now I turn to my blog to do one simple thing: write what is in my mind and heart. If I am bored or uncertain or frustrated, blogging really helps me; it’s therapeutic. I am grateful to my readers for reading my blog, giving me advice and support, and I try to read their blogs, too. But I am not letting myself get so wrapped up in it all like I did in the beginning. I do tend to share a link to most of my posts on FB, however, because the majority of my friends don’t blog but give me so much support and advice about my posts on my FB page instead of in my blog’s comments section so that helps 🙂
I love these comments 🙂 Wish I had a few extra pairs on hands as well… I am new to blogging, so I am trying to soak up as many tips, info, advice as possible to build my followers, comments etc…. so keep them coming – thanks- tahlia x
—Yes, it’s exhausting, but much of what you said is true. It’s something to strive for, anyhow. My favorite: 4. Reply to each and every comment your fantastic post receives. (come on, at least let the reader know you HEAR them! 🙂 great post.
I love this and it is so true. I have a hard time keeping up with all of the things you are “supposed” to do to be the perfect blogger. I have to remind myself often why I’m blogging.
Wait. We’re supposed to respond to comments? Nobody told me!
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
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