Getting a Blog is akin to catching a common cold these days. Eventually, most people get it.
So, once you’ve got a Blog what do you do? You write a post. You share that post with friends and/or social media and think you a done. Right?
Wrong!
The Blog World has some etiquette too, which are sadly discussed within groups and rarely aloud, and the reason why they go unsaid and unheard. Share on XMuch like when you start driving you need to be mindful of traffic rules and fellow drivers on the street, in the Blogging world too there are a few Do’s and Don’ts you should maintain, if you would be like to be known as a blogger of repute.
What exactly am I trying to say? Read the Blog Commandments to find out;
Thou Shalt Check For Typos Before Posting: There is nothing more off-putting than a post dotted with typos. Typos are distracting and take away from your credibility of being a good writer and blogger. I have been the victim of I-am-so-excited-to-have-written-this-post-that-I-must-post-this-right-away syndrome many a time and dashed off a post without checking for typos, to always regret it later. It takes 2 minutes to check your post and 1 minute to lose a reader. Decide.
Thou Shalt Maintain a Quality Control Check On Thy Posts: The temptation to post regularly and often is almost always a good sign. It is good for you and for your Blog Health. But by no means should you compromise on the quality of your posts to increase the quantity of them. Remember, you are your own brand and you wouldn’t want to endorse anything that is not your standard, would you?
Thou Shalt Visit Other Blogs: Blogging is not only about just writing, posting, and sharing your posts. It is also about reading other blogs, and sharing posts, and doing so benefits YOU. Reading almost always leads to better writing as when you read you learn a lot more, get ideas for blog posts, and sometimes also learn what not to do/write.
Thou Shalt Leave Proper Comments: When you visit other Blogs and read a post, do leave a comment. All Bloggers I know love getting and reading comments, as that shows that you’ve visited the blog, read the post, and taken time out to post a comment. ‘Lovely’, ‘Nice post!’, ‘Loved reading this’ are NOT considered comments.
Thou Shalt Not Badger Fellow Bloggers: To visit your Blog, read your post, and/or post comments. The wish to do so should come naturally to your readers. At the most a gentle nudge you could give is to visit their Blog, read their post, and leave a comment and the blogger should ideally respond. If not, someone else is sure to. And if you don’t get responses at all? Then you probably need to work on visibility and probably your writing too.
These Blog Commandments are the result of discussions and interactions with fellow bloggers over the years, through which we realized that pretty much the same behavior either pleases us or puts us off.
Your Blog reflects you and your personality as does your Blog Etiquette, and it takes very little to keep these points in mind and follow them.
Wouldn’t hurt to try, would it?
Happy Writing and may the Muse always be kind to you!
You’ve voiced the opinions ( and often ire ) of most bloggers .. These are like the unwritten unsaid rules and good that now we have them captured as commandments for the rest of our times in the blogosphere
I particularly feel very strongly about comments . which is ironic coz I am not a huge comments person myself .
I think i comment on perhaps 50% of what I read ( up from maybe 10% in good old days) but when i comment i do so to talk and appreciate and motivate 🙂
I wish more people kept that in mind ..
Also the typo but .. I guess there are many like me who get to see the typos only after they hit publish ..
I like your list .. Maybe you should also include something on quality vs quantity wrt writing ?
Loved every letter on the post.This insight comes with experience and I am really glad that you have written the unwritten laws that few seem to ignore.
About quantity and quality.It’s absolutely true that quality is most important. But for new bloggers just starting out ,publishing a post once every few months is akin to blog suicide.
Writing like being kind is a habit ,best developed by practice.Until you read a lot and write a lot ,how will you practice.
All great artists and writers perfect their art by doing so regularly.
I have been guilty of the once- a -month post syndrome .It’s a horrible feeling to look at a reader less blog.
The carcass stays ,the soul leaves.
A tremendously enlightening read as always.This is why I read your blog first thing in the morning.
You are as regular as the sun.
Keep writing and shining. God bless
Hear, hear, the last point.
I knew someone who would ping me on whatsapp every time they posted and guilt me into reading their posts and leaving comments. Would you blame me for blocking them?
Valid points all of them. I still maintain though that all comments are always welcome Even the ‘Nice post’ ones. That’s the beauty of blogging. You keep leading and guiding, learning and growing. It’s quite beautiful, isn’t it?
Hahaha! So true… all of them! I once wrote a post on this… will dig it out from the archives and re-publish it! 😀
All good points and great learnings. Read more, write more, share more. Do more quality writing and keep engaging with community. Leaving meaningful comments is definitely desirable.
Agree with all the points Mayuri. I initially also made a mistake of posting and then editing for mistakes a lot. I guess we all learn from our mistakes. And sometimes we learn from others mistakes too. 😉
Blogging is a process of continuous learning and improving yourself along the way. I am glad to have you and other wonderful friends in this creative journey ❤
I agree, Mayuri. Good post! – now that’s a not so good comment.
An engaging comment – I agree that these rules are not written or spoken aloud but should be followed. I have seen people using the SMS lingo which really turns me off. Proofreading is a must. There is a trick that always works for me – reading the draft post aloud. The errors pop out super quick that way. Thanks for the reminder, Mayuri 🙂
My commandment is twisted: I have to force myself to write posts regularly! I don’t think I’ve ever felt like writing posts daily or hourly only to get views and likes ( because I’m sure that even doing that won’t help).
I love to read posts and comment, but then somehow academics tends to get me busy, and I get to read very few posts 🙁 I’ll be more regular once I get these exams done!
The five blog commandments. Such a needed post. You know how irritated I get by the typos and the non comment comments. Like I said in Tina’s post,if you have read a blog post how difficult will it be to write three lines – the main criteria here is if you have read it.
The quality check part is so important, though I have been known to edit grammar a typos after I have hit publish, but glaring errors like spelling mistakes in the title put me off. It just takes a little time to ensure spell and grammar check of the post.
As for the last part, yes not everybody will read everything, and you have to understand that. I get very irritated when someone tags or pings me on WhatsApp(yes there are some who do that) for unrelated posts.
Very well said.
Not everyone understand that even after being so simple these points are so simple and doable. It makes life easier for everyone.
Neat read 🙂
Great points for all bloggers. Quality content is more important than the quantity of posts.
Very helpful post, I must say! All the points mentioned stand true and will be of great help for budding bloggers like me. Great work! 🙂
Excellent commandments Mayuri! Proofreading and maintaining quality control on our blogs is so important to ensure that readers don’t get turned off. And it’s a good idea to have set days/time for reading/commenting.
This is such a needed post Mayuri! Loved all the commandments truly. I have been there and done this- yes I think all of us as bloggers would say so. This is an outright post and I liked that you have come out openly like this.
Blogging thrives on engagement and when that doesn’t happen, it’s like talking to an empty classroom. There used to a time when people would comment and re-comment upon receiving a reply and it would so much fun. Nowadays, like you’ve pointed out, almost everyone owns a blog or writes on FB, so there’s so much pressure on the reader too, to keep hopping as much as possible and get his or her space the visibility. I wonder if it’s more about a loyal network of followers who will keep coming back no matter what.
Lovely set of points, Mayuri. It’s always good to have them written down and set aside as a reminder 🙂
Of course these are unwritten rules of blogging. I try to follow them always and especially while commenting on blogs. That’s a great compilation of points, Mayuri.
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Extremely well analysed and worded Mayuri – these are going to be my hallowed ones from now on to write better and further!! Cheers
Good post 🙂 valid points. Blogging is a 360 degree kind of a thing… We have to find the balance while enjoying the pursuit.
Agree, agree agree completely! Thanks to AtoZ Challenge, I am visiting so many blogs in a day and I must say that some bloggers really need to read these commandments.
‘Please visit my blog’ is something that I hate and writing inane comments puts me off too. I think blog layouts should be friendly too. Some blogs have such weird layouts that you just cant find where their new post is. Some are so cluttered with so many things ticking or blinking and have fonts and colour schemes that give a headache.
Agree Agree Agree with each and every point Mayuri. I am guilty of few, typos and yes too excited to publish or running behind the schedule. Going back and rectifying mistakes post publishing is like ‘facepalm’.
Writing regularly is a good habit, I maintain it twice weekly or 10 – 12 posts in a month. A good post need research and through understanding, daily churning takes the soul away (this is my personal opinion)
Yes, writing regularly is good. Daily writing does take the soul away, I agree. Thanks for reading, Dipika.
Guilty of not following these commandments atleast more than once. You’re right though, M. Quality cannot be compromised and reading only increases our spectrum of thinking and writing.
We are all learning as we go along , Varsha. Thanks for reading!
An involved comment indicates the love the reader shows to the post. Isnt it then the better idea to express the blog love by leaving a well worded comment? Sharing the post on social media platform is none less than a reward to the author!
Handful of good lessons from me, Mayuri
So agree, Anagha. Thanks for reading.