Getting your blog out there can be hard. I should know. Whilst I've had a fair few off moments from blogging, getting people to just find my blog posts can be a massive task in itself. And although I'll always be working on growing my blog, there will always be those few things that since day one I will in no way shape or form ever do! And unless you want to get in every bloggers bad books, I suggest you steer clear of these things too!
1. Copying Others
Probably the biggest no-no in the blogging world. Although it's not personally happened to me yet as far as I know, I've seen the drama that this can cause on social media. If you're not going to create a blog with the intention of making it your own, then why are you here? Blogging isn't about copying others, it's about creating content that shows who you are, shows your interests and is a genuine example of what you're able to do.
There are a variety of ways which could be viewed as copying another, be that the layout and design of your blog, blog post ideas, or worst of all taking others photos or blog posts word for word and claiming them as your own; believe it or not, this does happen many times! I guess saying this that some of these could be done unintentionally. The layout and design of my blog is granted, similar to others. With more bloggers purchasing blog designs from sites such as Pipdig (which happens to be where I purchased mine from), I do stumble across similarly designed blogs. I guess in this case, it's all about the little tweaks which can be done, be it with the colour scheme, the fonts used and size of fonts and you're actual visual content (aka your photos), which will help to set you apart from others if you identify that this is becoming a problem.
And with so many bloggers out there now, there's no doubt that many of our posts will be similar to others, many with exactly the same ideas. But what's important is that you're not copying a blogger post for post or more importantly word by word. If you cannot take the time and the effort to write your own blog posts or take your own photos then you shouldn't be here! Regardless of whether or not you have an incredible camera or are a fantastic writer, that shouldn't stop you from creating your own authentic content. Granted, I'm not one of the greatest writers, but I try, and my photography has improved massively over the years. It's a learning curve at the end of the day, and you're not going to learn anything if you're pretty much stealing from other bloggers...plus no blogger will view you or your blog in a positive way. Simple as.
Probably the biggest no-no in the blogging world. Although it's not personally happened to me yet as far as I know, I've seen the drama that this can cause on social media. If you're not going to create a blog with the intention of making it your own, then why are you here? Blogging isn't about copying others, it's about creating content that shows who you are, shows your interests and is a genuine example of what you're able to do.
There are a variety of ways which could be viewed as copying another, be that the layout and design of your blog, blog post ideas, or worst of all taking others photos or blog posts word for word and claiming them as your own; believe it or not, this does happen many times! I guess saying this that some of these could be done unintentionally. The layout and design of my blog is granted, similar to others. With more bloggers purchasing blog designs from sites such as Pipdig (which happens to be where I purchased mine from), I do stumble across similarly designed blogs. I guess in this case, it's all about the little tweaks which can be done, be it with the colour scheme, the fonts used and size of fonts and you're actual visual content (aka your photos), which will help to set you apart from others if you identify that this is becoming a problem.
And with so many bloggers out there now, there's no doubt that many of our posts will be similar to others, many with exactly the same ideas. But what's important is that you're not copying a blogger post for post or more importantly word by word. If you cannot take the time and the effort to write your own blog posts or take your own photos then you shouldn't be here! Regardless of whether or not you have an incredible camera or are a fantastic writer, that shouldn't stop you from creating your own authentic content. Granted, I'm not one of the greatest writers, but I try, and my photography has improved massively over the years. It's a learning curve at the end of the day, and you're not going to learn anything if you're pretty much stealing from other bloggers...plus no blogger will view you or your blog in a positive way. Simple as.
2. Spam
One thing I really can't stand, be it on my blog, YouTube channel, Instagram or Twitter is spam. Taking a comment that you've evidently copied and pasted to many peoples social channels to try and generate further traffic to your blog. Whilst some spam comments are straight to the point, simply asking you to go to their blog, follow them on their Instagram or watch their YouTube video with nothing genuine said to you in return based on the hard work you've put into your content, some won't be as direct. I receive a chunk of comments stating something like "love this" or "great post" with the link to their blog below. If this is a non-blogger reading my post, I'll believe them...they have nothing to gain out of leaving that comment, but for bloggers it simply shows that they haven't read my post, they haven't even skimmed my post and their simply looking for further recognition for their blog.
I understand it, but like you I'm putting so much effort into producing my own content, that if you want further recognition for your blog, you should leave a genuine comment that shows you've even just read a tiny proportion of my post. Like many other bloggers I'm sure, I'm more likely to return the favour, visit your blog, comment and if I like what I see, follow. If I notice obvious spam comments on any of my social media accounts or blog, they are instantaneously deleted. Just don't bother. Be genuine.
One thing I really can't stand, be it on my blog, YouTube channel, Instagram or Twitter is spam. Taking a comment that you've evidently copied and pasted to many peoples social channels to try and generate further traffic to your blog. Whilst some spam comments are straight to the point, simply asking you to go to their blog, follow them on their Instagram or watch their YouTube video with nothing genuine said to you in return based on the hard work you've put into your content, some won't be as direct. I receive a chunk of comments stating something like "love this" or "great post" with the link to their blog below. If this is a non-blogger reading my post, I'll believe them...they have nothing to gain out of leaving that comment, but for bloggers it simply shows that they haven't read my post, they haven't even skimmed my post and their simply looking for further recognition for their blog.
I understand it, but like you I'm putting so much effort into producing my own content, that if you want further recognition for your blog, you should leave a genuine comment that shows you've even just read a tiny proportion of my post. Like many other bloggers I'm sure, I'm more likely to return the favour, visit your blog, comment and if I like what I see, follow. If I notice obvious spam comments on any of my social media accounts or blog, they are instantaneously deleted. Just don't bother. Be genuine.
3. Follow To Unfollow
I've noticed so many bloggers talking about this recently and for good reason. In this case I find that it tends to happen mostly on Instagram. Due to the new Instagram algorithm and the fact that more people than ever are on the platform, it has become increasingly harder for pretty much everyone to get that recognition. As soon as the new algorithm was introduced I noticed a significant decrease on the engagement of my Instagram posts! And due to the fact that I see so many people following to unfollow I don't feel that I am the only one. The difference between me and them however, is that I only choose to follow accounts that I am truly interested in, and should they decide not to follow me back, that's okay too. But these particular individuals will go around following a number of people only to unfollow them a few days later regardless of whether they've followed them or not. Annoyingly it works for some people. The odd person somehow gets away with it. But should you get caught, particularly in the blogging world, I can't imagine that you'll have the greatest reputation out there.
There's nothing wrong with staying active on Instagram, in fact to grow on the platform you need to be; I've grown my Instagram massively over the past year due to increased activity on Instagram. However I will never choose the follow to unfollow technique. It's quite simply fake of a person to do.
Evidently there are other things that as a blogger you should never really do, but these are the few things that really grate on me as an individual.
I've noticed so many bloggers talking about this recently and for good reason. In this case I find that it tends to happen mostly on Instagram. Due to the new Instagram algorithm and the fact that more people than ever are on the platform, it has become increasingly harder for pretty much everyone to get that recognition. As soon as the new algorithm was introduced I noticed a significant decrease on the engagement of my Instagram posts! And due to the fact that I see so many people following to unfollow I don't feel that I am the only one. The difference between me and them however, is that I only choose to follow accounts that I am truly interested in, and should they decide not to follow me back, that's okay too. But these particular individuals will go around following a number of people only to unfollow them a few days later regardless of whether they've followed them or not. Annoyingly it works for some people. The odd person somehow gets away with it. But should you get caught, particularly in the blogging world, I can't imagine that you'll have the greatest reputation out there.
There's nothing wrong with staying active on Instagram, in fact to grow on the platform you need to be; I've grown my Instagram massively over the past year due to increased activity on Instagram. However I will never choose the follow to unfollow technique. It's quite simply fake of a person to do.
Evidently there are other things that as a blogger you should never really do, but these are the few things that really grate on me as an individual.
What are your pet peeves when it comes to the blogging world?
Lots of Love
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