Blogger Etiquette 101: How to Attract (and Keep!) Visitors

By Joseph Gustav

The Internet is a touchy place. The slightest mishap, though well-intentioned, can leave a user looking ignorant, unsavvy and at worst a shameless self-promoter in an atmosphere that is all about community. Bloggers exist in maybe one of the most fickle areas of the online world and so must respect basic etiquette to go about building — and maintaining — their readerships the right way.

The following are some basic blogger etiquette fundamentals to help you avoid common mistakes and put your best foot forward in the blogging community.

• Write good comments on other blogs’ posts. One of the best ways to expand readership is to comment on other, more established blogs’ posts. Comments are a good way to direct readers from a similar, but already loyal fanbase to your blog and to cement your place as new, needed, expert voice in a given field. Don’t just mindlessly praise or deride a post, instead thoughtfully respond and build on an argument, pointing out strengths and going from there. Or, you can politely, but critically exposing weaknesses and offer a second opinion. Many blogs allow commenters to leave a web address and here you should put your blog’s address. Absolutely do not use comments to shamelessly self-promote. It will make the bloggers lose respect for you, your work, and will make fellow commenters see you as a self-centered spammer.

• Keep an up-to-date blogroll. Blogrolls serve two purposes: to direct your readers to like-minded blogs and to let those blogs know you appreciate their work and hope they will return their favor, which will direct their readers to your site. Blogrolls should be well thought out, with blogs chosen specifically for their quality and relevance rather than simply to get a link back from a bigger site. Blogrolls should also be up-to-date. Remove any dead links on a regular basis, showing that you care about the information presented on your site. Be on the lookout for new blogs to welcome into the discussion. This will also help establish you as an expert in your field and a member of a community not just looking for personal glory, which will inspire more goodwill — and more link backs.

• Always cite your sources. Plagiarism and any accusation of it will immediately destroy all your credibility and get you booted out of the blogging community. It will make you look unprofessional and untrustworthy. Remove all doubt by citing your sources, generally through hyperlinks. Doing so will make your blog look trustworthy and professional — on the level of traditional journalism — and will also portray you as someone continuously looking for new information to share (and critically examining that information). If it’s from a fellow blog, even better, as it only underscores your role as an active member of the blogging community. This also goes for photo credits: make sure to cite where you obtained photos not taken by you or a friend.

• Use Facebook and Twitter as networking tools. Networking, not promotion. Have conversations with people, particularly other bloggers, readers, or the musicians/athletes/entertainers/politicians/etc., being profiled in your blog. Oftentimes, the people you are profiling will want to read what you’re saying about them, so don’t be afraid to @ them. If you get a retweet that will direct a lot of traffic your way given the subject’s seal of approval. That said, have conversations, and do not just promote your work (this is more so for Twitter than Facebook). Social media experts say tweeters should write 10-15 “conversation” tweets before every one that promotes a personal endeavor. However, do not just talk about your cat or the weather — make tweets pointed, where you add to a discussion or promote others’ work or endeavors that you find relevant and of note. Again, it’s all about being a member of a community and not an island.

• Write personal e-mails. When asking another blogger for a link back or to take a look at your work, always write a personal e-mail. Do not send out mass emails. You are asking someone to take the time to review your blog — show equal effort in writing a personal email — even compliment them on a recent post you liked or why you are seeking out their approval/link back in the first place. It will go a long way to helping you establish a mutually beneficial relationship.

Author Information

Joseph Gustav is a guest blogger for Pounding the Pavement and a writer on the subject of electrician school for the Guide to Career Education.

5 Reasons Why Every Freelance Writer Should Blog

If you are a freelance writer and you’ve abandoned your blog for Facebook, Twitter or to take on some fresh writing assignments, I’m going to advocate on behalf of your blog in order to get you to make your return.

Your blog misses you. You miss blogging.

Okay, those are not exactly profound statements, but they do underscore why you began blogging in the first place: you love the freedom blogging gives to you and the interaction you had with your readers.

Now that you are flitting around elsewhere, you have basically given your blog the heave-ho even if you haven’t deleted it or killed it off when your hosting account came due recently. Yes, something deep down inside of you is telling you to hang on. Guess what? I hear those same voices, so allow me to put on computer screen five reasons why you should keep on keeping on with blogging:

1. Your blog is all yours – Where would you prefer to live: in an apartment or in a house? Apartments are for renting while homes are for owning, allowing you to decorate, renovate or otherwise improve it as you see fit. I am speaking about pride of ownership here: you found your niche, are advancing your agenda and you cannot wait to begin writing your next article. Life is good; your blog helps make that so. You own it!

2. Helping people is where it’s at for you – I believe everyone has a God-given altruistic side to their nature, one that when cultivated can make a huge difference in the lives of other people. Blogging allows for you to show the giving side of yourself as you dispense advice, share important news, guide your readers or otherwise do your part to bring about positive change.

3. No one is peering over your writing shoulder – Let’s face it: some of the best people in your life are editors. You know, the ones who hold your feet to the AP Stylebook fire to make sure that you capitalize Internet, spell out states such as Hawaii and Alaska and otherwise nitpick you to death! Once they’ve torn your best writing work asunder, you feel particularly small, perhaps insignificant. With blogging, you can cast style guidelines to the side and write freely and openly, perhaps the only chance you have to do so during the day or week. Let the open conversation flow!

4. To make money – Most blogs do a poor job of producing money for their blog owners through ad monetization, which is why you should not rely on AdSense and other financial arrangements (e-books, paid posts, you name it) to fund your business model. I know that I have been “discovered” by editors through this blog as well as on my car blogs because I have taken the time to update my sites and write a compelling piece or two. The money comes in through writing gigs I landed due to my very public exposure which is reason enough for me (and you) to keep on blogging.

5. Prepare for the future – I founded the forerunner to this blog, The Article Writer, in December 2005 and later merged it with this blog to create Matt’s Musings. I have more than 850 articles published to this site, many of which I am tremendously proud of. I will probably keep this blog going for many years for the simple reason it sits on the domain bearing my name. But beyond that I can see how this blog may eventually help me write my first book or launch a completely new enterprise. You are part of my faithful group of followers…what better way to keep you informed about what I am doing and where I am headed?

A few years back everyone was thinking that Google would absorb all things Internet, but it seems Facebook is pulling in users faster than anything we’ve ever seen. Facebook, Twitter and other sites are useful tools especially if you write an article and want to share what you wrote by placing links on those sites back to your own.

You may have found your place in the freelance writing world, but as Dorothy once said, “there’s no place like home.” And, even if you are not a freelance writer, but rely upon blogging for your business, keep up the good work: the benefits will continue to flow for the persistent few.

See Also — Write Often To Write Better