Today is L.G. Keltner's Beginning's Blogfest. She was nice enough not to stipulate what type of beginning we should work with, so I thought I'd be different and let my two entered posts run along the same line.MFB's post is about what my first days as a beginning blogger were like. Here, I'm sharing ten tips I wish I knew when I started. So let's just jump in, shall we?
- Don't sit there waiting for people to come. Get out there. Comment. Draw attention. DO NOT SPAM COMMENTS.
- When commenting, DON'T DO THIS. or This!!!! (In case you're wondering, I didn't do either, but saw people who did, and it's rude and annoying.)
- Leaving nice comments showing you actually read what people wrote, brings those people to you.
- Get involved. Help when people need help. Even if it's spreading the word. Even if it's posting on your STILL tiny blog.
- Use the above to ask for advice. You'll get it in spades.
- Short posts. I repeat. Short posts. 300 words are optimal.
- It's okay to poach followers from blogs. Go to the big ones and go visit as many of their followers as you can. Trust me, they want the interaction as much as you do.
- Don't ever think people will continue to come to you if you stop visiting them. It's nothing personal, but there are thousands of bloggers. If you don't stay in their awareness, they'll forget about you.
- If someone writes something controversial, think before you comment. Yes, disagreeing is fine, but don't be rude. It's not only between you and the blogger. Everyone else can see it too. Nothing creates a worse impression than a rude comment.
- Blogger has word verification activated as a default. If you don't want to annoy more than half your readers, de-activate it. It's not that hard to check comments for spam. You can even activate a moderation option so nothing goes through without your say-so.
There are many more about the finer points of blogging, but those you can figure out for yourself. But if you apply the ten tips I gave, you'll be well on your way. Promise!
Anyone have more tips for beginning bloggers?
You forgot a big one - respond to your blog comments. I hate it when bloggers ignore the people who not only read their blogs but who also comment. I make it a habit to respond to EVERY blog comment I receive. Not doing so is rude and thankless. (After I'm done reading the blog posts for this blogfest, I'll be responding to every comment I have received today at my blog.)
ReplyDeleteOh yeah I agree with you. Sadly though, you'll see my comment responses are months behind. I lacked time and figured people will appreciate visits more than replies on my blog.
DeleteWhen I can, though, I reply by e-mail.
Hi Misha - So nice to meet you! I need to get more disciplined about visiting blogs...I do it, but not enough. I love your advice, and yes, blogger verification can sometimes take me three tries. Ugh!
ReplyDeleteHave a wonderful day!
Me too, actually.
DeleteI definitely want to get out and about more. :-D
All great tips. Have to say the word verification one is definitely the biggest issue for me, sometimes I can't even figure out what I'm supposed to be typing in to leave the comment. It's a big turn-off, no question.
ReplyDeleteMe too. That and rude comments.
DeleteGreat tips! I have to admit that I obviously do this!!!! Sorry . . .it's just my way of trying to add some enthusiasm, and not meant to be rude. It never bugs me when other people comment with exclamation marks, and I hadn't thought it would bug others. It's something to think about in the future.
ReplyDeleteWord verification is the one that really bugs me.
No that's okay. I was talking about PEOPLE!!!!! DOING!!!!!!! THIS!!!!!! ALL THE TIME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
DeleteYou know I have been blogging for a while and these are still very good tips for all bloggers, not just starting ones.
ReplyDeleteI do tend to use a lot of exclamation points. But I am usually a pretty upbeat and happy guy!
I am coming back here to re-read these tips every so often.
--
Tim Brannan
The Other Side
The Freedom of Nonbelief
I have no problem with exclamation marks per se, but believe the only punctuation mark warrenting repetition after a single sentence is this one:
Delete.
These are great tips! I started getting traffic to my blog by visiting others. Part of me worried I'd come across as weird or stalkerish, but that happily turned out to be merely a figment of my paranoid imagination! I also agree that responding to controversy is something that needs to be done tactfully. Unless you want to alienate people, of course.
ReplyDeleteThanks for participating in my blogfest!
Me too! I used to think it's wrong for me to track down people to follow. Silly goose that I was.
DeleteAlways a pleasure. :-D
Tips for a beginning blogger - remember the blog is only a platform, you make it what YOU want, no rules to follow!
ReplyDeleteVisiting from Beginnings Blogfest.
thriftshopcommando.blogspot.com
Oh yeah that's a great one.
DeleteSo many good tips. I am new to blogging and learning on the road. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteNo problem! Thanks for stopping by.
DeleteExcellent tips! Crap, I'm guilty of the overuse of exclamation points though. And my posts have grown longer. In my defense, they are broken up into sections, and each section is short.
ReplyDeleteI also indulge in exclamation points. Just not in succession. :-D
DeleteThose are awesome tips! I'm doing my best to keep my posts short these days. I know I appreciate when other bloggers do it. Useful advice posts also draw a lot of attention.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely. I don't get lots of comments on my writing advice posts, but they generate a lot of hits.
DeleteAgree. (Although I enjoy a few !!! from an enthusiastic commenter from time to time. LOL) You're right about the return visits and being courteous. Great post! :D
ReplyDelete(Yes, that was me who ended up on your orchid blog. :P)
Thanks for stopping by on my orchid blog. It's pretty small still, so I appreciate new visitors. :-)
DeleteThose are ten great tips....especially #6. There are some bloggers that haven't seemed to let that one sink in yet. :)
ReplyDeleteHahaha yeah it took months for that one to sink in with me. :-D
DeleteGreat tips! I especially liked #6. I have a ton of blogs on my reading list, but I try really hard to get around to all of them regularly, because they're on my list for a reason. If it's a chore to visit someone, why am I still following them?
ReplyDeleteI reply to every comment on my blog, by e-mail if they're set up and try to fit in a visit as well. I don't expect others to do this - my blog is small and I'm on maternity leave right now, so I have time to do this. But if I comment 3 or 4 times on someone's blog with no response at all, I lose interest and/or feel stupid. Either way, there's no connection being built so I move on.
I also try to get around to everyone as often as possible while replying as well. Often it doesn't work out for me, though. :-/ Oh well...
DeleteGreat tips. It took me months to figure all of that out on my own... I'm a slow learner :-) Number 7 is the best way to find interesting people - from their comments you know if you'll get on.
ReplyDeleteDefinitely. I was a slow learner too, in the beginning. ;-)
DeleteGreat points Misha! I agree with all of it. There are bloggers who have been around for years and years though who still have word verification turned on. Drives me nuts. ;)
ReplyDelete