28 Jul 2015

Blogging 201

After my last post on blogging etiquette (that is still relevant to the blogging world, surprisingly), here is a compilation of little good-to-knows to help any floundering newbie bloggers out there. God knows I could've used a post like this when I started out :P

1. Stop calling your blogpost, a blog. You have ONE blog in which you write several POSTS

2. I know, I know how pretty they are! But running, scripty fonts aren’t always the most readable fonts. So skip out on using them for your text content or use them in moderation

3. Have an About Me page, please. Because I want to know who I’m reading. Because it lends credibility to the voice of the blog. Yes, even when you are an anon blogger.
And when you are writing an introduction, 1) don’t refer to yourself in third person (unless it’s a business) because it is pretentious and creepy at the same time 2) don’t say “I suck at defining myself” or some version of this, list out your interests, add some random facts about your life, talk about why your blog is called what it is called (in short, you don't have to define yourself, talking about what you love itself gives us an insight on who you are)


4. Don’t have popups on your blog. Things jumping out at me when I’m reading your post will only make me think twice about staying awhile. Same goes for automatic music

5. When you leave a comment on someone else’s blog, make it easy for other people to find your blog as well. Use a bit of code to leave a direct link in the comment. But do not, I repeat, DO NOT misuse this

6. Doesn’t matter how perfect your blog looks, if it doesn’t have quirks that are unique to you, the way you write, your personality, it is still going to look like just another webpage in the vast world of webpages

7. Page load time – my sworn enemy. Keep it under 10 seconds. Even that is too much, actually. 3 to 4 seconds is considered ideal

Not something you want your visitors doing, is it?
8. Don’t disable right click on your blog to prevent content theft, instead use CSS to disable the copy-paste function on your text. WAY more effective

9. Don’t be afraid to tell someone who is leaving irrelevant or random comments off, really. You are better off with three people who actually read your posts than 30 readers who don’t read and say “very informative, thanks for sharing”

10. Reach out – when you have a technical query, when you like something someone has done with their blog, something they wrote, some award/tag/anything they created, reach out to them, tell them that you love the idea and ask if you may borrow it. And backlink (for that is the form of reward we thrive on, no?) It means a lot to most bloggers, after all, imitation IS the best form of flattery


P.S: Please feel free to add your own pointers :)
P.P.S: Linking to #TuesdayTen

40 comments:

  1. I am so going to love and follow you to the ends of the earth for this fabulous post :) Yes, yes to everything. I understand that newbie bloggers will have most of these problems, but the seasoned ones can take some time to correct all of this, right? I am pretty sure I must still be falling short in one or two areas and must cross-check of course! And HIGH-FIVE for Point # 1 sister :D Ok, if you met me, you know I'd rock that phrase. Totally!

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    1. Haha so sweet, glad you find the list sensible :) And yes, seasoned bloggers too need some of these (but seasoned bloggers say 'wtf are you to tell me all this' :P so *shooh*

      LOL, lets meet up then coz I want to hear you rock that phrase :D

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  2. I have a pop up! But I'll know you'll come by, won't you? :P
    *fingers crossed* :)

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    1. Bah! I DID fleetingly think of you when I wrote the point. Unfortunately for me and fortunately for you, I still need regular doses of that cute kid of yours, so I HAVE to be back :P

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  3. I just when back to my blog to check if I fall under any of these. Thankfully not!

    And what about those people who say "I have followed you, follow me back please"?

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  4. Reading. Stalking. ABSOLUTELY AGREE !

    About the "I suck at my bio writing"..I might have done that! xD ;)

    With Love,
    Anna || Curly Scribbles

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    1. Thanks love, for this comment and then going crazy on the other post :D glad you like it so much <3
      :)

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  5. OK. Checklisting....
    1. Gotcha. Not that I do it, but it can slip out by mistake.
    2. Have scripty fonts only for headings, not for content. :) Used to for content till a friend told me that regular font as much better.
    3. Have an about page, and it's a decent one I think. :)
    4. No popups. Hate them. Can't stand them. Won't use them. :)
    5. I do leave a direct link, but in moderation. Never for those bloggers who I love to read and who I know will return the visit without a link in the comment.
    6. I'm quirky :) My posts reflect that.
    7. It varies, unfortunately. but below 5 seconds most of the time. :)
    8. This was part of my security plugin package. But will try to workaround.
    9. I hate generic comments too. At times, I even tell off my friends who do that.
    10. Love to interact with bloggers, and if I use some of their content, with their permission, I definitely backlink.

    Loved reading and reflecting on your Blogging 201. Very useful tips, Cookie. :D

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    1. Most welcome :) Look at you checking away the check list :)

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  6. Thanks for linking up! I'll tell you, pop ups are so annoying to me. I know you want people to sign up for your newsletter or whatever, but if I have to click X in order to read something, I get annoyed and after a while, I might not come back!

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  7. Oh that first tip! That must be something I have wanted to point out to several people, but always kept back!

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    1. And the one that annoys the living duck out of me.

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  8. You know, I wish you'd given these tips so much earlier! Most things we found out the hard way :p

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    1. heehee, I wish someone had handed out these tips back in 2008 when I was floundering and failing :P

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  9. you said it!! I am always attracted to the uniqueness of the blog. The slow load time and popups are real turn offs!!

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  10. Very informative, Thanks for sharing :P :P
    You're the boss,PeeVee ! :D

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  11. These are great pointers for sure! I completely agree with the pop ups...especially the music or videos that start playing and scare the dickens out of me. Hope you have a great week!

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    1. Thank you Stacey :)
      True that, worse when you open a blog surreptitiously at work and some random boyband song starts playing from the site and everyone turns to look at you -_-
      You have a great one too!

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  12. Well, I think I've nailed the About Me page at least! :)
    And I don't know if I've ever commented here before, but I really like your style of writing.

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    1. I remember reading your bio and commenting, or am I imagining things? It was one hell of a bio :D
      I think you have :) That's how I found your blog.
      And thank you :)

      P.S: HAVE YOU GOTTEN RID OF THAT SPIDER YET. (notice that it is NOT a question:P)

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    2. Funny story.. The lab safety people came in for a surprise visit - and that was when the jar (in which the spiders - notice how it's in 'plural' now - were being housed) was open.. we somehow scrambled to that side of the lab without letting those men see us and closed the lid.

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    3. :O:O:O:O:O:O:O:O:O:O:O:O

      WHICH PART OF THAT STORY IS FUNNY?
      *shudders*

      Sach batao, did YOU leave it open hoping to 'accidentally' become spidermaan?
      Okay PJ but THROW THEM AWAY.
      -______-

      *shudders again*

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    4. BTW no, you didn't drop a comment on my BIO, but you definitely have on some of my posts. And no! No throwing away Spiders! Or Japanese sea turtles - we have those too in the lab. :)

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    5. I did. Go check -_- Bah, sucheforgetful you are.
      Aww, sea turtles <3
      WHY WOULD YOU TALK ABOUT THEM IN THE SAME SENTENCE AS THOSE CREATURES.

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    6. Well unless you've commented using a pseudonym, you're not there! :O
      And we now have caterpillars too.. I think this is about the time I should get concerned! :|

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  13. Thank you for sharing this is so fun to read:) Can we follow each other’s blog to support each other?:) please let me know if you are interested so I can follow your blog back:)

    xoxo
    http://www.theclosetelf.com/

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    1. Hi Hilary, thanks for dropping by.
      I'm sorry, I'm not a fan of Follow-for-Follow.
      Flattered by your interest though, hope to see you around.

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  14. I should consider formatting my blog's look and feel. Maybe you could help me with that. :)

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    1. Maybe? Definitely.
      Ping me about what you need and it shall be done :)

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  15. Hells yeah! :) So true. All of it :) Especially point 1..people really, really ought to know the difference.

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    1. I know right, so tired of correcting them, Whimsy -_-

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  16. Yikes I guess I Am culpable of a few!! Sry :)
    Btw I find ppl who leave random comments like 'nice article, follow my blog something .something.com' really annoying...... Basically they are not interested in my stuff and just want ppl to follow back on their blog!

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    1. :) Not at all, I'm glad if I helped in any way.
      I KNOW, they piss me off to no end -_-

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  17. Yes, yes and yes. I have never got people who call their posts as blogs :D Even some of the so called old bloggers do that. And for the life of me, I haven't been able to figure out why. And yes with the font thingy too. It hurts our eyes, all those fancy fonts!

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  18. You deserve a standing ovation for this post and especially for the point - " You are better off with 3 readers who actually read the post than 30 readers who don't read but leave random comments.."

    Honestly, I have to go back and check if I am guilty of such things. I would correct if I find any, and feel free to tell me if you see something that's irritation. I am not the one to take offense at constructive criticsm :)

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  19. I'm glad to have found your blog!!!!! I think this is a blog I will be following. :)
    Is it still acceptable etiquette to leave a link to my blog here? ;)

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Go on, you can say it.