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Sara Kate Styling

Blogging Etiquette: 5 Rules for Bloggers

I’ve been blogging for a couple of years now and I finally feel like I’ve gotten to a point where I pretty well have got it down. It’s taken a while to get to this point, though, so I figured I’d cut to the chase and make it easier for the rest of you! You can all learn of the to-do items as you grow, but they hardest ones to learn are the ones that are pretty well unspoken. SO pen to paper, here we go. 

{Disclaimer. I am may step on some toes, but someone needs to say them.}


1) Comment Back
When I was new to blogging I learned that commenting on other blogs was one of the easiest ways to increase traffic and it’s true! It does work dramatically, but it’s also common courtesy to return the favor. Sure once you get to a certain point that may be unrealistic, but in general, just do it. It will take all of two minutes and it will make that person so happy!


2) Show Up
Blogger events don’t happen all that often. So when someone goes out of their way to plan them, try to be there. They only take up a little time {like 3 hours a month} but they can be a great way of showing your support of one another and can provide great opportunities for cross promotion and growth!   

3) Tag When It’s Appropriate 
That said, blogger events typically don’t draw as big of a turn out as you’d think. So if you attend you need to tag two things. One, the host. Often there is a business that is hosting the event and although they are doing it out of the kindness of their heart, they are also doing it for exposure. Show some love and give them a shout out. Two, the people that attended. Especially if you are sharing group pictures from the event, show some support of the people that actually showed up and link up with them. It will just make traffic better for all of you!

Now we are getting into the ones that make me a little feisty.  

4) Cite & Cite Correctly
As bloggers, we all work incredibly hard to create beautiful, original content. We pour our hearts into it in the hopes that our readers will love it. Unfortunately, though, sometimes other people love it just as much or realize the traffic that it is driving and want to use it for themselves. Here’s the deal… That is completely fine… AS LONG AS YOU CREDIT YOUR SOURCE!! Make sure to trace the image to it’s original publication site and to credit accordingly on ALL social media outlets. {The easiest way to do it? Use a hyperlinked “via” under blog images and “photo cred: —–” or “Photo thanks to —-” on social media.} Be sure to note, y’all, sometimes this isn’t just etiquette, you could get into copyright issues if you’re not careful! Always link your source!  

5) Do Not Use Affiliate Links on Other People’s Images
This one is my biggest rule and let it be known… I will throw down for this one. Nothing makes me angrier than when someone uses another person’s image, doesn’t credit it/link it back and then tries to use affiliate links to make money off of it. Like are kidding me?! Not only are you going to steal the content, but you are also going to try to use it for you’re own profit!? This is a HUGE problem on Pinterest right now and it has got to stop. If a non-original image is posted on either your site or Pinterest, it needs to link back to the original post!


Don’t get me wrong, we can’t make everyone do what they “should” but it all starts with each of us.


Thanks for reading, loves! I hope you have a great start to your week!

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Comments

  1. I have a hard time getting on board with any "blogging rules" because I feel like it's something that inherently has no rules, but these are actually good and fair. I like how you cited it as "blogging etiquette" because people get pretty touchy with "blogging rules."

    Reply

  7. These are such great tips! I can't tell you how many times I've been irritated when I click on a pin of someone's look, expecting to be taken over to the person's blog and have been carried over to an affiliate site! I think that's why Pinterest has cracked down a bit on affiliate links. This really is such a great post, girlie!

    I hope you have an amazing day!

    XO,

    Jalisa
    http://www.thestylecontour.com

    Reply

    • I had it happen last year and literally didn't find out until 6 months later. There is literally nothing worse than finding your own picture on Pinterest, getting excited, clicking it and being redirected {via affiliate link} to some random product page that's not even remotely similar! I've never had that happen on instagram, though, well as far as I know. How terrible!

      Reply