The 12 Unwritten and Important Etiquette Rules of Blogging

picture property of Hello Fashion, found HERE, altered by Caravan Sonnet

I have said this before but bloggy world is a strange and yet wonderful place. Today I wanted to share what I believe are 12 unwritten and important etiquette rules of blogging that make this adventure lovely.

1. Don't Follow and then Unfollow Someone Once the Link-Up is Over. 

While I personally don't think that there is anything wrong with following someone and then changing your mind as you get to know them it is particularly rude to follow and then immediately unfollow once a link up is over. (Just to set the record straight- on most social media forums you can see who unfollows you. Definitely not cool.)

2. Do Take the Time to Leave a Thoughtful Comment on a Blog Post. 

Comments are a gift to bloggers and comments that go beyond the "great post" are like a present. Take the time to encourage your fellow bloggers by leaving a comment. 

3. Share a Post, Re-tweet a Post Link, Re-pin a Link.

Even better than a comment is doing one of these things. Honestly whenever someone does this I truly try to do the same for them. It is a beautiful circle of love! *smiles*

4. Credit Photos that Are Not Yours

You may not be the world's best photographer, but always always always give credit to the source of your picture.

5. Don't Copy Someone Else's Phrases that are Uniquely Their Own. 

A sad trend that I have noticed around bloggy world is what I like to nick name "soft plagiarism". It is not exactly typing word for word someone else's blog post, but instead will use key or typical phrases that are uniquely a bloggers. Look, it is great to be inspired by another blogger but don't copy "their" phrases, etc. Create your own and have a blog that is uniquely yours!

6. Don't be strange and post similar quotes, verses, topics on your blog or on social media the same day or the next day after someone else does on. It is one thing to be inspired by someone and another thing to be copying them. 

This past year I had the strangest thing start to occur. I would post a picture with a particular quote on instagram and then next day one particular blogger would post the exact same quote. The first 8 times it happened I thought maybe it was a coincidence but after it happened 25 times and continues to happen at least 5 times a month, I realized that this was purposeful. It routinely will happen on my most popular and liked instagram pictures. It is strange and honestly I want to encourage everyone to share what is uniquely on your heart. Let's all be our unique selves! (If someone has inspired you to post something or share something on social media- acknowledge them in your post or share somehow- this is a wonderful way to connect with another blogger!)

7. Reply to Blog Comments or Emails. 

No matter how big your blog is take the time to give a thoughtful reply to your blog readers who comment or email you. I shared this when in my post on 6 ways to have your blog make an impact and a difference in the world, and I truly believe that this is very important. Life is very very busy-I completely understand, but this is a wonderful way to connect with the readers of your blog. Last winter I decided to "switch up" my blog posting days so that I could devote at least one day a week to responding to emails and comments. I try to do it more often, but by rearranging my blog posting schedule I have been able to take the time to sincerely and thoughtfully respond to people's comments. I definitely recommend figuring out a schedule and a commenting system that works for you!

8. Don't Pick Favorites in Groups. 

It is completely normal to have close friends in all different situations, but sometimes in bloggy world cliques develop that don't let anyone else in. Sadly, I see this a ton with christian blogging groups. There is one particular group that I am in that I have tried for over a year "to break into". Despite my attempts at reaching out, trying to collaborate, commenting, etc. I have been routinely left out of things and I hear this a lot from different bloggers. Deep and close friendships are wonderful, but let's still open our hearts to others and encourage others in their adventures!

9. Don't Leave Comments with Links to Your Store or Other Shops on Someones Post About Their Handmade Shop or Pictures.

This has happened to me so many times and from outside the bloggy world it doesn't seem like anything, but honestly it is tacky. When someone is sharing about their creative endeavors it is just not polite to leave a comment saying that you support another handmade shop that supports women in underprivileged countries. When you do this it almost comes across like you are saying that the hardworking woman behind the computer screen isn't doing a great job. 

10. Don't Leave Critical Comments. 

If you don't like the post you just read then just don't comment. As our mama's have said to us: "if you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all". 

11. Decide the Boundary Lines of Your Privacy and Stick to it.

All different and successful bloggers handle privacy in a myriad of different ways. Some decide to share tons of pictures of their family and friends, their kiddos, all about their life, etc while others decide to stick more to a topic and have some personal posts thrown in throughout the year. Decide what is best for you and stick to it. I made the decision early on in my blogging career that not everything was up for every one's knowledge. For me this means that I don't share a ton about my friends or family (without their permission), tons of pictures of my friends or family, and while I share about fighting Lyme Disease and Cancer I don't share the particular drugs or supplements that I am using. Whatever works for you is great- just choose carefully because once something has been written on the internet you can not retract it!

12. Those that Make Blogging Their Entire Life often Burn Out.

You can have blogging be your full time job but still understand that it is your job, passion, or hobby but it is not your life. 

Early this summer I was invited to join a small group of ladies to create a blogging group that would encourage each other in our blogs. It quickly became obvious that the leader of the group had her blog as her entire life as she would send out weekly tasks for each of us to complete (sometimes these would require us to spend over 30 hours!!), wanted us to print off every hand out she sent to us, had rules that we were to follow, insisted that I needed to go back to God and pray more even though I had prayed about a particular position she wanted me to have in the group and had said "no", and other strange things. When I decided to leave the group and explained that I just felt my other commitments were to great for this type of schedule and responsibilities she literally had a breakdown saying that if people like me were leaving the group then she must be doing something wrong and she couldn't stop crying. She sent me several long facebook messages trying to get me to change my mind. 

It was just strange, BUT it is something that in my 4 years of blogging I have unfortunately seen a lot. Understand that your blog is one facet of your beautiful life and not your entire life. Those that do stay in the blogging world for a lovely amount of time that is usually longer than those who get burned out from making their blog their entire life. 

Okay bloggers- what are your etiquette rules that you believe every blogger should follow? Please let me know I would love to read!!