Brilliant or Bumblingby Collette Cameron
What’s your Blogging Etiquette?
After a bit more than a year of slogging through the blogging world as a blog host on Blue Rose Romance and a guest on dozens and dozens of blogs, I’ve made some discoveries. No, these aren’t mind-blowing epiphanies, nor are they hard and fast rules. And, they aren’t things as mundane as copyright laws or plagiarism rules. These are just my takes on a few things that have worked and others that haven’t.
As A Guest or Commentor:
· Do not spam or promote in the comments or in the post.
Unless the post specifically allows you to post your links, don’t do it. For instance, I follow a couple of blogs that sponsor weekly excerpt days and encourage authors to post their buy links. That’s altogether different than popping into a blog and saying, By-the-way, I sell chocolate underwear at melt-in-your-mouth-chocolate-undies.com
A quick aside here—I host a good number of authors on my site, and I fully expect them to share their buy links for their books as well as social media links.
· Thank your hostess, and try to respond to every comment.
I average over 1000 blog views daily. Trust me when I tell you there are not 1000 comments.
Do they notice if you don’t comment or reply? You bet. You don’t want to gain a reputation for ignoring the people who took the time and effort to touch base with you.
Plus, as a hostess, I’m much more likely to invite guests back who’ve put in an appearance.
Plus, as a hostess, I’m much more likely to invite guests back who’ve put in an appearance.
· Be mindful that your opinions, values, and views may not be the same as your hostess or other commenters.
Keep your comments and replies appropriate. Remember, the host has taken a risk by hosting you, and their reputation is on the line. Don’t do anything to tarnish it, and that includes the use of profanity.
· Try to reply with authentic responses.
I know occasionally, a simple thank you is all that you can really say, but do your best to pick something out of the comment to make your response personal.
· Respect the host’s guidelines if they’ve given them.
If a hostess asks for G or PG rated contents, respect that. If they ask for a submission under 500 words, then keep it under 500 words. I just had to delete a comment today on my Fanciful and Fabulous Five-Line Friday open posts because a comment wasn’t PG. I don’t have a disclaimer on my blog so the contents have to be appropriate for all audiences.
Okay, I do have to address the copyright stuff. Don’t submit any images or content that you don’t have a legal right to publish. Not only are you violating the law, you are putting your host at risk. That’s not okay. Period.
I find images for my post that won’t be a copyright infringements. It’s a matter of decency. I don’t want my books pirated, so I do my utmost to only use public domain images. I won’t intentionally ever infringe on a copyright.
· Provide everything your host requests in a timely fashion.
I ask for my guests to have the information back to me two weeks in advance in case there’s something missing. Only about 40% of my guests do this. I post all of my blogs for the upcoming week on Fridays, and I really don’t like having to scramble and remind guests to get me their information. Your host is a busy person too.
Also, make sure your host received your post contents. Simply ask for a quick confirmation. I recently had a guest scheduled who’d I’d been communicating with for a few weeks about their upcoming spot. Only the information never arrived, and I won’t pester a guest after asking once or twice for the materials. Turns out, she thought she sent it to me. I never received it and gave her spot to someone else thinking she’d changed her mind or forgotten. She thought I’d forgotten her post.
Also, make sure your host received your post contents. Simply ask for a quick confirmation. I recently had a guest scheduled who’d I’d been communicating with for a few weeks about their upcoming spot. Only the information never arrived, and I won’t pester a guest after asking once or twice for the materials. Turns out, she thought she sent it to me. I never received it and gave her spot to someone else thinking she’d changed her mind or forgotten. She thought I’d forgotten her post.
Yes, this does occasionally happen. Be nice! Send a polite email gently reminding them. Remember, something unexpected may have come up.
· Those pesky long links.
I adore my guests who have the URLs embedded in their links, so all a visitor has to do is click on Twitter or Facebook or Website (See, I just did it.) and wala! You’re there. It’s so much more attractive and
convenient.
Benefit of commenting.
Commenting on blogs is an effective tool to getting your name out there. It’s easy, quick, and if you do it often enough, it helps to build your platform. (Check out this post by Anne R. Allen about this very thing.)
As A Blog Host/Hostess
· Greet your guest, and if at all possible, pop in to comment a time or two.
My favorite blogs to visit are the ones that make me feel welcome, and the hostess takes the time interact with me as well as the viewers who stop by.
· Do not spam visitors within the guest post.
It’s a huge turn-off. Yes, there is information about my books, my Facebook Page, etc. on my blog, because it’s my blog. But, I don’t put anything in guest posts that detracts from their post or feature. See my note about Mr. Rude’s chocolate drawers above.
Also, and this is a grrrr moment for me because it happened just recently. If a guest is gracious enough to start following your blog, DO NOT presume to use their Twitter handle to promote your blog posts. I have had two bloggers do this to me. I have already unfollowed and blocked one and plan on doing so with the other just as soon as I have a free moment to do so. In one case, I truly loved the contents of the blog, but I feel used. They did not ask me, nor did they make mention of the fact they were going to do this.
· Your guest is a no show.
It happens on occasion. I’ve done it, and the reasons have ranged from a death in the family to a guest simply forgetting. I try to send out a reminder with the permalink, but still, I’ve had at least ten guests never put in an appearance and never let me know why later on. It’s not likely I’ll invite them back.
I know this can be frustrating, but remind yourself, you don’t know what’s going on in that person’s life. I have forgotten twice (I felt absolutely awful about it.) and both times I went in later and responded to the commenters. One time, I simply forgot. I had a new release, was deep in edits on another book, and I was working full-time. The other spot I missed was because two tragedies struck the same day and my mind was
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| Hope in a Prison of Despair |
elsewhere.
One of those hosts sent me a scathing email when I forgot to stop by their site on a blog tour. I apologized and explained the reason I’d missed my guest spot that day (the tragedy day) and I did reply to comments, albeit late. Still most of the commenters were following the blog tour, and I’d interacted with them before. The host harassed me for days on Twitter, and I’ll tell you right now, I’ll never schedule another tour with that tour company again.
You forget to post a guest spot.
Whoops! I did this twice, in the last couple of weeks actually. Hanging my head in shame. I had the right day; wrong month. Just as soon as I they told me (very nicely, I might add) I put the post up and apologized profusely. It’s gonna happen, because I’m human and I make mistakes. And I have new posts up nearly every day. Occasionally something gets lost in the hustle and bustle, and I swear, there are evil gremlins in Yahoo email that eat my folders and emails.
· Read your guests’ post.
Sounds simple enough, and truly shouldn’t even have to be mentioned, but from personal experience, I know this is skipped sometimes. It can make for some awkward, and downright weird, comments from your host.
· Let your guest know when their post will go live and provide them with the direct link.
The truth is, your guest likely doesn’t have a clue what your blog name is, let alone the URL—which is really too bad, because they should make an effort to read your blog before being a guest on it. But, we all know, that’s not always going to happen. Make it easy for them to come by providing them with the link a day or two in advance. It also serves as a nice reminder you’re expecting them.
Ann R. Allen posted a very savvy article on this very subject. Just click on the link below. I can’t recommend her blog highly enough. Actually, if you’re not following her blog and you’re a writer, you should be.
Have your own tips? Please let me know in the comments.
All images are courtesy of Wikimedia Commons
