10 Things Bloggers Shouldn't Do

As part of Bloggiesta, I decided to participate in the mini-challenge hosted by Word Lily about the 10 Things Bloggers Shouldn't Do.

The rules are simple:

1. Read the post, 10 Things Bloggers Should Not Do.
2. Rate yourself (on a scale of 1 to 5, 5 being muy excellente) on each point. How are you doing?
3. Brainstorm examples of what you can/will do to improve your ratings in those areas that could use improvement. And/or:
4. If you feel you’re doing particularly great in one area, share examples of how you’ve reached such excellence.

So, here are the statements, you can read more about them in the link above.

1. You must not expect results over night - 4/5, Why? Well, I've been blogging for close to three years, and it isn't until now that I've begun to get followers and comments in my blog. I can fully appreciate that it takes time and dedication. And love. You must do what you love but also love what you do.

2. You must not ignore your readers - 4/5, Why? I love all the people who read and comment in my blog. In part, that's why I made the decision to install Intense Debate, so I could have more interaction. I make a point to comment back whenever someone leaves a comment in my blog, because it's just the polite thing to do. 

3. You must not scrape another blogger's content - 5/5, Why? I seriously try to avoid this. As an author, I've been plagiarized before, and it was incredibly hurtful and awful. It made me feel dirty. So yeah, I avoid this, consciously. I try to avoid reading other reviews of the book I'm about to review, try to write my own summaries to exercise how to put things in my own words.  Yeah, sure, sometimes I see plug in or widget in someone else's blog and I decide I got to have it, so I use it but I also make a point to link the the site were I first saw it, it's just as a courtesy. Like with the "Recent Posts" Plug in my sidebar? I saw it first at The Book Scoop, and love it, see, takes just a couple of lines to say it!

4. You must not expect success without promoting - 3/5 - So true, blogging is not one of those "if you build it they will come" things. I know most of us do it for fun, but you have to take it seriously. I know I need to work on it, myself. I think this streams out of the fact that I'm a bit shy in real life, but yeah, it can go from very simple stuff, like twitter and the sharing buttons you put in your blog, and whatever else you can do to put your blog out there (for good reasons).

5. You must not be another blogger - 4/5 - Going back to #1, you have to do what you love and love what you do. Just be yourself. I'm going to say something that most avid readers know: when someone is faking it in their writing, you can totally tell. You can tell when someone isn't feeling what they are writing, and when they are trying to write like someone else.

6. You must not fail to update you blog regularly - 2/5 - Okay, so I try to post something at least once a week, I really do. But I honestly don't have a blog-schedule, I rarely schedule posts ahead of time. Something I really need to work on, I guess I just need to plan better.

7. You must not Ignore SEO - 2/5 - During my first Bloggiesta, I learned what SEO was, I had no idea what it was before, and part of me doesn't really know yet. But yeah, so I'm guessing I really need to work on it. I took a baby step today by updating my meta tags, but need to work more on it, I know.

8. You must not ignore networking - 3/5, Yeah, I said this during the Busting the Newbie Blues event (run by Small Review). Comment, comment, comment! It's the easiest way to get people to notice your blog. I'm not saying you have to hop all over the place with nothing much to say, or that you follow just so people follow you back, but yeah, if you see a post you like, comment! if you see a blog you like, follow. Don't be afraid, most bloggers out there are absolute sweethearts.

9. You must not have an unreadable/unnavigable site - 3/5, I've seen this in action. Sometimes I find blogs that have very good content, but the design is so busy and crowded that it's hard to navigate. I try to keep mine as clean as possible, but you can tell this year I went a bit... button happy (with all the buttons of my challenges)  and put a ton of them. I'm  trying to find a way to sort it out.

10. You must not throw mud around - 5/5 - This I believe absolutely. Maybe is the debate geek in me, but I firmly believe that there is always an appropriate way to phrase yourself so you make your point but remain respectful. We are word-people, we like words and know how to use them, there is always a way to say what you mean without attacking other people's opinions or ideas. Whenever I disagree with someone, I try to keep in mind that I'm trying to Discuss not Fight. I like arguing with people over ideas and points of view, fighting? not so much. 

So that's me! Anyone else doing this?