Rules of Blogging

I've been reading a blog that cracks me up - well I read several of them - but McMommy is hysterical. The woman wears nipple cream as lip gloss and isn't ashamed of it - she actually swears by it and tries to convert people all the time. HA! Her writing is truly entertaining and I only wish I was half as funny as she is.

I took this from her blog today because I think it is great information...

Unwritten rules about blogging that McMommy made up and have no merit whatsoever but here they are anyway:

1. Blog for yourself.

Do it because you love it, because it's therapeutic for you, because you want to capture a moment in time, because it's a stress-reliever, because you suck at scrapbooking, because there is nothing good on tv tonight. WHATEVER. Just do it for YOU. The minute your blog becomes a chore...just stop. This isn't a paid job. Blogging shouldn't be stress-inducing. Or a clogger of to-do lists. (did i really just use the word "clogger"? )

2. Appreciate Comments....

You probably already know that exhilarating feeling of when you see someone left a comment on your post. For me, it's like seeing a hand-written note in my mailbox! It's wonderful. I read every single comment. Sometimes twice. I truly appreciate the time the person took to leave me a comment.

I couldn't agree more on this one - I absolutely ADORE comments... so all you lurkers out there... let me know you're here! :-)

3. ....but don't become a slave to them either.

To me, there is nothing worse than when you see a post with the title "The Post Where I Lose All My Readers". (I've seen this so many times, it's scary.) The post will then go on to say that the blogger is so overwhelmed with their real life and keeping up with their blog life, they won't have time to comment anymore, blah, blah, blah.

Here's my thinking:
You have a life. + I have a life. = ENOUGH SAID.

There is no reason for anyone to have to explain why they can't comment on posts.I understand. TRULY. Because all of us have lives.And besides, if people really love your writing style, they will come back to visit when they can.

4. Don't let Comment Count bother you.

I have 793 subscribers to my blog.

That is the number of people who know how to subscribe to an RSS Feed.

That does not count the people like McSister...who just have my blog address bookmarked and come visit it every day.

Google Analytics tells me I had 14,356 people visit within the past month.

Yet guess what?

I only average about 40 comments per post, if I'm lucky.

So what's the moral of the story?

Just because your comment count is low doesn't mean people aren't reading. So keep on writing!

5. Be respectful of other people's blogs.

There is nothing ruder than when people use their comment to promote their own blog/giveaway/business/etc. For example, a comment like:"Ha ha! Funny story! By the way, I'm having a giveaway today: www.LinkToGiveaway.com"

There is a time and a place for promotions (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, etc.).

Do not use another person's blog comments for this purpose.

It's just common courtesy.

6. Don't be vanilla for long.

Everyone is a little boring when they are first starting out in the blog world. It's just expected; we all have to find our writing voice.

But after awhile, you will find your style...and it's time to ditch the vanilla and think about mint chocolate chip.

Don't just write about how you attended a birthday party at Chuckie Cheese this past weekend. That's vanilla.

Do write about how that hamster-tunnel-thingy that winds around the top of Chuckie Cheese absolutely skeeves.you.out. Because you KNOW those employees aren't actually squeezing themselves through that nasty thing to sanitize it every day, etc., etc.Now that's chocolate chip swirl....And totally fun to read.