Blog Series | Blogging Etiquette and Best Practices
One of the best things about blogging is that there are very few “rules”. For the most part, your blog can be whatever you want it to be, and you can run it how you want: this is, I’d imagine, the very reason many of us get into blogging in the first place.
There are, however, some important exceptions to this ‘make-it-up-as-you-go-along’ idea. I’ve said it before, but I don’t think it can be repeated often enough: when you start a blog, you are becoming a publisher. There ARE laws which govern publishing (and therefore blogging). There are also some general principles which may not be governed by law, but which are, nevertheless, considered good practice, and which I’d recommend following. Here’s my take on blogging etiquette…
Don’t steal or copy other people’s content
I went into this in great detail in last week’s post on Blogging and Copyright, so all I’ll say here is that this is one of the most important “rules” to follow, especially given that there are actual laws governing copyright infringement, and you can get into some serious trouble for breaking them. You can read more about UK Copyright Law here, or hit up Google for the laws relating to your country.
Disclose all freebies, sponsorships or other brand relationships
Again, this is another area in which there are actual rules to follow. The FTC (Federal Trade Commission) has produced a lengthy document on disclosures, which you can find here: it’s a really in-depth document, and could easily be the subject of a blog post in itself, but you can find a more concise summary of it here. For me, what it all basically boils down to is this: be transparent. If you were compensated for a post, received a product for free, or are likely to benefit financially from writing about a particular product or brand, make sure your readers know that.
There are various ways to disclose brand relationships: on this site, for instance, as well as mentioning any freebies/sponsorships in the post itself, I also have a disclosure statement in my sidebar, which links to my full disclosure policy. If you’re not sure whether you’ve disclosed something properly, though, a good way to think of it is to imagine yourself reading the post on someone else’s blog. Would you know the product was a freebie, or that the post was sponsored? If not, you haven’t provided a clear enough disclosure, so it’s worth going over the post again and making sure you make your relationship with the brand clearer.
It’s worth noting here that the FTC is a US agency, so the guidelines it produces technically don’t apply here in the UK. Even in the US, the FTC doesn’t actively monitor blogs, so the idea I keep hearing that bloggers will “go to jail” for non-disclosure is probably a bit of an over-reaction. My personal feeling, though, is that even if the FTC guidelines aren’t law in your country, it’s still good practice to observe them as if they were. Even if you take the legal side of things out of the equation, blogging is largely about trust: your readers need to be able to trust you, and if they suspect that you’re not disclosing sponsored posts or freebies, you’ll destroy that trust, and destroy your blog in the process.
“How will they know?” I hear you ask. They just will. Readers aren’t stupid: they can detect sudden, random changes in voice or subject, and they’re suspicious if you suddenly start raving about some brand you’ve never mentioned before. I frequently see bloggers posting things I KNOW are sponsored, without disclosing it. Sometimes I can tell because the post clearly wasn’t written by the person whose blog it appears on (It’s really easy to tell when a post was written by a PR/SEO person, especially if you’re used to the blogger’s usual style), and sometimes I know because I’ll have been approached with the same offer – often with the requirement that I not disclose the sponsorship.
I had a request like this on Friday, from a brand who wanted to pay me to write a post about their products (which they wouldn’t be sending me: I only ever feature products I’ve used myself, so this post would’ve stuck out like a sore thumb), without disclosing that the post was sponsored: needless to say, I turned them down (and explained why), but it’s always disappointing to see brands actively requesting that bloggers hide things from their readers – and equally disappointing when, a few weeks later, I start to see posts popping up from other bloggers featuring the brand/campaign in question, and not disclosing that they were paid for it.
Credit your sources
This is sort-of related to my first point, but I’m talking here about times when you’ve been “inspired” by another blogger, without actually infringing their copyright. It’s not against the law to take inspiration from someone else (we all do it, I’m sure), but it IS good blogging etiquette to acknowledge that you didn’t just come up with the idea on your own, but got it from someone else. For instance, when I did my first Shoe Challenge on ShoeperWoman, years ago, a few other bloggers decided to pick up the idea and do the same challenge on their own blogs. Some of them mentioned that they’d got the idea from me, and linked back when they did, which was great: others, however, made no mention of my blog at all, and just copied the idea without saying where it came from. Their readers would have assumed the idea was the blogger’s own: I, however, knew it wasn’t, because they had commented on my blog saying, “Ooh, great idea, I think I’ll do it, too!”
Those bloggers weren’t breaking the law by copying my idea, and I wasn’t crying into my pillow over it or anything, but it would’ve been nice if they’d at least credited me, or linked back to my site occasionally, and it might have encouraged me to do the same for them.
Be nice
I’d like to say that this one should go without saying, but I know to my cost that it doesn’t. When you live your life online, there are going to be times when things happen that you don’t have the best reaction to. Maybe you’re having a bad day and that rude comment is just the last straw; maybe there’s something else going on in your life that’s making things extra-tough, but someone says something, or does something, and all of a sudden you feel overwhelmed by the urge to lash out. Hey, we’ve all been there. (Er, we HAVE all been there, haven’t we? Or is it just me?)
My best advice? DON’T. It’s so tempting to take to Twitter to vent about bad service, to post a sarcastic response to a rude comment, or to otherwise go off on one. I’ve been there. I’ve done it. And I’ve always, ALWAYS regretted it. It can be really, REALLY hard to take a step back, calm the hell down, and walk away (Trust one who knows), but it’s always worth it. Never respond in the heat of the moment: always take a bit of time, sleep on it if you can, and either respond calmly and rationally, or not at all. If you give in to the urge to lash out at someone, no matter how justified, you’ll just end making yourself look bad, so stay calm, and be nice. Even if it kills you.
Engage
Answer questions, respond to comments, be an active member of the community you’ve created. I don’t think that every single comment necessarily requires a response (sometimes there really isn’t much you can say, and personally I always feel a bit fake just going, “thanks for commenting!”, “thanks for commenting!” over and over again), but at the very least you should answer direct questions and acknowledge particularly thoughtful comments. Or try to, anyway. If you don’t care enough to join the discussion on your own blog, why would anyone else?
Check your spelling
As sites like Pinterest etc have made images more important than ever for blogs, writing has started to fall by the wayside. This is particularly true in areas like fashion and beauty blogging, where the image is often the most important part of the post, and writing becomes a secondary consideration. Even if you have a photo-based blog, though, writing is important. People WILL judge you on it. You don’t have to be the world’s greatest writer in order to run a successful blog (And lord knows, we all make mistakes. Some more than others.), but you DO need to pay attention to spelling and grammar, and brush up on the basics – things like its/it’s confusion or their/there/they’re. As I said, everyone makes mistakes, and it can be hard to proofread your own writing (I’ve actually done a proofreading course, but I STILL sometimes spot basic mistakes years later…), but I’ve read quite a few posts recently in which the author has confused “it’s” and “its” throughout the entire post, and it’s really off-putting. Use a spellchecker, or get someone else to proofread your post if you can.
Just as importantly, don’t use words you don’t understand. This might seem like a really silly thing to say, or something that should go WITHOUT saying, but another thing I’ve seen a lot of lately is the misuse of words. The blogger will use what they presumably think is a “big” or impressive word in place of a much simpler one – but they’ll use it completely incorrectly, thus creating the opposite effect from the one they were aiming for. If you’re not sure what a word means, don’t use it. Don’t use “big” words when small ones will do the same job. Above all, don’t think your writing doesn’t matter just because you’re a fashion or beauty blogger: it does.
(100% sure I’ll have made some glaring errors in this post: I ALWAYS do in posts about writing! Just to reiterate: I’m not saying you have to be Shakespeare, or that you should beat yourself up over every little mistake (I actually think making a big deal out of someone’s typo is poor etiquette, too): just do what you can to make sure your writing is as good as it can be. )
Check your facts
Don’t repeat gossip or rumours, and don’t post something without bothering to check that it’s true. Don’t claim that a beauty product will do something you know it won’t, or criticize someone for something you don’t even know they did. I’m sure you’ve all rolled your eyes at those stupid Facebook posts that claim that clicking the “like” button will cure cancer or something – don’t do the blogging equivalent of that, and, most importantly, remember that you can actually be charged for libel.
Assume that everyone who’s ever met you will one day read your blog
I’m fairly open online, but one rule I always stick to is to never write something that might upset people I know in ‘real life’. Because blogging IS real life. The people you write about can read your blog – and they might. And if they don’t like what they read, you’ll very quickly discover just how “real” blogging can be.
In a bid to avoid drama, my rule of thumb is to assume that everyone I’ve ever met – and everyone I WILL ever meet – will one day read my blog in its entirety. I highly recommend you do the same. Assume that your boss will read your blog. So will your mum. Your in-laws. That strange looking guy down the street who always looks at you funny. They will ALL read your blog. If that thought makes you worry, then you probably shouldn’t have written whatever it is that you’re worried about. If you ever find yourself writing something and thinking, “God, I hope so-and-so doesn’t read this!”, just don’t write it. It’s not worth it. Trust me.
(I actually extend this to all areas of my online life. Even on my private Facebook, I never post anything I’d be embarrassed to have made public. This may be over-cautious of me, but I think it’s good practice to think of every part of the internet as “public”, and to never say anything, anywhere, that I wouldn’t stand behind.)
And that’s it! If you have any blog etiquette tips you think I’ve missed, feel free to drop me a comment! Oh, and I’ve almost reached the end of my list of topics for this series, so if there’s anything blog-related you’d like me to cover, let me know, and if it’s something I feel qualified to ramble about, I’ll add it to the list!
Sarah
Great tips, as always. I’m also very cautious about what I post on my private social media – all it takes is one person in a foul mood to screenshot what you’ve written and your privacy is gone.
Amber
Exactly! If I ever had anything I really wanted to keep secret (My life’s not usually that interesting, but in theory, I mean 🙂 ) I wouldn’t post it anywhere on the internet: you just never know!
Myra
I wish more people could read this post, particularly about putting very personal things online which will be there for ever.
As a retired English teacher I’m glad you gave advice on language. I never comment on errors, but have offered to proof read for others. However, I have produced howlers myself, or rather predictive text has on my behalf. Also, when making a comment on my phone, I am often eliptical to the point of leaving out all capital letters, and all but the most crucial punctuation. I’m going to share your post so others can read it. 🙂
Amber
Predictive text is the worst – it keeps wanting to change “shoes” to “hoes” for some reason, which is *really* bad for a shoe blog!
It’s a good point about things on the internet being there forever, too… People think you can just hit the delete button and it’s all erased, but it’s best to assume that the internet is forever! (That’s why I’m so glad I didn’t have internet access when I was a teenager!)
Vickie
I heartily agree with not putting private stuff online. I see people post some incredibly private things on Facebook, and they’re all, ‘Oh I’ve got the settings so that so-and-so can’t see it’. Well, yes… but do you trust Facebook implicitly? And everyone who *can* see it not to screenshot? Hmmm!
Amber
Exactly! And then people can share things, or Facebook can mess up and randomly make everything public (I seem to have a vague memory of that happening a couple of years ago, but I could be wrong…). I recently advised a member of the family who was job hunting to scrub his Facebook of anything remotely contentious/embarrassing – he had it set to ‘private’, but all it takes is for one of your FB friends to know someone who knows someone… Nothing on the internet is truly ‘private’, as far as I’m concerned!
Nellie
As usual your advice is applicable to so many areas of life. I don’t have a blog, but I found what you wrote to be valuable for me. Keeping private matters private, giving credit where it’s due, being conscientious about other’s feelings (especially family) are all part of what defines a person who has integrity.
Amber
That’s a good point: I actually think MOST of the stuff I’ve been writing about blogging is really just a matter of common sense/courtesy. It always puzzles me a bit when people decide that the internet is somehow different from “real life” or that the usual rules of engagement just don’t apply – if it’s not OK in “real life”, why would it suddenly be OK just because it’s online? So strange!
Liz in Paris
Absolutely agree with you both, Nellie and Amber. The internet is forever and I wouldn’t trust FB et al – their mission is simply to make money (nothing wrong with that of course, but to think privacy settings are written in stone is foolhardy). To your list, Nellie, I’d add correct spelling and grammar. Some may think it old-fashioned or uncool to place importance on that but it’s a simple matter of respect for the people reading your blog post/email/letter/whatever.
I’d also like to quickly say how much I like this seies. I don’t have a blog but do write for a living (technical stuff) and have thoroughly enjoyed it. Hope to see more posts on the subject! Well done Amber!
CiCi Marie
Completely agree with all of your points, and I love the posts in this series. A lot of stuff I’ve picked up over the years, but I always seem to learn something or confirm something that’s been rattling around in my subconscious, which is also useful. I don’t think I have anything to add especially, but I would say on your last point about assuming everyone you meet will one day read your blog that it extends to photos! I would never post any especially revealing photos e.g. of lingerie (heaven forbid) as I wouldn’t feel comfortable with my colleagues seeing it. I work in a small, incestuous industry where people I worked with in my first job have ended up my superiors or competitors in my current one, and they still read my blog! And as soon as one person knows about it, keep your identity as private as you like (as I have), but everyone will STILL find your blog. So it’s just not ok to share words or pictures you aren’t happy with everyone in the world seeing – totally agree!
Amber
Oh gosh, yes! I should have added a line to that last point to say “EVEN IF YOU BLOG ANONYMOUSLY”. Someone will always find out – just best not to risk it! I think the office test is a good one: if you’d be mortified at the thought of your boss/anyone else in your office seeing it, don’t hit “publish”!
Lizzie
COMPLETELY agree with the last tip. The Internet makes me scared for future generations because there is no temporary when it comes to your online life. NEVER publish ANYTHING you wouldn’t be ok with the whole world seeing – including your grandfather and your preacher. I think this time around, these are just good tips for life in general.
Amber
Yeah, I’m sometimes quite shocked by some of the things I see online – or by people who are outraged that they posted something ON THE INTERNET, and now everyone knows about it. If you wouldn’t say it to someone’s face, it’s probably not a great idea to be saying it on social media!
Cat
Love it, thank you, Amber! I work in social media marketing, and I feel like most the same rules apply, so I’m pretty good about already following them on my blog. That being said, it’s shocking how many bloggers DON’T follow laws let alone polite etiquette. I also shared your blog copyright post in the Facebook blogger group I am a part of. It was a big hit, although it also spawned this giant conversation on Fair Use, which I swear no blogger actually understands, haha. Thanks for helping us spread knowledge across the blogscape!
Cat
http://oddlylovely.com
Amber
Ah yes, fair use can be such a grey area (and it’s also a US law, which makes it even more complicated for those of us in the UK)! I think for many bloggers it’s probably best just to err on the side of caution and ask permission before using an image: it’s a subject that could be a post by itself, though! (Not written by me, I hasten to add!)
Jaynie
Even though I’m not a blogger myself, I’ve really been enjoying this series. There are a lot of good general tips for writers! Plus, what you’ve written has sort of clarified for me why I instinctively don’t like some blogs as much as others. (And I’ve been reading yours for years, even though I don’t comment often — so you know I have good taste! 😉 ) The disclosure thing in particular is a big one for me; it’s such an unpleasant feeling to realize the blog you were previously enjoying has turned into a sponsored commercial — and it does make it seem like the blogger thinks their readers are stupid and won’t realize. Really skeevy that businesses are encouraging that.
There are a few blogs I read that don’t quite follow the last tip. But these are blogs written under pseudonyms by people who have, lets say, contentious relationships with their families (for example, some were brought up in religious cults, or by narcissistic parents). So they might well post things that would upset people they know in real life, and might well prefer those people never read the blog. Yet talking openly about those issues is important and helpful, both to the authors and to others in the same situation. I guess my suggested corollary to the general tip is “if this post would upset someone you know if they found out about it, you need to be willing to accept that risk and to stand by your words, because they just might”. The benefit to posting has to be worth the risk.
I realize that’s a small slice of the blogging pie, and one miiles removed from ost fashion and beauty blogs, but it might apply to people’s personal blogs on occasion? In general though, I do agree. In most cases there isn’t anything to be gained from being mean about people you know. I feel like most blog readers would be pretty turned off by that kind of thing anyway. (“Gosh, I love so-and-so’s taste in dresses, but she is constantly mocking her little sister! She seems super unpleasant. I think I won’t read there anymore — who needs the negativity?”).
Amber
That’s a great point, and yes, you’re totally right – there are definitely subjects that are obviously going to be upsetting for some people to read, but which it’s important to write about anyway, so I think your caveat is a good one: as long it’s a conscious decision, and the blogger is prepared for the consequences, then yes, I think that would be an exception to the general ‘rule’! (As much as I hate the use of that word!) I was thinking more of situations where people are talking about their job, or their friends, or whatever, and are then completely amazed when they get into trouble over it – I think some people fall into the trap of thinking that no one will ever find/read their blog, and then get a nasty surprise when people do!
(Your comment actually raises another goo point about self-censorship, which I think about quite a lot. In general, I don’t like feeling there are things I ‘can’t’ write about because so-and-so wouldn’t like it, but I also don’t like upsetting people, so it can be quite a difficult line to walk. I’ve said things on my blog which I’ve thought were pretty innocuous – and which didn’t name anyone, or identify them in any way – and it’s STILL caused issues, so I’m perhaps a bit over-cautious because of that!)
Catherine
I always look forward to all your posts and this is a particularly sensible one. I don’t have a blog, but thank you for sharing your wisdom. As others have already said, it’s useful for other areas of life too.
Megan // Oh Hey Blog
I couldn’t agree more with assuming everyone will read your blog. You have to really think about how you word things, it can be interpreted so many ways by different people.
P.s I need one of those tables in my life. I hate when my computer gets so hot on the covers hahaha
http://www.ohheyblog.com
Leigh
Rubin looks so disappointed in bloggers who don’t disclose sponsored posts.
Sarah
Thank you for this post, I am just in the process of setting up a new style blog myself (still in the planning phase!) I have a few ideas and outfits ready for posts, I can’t wait to get started now!
Stephanie Canham
Great post as usual Amber. My blog has been up and running for almost a year and I am so conscious of what I write, I’m really very careful to the point where I often delete, write the same thing again, read it and delete for good!!! Better to be safe than sorry in the future I say!! Xx
Linda A Cassidy
the rule assume everyone will read this is one that I follow, I have stopped myself from saying something because I ask myself what if XXXXXX read this. Great tips
Olivia
Amber,
I have to say an excellent post but some bloggers/vloggers just DON’T GET IT. I am fighting a plagiarizer in a civil way by telling her to just give me credit because proof shows pretty much she did copy. And, she didn’t just discover the method unless she got it from me from the late 1970’s or from the internet in 2005!
Here is the post: http://maquillageobscura.blogspot.com/2014/10/a-person-not-saint-ousted.html
If the link is not allowed, just delete.
I don’t understand why a simple credit is so hard. I also heard she has a teacher’s certificate! How ironic! I thought teachers were against plagiarizers!
Another funny thing is one of her affiliates actually posted my method on Facebook way before she even did her post.
If she has plagiarized me, think of who else she will plagiarize!!!
Georgie
This is such a great post! When you see bloggers doing things like not crediting or not saying they are being sponsored it kinda gives us a bad name- I’d just feel rude if I didn’t do those things!
Jess Athorn
I think every new blogger should have to read this, it’s so important to be respectful of each other!
Jess x
http://www.acornlifefitness.com