There are so many blogging "rules" out there, and while a lot of them are really good advice, some of them make me really wonder about them. Here are some of my ideas on how to throw out the rule book.
Misnomer #1: Have something important to say.
Not true. Or rather... it is true, but not in the way you might think. Everything you say is important, whether you realize it or not, because you're uniquely you and there's no one else who can say things in just the same way you can! Some people are really good at writing tutorials or doing "vlogs". That may not be you, but that doesn't make what you have to say any less important. We do want to see what your messy living room looks like because it makes us feel like we're not the only ones who have one. Lol. And if that's "all" you have to post, that's more than enough. ;)
Misnomer #2: Include a photo in every post.
Okay I actually do follow this rule. However... I don't think it's vital to your getting traffic. I follow some very amazing bloggers who don't post photos every day, but their writing is AMAZING!! (Hello... have you ever read Meg's blog? Best blog writing ever!) There's definitely something to be said for pulling your readers in with a photo, but if that's not you, don't sweat it. Write, pin, link, and photograph your best and that's what will pull people in.
Misnomer #3: Post no more (or less) than once a day.
Okay that's all well and good in a perfect world, but... that's not where we live. Some days just need two posts. And other days are WAY too busy to worry about posting anything. Personally, I blog because it feels like breathing to me. I used to keep a journal. Now I blog. That's just me. But making it a thing you HAVE to do every day is too much pressure. Just blog when you have something to say. Don't blog when you don't. Keep it simple and stop feeling guilty when you miss a day or two or ten.
Misnomer #4: Blog at the same time every day.
This is ridiculous. People have blog readers, you know. Your post is going to show up when they log in at midnight whether or not you posted your post at 6am or 6pm. It doesn't matter what time of day you post your post. Nobody cares. Really. Don't get me wrong... people LOVE your posts, I'm sure... they just have no clue what time of day you posted them. Don't get so hung up about that. Just blog. Blog to your heart's content. Blog whenever YOU feel like it. It'll feel more authentic that way.
Misnomer #5: You must be creative.
Trust me, you ARE creative or you wouldn't be blogging, so stop thinking that you're not. I know it's easy to compare yourself to all the creative geniuses out there, but STOP! Just be yourself and that's good enough. That being said, you might want to put in SOME amount of effort and get rid of that default template you have going on there. At the very least, put up a custom banner. That right there shows us your personality! Don't worry if you qualify as being "creative", just give us an idea of what makes you you!
Misnomer #6: Have a repeating topic for every day of the week.
So not true. A lot of bloggers do this, but frankly, it gets old really fast. One or two repeating topics a week is plenty, and sometimes even that is too much. It just depends. If you're someone who thrives creatively by having a prompt every day, then go for it! However, I think for a lot of us, having a specific topic to wedge a post into only manages to create stale, uninspired posts. Do what feels natural to you, not what you think you SHOULD be doing. If posting to certain repeating topics helps you, great, if not, move on. Don't force it.
Misnomer #7: Blogging is hard work.
Bologne. It all depends on how/why you blog. You can absolutely make a 40-hour-a-week day job out of your blogging if you wanted to, but that's a little overkill, don't you think? Blog if and when you feel inspired. Blog because you have something to share or because you have a question for the blog world. Blog because you can't imagine doing anything else with your time. If it starts to feel like work, you're doing something wrong. Take a step back and find the fun in it again.
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What misnomers would you add to the list?
Misnomer #1: Have something important to say.
Not true. Or rather... it is true, but not in the way you might think. Everything you say is important, whether you realize it or not, because you're uniquely you and there's no one else who can say things in just the same way you can! Some people are really good at writing tutorials or doing "vlogs". That may not be you, but that doesn't make what you have to say any less important. We do want to see what your messy living room looks like because it makes us feel like we're not the only ones who have one. Lol. And if that's "all" you have to post, that's more than enough. ;)
Misnomer #2: Include a photo in every post.
Okay I actually do follow this rule. However... I don't think it's vital to your getting traffic. I follow some very amazing bloggers who don't post photos every day, but their writing is AMAZING!! (Hello... have you ever read Meg's blog? Best blog writing ever!) There's definitely something to be said for pulling your readers in with a photo, but if that's not you, don't sweat it. Write, pin, link, and photograph your best and that's what will pull people in.
Misnomer #3: Post no more (or less) than once a day.
Okay that's all well and good in a perfect world, but... that's not where we live. Some days just need two posts. And other days are WAY too busy to worry about posting anything. Personally, I blog because it feels like breathing to me. I used to keep a journal. Now I blog. That's just me. But making it a thing you HAVE to do every day is too much pressure. Just blog when you have something to say. Don't blog when you don't. Keep it simple and stop feeling guilty when you miss a day or two or ten.
Misnomer #4: Blog at the same time every day.
This is ridiculous. People have blog readers, you know. Your post is going to show up when they log in at midnight whether or not you posted your post at 6am or 6pm. It doesn't matter what time of day you post your post. Nobody cares. Really. Don't get me wrong... people LOVE your posts, I'm sure... they just have no clue what time of day you posted them. Don't get so hung up about that. Just blog. Blog to your heart's content. Blog whenever YOU feel like it. It'll feel more authentic that way.
Misnomer #5: You must be creative.
Trust me, you ARE creative or you wouldn't be blogging, so stop thinking that you're not. I know it's easy to compare yourself to all the creative geniuses out there, but STOP! Just be yourself and that's good enough. That being said, you might want to put in SOME amount of effort and get rid of that default template you have going on there. At the very least, put up a custom banner. That right there shows us your personality! Don't worry if you qualify as being "creative", just give us an idea of what makes you you!
Misnomer #6: Have a repeating topic for every day of the week.
So not true. A lot of bloggers do this, but frankly, it gets old really fast. One or two repeating topics a week is plenty, and sometimes even that is too much. It just depends. If you're someone who thrives creatively by having a prompt every day, then go for it! However, I think for a lot of us, having a specific topic to wedge a post into only manages to create stale, uninspired posts. Do what feels natural to you, not what you think you SHOULD be doing. If posting to certain repeating topics helps you, great, if not, move on. Don't force it.
Misnomer #7: Blogging is hard work.
Bologne. It all depends on how/why you blog. You can absolutely make a 40-hour-a-week day job out of your blogging if you wanted to, but that's a little overkill, don't you think? Blog if and when you feel inspired. Blog because you have something to share or because you have a question for the blog world. Blog because you can't imagine doing anything else with your time. If it starts to feel like work, you're doing something wrong. Take a step back and find the fun in it again.
****
What misnomers would you add to the list?
This is a great list. And I agree, I really dislike blogs that have the same topic scheduled for certain days. It just gets really boring and repetitive.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for posting this! As a relatively new blogger it's so nice to know I'm not committing the 7 Deadly Sins of blogging out there! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm sure I have a few and I certainly agree with most of yours! I'll have to think about this! (You're a pretty amazing writer yourself!)
ReplyDelete