Let’s Talk Bookish: Top Dos and Don’ts For New Bloggers

Hey, everyone! I hope you’re all doing well. I have one more week of school until finals, which is really surprising, since we only just got back from Thanksgiving break this week. I’m glad for winter break though. A week just doesn’t seem enough of a break from school, does it? Anyways, let’s get into today’s post!

Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly meme created by Rukky @ Eternity Books and is hosted by Rukky and Dani @ Literary Lion where we discuss various topics and share our opinions. Today’s topic is Top Dos and Don’ts For New Bloggers (suggested by Rafaela @ The Portuguese Bibliophile).

Let me just throw this out there: I have only been blogging for about elevenish months, so I am by no means an expert when it comes to this kind of stuff. This advice will be from my own experience and from what I’ve seen around the blogosphere.

What are some things you wish you had been told before you started blogging?

There are a few things. Some of them I already knew, they just needed reinforcement, and others I learned in my first few months of blogging.

• It’s going to take time for people to discover your blog – This is pretty much a standard thing for anyone starting a blog. People aren’t going to find your blog immediately. There are hundreds, probably thousands, of blogs on the internet; people aren’t going to instantly discover yours. And that’s okay, it’s how it works.
• Followers will come, it just takes time – The first couple months of blogging are probably going to be slow. When you publish a post, your blog isn’t immediately going to be known and you won’t instantly get followers. Bringing in visitors and viewers is your job. (I’ll take more about this later.)
• Don’t feel bad if you can’t read every blog – I follow 180 blogs and there are at least twenty emails in my inbox every morning, telling me that there are new posts. There is no way that I can keep up and read every single post that comes up in my WP Reader. Don’t feel bad if you can’t read them all or comment on all of them. You have other things to do. Read the posts that seem interesting to you.

What do you think are the BIGGEST Dos and Don’ts for people who are newer to the blogging world?

This is a very extensive list, but I think these are all important to keep in mind when entering the blogging world.

Interaction

✅ DO talk to other bloggers – The biggest way for you to get your blog known is to talk to other bloggers. Read their posts, comment what you think. It may be a little nerve-racking to comment on someone else’s blog, especially if they have a “big” blog, but there’s no harm in doing it. Bloggers love it when others show their appreciation for a post; you’ll be making their day.

❌ DON’T give away too much information – Interacting with bloggers is a lot of fun, but keep in mind that you are on the internet. Be aware of what information you give to people and be mindful of what you say. It’s important that you don’t reveal too much about yourself, especially if it’s personal information.

❌ DON’T ask or tell people to follow your blog – When you talk with other bloggers, it’s perfectly okay to mention your own blog or a post you think they’d enjoy. However, if you blatantly tell or ask someone to follow your blog, it seems a little attention-wanting. It’s not exactly a wrong thing to do, but it’s not right either.

Posts

✅ DO format your posts – Your posts need to be easy to read or people won’t enjoy reading them. Use different blocks, such as images and headings, to split up large chunks of writing. A lot of times, people don’t read posts word for word (at least I don’t). Use the bold, italics, and underline tools to your advantage. This will emphasize important parts and draw people’s attention to them.

✅ DO prioritize/plan your posts – Planning out when I’ll publish posts helps me keep track of them. I have a google document where I make a calendar for each month, and I lay out which posts I’m going to publish each month. This way, I can start writing the posts in advance, so I’m not scrambling to finish them later on. Once the post is published, I’ll check it off. Sometimes I might miss a post, so I’ll just skip it and push if off until a later date.

The gray-ed out squares were during my hiatus.

✅ DO be original – At the start, it may take some time to get your blogging style and niche, but trust me, it will come. Your blog is all about you–what you want to blog about. It’s perfectly okay to take ideas from others, but make sure to give credit when it’s due. And never copy someone else’s post and take it as your own. I know some people has had this happen to them and it’s not right.

❌ DON’T post too often – This isn’t an extremely important thing, but I thought I should mention it. Posting too often can clutter up people’s email inboxes and sometimes comes off as wanting attention. People may argue what ‘too often’ means; I say it means more than two or three times a day.

Accessibility + Other

✅ DO make your blog easily accessible – Make sure your blog is easy to read and navigate by others. You may know where everything is but others won’t. A good homepage for your blog is either your latest posts or a static page, where you can introduce yourself. Detailed menus are super helpful; a place for posts, an about page, and a contact page are the most important to add.

❌ DON’T use crazy fonts or colors – There are a lot of fonts and colors out there for graphics but not all of them are easy to read or look at. I suggest not using neon or really bright colors as it can cause a bit more strain on the eyes and will likely lead to fewer visitors. For fonts, don’t use ones that are very elaborate or have unusual lettering. Many cursive fonts are very fancy and hard to decipher. Fonts that have bold lettering close together can also be difficult to read.

✅ DO take breaks when necessary – Feeling burnt out on blogging is normal for everyone and it’s necessary to take a break once in a while. Don’t feel bad if you have to step away from blogging for a bit; taking a break will allow you to recharge and feel motivated again.

❌ DON’T compare your stats with others – When you first start blogging, it will be tempting to check your stats and get hung up on them. I know I did. But the stats aren’t what matter. It’s the content you make and the interaction you get with the community. Don’t discourage yourself because someone else’s blog gets more views than yours.

Conclusion

Entering the blogging world can be a little nerve-wracking–there’s a bunch of people you don’t know and many of them have a lot of experience. Overall, I think the most important things to keep in mind are: be original, talk to other bloggers, and take breaks when necessary. If you can remember these, then I’d say you’re prepared.

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What is some advice you would give to newer bloggers? What are some dos and don’ts?