The Ten Commandments of Blogging
I’m no modern Moses, but when it comes to blogging there are some things that we should all respect. Some of them I’ve learned from others, some from my own experience, but put together, here are the ten commandments of blogging that I follow by the book.
1. Promise and deliver
Whenever you make a promise focus on delivering. If something goes wrong, make sure you inform people and tell them you’re going to be a little late on delivering, but silence is not an answer.
2. Be helpful
It’s not all about getting paid. Actually most successful bloggers have made a name for themselves by helping other people find their path. The more helpful you are, the more people you’ll attract. The bigger your authority, the better are the chances to transform that authority into income.
3. Never steal
Inspiration is something we all look for, but stealing is not a method of getting inspired. Don’t worry if your first blogging experiments are not as great as those of more popular bloggers. Focus on evolution, on learning, and you’ll get there, in time.
4. Allow yourself time for research
Sometimes, even a 5 minute research can turn a simple blog post into a great post. If your post will manage to provide information on all/most of the topic’s aspects, it is likely to be much more appreciated by your readers.
5. Provide insight, but leave space for reaction
As I said at number 4, it’s better to touch all aspects of a topic, even if not in an in-depth way. At least, you’re giving people a starting point from where they can start looking for more information.
Also, by leaving a few blank spots, you encourage reaction and communication.
6. Choose role-models, not idols
If a blogger has become successful, it’s mostly because he/she has found his/her own path. It’s nice to admire people for their qualities and focus. Whenever you turn to them for inspiration, rather look at their strategies than their actual actions. Most times, your own set of actions is more likely to be the successful ones.
7. Don’t lose focus
I know that sometimes it’s tough. Sometimes, you just feel less inspired or consider that there are no more things that you could approach in your main topic. Rather than letting you blog go, look for topics tangent to those you usually write about.
A small change is like a fresh mouth of air in the morning. Afterward, you’ll see how ideas will start to shape up.
8. Be good and be proud
If you’re good at what you’re doing, there’s no point in not letting people know it. Don’t expect to be discovered in that mass of millions of blogs out there. Promote yourself, your ideas and you accomplishments. There’s no shame in that. Also, a good sense of modesty is helpful, but don’t confuse being modest with being shy.
9. When you point fingers, make sure you’re entitled to
Although I never encourage anyone to stick their nose in someone else’s business, I know that sometimes, people feel the need to point at other people’s mistakes. If you’re going to do that, make sure you’re 100% right. Unsupported allegations will most likely turn against you.
10. Never expect less than you can achieve.
It’s always important that you know what your limits are. Once you’ve come to know them, always aim higher. That way, it’s easier to level them or even go beyond.
Most of the times, the human nature makes as lazier or less interested the closer we get to our goals, but by aiming higher, we’ll have an edge. This last rule is more of a life rule than a blogging commandment, but still, I find it highly important.
Share your set of rules with me
Sure, you can always go beyond the above set of rules and add more standards to blog by, like keeping a schedule, trying to be more communicative and so one, but these are the ones that guide my blogging path.
Tell me, what’s your set of rules?
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Just saw you’re twit, and just read it. Excelent idea. Bet you will get loads of traffic on this post. This post has the same “blast” and “effect” as the one you wrote about blogging and movies.
Respect and keep up the good work.
You have some very good points here.I would have to agree with them all, and have blogged about all of them in the past as well.
Great post! This should come packaged with all blog systems.
One thing . . . on #6 Role Models V. Idols – we should also keep this in mind when looking at political leaders.
Ten Commandments of Blogging seems to be a bit of a fashion items at the moment – have you seen this article from the Telegraph http://www.telegraph.co.uk/new.....aders.html
These are good rules, but I have a few that are somewhat different. One, be kind to your commenters, unless you just can’t be. Two, be somewhat entertaining. Three, have fun. Four, don’t oversell. And five, respond to your commenters, and visit their blogs also.
I have not formed extensive set of rules for myself yet. If I had to name some:
1. Don’t forget to have fun. If your blogging is negative experience you hardly can bring positive value to readers.
2. If blogging is not a job don’t treat it like one.
I am finding that with serious approach blogging can be time consuming and somewhat hard. It’s probably exactly what makes most of people quit in first months and it’s important to deal with it.
Thanks everyone for your comments!
Mike Blackburn: Unfortunately I’m not following Telegraph’s articles, but you’re right, both articles are based on the Biblical story of the Ten Commandments. Even so, I’ve shared these as my personal rules to live by, rather than an adaption of the original Ten Commandments, as Telegraph did.
Rarst: You have 2 strong points there, my friend!
Great post Alex, I’ve bookmarked this for my “Best of 2008″ series. This dovetails very nicely with a piece I wrote a while back on The 7 Deadly Sins of Blogging:
http://webmarketcentral.blogsp.....gging.html
Between these two posts we’ve kind of got the Biblical metaphors covered, no?
“Good artists copy, great artists steal.” – Pablo Picasso
Great post indeed. This is really nice stuff.