Courtesy

Are you a Blog Hijacker?

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The original version of this article I was working was huge. I’m going to try to make it simple.

What is a Blog Hijacker?

A person that comments on a post and does at least one of the following on several posts:

  • Writes a comment that is so long it should be a post of its own and is mostly about the bloggers own blog and writing. Meaning you CAN TELL it is an obvious self promotion comment.
  • Comments some nonsense and leaves links to their own blog when it’s obvious they haven’t even read the post.
  • They reply to other commenters with what they think you meant by your post.

You are probably able to come up with some additional Blog Hijacker behavior. If you do, leave them in the comments. I mean that.

What if YOU are a Blog Hijacker?

If you are doing these things be careful, they WILL eventually have a negative impact on your own blog.

  • People will begin to notice and stop visiting your blog.
  • Not only the people you are doing it to, but their friends that are seeing your comments.
  • You will one day wonder why you haven’t seen ‘likes’ from someone in a while.

Most comments should be:

  • To the point, unless the blogger has asked for comments that are of an engaging nature or you are sincerely commenting with honest feeling.
  • Supportive and/or complimentary or at least leaving an intelligently and courteously phrased comment about why you don’t agree with a post.

I personally don’t do the last one unless the blogger has asked for feedback of that nature. If I don’t like it I am going to move on and not be negative in another persons creative realm. However, I rarely find a post that is a waste of my time. I learn from most blogs. I learn what is bad and what is good. Both are instructional.

Do not mistake Blog Hijacking for being supportive.

  • Look at what you are writing and see where the focus is.
  • Is the focus on the post and the content and how it affects you, the blogger, or yourself?
  • If the answer is mostly that last one, you’re Blog Hijacking.

How do you know if you are a Blog Hijacker if no one tells you AND you are doing these things?

  • Are you receiving comments from the blogger when there should be a reply from them?
  • Do your comments not receive ‘likes’ by the host when all others do?

Now for me, I use ‘likes’ to talk to people who comment. Unless there really is a reason to reply, I click like.It lets them know I read it and appreciated it.

Added for clarification:

Sometimes a post asks for comments that may be about self. That is the nature of some blogs entirely. Commenting about how the post relates to you and may touch you is great.

What this post is about are those random comments with links and off the wall unrelated comments or those people who as you read the comment you can tell are self promoting. We, as bloggers, love comments. It lets us know we are getting something right.

So those of you out there who write comments with honest feelings, you are good to go with commenting. Those of you who read your comment and realize, hey, this really is all about my own blog and does look like I’m trying to get people to go read my blog, well, maybe see if there is another way to do some phrasing.

As a result of putting out this post I want to let people know I’ve lost some friends who didn’t get it. They either misunderstood OR perhaps felt they were Blog Hijackers. I’m going to continue to be honest in my tips and helps. It is impossible for me not to be. Since I suffered a concussion I tell it like it is. And I rarely say anything maliciously. I’m not sure I have.

Remember to connect with me if you can at the following.

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How to Survive the Blog Life.

Ronovan Blogging , , , , ,

I think we need to get a few things straight about blogging. Blogging isn’t what it started out to be. There are very few blogs in the true sense of the word any longer. We have become a world of almost websites. But we are called bloggers because we don’t have a company or whatever.

I’m cool with that. I’m a blogger. I’m a blogger in the 21st Century definition. Why did I explain all of that? Because I want to talk about . . .

How to Survive the Blog Life.

There are some people that don’t realize what goes into a lot of our blogs. The hours of writing, researching, networking, formatting, web layout designs and much more. I don’t really know of anyone that just throws out some words and that’s that.

I’ll make this simple:

  • Write what you like-If you are trying to write in a style you don’t like or are not comfortable in, then you’re likely to feel that eating at you. Maybe it’s just me, but when I am writing, I will just stop even at the end of a 1000 word article if I am not feeling it and trash it.
  • Only write when you want to-Don’t force yourself to write just because you feel responsible for it. Or you want to have content because you are afraid people won’t come back if you miss a day or two. If that’s true then they really weren’t into your site in the first place. Not to sound negative there, but it’s the truth.
  • Be nice to people-There is no reason to be mean to anyone. If you don’t have anything nice to say then don’t say it. If you don’t want to interact with people, don’t have comment boxes on your posts where people might ask you something. You don’t have to respond to every person, but you can some at least.
  • Set your boundaries-Make your life easy by setting some rules for yourself about interacting with other bloggers or readers. They are your friends and co-workers of sorts. Keep it that way. Makes for an easier life for you and keeps you a  lot happier in the long run.
  • If you like it you like it-Only click like on things you like, and if you really like it then reblog it. Some don’t like to reblog because it doesn’t look good on their blog or reblogs don’t work that great for views and traffic on average. So what?

There is something that I didn’t mention. It’s the most important thing to remember in order to Survive the Blog Life.

Don’t worry about success.

If you ever start worrying about success go to one of those 5 things and see which one you are missing out on. You see, being you, just being yourself is enough. You don’t have to do gimmicks.

I give tips about how to increase traffic to blog sites, but I don’t use them all. You see, I just like giving the tips because I know that a) some people are after success and b) some people just like to use different types of things, okay and c) I just like to share/teach. Sorry, it’s in the blood thing. Once a teacher always a teacher.

You now I added the star rating to my posts a while back and no one really uses it. But yesterday for some reason someone decided to put a 1 on two of my posts. One was my Autumn post and the other was my Haiku Prompt Challenge post. You see if it had been just the Autumn post then fine, but then when it was the Haiku Prompt as well I realized it was someone just being mean.  But I’m good with it. I’ll take down the star rating eventually anyway because it was just for a change and no one was using it anyway and it doesn’t really go with my new theme and layout.

But don’t add things like ratings to your posts if you are sensitive and care what people think. Just sayin’. Oh, and no worries. I know the deal, so I’m good.

So everyone, remember, forget about success, write honest, and take some breaks.

 As a companion to this article you may wish to read Blogging Personality: The Key to Success.

Ronovan

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3 Things Every Writer or Blogger Should Consider

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3 Things Every Writer or Blogger Should Consider

by: Ronovan

 

Blogging isn’t easy. Some make it look that way, and I thoroughly despise them for it. Actually those of whom I speak know who they are and know I love them and just jealous…maybe.

 

I first showed up in this blogger world to share my creations, my stories. Then I discovered I had more to share than that. And I learned that the blogging world was a community and there was support among that community you couldn’t find anywhere else.

 

But I know from the title of this article you’re wondering about actual blogging itself. I’ll share three things today:

 

Cluttered Desk
gettyimages © Original Photo by dumayne

COMMITMENT

“What? Of course I have a commitment to my blog,” you are saying. That’s not where I am really going with this.

 

Problem:

Blogging becomes addictive. You want to put out great content because you want more followers and views on your site. Those numbers are worse than the word count feature on a word document for a writer. You have a commitment to the rest of your life to consider as well.

 

Solution:

Schedule time for your blog work, and time for your author work. Then let it go. Live life or you burn out. How can you be creative if your mind is jelly instead of a big blob of electronic pasta?

 

 

COURTESY

Be polite to those you Follow and those who Follow you.

Problem:

Words carry an incredible amount of weight in social media settings. We can’t put voice

Lit Thanks Heart
gettyimages © Original Photo by Steve Smith

inflection in there so we have to be careful. We also might end up with a lot of people commenting on articles and some may expect some type of a reply or think you are rude for not doing so. Being considered rude for some of us is a big problem.

 

Solution:

Always use positive words, never negative ones. And at least click like on a comment someone says on your article. That may sound like a lot but if Followers are important to you then do it. I do it because I appreciate the fact that someone reads my offerings and then takes the time to comment. To me that is a huge compliment.

 

When you are reading another person’s blog, don’t comment unless it’s encouraging or they are asking for some type of comment. Also don’t assume when others don’t comment on your offerings that they don’t like them. Some people just don’t comment. It’s a time thing for one. We like to read, enjoy, and move on.

 

Don’t let courtesy rule your life though. I have a bad habit of feeling as though I have to read everything anyone I follow posts, here and on Twitter. That’s a lot of reading and very little time for other things, including my own writing.

 

CONTENT

Make your content what you like first and foremost, but don’t be surprised if what you like changes over time.

 

Chalkboard and Lady
gettyimages © Original Photo by Justin Lewis

Problem:

At the same time you need to remember you are putting stuff out there for others to enjoy otherwise you would just keep it on your computer for yourself. But then you also may end up falling into the trap of writing things just to get visitors, views, and follows.

 

Solution:

This is a truth here so keep reading after what I say next. You write a book and you want to share the chapters, right?

  • Break the chapters up into parts. I’ve found that people mostly want quick reads of usually under 600 words or so. Why is word count opposite on a blog article than what we think of for a book? Blogs are quick reads. Using me as an example, I want something I know I can get through quickly or I know my mind will drift. Not because of the content, but because of the length. This isn’t a book in front of me that I know how many chapters I have. This immediate gratification. Some will see word count on their readers in the blogger communities and just skip over those over a certain length unless they know the writer very well.
  • You can have longer word counts if the topic calls for it, but make sure you are being to the point. Readers can tell filler from foundation.
  • Add visual content. It adds a bit to whatever you put out and makes you feel like you have put out more than just a few paragraphs. I’ve found that since I’ve shortened some of my work and had fun with photos, that not only do more people ‘like’ them but I enjoy putting the work out there as well.

Those are just three things to look at for now.

 

Next time around I’ll share three things that make coming up with Blogging content a little easier. But until then, peace out and blog out.

 

Remember, I’m just a comment away. Talk to me here or on Twitter.

 

 

 

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