Friday, June 08, 2012

10 Blogging Tips - An Armchair BEA Post


It is a bit strange, but I was actually thinking about a post of this nature yesterday. I think it is a happy coincidence.

1. Be nice. Bloggers, authors, etc are people, too. If you disagree with something, be polite. If you dislike a book you should be respectful to the author. It is hard to be a blogger and an author and cranky people don't help.

2. Have fun. Some people think they have to do certain things, meet certain deadlines, etc. Blogging is a hobby for most of us, and at least started that way for others, so don't get overwhelmed and forget to enjoy.

3. Don't do only give-aways. This might just me, but even though free books are nice I get bored with blogs that never seem to do anything else. Variety is the spice of life.

4. Comment on blogs. I find this overwhelming some times, but people do enjoy hearing from you and any sort of acknowledgement that you were there is always appreciated.

5. Don't get stressed out by stats. I personally don't pay the slightest bit of attention to stats, but I know I am very much in the minority for this. I know that some sites want to know those sorts of things, but I have never particularly cared.

6. Share book hauls. If you are in the book blogging community it stands to reason your readers are interested in bookish treasures.

7. Be original. I have moments like this too, but people get caught up in new releases and forget about the 'older' books. It does lead to hype, and that is great for the author and book, but if you see the same book over and over again it makes it hard for your visitors to think of an original comment to make or some just get bored.

8. Don't be intimidated. I hear all the time how people are too intimidated to comment on certain blogs. When these conversations occur the person is always shocked to find themselves intimidating. So, break out of your comfort zone and comment. You might just make a new friend!

9. Utilize social media, but don't go overboard. It is fine to use social media, but it can get overwhelming if you feel you have to do everything. Choose what works for you and have fun. It is not supposed to be a chore!

10. Join things. If you want to meet more people, especially if you are a new blogger, work a bit of time into your schedule to join an event (like Armchair BEA), a read-along, or even a reading challenge. It will help bring your blog to other people's attention and then can lead to increased traffic.

22 comments:

  1. Perfect wonderful tips! :)

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  2. #2 is probably my most important blogging motto. And I'm still trying to keep #8 in mind :P

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  3. Don't be intimidated.

    Wish I took this advice when I first started. I was so intimidated to talk to other bloggers. Great tips :)

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  4. Commenting is my biggest flaw, aka I usually don't because I don't feel like having anything original to say, except thanks.
    So there, following your advise and commenting ;-)
    And thanks for the tips!

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  5. YESSS for #7!! I get soooo bored with blogs that only review the newest YA books that have everyone seems to have an ARC of. It actually makes me not want to read the books, lol.

    Happy ABEA!

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  6. I like your advise. I wonder if I'm intimidating??? I sure hope not.

    I also like the be nice one. Everyone in the blogging community really is nice - trying to help each other in our common passion. The only exception to that that I've seen is the cruel reviews that pop up now and again. Everyone has books that don't work for them but every book is the baby of an author so we need to be nice when we say we don't like it.

    Thanks for participating!

    Here's my experts say post

    Valerie
    StuckInBooks

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  7. Thanks for the advice, but what's a book haul? And also would you mind looking at my blog because I had a lot of questions for this post (since I'm a new blogger sorta kinda) and maybe you might be able to answer some of them. Thanks and have a good weekend.

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  8. Love the tips! I agree, don't be intimidated and go comment or befriend other bloggers. They appreciate new connections!

    -Len of Musings of a Reader Happy
    maidenveil(at)gmail(dot)com

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  9. Agree completely! It's always the simple things we all forget to do. Especially ones like "have fun"!

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  10. I adore your tip #8! I really hope I don't intimidate anyone.

    This is some great advice, Kailana! :D

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  11. These blogging tips rock my socks! I'll keep this in mind. Wonderful and precise that's what they are. You're brilliant. It's not flattery, honestly :)

    Happy late Day Five of ArmchairBea to you!

    My ArmchairBEA Day Five Entry

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  12. Great advice! Actually, your reasoning for #7 is why I started (co-started, actually) a Throwback Thursday meme highlighting books at least 5 years old. It's new and participation is still small, but I have discovered several new books already that I'm excited to read, that I would most likely never have heard of otherwise. Everyone's too buy focusing on new releases and upcoming releases to spend time talking about books from the pre-blogging days.

    I loved reading your advice, and thanks for stopping by my Ask the Experts post!

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  13. Great tips! And I agree fully about people being intimidated!! This what I think my country's problem is. I honestly don't know why.. but it is.
    Awesome post Kailana. ;) :)

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  14. These were all great tips and ones I try to follow! I'm working on stepping away from review books for awhile for a variety of reasons. The main one being that I already have SO many books on my shelves just waiting to be read. And I LOVE reading other people's reviews of older books (even if it was only published last year). Great post!

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  15. I think your tips are spot on, especially BE NICE, Be Original and Join Things!

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  16. I agree about being original... we all want to join in on the buzz, but I do get bored when I see everyone reviewing the same book. I'm so guilty of this too though, LOL!

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  17. Great advice :D I fee like I blog a lot like you..I rarely do giveaways, I blog because I enjoy it...I talk about the books that I like whether they came out today or ten years ago, I write a lot of personal stuff, I LOVE the conncections I make with other people...basically I blog because it gives me warm fuzzies :) Not because of stats...which I don't keep track of either :p I couldn't tell you if I have 2 subscribers or 200 lol

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  18. I love the tip about being original. It's so easy to want to read all the new books, but you're right, that gets boring. It's nice to read older books to stick out from the crowd sometimes.

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  19. I couldn't agree more! Especially about commenting. :) Great list!!

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  20. Great tips, Kelly!

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  21. Very good advice, Kelly! I agree with you on absolutely everything.

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  22. Great list. Thanks for sharing.

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