Wednesday, May 2, 2012

10 Blogging Pet Peeves


I decided to switch it up today and post a top 10 list.  I hope it's not a surprise that I love blogging.  One of the best parts about the blogging community is that almost everyone is a part of it simply because they love to blog.  I enjoy reading a variety of blogs every day and feel fortunate to have met a lot of really great people through blogging over the years.  However, there are still a handful of things that I encounter in the blogging world on a regular basis that drive me up the wall.  I'm sure that some of you will appreciate at least a few of these sentiments.

1.  Lack of Posting: No, I'm not talking about people who only blog 1-2 times per week.  That's fine.  I'm also not talking about people who simply take a break sometimes and then return to a blog.  I'm talking about the people who post once a month or less and still promote their blogs all the time.  If you use the Entrecard network, I'm sure that you know what I mean.  Even if you make money on ad impressions, the traffic you generate with a blog like that can't possibly justify the time spent on promo because there simply isn't enough content to keep people from coming back every day or even every week.

2.  Lack of Content: You don't have to write long, wordy posts to have meaningful content.  There are several blogs I follow that mostly post pictures, but I get so much inspiration out of their photos.  I'm talking about blogs that only have short posts about new Etsy listings, single treasury features with no write ups, Etsy features with 2-3 items, etc.  If you're going to blog, give people something worth reading.

3.  It's All About Me: This is always a funny topic with blogging because clearly much of your blog is going to be about yourself.  However, there are people who strictly use their blogs to promote their own products, link ups, voting on other sites, etc.  It is fine to do this in moderation.  Obviously I do.  However, I spend a lot of time promoting other people's listings, blog posts, articles, other resources, etc. as well as giveaways, treasuries, and more.  There are lots of ways to express things about yourself such as your current mood, color preferences, etc. through promotion.

4.  Not Taking the Time to Comment: This is one of my biggest personal frustrations, largely because I do make the effort to leave a lot of blog comments.  It's gotten to the point that I don't leave comments for bloggers who have never commented on my blog in the past year, even if I really like their content.  I know that commenting takes a lot of time and effort, particularly if you have a successful blog.  However, it's such a great way to show appreciation as well as network.  When I see popular link ups with 100 links and 4 comments, I get upset.  Similarly, when I link up somewhere every week and don't ever receive comments from the link up host or any other participants, I get upset.  One of the biggest reasons that I love Scavenger Hunt Sunday is that Ashley is a fantastic host, and I frequently get hits and comments from other participants.

5.  Not Spreading the Love: This goes back to the it's all about me issue.  One of the best ways to get ahead in life is to pay it forward.  If you want to get linked on other blogs, start linking people on your blog and letting them know.  I have gotten a significant number of new followers through my Friday Feature posts.  It always makes my day when people are really excited to see their work here.  Even posting 4-5 items from other shops on your blog every week can make a big difference.

6.  The One Long Paragraph Posting Format: I actually see this more on HubPages these days than on blogs.  This is pretty self-explanatory.  Even if you're writing a personal narrative or other content that doesn't necessitate tons of photos and headings, taking the time to make paragraphs and bold important words and key phrases will keep readers along for the ride.

7.  Consistently Low Quality Photos: I am the first to admit that when I started selling on Etsy and writing on this blog, I knew pretty much nothing about product photography.  Check out any of my blog posts from 2008 or 2009 and you'll see what I mean.  However, I have done so much these past nearly four years to improve my photography.  My photos are still far from perfect, and there are always those occasion days when I want to post something right away that I can't shoot in my light box and the weather is less than perfect so my photos may not be the best.  Overall, you can still see a huge improvement.  This is true for most bloggers.  You still see the occasion one, though, where the photos have been really bad for a long time and aren't getting better.  There's really no excuse for that.

8.  Generic Blog Layout: I am not a graphic designer.  My knowledge of HTML is pretty basic.  I know that a lot of people don't have the time, patience, and/or expertise do design a fancy layout, which is fine.  However, there are a lot of very easy, FREE options with Blogger to customize your layout.  Even if you have a pretty simple blog that you don't plan to monetize, it's still worth putting in a couple hours at least once or twice a year to personalize your layout.

9.  Not Giving Credit Where Credit Is Due: Thankfully I don't come across this on blogs too often, but since this is such a big problem on Pinterest, I want to mention it.  If you use any content from another person, you should cite it.  It's not fair to someone else to take their work and not give them credit.  It's also frustrating for your readers to find a great resource that they can't use because there's no link or reference.  Take the extra seconds it requires to give credit.

10.  Refusal to Turn Off Word Verification: If you comment on blogs regularly, you know what word verification it is and how much of a pain the newest system is.  I don't allow anonymous comments and don't have word verification.  I get less than 1 spam comment per month.  If you are really that worried about spam, turn off word verification and turn on the comment approval instead.  Don't make your readers frustrated because they will simply walk away after a couple failed attempts to leave a comment.  Ashley put together a great post a while back about how to turn off your word verification for Blogger.


Do you share any of these pet peeves and/or have other blogging pet peeves?  Vent your frustration!

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I included this post in Erika's It's a Wrap Link Party - 5/7/2012.

Where I Linked Up Today:
The Shop Hop @ Pixel Berry Pie

29 comments:

  1. ack! you just reminded me...I keep meaning to click off that stupid word verification.

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  2. Great list...I couldn't agree more!
    I hate word verification! And I stop commenting on blogs that don't ever return the favor.

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  3. These are all pretty valid complaints. (Except many blogs are designed to be about the person writing it. Someone documenting a medical struggle for example.)

    Something that bugs me is related to your #4 -- the share your blog posts on Etsy. I don't comment on every blog before mine on a thread, but I try to comment on a lot of them. It bugs me when I go to an early post on the thread, click on the blog link, and see that no one posting after that person has written a comment.

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  4. What really bugs me most of all is what you say in #4.
    I noticed that it is mostly people with really successful blogs that don't ever comment, even though I have left them countless comments over the years. There must be this unwritten rule that suggests that anyone getting thousands of hits per day is exempt from commenting. I don't comment their posts any more and I have also removed these blogs from my blog list.

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  5. I agree with the lack of posting. I check to see if they are dropping on my Entrecard and they are, so why can't they take the time to write a post. Their blog is so boring. Ugh.

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  6. Oh heck I wrote a long comment and lost it while I went to look for a link to Duni's Blog. Mostly I was saying that the "tit-for-tat" commenting thing irks me. If you read a post and it resonates for you, leave a comment. If not, then not.

    I have a personal blog not a "business" blog. I am not a creative/crafty person so tho I read a lot of business/crafty blogs I can't always comment because I have nothing useful or interesting to say - I'm not involved in that world or knowledgeable about it. I will not leave a meaningless comment like "Nice post".

    I do love to link to my friends when the occasion warrants it and someone in Toronto used my blog roll as a reading list - and I love that.

    Gad, but doesn't everyone hate the word verification thing? Especially the "captcha" ones ...Horrible especially for us old visually challenged folks...! If I truly want to comment I will give it 3 tries before I give up.

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  7. Whew! I'm so glad I meet actually NONE of these. ;) This is one list that I definitely don't want to be included in. But I definitely understand and agree with every one of your top 10 list. Well thought, well said, well written. I give you kudos, or 2 thumbs up, or if nothing else, an encouraging comment. ;)

    Stopping by from the Etsy Blog Team.

    Regina♥

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  8. Wow! I need to make sure I turn off word verification!

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  9. Thanks! I enjoyed reading this and know I am a little guilty of a few of your pet peeves. I really need to learn how to insert my photos in between my text. And I need to post more regularly, although I really don't fall into the category of lack of posting and still advertising at all. I do try and comment, however! I know that is important! Thanks. Carol from Carol's Jewelry Orchard on Etsy ( also part of the Etsy blog team).

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  10. Word verification is horrible. And I get tired of the blogs that are only about etsy and their items. What makes me excited about products is when I learn about the person. I also don't want to feel like I am being lectured or taught a lesson every time I open a blog post; I can get that in school and since I am out of school...

    The great thing about blogs is we can stop reading them.

    This is a good reminder to look at what we are doing and how we treat others.

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  11. These are all great and I concur. Your last one is my biggest gripe. I really love the folks that use word verification and then moderate their comments too. Hello! You really don't want comments do you.

    Have a terrific day. :)

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  12. Amen sister! I think this sentence really sums the heart of this up: " If you're going to blog, give people something worth reading." It's the effort. And I don't know if some people get this or not, but you're not opaque; we can all see how much effort bloggers put in to caring about others. You don't have to care, but if you don't, why should I?

    In addition, I get really frustrated with blogs (and etsy shops) that seem to take off without much effort. You know the ones- they repost popular articles or photos and there's really not much to it- but then you'll see how many followers they have and want to cry. It really does undercut the whole community. Sigh.

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  13. Oh I HATE word verification! Soooo annoying! I agree with you! I just need to do a little more mixing up the type of posts I do on my own blog. I tend to post on a whim so it would be best if I started to write posts ahead of time so I can have better organization of my content and mix things up a bit! ;)

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  14. Those were all some really good thoughts. I know I have committed several of those mistakes. My blog has definitely improved in quality over the past year and I hope to keep improving.

    I have to say I struggle a bit with the comment thing. I try to comment as much as I can, but I also want to leave thoughtful comments. I guess this ties in with some of your other points. If someone puts up a post with just one etsy item, I feel a bit lame saying "wow cute." But with a real quality post, I usually have more to think about and comment on. I'm trying to find the balance between commenting to be supportive and not commenting just to leave a comment.

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  15. Another reminder that I need to get my Niptini blog updated. I will never have any time left in my day! I agree with everything you said though.

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  16. I do indeed share most of those! My biggest pet peeve is when bloggers have so many buttons and widgets on their sidebars that it slows down my entire computer. :(

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  17. Very good list and I agree with every one of them. My sister is one of those people who rarely posts. She'll write every day for a week then you won't hear from her again for months. Drives me crazy. She has a ton of followers because she always did all those Friday follow things but she rarely gets any comments and probably wonders why. Well duh, it's because you aren't consistent....lol

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  18. Dear Rose, Yes, the word verification. It is very frustrating!! I just can't see the letters and numbers and it can take so long to get your comment posted. Have a great evening. Blessings, Catherine xo

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  19. Ok, going to turn off Word Verification now! And blog about your post, it's a good one! Thanks for the tips.

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  20. Oh my goodness, I couldn't agree with #1 more - especially in regards to Entrecard! If these folks have time to drop 100+ cards a day, how come they can't post at least once a week? It drives me crazy!

    I am guilty of #4 lately though, I have been rather anti-social as of late. Sorry! :(

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  21. Oh yeah! I'm right there with you on those!

    How about people who quit blogging altogether? You feel like you've built a relationship and then wham! they've dropped off the face of the earth.

    I try to comment back on every blog whose owner leaves me a comment. That is my intention and I believe I do it.
    On that note, I appreciate that Jenny Matlock (of Alphabe-Thursday fame)comments on EVERY single blog which is linked up to hers. She also encourages reciprocation by asking linkers to comment on at least 10 linked blogs. This has the wonderful side effect of building a community.

    If I take the time to read a post, I comment on it 99.999% of the time. I want the writer to know the post had been read. I think there are times when it is appropriate to leave a very short or one word comment. Take for example my post today--a photo of 2 sleeping cats. If you look at the photo and think "cute," then write "cute" in the comments. That's fine! In fact I like that, because then I know you've seen the photo and enjoyed it--which increases my pleasure at having shared it. After all, I'm writing a public blog and interacting is what it's all about.

    Oh now, there's a key word--interacting!

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  22. taking the time to comment is a pet pev of mine too, but most of the people who comment on my blog are the same people. Splendid (above) is right: AlphabeThursday has the greatest commentors and I really appreciate them (listening to their teacher, Jenny!) I've been considering the Scavenger Hunt too! {:-D

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  23. I agree with everything here! I try my best to keep up with everything that you have mentioned. However, I should certainly make a few posts promoting others as it's been a while :)

    One of my peeves: I don't like when blogs have a design that uses strange fonts (hard to read), music, or otherwise takes forever to load. Simple is good!

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  24. Your list of pet peeves is pretty well thought out; I have only one to add, and that is blogs that use a teeny-tiny print. I don't want my eyes to burn after reading a post. I'm hardly likely to comment if the post is painful to read.

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  25. I totally agree with your list. I just wanted to point out that Wordpress bloggers (me!) do have a hard time leaving messages on Blogger blogs. Comments are not always accepted because open ID credentials are not always recognized. I wrote about it here:

    http://artclubblog.com/2012/04/03/wordpress-bloggers-want-to-comment-too/

    Great blog :)

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  26. I saw this post and had to say that I agree. I don't always make it over here between blogging, hubbing, and the arts stuff, and now teaching, but geez louise, the comment verification and the like and the loooooong paragraphs especially drive me nuts, lol.

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  27. Let me just say in advance that if I annoy you in advance for any of these reasons, please forgive. I am just a newbie after all! ;) Great tips I will be sure to integrate into my blogs development.

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  28. Hi Rose, I always love when people share pet peeves. It makes me go "Me too!" a LOT! I agree with a lot of what you are saying and I think the bottom line is that we are only as big as our blogging community that we keep. Keep being supportive of other bloggers and you will grow. Thanks for coming and linking up to Throwback Thursday! I'm really glad to have come across your blog and I plan on coming back. Kim

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  29. Great tips, I mean, pet peeves! I try to blog by the golden rule. And I believe that the majority of bloggers do. But I have to admit, the word verification thing drives me crazy! Thanks for sharing at Throwback Thursday!

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