I have been reading blogs for what feels like a long time, (well over 5 years) and there are many that I still read on a daily basis, while others flit into and out of my consciousness. There are also some that I have switched off from completely for various reasons. As a reader, and fellow blogger, there are a few things that really get my goat on blogs and make me delete them from my bloglovin!
5 Blogger Bugbears
- No disclaimer to say whether they were given something for free/paid to write it. In the US you have to be very upfront about when you’ve been paid to say something, which I do think makes me more sceptical about what I’m reading. In the UK we haven’t got any laws on this yet, however I think it is best practise to at least acknowledge if you were given/sent something, even if you don’t write a disclaimer at the end. It’s just polite to inform your readers.
- Not linking to other bloggers, or acknowledging where you got your ideas from. There have been a few times were I’ve seen a blogger I know (or don’t) write a very similar post or idea to one I have recently posted, with no ‘got this idea from…’ link. Similarly when people use my photos without links, or crowd sourced comments without linking to who originally gave the idea. Again, it’s just good manners to say thanks.
- Posts that are verbatim written by a sponsor without any original content or images, especially when the content has been around the houses ie. sent to a number of bloggers. I’m proud to write all my own content, and use my own photos as much as possible.
- Blogs where ALL of the content is reviews of products or events. I want more than just that…
- Blogs that are difficult to navigate/read on a phone or tablet- currently my own annoys me a little too, so I have plenty to work on. Overcrowded pages also put me off as do lack of photos or poor quality images.
And lastly, a nod (or shake of the head) to twitter snarking… not limited to only bloggers, but horrid nonetheless. I don’t feel it’s necessary or needed to be horrid in public, in my opinion this goes in the same category of trolling. Horrid, unnecessary and down right cruel. What happened to the mantra, ‘if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything’?
What do you love about blogs and what do you wish you could change?
Thanks for this post. This is exactly what is needed. Being a relative newbie to the whole blogging scene, i struggled to find a ‘Do’s & Don’t’ list of blogging or a WordPress etiquette manual. To be honest, i’m sure i have done a couple of the faux pas that you mention above. All i can say is that it’s not intentional. I read so many great blogs, i would hate for the bloggers to think i was stealing their idea’s.
Having a post like yours could be a great start for all new bloggers to learn from and move forward with their blogging career.
Love the blog by the way!
Hey there – I’m not a blogger (simply don’t have the time), but I do read lots of running / fitness ones to get a bit of inspiration and find out what is new. I’ve noticed that quite a few bloggers are prone to taking on a smug, almost braggy tone with regard to the freebies that they are sent. Sure, I understand how marketing and promotion works and in a previous life, I was a travel editor and got sent on various jollies, so I understand what it’s all about. However it does get tedious when I see lots posts along the lines of “oooh look at these goodies that I’ve just been sent” and “check out all of these selfies from the really exclusive event that I was invited to and that you weren’t”. There are lots of really great blogs out there, but there are some bloggers who really need to think about their audience and how they want to engage with the folk reading their blogs.
Interesting post, especially for a new blogger to read! I too dislike posts which only constitute reviews. I tend to find beauty blogs more guilty of this, when they start out as chattier, lifestyle-type blogs but obviously begin to be recognised by brands and then become review after bland review, with content which appears to come directly from press releases. If I wanted that I would read magazines – I prefer to see a personal touch on a blog.
On the legal front (I’m a lawyer, I can’t help it) there ARE rules which relate to the disclosure of things like sponsored posts in the UK, but as far as I am aware (and it’s not my area of expertise) they are general advertising standards/rules rather than blogger-specific. However, it’s something that’s appearing in the legal press more and more, and there was a recent decision which forced certain well known vloggers to amend or delete some videos for lack of disclosure of payment for product placement. It might be worth looking into if you do end up producing much sponsored content.
Interesting post, and I agree with a lot of your comments! Just wanted to point out that as far as I was aware, laws were changed within the last year which meant that UK bloggers DO now have to disclose paid for posts, including travel/trips. But not products they were sent to review- unless the brand had control over what was said, or you were paid to say nice things! Check out: http://www.cap.org.uk/Advice-Training-on-the-rules/Advice-Online-Database/Advertisement-Features.aspx#.VIHzeIuopFI
Have been thinking the same things after a recent conversation I had!! I completely agree with everything you’ve said! I actually have a post in my drafts very similar to this – I’m fine tuning it – I never want these kinda topics to sound preachy or hit the wrong nerves! haha! 🙂 x
Really interesting to read. As a very lax blogger I have a huge appreciation for how much work must go in to regularly writing blogs. I have to admit my personal bugbear is the blogs that read like one long advert – one blog I used to love does it all the time now, so much so that I’ve actually now unfollowed it. It’s very obvious when someone is writing it for genuine passion \ interest vs writing about any old thing they’re just because they’re paid to
The thing that I find most annoying is when bloggers go on about how busy they are, rushing around to meetings or travelling constantly. To me, that is not an interesting post and some start to sound like a broken record!