Don’t be obnoxious

This week is a blogging theme, and we’re supposed to share our best blogging tips.  As I write this there are 163 people already linked up, and though I haven’t read them all, I’m guessing many contain the same tips.  Very good tips, mind you.  I, too, feel that you should use Wordpress, be a good commenter, and focus on keywords if you want to build a bloggy empire.  But I’m thinking you don’t need to hear that dittoed a 164th time. 

So instead I’m going to share with you a very un-PC tip.

Don’t be obnoxious.

Sounds simple, right?  It’s not.  Most obnoxious people are so self-involved they haven’t even noticed they are being obnoxious.  Don’t be one of them.

Yes, it’s your blog, but please don’t make it all about you.

It’s not that we don’t like hearing your family stories – we all like to share them from time to time.  It’s just that when the content is all deeply personal, we can’t always relate.  If you want your blog to be successful, you need to have a conversation with your readers, not just a platform to shout from.  Work hard to balance what you are passionate about with what matters to your readers.  You may be the president of your child’s PTO, but if you always write about Jefferson Elementary then you’ll lose me.  Write about the challenges of fostering parent involvement in schools, and readers worldwide will be able to relate.

This is a common problem I’ve observed among ‘big’ bloggers.  It’s all about them.  They are so busy writing to amuse themselves, they forget about their followers.  Sometimes it seems as if they’ve completely lost touch with reality, and view themselves as a celeb whose lunch selection, playground activities, and personal philosophy on skin care are absolutely intriguing to the world at large.

I actually follow several well-known bloggers that fall into this category and they bug the heck out of me.

[Um, then why are you following them?]

Glad you asked.  I check in with them from time to time to remind myself what I do not want to be.  I follow them on Twitter so I have a concrete example in front of me, reminding me of my goals.

Don’t tweet only to make myself look good.

Don’t tweet like a stand-up comedian trying out a new routine.

Don’t tweet every mundane detail of my mommy life like it’s fascinating.  It isn’t.

It does not foster a connection with your readers.  It doesn’t make you seem cool or smart or funny.  It just makes you seems self-absorbed and, well, obnoxious.

Don’t do it.

*If you’d like to read more Blogging tips that are possibly less bossy than mine, hop over to We Are THAT Family.

Tweet This Post

Makeover Monday – The Blog Edition

I must be crazy.

Well, more crazy than I already knew I was.

February is going to be insanely busy.

The forum I moderate is doing a big 280 challenge, and not only am I participating, I’m monitoring others’ participation as well.  280 new listings in one month – a lofty but attainable goal. 

Wanna make some extra cash this month?  Consider joining us at HCTS and earn some spending money just in time for spring break fun!

Beyond that and on top of the usual household stuff, I have several projects waiting on me.  I need to organize my work room (which in large part hinges on this challenge!), prepare our taxes, and rearrange some furniture (moving from room to room). And a certain someone I know is turning 7.

I’m also doing a little bloggy makeover.  No, I’m not changing the design.  I love the design, and I’m rather attached to it.  I’m weird like that – I hate it when a blog I love changes their design on me.  I roll with change pretty easily in the real world, but in blog land notsomuch.

So where was I?

Oh yeah, my makeover.

It’s a blogging style makeover.  And I really hope I don’t get sick of this find myself unable to fulfill my commitment.

I have three friends who have recently done the NaBloPoMo challenge and they’ve inspired me to do the same.

It’s no coincidence that I chose the shortest month of the year to do this.

I will give it my best to have a new post every day in February.

I will not promise you that they will be profound.

But they will exist, 28 days in a row.  And given my recent extended leave from the blogosphere, that’s quite a makeover.

Tweet This Post