Blogging lessons

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Over the past year and half that I've been blogging, I've learned so many things. I thought I'd share with you a few that I wish I had known right off the bat:

1. Be yourself. As cheesy as it sounds, it is so easy to fall into the trap of comparing your blog to others' blogs. Because you are a unique individual, your blog is going to be like no one else's. And that's okay - just go with it! One of my favorite things about blogging is following people who are so different from me, people who I might not have met otherwise. I see other ways to do things and different insights on life, and I get to peek into their lives and even get to know their cities. I wouldn't want to follow 50 blogs exactly like mine because that would be so boring! I love that there is so much uniqueness and creativity out there.

2. Blog about what you love, not what you hate. Unless you're going for a sarcastic, snarky blog theme or you're doing a product review, don't constantly rant about things you dislike. It's negative energy and honestly it's not that enjoyable to read about (at least for me). I love hearing about others' interests, not their ranting about things they hate. Same goes for commenting. I have seen way too many mean comments on blog posts and it's just rude! Don't say something in a comment that you would never say to someone's face. Everyone has a right to share what they want in the blogosphere, and if someone's blog bothers you, don't follow it. In the words of the little rabbit from Bambi (which was also a house rule for my family growing up), "if you can't say somethin' nice, don't say nothin' at all."

3. Blogging is a community. I truly did not know this going into it, but blogging is all about community! All those blogs you see out there are owned by people, and people crave to be in community with each other. I have started to make "blog friends" with people whose blogs I follow, and vice versa. It sounds crazy, but it's true! If you want to join the community, get out there and comment on what you read. I wish I had started doing this sooner. I have followed a number of blogs for over a year now and didn't really start commenting until this past winter, mainly because I didn't know to. It's crazy what people want to talk about and what they'll share with you! Same goes for those who comment on your blog - respond somehow, some way. Either respond to their comments through email, hit reply on your blog post, or head over to their blogs to comment on their posts. You will most certainly miss out if you don't communicate in this blogging world!

That's all I've got for now. I'm sure I'm leaving out a slew of other things, as I am but a mere blogging amateur, but that's what was on my mind right now. What other blogging tips do you have for me now, readers?