If you know me in real life… you know I’m a big believer in karma. I’ve always believed that what you put out in the world will come back to you, and try to keep that in mind in my personal and professional life. I just don’t see the point in putting out the negative. One place that good karma pays off in spades? Blogging.
In my 5+ years of blogging, I’ve learned a lot, but the number one thing is that community is SO important. Being part of a community is the best part of blogging – making new friends, collaborating on opportunities, and just being part of this crazy little (big) world. If you’re a positive influence on that community, it comes back to you in the best ways. So how do you have good blogging karma?
Comment and Reply
Commenting on other blogs is the best way to build community. You learn about others, they learn about you. I’ve had many, many comments that have turned into conversations and friendships. In addition, every comment you leave has the opportunity to link back to you – a lot of WordPress blogs have comment luv, which shows your most recent post, and blogger allows you to have a profile (even if you’re on WordPress) that you can have your blog link in. It allows the blogger you’ve commented to an opportunity to learn about you, but it ALSO is an opportunity for other commentators to find you too!
Along with commenting comes the responsibility of replying, and I’m a big believer in replying for the same reasons I comment. No one wants to feel they’re talking to a wall. You can respond within your blog (like I do), but many bloggers I know respond via email. Even a simple “thanks” shows that you’ve read a comment and appreciate it. I don’t know about you, but when bloggers respond to me, I come back. When they don’t, I don’t. Simple.
Help Others with Sponsored Posts
We all work hard on our blogs, and when we get a sponsored post? We want it to be successful. Many, many people just click out of these sponsored posts and you know what? That stinks. We work hard on those. We want to do well so we can get more of those – because that helps us all keep blogging! So when you see a sponsored post, read it. Click on the links in it. Comment on it. See a tweet about it? Hit that retweet button (it literally takes a second). Not only will you find cool products and services, but that blogger will remember your support and come back to support you in return. It ends up helping you in the long run, and it’s so appreciated!
Read something you love? Share it.
This took me a while to figure out, but once I did – wow. There are things I read that I love and agree with, but obviously weren’t written by me or posted on my blog… but that absolutely does not mean my readers wouldn’t love it too! One of the best places to do this is on Facebook. When you share another blogger’s work on your Facebook page, you can tag their page in your post. By tagging them, you get access to both your likes and their own. That increases engagement on BOTH your pages, gets eyes on the post, and may garner each of you a few new likes you might not have gotten before. It takes just a few minutes, but the payoff for the time is great, and plus it reminds others to do the same thing. Also, in sharing things that you’re not getting paid for and just love, your readers know you’re being authentic… and that increases engagement too. It’s a win all over the place.
Follow through on promises
This is a massive pet peeve of mine. A while back, I was big into sponsoring other blogs and ran my own sponsorship program. One thing that drove me crazy? When the people I sponsored didn’t deliver on what they were promising! I hate not getting what I’ve paid for. One of the reasons I shut my sponsorship program down is exactly that – I couldn’t deliver on everything I wanted to offer, and I don’t overpromise things. For me, it’s under promise, and over deliver. It’s a phrase I learned at a company I used to work for, and it’s stayed with me since because it’s SO true. Do what you say you’re going to do, and people will respect you – and come back to you time and time again.
Offer knowledge and advice freely
It’s the best when people share their knowledge, and the worst when people hoard it. Some of my favorite bloggers are ones that share what they’ve learned and have a thirst to learn from others. Blogging is still a new industry, and we’re ALL learning. Blogging changes every day, and it’ll continue to do so. The more we share, the more we learn and grow from others. If someone asks me a question, I do my best to answer it, and I’m always reaching out to others when I see them doing things I love. Most will share. The ones that don’t? Well, I may not be coming back to them. A great example of someone who shares is Nadine over at Blog Brighter – great stuff there!
Anything I left out? What do you do for good blogger karma?
46 Responses
Great great great tips! These are so important!
They are!
5 simple things to do! All of these are true. I know lately I have been overwhelmed with my personal life but that does not mean I forgot my viewers. I try to set aside time to comment and link back, I know that it can truly make someones day. I remember when one of my favorite bloggers messaged me back, it made me feel like they cared just as much as I did. Thanks Jess!
You are so welcome! I tend to let comments pile up then reply all at once. It’s not ideal, but it works for me!
Yes, yes, yes! I couldn’t agree more with these. One thing I really wish my nonblogger friends/readers understood is the impact of a Facebook share. My traffic skyrockets with just a few people from different social circles giving a post a quick share. I’m trying to get better about asking my closest friends for shares on those posts I really feel proud of or want to highlight, but I never want to be obnoxious about asking for help.
So, so true, and even just a like or a comment! It’s so hard to ask them to do it though – I totally get you on the feeling like I’m being obnoxious!
Excellent post and I 100% agree with every one of them. Well done! Shared this with on my FB page…bring on the karma 🙂
Hahaha YES. Karma for you!!!
These are all really great tips. I found this post because Jessica from Jessica Lynn Writes shared on Twitter which is really the best way to find new stuff as if you trust a blogger it is great to see what else they are reading.
Very true – that’s how I’ve found so so many bloggers I now love!
Love this! I really do enjoy a good blogging post they are always useful and you learn so much from them! Shared on Twitter which is my new finding, I didn’t realise how much you can get out of Twitter!
Twitter is probably my favorite social media! So easy to connect there!
Awesome post!!! If I consistently comment and try to interact w/ a blogger and get NOTHING in response- I will eventually stop commenting, and probably stop reading at some point too! Responding and interacting goes a long way and truly is what this whole blog thing is all about! I stopped offering sponsorships too because I knew I didn’t have the time to commit to them and didn’t feel right taking people’s money.
Exactly. No one wants to comment and read if they’re not going to get anything back. Even if it’s not often, you definitely notice when someone is a regular commentator. I so wish I had the time for sponsorships, but there’s just no way right now… and I think many many bloggers have gotten that way. I don’t want to disappoint people.
Great post! I definitely agree with all of your tips and wish good karma to all bloggers!
Thanks – me too!
I love this! It’s great so many of us help each other out 🙂
It is, and so so important!
GREAT post! I am new to blogging (my blog has only been live for about a month now) and I have so much to learn, so I appreciate advice from other bloggers. At least I already knew enough to reply to all of my comments :). I definitely want to follow etiquette. Thanks for the quick lesson!
You are so welcome! Reach out if you need anything and welcome!
Thank you, I just might! Can you recommend a good blogger conference for someone that is getting started? I have some experience with blogging and social media from my day job, but I have never tried building a business from a blog and one day, I hope to make my blog my full-time job and I know that in order to do so, I will need some help. Any advice you can offer would be very much appreciated and I will be viewing your blog often 🙂
Oh gosh, I’ve only been to one, and that’s because it was local. There are TONS of good ones out there and lots of reviews on them – I honestly couldn’t even name them all. I’m trying to share advice a few times a month – I hope its’ helpful!
I love this! The best part of blogging really is the community!
How else would I meet awesome people like you?!? 😉
Oh I so agree with all of this! It doesn’t take much effort to be nice and help others but I feel we truly get good karma for doing things like this!
Definitely. If you retweet me, I’m going to remember it!
Such great points! I’ve thought about sponsorships for years but I don’t want that pressure on myself. I’ve also been on the side of people not delivering and it stinks!
I did it for a while, and not only did I have a hard time fulfilling it… it honestly wasn’t worth the money (but that’s a whole separate issue). I think it’s only worth it for the really big bloggers.
These are all great tips! I try to do some of these, but could definitely up my blogger karma! Thanks for sharing!
You are welcome!
I especially like the part about sponsored posts. I always try to interact with other blogger’s sponsored posts (when they’re well done) because I know how much work goes into them. Love what you had to say!
Thank you! 🙂
Yes yes yes yes yes I agree with all of these. Sometimes it’s frustrating when it seems others aren’t giving back what you’ve put into them but in the long run it definitely pays off.
It does!
Thank you. I am new to blogging, only a week and a half in and this is helpful! I truly have a lot to work to do but still try to post daily!
Oh gosh, if you can’t post every day, don’t put pressure on yourself to do so. It’s one of the quickest ways to burn out. Do what works for you!
Such wonderful tips! Thank you so much for sharing!
You are welcome!
Hey I found your post on The Blog Loft and came here. This is really good information for someone starting out like myself. I really* want to be a responsible, professional blogger.
You’ll get there! Thanks for visiting!
This is such a nice post! I try to have good blog karma but I want to focus on it even more. Great Tips! Sharing!
Thank you!
Thank you for reminding me of what I need to be doing. When I was raising small people I became very aware of how important community is to me, now as a new blogger I am working to find my own community in the blogosphere. Thank you for adding to it!
You are so welcome! Thanks for your sweet words!
100% agree with the commenting and replying! It’s so important to keep up with that. I often find blogs through a comment on another blog. It’s one of the ways my blog is found 🙂 but I also believe in being an active commenter on various blogs that interest you because, who knows, you could find another blog that interests you. I’m all about finding new blogs.
liz @ sundays with sophie
It is important to keep up with replying, even if it is later than you wanted (like me not responding until now!). I absolutely love looking through people’s comments to find new blogs to read!