Top Blog Tips....Advise...well, its a blog something.........

I've never written a post on blog advise before because I never felt I had enough experience. But you know, I've been blogging for almost 6 months now and I feel I've had enough time to reflect on what worked for me even if i'm still falling short of being an expert.
Thank you to my fellow Book Bolgs Ningers who responded to my Blog Tip Question on my  page. This helped stimulate my thinking.

I also have to mention that there are four specific bloggers whose blogs I rely on the most for such advise and in no particular order they are: 
Karen G
Rach Harrie
Myne Whitman Writes
Pro Blogger


So what pearls of wisdom am I dispensing today? Well let's see:

1. Write for yourself and readers will appreciate it. The only time I ever really felt compelled to waffle for the sake of getting something on my blog was with the A-Z Blogfest and I suspect that this is the only time that other bloggers would dare excuse blog laziness by coming by to visit again. Writing good and unique content is the one sure way of keeping yourself inspired and others interested.
2. Do not lose yourself: Its easy to get tempted to blog about what others are blogging about, but remember why you started blogging. The more blogs and ideas I'm exposed to the more difficult I find it to remember this. My blog break has been a good opportunity to reflect on who I am and why I'm doing this. That being said, learning new things means we evolve into more and better (well I hope this is so), so make room to accommodate development but don't leave that which sets you apart behind.
3. Design for yourself. Your content and blog look  must reflect your individuality. They say less is more with regards to look and feel. You did catch the bit where I said_ They Say _ right? Whenever I organize things on my blog I try to get rid of one or two gadgets (especially when I'm adding). I test the effectiveness of a gadget by asking: what purpose does this serve? Does it add value to my blog/ message/voice?  So use gadgets perhaps more prudently than I do, I'd be on Prozac if my blog where to look stark, I don't carry the desert look well. 
4. Very very important, give credit where its due. Never use someone's work without giving credit in a meaningful manner and I don't mean just mention their name. You must mention their name, link to their blog/site and if possible by all means redirect the reader to their blog (I feel the redirect bit is particularly important if you are using another bloggers work).  Using someones' work in a way that prejudices them in whatever manner is unacceptable and reflects trailer trash mentality that should be reserved for your interview with Jerry Springer. PS! It also doesn't hurt to mention to the other blogger in their comments that you will be reposting their feature or using their material on your blog. 
5. Disable word verification.....and I suggest you do it quick, this is very irritating. I've also given up posting comments on certain blogs because of this. You think your comment is captured and move on. Only later when you check on whether the blogger responded to your comment, you find out it never went because you were suppose to check for the word verification pop up  after submitting. Its a terrible waste of time when you have 100 other blogs to check and Blogger is very good with spam.
6. Treat others as you would like to be treated. If you want comments, you comment on other blogs first, if you want followers, besides writing great content, follow other blogs and give constructive input on those blogs. Visit other blogs but especially your followers blogs. A trend I noticed with myself early on is that I tended to visit the blogs of the most recent followers more frequently because those appear first. Now I rotate my start points. One day I start from the very beginning, another from the middle and last from the latest. It's impossible to visit everyone on a single sitting and not planning your visits will leave some followers unvisited and uncommented on.
7. Always respond to comments. This is one of the first things I read from Karen's advise posts many moons ago. You don't have to respond to each one  but make sure that your audience knows you're paying attention. I feel that when you don't do this, its like being invited to a dinner party and then having the quests entertain themselves because the host left the party. I also think its a good habit to copy your response to the commenter's email address time allowing. Some visitors may not return to see your blog to see your response because they neglected to click on "the follow comments to this blog post" prompt. I've missed this prompt a number of times to my great irritation and I appreciate it every time I get a direct response from the poster.
8. Very important, always welcome your followers, I follow quite a lot of blogs and its only a handful of those that acknowledge your follow with a welcome. I think this is incredibly ungracious and discourteous. That person does not owe a visit or allegiance to your blog and it is only a sign of good breeding and character when you take a moment to thank a new face on your follow gadget. Unless you get 50 followers a day, you should endeavour to find the time to send a brief welcome and thank you email at least within that first week of their arrival.
9. Lucy Rock's tip really really hit hard for me.  She says:  do not to be a slave to your blog and make it work for you rather than the other way around :-) write regularly but don't get too stressed out and make time for your reading as well. If you write people will follow.. I have been a slave I regret to say, so hard to kick an addiction but kick it I must.
10. And just because I have to have a 10: Use Graphics in your posts. Interesting and relevant graphics give visual appeal, help facilitate comfortable communication and encourage greater understanding. I suppose this is the most biased of all my points because I am a visual person. I see a long post with no pictures or clips and I sincerely promise to return later to read but somehow never get there. But show me that same post with interesting pics and things interspersed and I'll read to the end. 

BookBlog.Ning blogger additions

• Write for yourself and share with others! 

  http://parismusings.blogspot.com

• Quality over quantity ManOfLaBook.com

• Pick a consistent theme and stick with it. DrAmyR 

• Keep it simple. Keep it regular. Keep it fun. Thanks for the word verification tip. Stephen Lawrence

        Brayton 

• Post regularly.  Be original.  Jump right into it.  Who needs the summary? William (Bill) Torgerson

• Go out of your way to respond kindly and courteously to people who may have inquires about anything

         concerning your blog. My respect for some bloggers has grown immensely simply with the way they    

         responded far beyond my expectations to questions I had as new blogger. I think this is invaluable! Eva

• Bloggers having their email available, I also advise creating an email just for your blog.

        Network, comment on other blogs, if participating in mems, participate, don't just post. 

        Enjoy it, don't let it become a job or you will get burnt out, read for the love of it, don't read to blog. 

        Marce

• The best advice I have received so far came from my husband who advised me to blog only 'for myself' 

         and only when I am inspired. My best pieces are the ones that come naturally.cookiesbookclub

• 1. Be honest.  2.  Arrive at an opinion - don't dance around and make the reader wonder whether you     

         liked the book in question or not.   http://josephsreviews.wordpress.com/

• "Do what you love" _Over the years, this has become my blogging mantra.  David Gutowski