I have been a blogger for almost 6 years now. I don’t count myself in the top realm of bloggers that pull in thousands of dollars per post on their sites and social media, but I do make quite a bit off of my brand. A brand that encompasses both social media and this blog. I have made a ton of cringe worthy mistakes along the way, because it’s not like there is a rule book for bloggers and since blogging is a pretty personal thing I am not sure any one set of rules really would work.
I work hard as a blogger and just like any one who takes their job seriously, I take blogging seriously. So much so that I am very exacting in what I will and won’t do as a blogger. This is important since it is my name and no one elses’s on the line. One bad tweet and I could become persona non grata for all of my clients. Crappy blog posts that are just sales pieces, will lose my audience in a minute. So as a blogger, every day I walk a fine line. It’s kind of an interesting world to be in.
Anyways, here are 8 things I will not do as a blogger. If you are a blogger maybe my list matches your own. If you are a reader over here, thank you, and know that I am genuinely legit in everything I try to do as a blogger.
I Don’t Work Just For Free Product
Ugh, I get about a million emails per week that sound like this, “Hello JENerally Informed. We love your blog! We want to see if you would be willing to try our world renowned anti- diarrhea medicine? All we ask is that you post about it on your blog, share across social media …. blah- blah- blah….”
I actually haven’t ever been approached about blogging for anti- diarrhea medicine, but almost. Anyways, no matter how great you think your product is, this girl does not work for free. And asking me basically to do that is insulting.
If I Don’t Like It, I Don’t Blog About It
I research every request for a sponsored post very thoroughly. If a company contacts me to do one, I first look at their site and product. If I think it’s crap, I pass. End of story.
Guest Posts, meh…
I get tons of requests to guest post here on JENerally Informed and not that I don’t like guest posts, but if I have no idea who you are, there is no way I am letting you guest post on my blog. The hopeful author usually includes the promise in their email pitch that they will write an “engaging post that is of interest to my readers.” I’m always like, hmm, what do you think I try to do as a blogger? Write posts that bore my audience to death?
So, nope unless I know and like you or if you pay me, I am not letting you guest post over here.
Pose Naked
Um, this isn’t a problem right? Because, it will never, ever happen. The world wouldn’t recover…..
Steal Another Blogger’s Stuff
This makes me so mad. Every recipe, blog post and whatever that is created here and then shared on social media has been concocted in my head. I take great pains to try and add original touches into my recipes, and to see them ripped off by other bloggers and turned into their own is horrible. Mark my words there is a special place in plagiarism hell for people like that.
Fake It
I am not good at lying. I get all twitchy and so the thought of attempting to write a 1,000+ word post about something I just don’t believe in is not something I can do. Other bloggers might be able to, but I can’t.
I Don’t Underestimate My Value
I have worked hard over the past 5 years to get to this point. There have been tears, long nights spent on the computer trying to understand new blogging apps, finish updates and so much more. So if a company contacts me and wants me to be overjoyed to have the privilege to work for them for peanuts, I am like NO. My time and my blog is worth a heck of lot more than that. This recently happened. The almost client wouldn’t budge on their price and I walked. And actually it was all good, because 3 more jobs came in one after the other and if I had been working on that really poor paying job, I would have been totally stressed. Ah, sweet karma. It can be a beautiful thing when it works your way.
I Will Never Bad Mouth Another Blogger
Nobody likes to be the lackey for a jerk and I know that my blog would suffer if I did this over here. So I don’t. Plus life is short and hard, I prefer to celebrate the good whenever possible.
So don’t go there. Don’t do it. If you don’t like what a blogger is saying, just step away from the computer and like the technology savvy adult that you are, unfollow them on social media. See all better.
Love,
Jen
