One good thing to keep true to your heart, and in your mind, whether you are a shiny bright newbie, or a established blogger with lots of experience, is your personal blogging boundaries.
What one blogger considers to be a open field, might be oversharing to another. Those lines should be clear in your mind, and be refreshed every now and again on your journey.
Sometimes a incident will occur, or you will read something that you might consider a little too revealing in blogging and it will make you sit up and pay attention.
That’s good.
Boundaries are a good thing, we haven’t just fallen off of the turnip truck, we know in our hearts how much we want to share. It’s those moments of recognition that define our boundaries.
Blog post boundaries:
Sharing facts about yourself doesn’t mean that you need to tell all, unless you want to, and you feel comfortable with that.
I’m paraphrasing a comment left by Meredith on my post “Blogging as yourself” that resonates so true to my heart.
“That doesn't mean you have to tell everyone your deep dark secrets, just be true to yourself.”
Sometimes when we start to blog, it’s tempting to share more then we are would like to in order to be popular. To get those extra comments, gather in more readers. Figure out where you stand on this, and build that fence, if you decide to move it, think before you do, it’s a choice you should make because you feel comfortable, not desperate. The comments will come, the readers will find you, it’s going to take time, and being too out there is not going to give you the kind of people you want to share your village with.
Once it’s on the internet, it’s out there forever. Who wants to be deleting blog posts later about a problem when it’s all over, or the situation has changed. This of course is a matter of personal preference, but I am suggesting that you decide how comfortable you are with sharing before you post anything too personal.
Offers, and giveaways:
When you have been blogging for awhile that first offer of a prize for a giveaway can sound very appealing. Wow, they like my blog, they want to sponsor a give away, on my little blog? It might suddenly feel like you’ve made the big time, and you may have caught the eye of a legitimate sponsor, if so, that’s good.
But don’t be too quick to respond yes, until you have thought through what the implications are, and if the offer is only going to result in free advertising for them. I’ve seen multiple inexperienced bloggers accept conditions that are only benefiting the companies and their products, because the rosy glow of being picked overshadowed the reality of what they were giving away for free.
I get offers from different sponsors, some are legitimate, and others just want me to write a post highlighting their products for free. You’re the reader of this blog, why should I waste your time, and mine on a product, or review of something I haven’t even tried, held in my hand, or looked over?
It’s my brand, my blog, and my reputation at stake here, I pick and choose the sponsors I promote with great care.
To me that’s one boundary I won’t cross, and I have no problem telling potential sponsors the truth, don’t treat me like I’ve just fallen off of the turnip truck.
The time you spend blogging:
You’ve been blogging for some time, and while it’s a great to see the comments roll in you’ve been feverishly working on new projects, and posts to the extent that you are ignoring family, and friends. Decide for yourself how many times you will post, and how important blogging is in your life. I’ve gone from posting once a week, to posting every day, and now I post 3 times a week. This works for me, and it might change, but I am happy with where I am now.
Blog on,