Basic blogging etiquette

If you are new to blogging (and even if you aren’t), it’s important to understand the blogging etiquette. In this article we look at some of the basics.

Copying others

When you decide to start a blog, you may think it’s going to be easy. Most of the cases it isn’t, unless, of course, you have a natural talent for writing. And even then, it takes time and practice to find your own voice.

So what happens when you know what you want to write about but do not know how to start?

You get overwhelmed and browse on the internet and look for inspiration. Whereas there’s nothing wrong with inspiration, what really appears is the temptation to copy a text or a person.

Don’t do that.

Not only because it’s not ethical but also because it’s illegal and you can get into copyright infringement issues.

Asking for permission and giving credit

Just because you found a beautiful photo on the internet and there’s no copyright sign or a watermark on it, it doesn’t mean you can use it. Everything you find on the internet was created by somebody. Therefore, that person is the copyright owner of the digital product.

If, however, you’d like to use an image, you can ask for permission from the owner. Simply stating the source is xyz, is not enough. That doesn’t equal permission was granted. The correct way to ask for permission is to email the owner of the photo. Once you have got permission, cite the source on your website with a clickable link, preferably to the actual post containing the website. Also, only use one photo. If you use all the photos of a project, the readers will have no reason to click over.

When you are tempted to use someone else’s photo, ask yourself the question: how would you feel if somebody used yours without your permission? I bet you wouldn’t be thrilled.

What you can do instead, of course, is use free stock photos or photos that are in the Public Domain.

Comment

Don’t forget to comment back if people leave comments on your post. Readers who took the effort to read your post and liked it will appreciate your response. Besides, they will feel that there is a real person behind the blog they can connect with.

Inspiration

There is nothing new under the sun, they say. Indeed, it’s very difficult to be original these days. We get inspired by many and there is nothing wrong with inspiration. But the correct way of doing it is out of courtesy to mention it and link to the post you were inspired by.

and of course be kind.

PS: featured image source is Pixabay.