How to Earn the Respect of Other Bloggers

Earning the respect of other bloggers and those who read blogs is not something that comes easily. However, there are things you can do that will help you gain their respect. Read this article to get some ideas for finding your place in the world of blogs.

Steps

1. 1
   Remember that fellow bloggers are also readers. That means, when you're aiming to earn their appreciation, you're aiming to provide information that readers will want to read as well as share with people they know. Fellow bloggers are readers-with-benefits; if they like your blog, it's probable that they'll try to connect with you, share your content, and promote you. They may seek to get you guest blogging for them, or they may ask if they can guest blog for you.
2. 2
   Provide quality content. As noted in the previous step, your fellow bloggers are also potential readers. As such, respect from other bloggers will come when they realize that you're providing original, interesting, and consistent content. While this might seem self-evident, there are many blogs out there that don't match this single most important requirement, such as blogs the simply regurgitate the news, other people's blog content, or don't even try to present something interesting to the audience. Other blogs overstep the mark by being nothing but a marketing vehicle for a single product that smells awfully of pyramid selling or a fly-by-night operation. None of these things attract the respect of other bloggers. Things to bear in mind when creating quality content include:
   • Use original opinions to put an interesting slant on the information you're providing. Even if everyone has read it before, a new slant with original thought can have people thinking again.
   • Use references. Don't expect other people to just take you at your word for factual statements; provide them with the evidence. As part of this, be sure to make it easy for them to find the resources that you used – no wild goose chases or made-up stuff.
3. 3
   Make time for fellow bloggers. Take the time to answer their questions about your own blog. Visit their blogs and read and comment on their efforts. Create reciprocal relationships by being involved in what they're saying and doing too.
   • Ask your favorite bloggers if they're like to share a guest post on your blog. Offer to guest post on their blogs as well as offering them guest post opportunities on your blog.
   • Network with other bloggers continuously. Stay in touch with what they're doing and spread it via your Twitter and Facebook accounts; this shows that you care about what they're saying. Attend their online and real life talks and seminars if you can. And join social media network groups; a number of these are set up on sites such as LinkedIn. And develop a plan for how you will cultivate and increase your contacts.^[1]
   • Be interactive with reader's comments. Bloggers leave comments too, and you may or may not know that those who have left comments are bloggers. Regardless of that, it's just good etiquette to respond to comments where you're able to, as it keeps readers engaged and alerts other bloggers to your blog being an interactive one (meaning it's well tended and cared for!).
4. 4
   Chill on disrespecting other bloggers. If you start singling out bloggers and picking on them, or being negative about them, you're taking a very big risk. Maybe this is what you want from your blog but bear in mind that the following problems arise from this prickly approach:
   • Bloggers who support the attacked blogger will band together. And together they are a much wider source of spreading negative information about you if it's clear you're being spiteful, untruthful, or intimidating.
   • Being in a war with another blogger or group of bloggers does not make for interesting reading. You stand to lose a lot of readers if this is what your content ends up reflecting.
   • It's hard to trust someone who appears as if they can turn at a mere moment and start undermining you. By attacking another blogger, other bloggers won't know whether this is something you'll turn around and do to them or not.
   • Know the difference between constructive criticism and outright damnation and unkindness. You do have a role in pointing out errors and misunderstandings in a reasoned and evidenced way, but your don't have a role in dragging the person through the mud. Always focus on the issue, not the person.
5. 5
   Know and respect the blogger's code of ethics or code of conduct. There are several variations of this idea floating around the internet but the basics can be filtered down to some of the following listed next. The important thing is that by following this code, you're likely to increase the potential for respect from other bloggers because you can demonstrate that you remain dedicated to using the blog as an informative, considerate, and non-combative medium. Some of the ideas involved in the various codes include:^[2]
   • Be responsible for what you opine. If you think something, make it clear that it's you who thinks it.
   • Monitor your blog comments. Remove those that are hateful and inflammatory towards others.
   • Be honest and fair, don't plagiarize, avoid distorting images, and make lack of certainty or fact evident. Avoid publishing inaccurate information (do your research).
   • Don't misrepresent fact. Make it clear when you're writing opinion, fact, commentary, advocacy, or conjecture and avoid mixing them up.
   • The facts do matter even if they get in the way of a good retelling. Check your facts.
   • Don't hide advertising in your commentary or general write-up. Be open about what's marketing and advertising.
   • Be considerate of those who might be harmed by what you're writing. Think about privacy, respect, defamation, and intent when "exposing" people or activities.
   • Be sensitive when discussing minors, lurid issues, tragedy, or grief; err on the side of protecting private people's privacy and not crossing the boundaries of good taste.
   • Admit it when you make errors and do all you can to remedy them and repair your relationships to rebuild trust. Publicly correct misinformation that you've blogged; go back to the errant post and make it clear with a postscript that you've retracted the errors too (for example, strike through erroneous information).^[3] And don't feel you have to be "perfect" – nobody is and to expect that is unrealistic.^[4] Indeed, when you fluff up, you seem more real than ever and that's reassuring for most readers.
   • Disclose conflicts of interest, affiliations, and personal agendas. You can still have a field day with your personal affiliations provided people know where you're coming from.
   • Don't be unethical and don't stand for unethical practices in other bloggers.
6. 6
   Be honest about your information sources. Not being honest about sources upsets other bloggers a great deal; "borrowing" (or to put it more bluntly, "stealing") their material, whether it's text or images, is infuriating. If you do this and you refuse to acknowledge where the information came form, you won't ever earn their respect. The best approaches are as follows:
   • Give credit where credit is due. Always credit your sources, even if they are just a source for ideas. It will be seen by other bloggers and the favor will be returned.
   • Make original source links clear. When you do put in the link to the original source, don't hide it. Allow it to be seen without it having to be looked for.
   • Don't watermark the images you use with your blog link. Doing this is cheesy. If it's a photo blog, you'll want to find some ways to protect yourself. As the original photographer, this is certainly acceptable. However, if they aren't your images, use hotlink protection for those images that you want to protect that aren't yours.
7. 7
   Use your own bandwidth. Something that has worn out numerous website and blog owners over time is the use of their bandwidth. This has resulted in many people closing down their sites or blogs as a result of it not being affordable. Support your fellow blogger by hosting the images that you're using and not linking to theirs. And acknowledge where the photos hail from.
8. 8
   Learn from constructive criticism. You will receive criticism as a blogger. See it as a learning experience, and try to improve your blogging approach, especially when the suggestions come from another blogger. In fact, other bloggers are an amazing pool of knowledge and resources for you to tap into, so if they do offer you advice on what to do better, consider this free training!
   • Nasty criticism from another blogger will be seen for what it is. Don't take it to heart, keep a sense of humor and make up your mind whether to reply at all, or just to give a brief reply that doesn't engage the nastiness but merely concedes the point of what could be done better, or brushes off the attack in a kindly, amused fashion.
   • Respect your readers. Don't be condescending to them (unless that is your 'thing' and it's what the readers expect and enjoy about your blog). Treat them as equals.
   • Show the same respect to others that you are trying to earn.

Edit Tips

• As tempting as it may seem, don't generalize and gripe about journalists. Many of them are now fellow bloggers anyway, and the days in which they held a haughty distinction between what they did and blogging are fast passing. Expect some bloggers to be journalists and express respect for all writers, authors, and bloggers who are doing their best to provide quality content and analysis to the rest of the world. And expect some journalists to find citizen journalism threatening; it's up to you to disprove them, not criticize them.
• Be patient; most good and popular blogs take time and are the result of a long period of working consistently and patiently to build up a solid amount of content and linkages to other blogs in the blogosphere. This doesn't happen overnight and trying stunts to get yourself noticed earlier may backfire, so take great care to build your reputation on solid ground.
• Write in proper English. Remember that only spell check is not enough
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• Warnings

  • Be very careful with rant posts. They can alienate a lot of readers and leave bloggers wary of you.