Unethical Rookie Blogger Mistakes to Avoid: Part 3

Though the blogging and social media industry may seem completly free flowing without rules or guidelines, there are plenty of unethical rookie blogger mistakes to avoid to keep your brand honest and respectable. This post is Part 3 in this series sharing a few additional things that could get you into trouble, as well as how to address these issues and what to do when they arise.

Don’t make promises you can’t keep.
I constantly see people saying “blog post coming soon” or “I’m going to start posting videos three times a week,” often followed by “stay tuned!” and then you just never hear anything about it ever again. Things come up sometimes of course, but over time, this takes a hit to your credibility and makes you look unreliable. If you’re scared you might do this, be hesitant when it comes to making these kinds of announcements and focus on always sticking to your word. If you find that you can’t fulfill a promise you’ve made, address it directly and appropriately. It happens, but don’t let it become a constant!

Don’t focus on selling too much.
In all aspects of life, I think we’re all turned off a bit by people who are constantly trying to sell to you. Whether it be sales associates following you around at stores or salespeople that show up on your front door and can’t take a hint, it gets annoying quick. Bloggers who only put out 100% sales-focused content isn’t business savvy, it’s unbalanced. If we wanted sales only content, we’d be following stores, not bloggers — you know? Be sure you’re also focused on content that doesn’t necessarily create financial benefit for you (content that helps your readers/followers get to know you, what’s going on in your life, etc.) just as much as you focus on content that does. A great balance will help you come off as both genuine AND professional, someone that people see value and have interest in.

Don’t copy others.
As much as it pains me to say this, I’ve seen bloggers who follow me copy my designs too closely, and it’s not a great feeling. Just because I’m a designer doesn’t mean my personal designs are up for grabs, you know? Like all other designers and bloggers, I strive to create designs that are really unique to me as an individual and my brand, so seeing someone recreate the same design layout with something like just a different font in a different color thrown in is cutting it WAY too close. If you’re inspired by someone’s design, whether it be on their blog or social media, frequently check back to the specific item you’re using as inspiration to make sure you’re not making anything too similar. I would say 9 times out of 10, you may be taking it too far.

Don’t think you have to work with brands all the time to be relevant.
Brand work often comes in waves based on the time of year and their “marketing budgets,” (you may hear this term a lot when they’re explaining why they “don’t have the budget to pay you”) so if you’re wanting to give this blogging thing a real go, please do continue posting regular content that isn’t sponsored. If you wait around for sponsored content and therefore are only posting every once in a while on your site, you’re potentially killing your traffic (deterring brands from discovering you) and also coming across ingeniune and money hungry to your readers/followers. Again, balance is key!

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I could go on, but these are the four I wanted to focus on today. I hope this is helpful for you and if you want more, check out my other blogging tips and read the other two parts below:

• Unethical Rookie Blogger Mistakes to Avoid: Part 1
• Unethical Rookie Blogger Mistakes to Avoid: Part 2

Have a great Wednesday, everyone! Only three more weeks until Riverdale is back on! 😉