Whether you're a newbie blogger or a pro, following some extent of "blogging etiquette" is a must if you want your blog to be seen in good light.  It's pretty simple though, especially if you think of your blog as a reflection of yourself, which it basically is! And just a side note before we get to the tips; I've definitely fallen victim to a couple of these "don'ts", and looking back now, I feel horrible for it! To avoid being completely negative though, I wanted to share a some tips that will benefit you and your blog as well. So for both your sake and mine, here are a few do's and don'ts of the blogging world that I wish I'd thought about months ago!

Do: 1. Be Yourself I always find this to be my favorite quality of bloggers. I can connect with them on a more personal level and feel like I'm actually listening to a person, not reading off a screen. Staying true to yourself is so important in blogging, because you want your blog to be a reflection of who you really are!
2. Have A Blogging Schedule Not only will this keep your readers coming back, but it will ensure that you don't go insane trying to come up with a post every week! Keeping a schedule allows your readers to expect a post from you on certain days, and they'll look forward to coming back for it. It's also extremely helpful when you're participating in group projects with other bloggers, because double-booking a day for posts can get pretty chaotic! I keep a blogging planner with sticky notes color-coded for different types of posts, so I know what weeks have a giveaway going, or when I'm participating in a link up, so I don't accidentally take on too much at once. 
3. Join A Community This was probably the best decision I made since I started blogging! It's a pretty amazing thing to see so many bloggers collaborating at once, especially when you're able to join them on things like giveaways and social media hops. I became a member of the Peony Project back when there were only about 20 members, and now we're at almost 300! I met all of my closest blogging friends there, and we connect everyday through Facebook, blogging, and other collaborations. It's a great experience, so I definitely suggest going out and finding a blogging community that fits you and your blog's personality! 
4. Link Back To Your Own Posts Having a reader find one of your posts is great, but don't you want them to stay awhile and come back? By linking back to your past posts within new ones, your reader can explore your blog and get a good idea of what it's like, while also learning a bit about where it came from. This is a great way to sort of "self-advertise", and you'd be surprised at how well it works! If you haven't done this before, try going back through some of your posts and look for topics you mentioned that have now been covered by a newer post. Add in a link to that new post, and see how your statistics change over time!
5. Have A Clean Design Maybe this is a bad thing, but when I'm looking through new blogs, one of the first things that pushes me to close the page is an unorganized design. If I have to search around just to find your content, there's a problem. Maintaining a clean design is crucial to giving your reader the best experience on your blog. It's also helpful when you're looking for bloggers or companies to work with you, because they want their content displayed in the best way possible, and a messy design won't cut it! 
6. Use Images To Your Advantage While this applies to just about any social networking site, I'm mainly gearing this tip towards Pinterest. Images grab a readers attention much faster than words, so it should be one of your top priorities to have a picture of quality in all of your posts. I suggest optimizing these images for Pinterest, because I think we can all agree that Pinterest is one of the best places to advertise your posts and pull in readers! To get those clicks, try adding short phrases to your photos that not only summarize what your post is about, but sound intriguing to the reader scrolling over it. You only have a few seconds to grab their attention, so make sure your images are eye-catching!
Don't: 7. Post Link Ups/Giveaways/Other Promos All The Time This would be one of those issues that I've fallen victim to. You have a pretty overwhelming week ahead of you, so you sign up for a few "no-work-required" posts like link ups and giveaways to keep your blog up and running while your busy. But then a few weeks later, you realize that these types of posts consumed your entire blogging schedule for the whole month. While participating in the occasional giveaway or link up is great, it isn't something you should be doing all week long. Make sure you're balancing those posts out with some great content to keep your readers from getting bored!
8. Plagiarize This one seems pretty obvious, but I'm constantly seeing complaints about it on networks I'm in, because bloggers keep having their content stolen. Here's what I have to say about plagiarism: if you're stealing content from other bloggers to fill up your own blog, why are you even blogging in the first place? Now I get that you might read a post and become inspired to write something like it, but that's not the same as copying word for word what someone else wrote. Just don't do it!
9. Steal Photos Along the same lines as the previous tip, but this one seems to be harder to understand completely. With so many stock photo sites out there, it's hard to differentiate between what's free and what's not. And even when a photo is free to download, you might be required to cite the owner of the photo wherever you use it. Honestly, the best way to deal with this issue is by taking the photos yourself. That way you're confident that everything on your blog is legitimate, and your pictures are more unique and personal!
10. Comment For The Purpose Of Advertising This is mainly a habit of newbie bloggers looking to get their first readers. You might have a few comments on your blog along the lines of, "Cool post. :) *insert link to blog*". They aren't very sincere, and it's pretty obvious that whoever made the comment didn't care too much about your post. Now don't get me wrong, comments are a great way to get readers! But placing a link to your blog in every comment you write isn't the way to do it. It looks amateur and kind of tacky, and may be sending the wrong message about your blog. Instead, comment on other blogs with the intention of connecting with the writer. If your comments are sincere and you make it clear that you really read the post and enjoyed it, there's a good chance the writer will check your blog out to see who the new face in their comment box is!
11. Take Advantage Of Communities/Bloggers One of the main reasons bloggers join communities or connect with each other is to expand their exposure and introduce more people to their blog. For example, at the Peony Project, there are weekly follow trains and blog post threads so you can get the word out about your blog and new posts, which I absolutely love! Usually, if you add your link to these threads, it's expected that you check out a few other bloggers on the list to keep the system flowing smoothly. However, there are always bloggers that try to take advantage of these types of services, and simply use them for their own exposure without helping out anyone else in the community. This often goes unnoticed, because it's hard to keep track of who follows who and who comments on what blog, so this is more of an honor system thing. I know it can be hard to make time for connecting with other bloggers, but you'll end up with more engaged readers and a better follower base if you just follow the rules and gain readers the right way!
12. Over Advertise Social media isn't just an outlet for connecting with people anymore; it's a series of platforms with endless opportunities for advertising and promoting yourself. I mean, what would we do without Twitter and Facebook and Instagram and all those other places we announce our new posts at? We would literally have to text or call all of our readers to let them know we put something up! Obviously, that's extremely inconvenient, so social media is the way to go. But please. Limit your advertising. If you're adding a new Tweet every five minutes about the post you just put up, your followers are going to get pretty annoyed, and might end up unfollowing you. Unfollowers=bad news! This is where social media schedulers come in handy, because they spread out your posts/tweets/statuses so you don't overload your readers. I don't use one personally, but I do my best to keep track of when I promote my posts to give my readers the perfect balance of information!

Testing

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Using Pinterest To Organize Your Life

I think one thing that most bloggers have in common is our obsessive love for Pinterest. What better place to share your posts, look for new ones, and find just about everything you could possibly want/need? Over time it's become my favorite social media site, just above Instagram, and these days I'm spending so much time reorganizing my pins, making new boards, and using it like a Google replacement. It's especially helpful when I need some help doing something, like coding a certain part of my blog design (hint hint, changes are a comin') or figuring out how to wear the new shirt I got. 

As I was going through my profile this morning, I realized I had made 43 boards. 43! How could I possibly need that many boards? But it turns out that my Pinterest has become much more than just a collection of cute outfits and blog tutorials. It's a place where I can organize my life, collect my thoughts, and make reminders for myself about things I want to get done. I put together my favorite board ideas that have turned out to be super helpful to me, and hopefully you too!

CHRISTMAS LIST

I don't know why I didn't think of this years ago, but Pinterest is the perfect place to make my Christmas list. Usually when I write mine up, I just search through my pins, because that's where I find all of my favorite things anyway. By making a board specifically for this list, I can get a lot more specific by pinning directly from a website. Even better, boards are easily shareable, making it simple to get it out to those asking! And for bloggers, it's a great way to collect pictures for all those gift list posts!

FAVORITE BLOG READS

Sometimes I read a post that I love and stick it in a specific board for looking back at later. But when a post doesn't necessarily fit a board of mine, I unfortunately decide not to save it, which I always end up regretting! Recently though, I made a board specifically for these types of posts. I'm hoping that in a few months, it'll be filled with all my favorite bloggers and their amazing posts! Of course, it's also a way to spread the love and give some more exposure to your blogging friends!

BLOG POSTS

Speaking of blogging, I also have a board dedicated to my blog posts. I usually post them under a board that they relate to, but making this extra board has become a great way to organize my blog pins so I can go back and repin them after a few weeks. Sometimes it's fun to go back and look at old posts to see how far I've come! 

FONT COLLECTIONS

I'm kind of a font snob, which would explain why I have a font board with 53 pins. Even if I have no clue where I'll use a font, I save it here just in case! Before I joined the blogging world, I had no idea I could just download other fonts for personal use, and boy was I missing out. I try to stray from using traditional fonts now, because I feel like using non-default fonts makes my blog/pictures a bit more unique. I also post typography pictures here for inspiration on designing my blog graphics, because I love seeing how people pair fonts together. The best part is that most of these pins have direct links to the download site! 

DESIGN INSPIRATION

This board is still under development, but I made it as a place to collect my favorite patterns, color combinations, and graphic designs for inspiration on design projects. It's kind of like a blog inspiration board, but more broad and not specific to a particular project. I love having this board to look to when I'm out of ideas and need some creativity thrown at me! 

"WHEN I HAVE TIME"

I'm always finding fun and interesting things to do on Pinterest, so this board is a collection of all those "when I have time" pins. There's no set time for when I want to accomplish these things, so it's sort of something I tackle during free time and forget about otherwise. I made it with my over-a-month-long winter break in mind, and I can't wait for this week to be done so I can start knocking things off that board! 

What are your favorite board ideas?

December Goals And Looking At Life

I am so thankful that this month is finally here, because my semester ends tomorrow and that means freedom! The past few weeks have been filled with sleepless nights and essays upon essays and lots of coffee, and even though I still have finals next week, finishing my last class tomorrow will be a huge relief. This semester was definitely a struggle at times, especially coming from years of bad studying habits and easy-going teachers. I've been so used to being able to ace everything without much effort, which is definitely not the case in college! It's been kind of hard to get a test back and see something that's...not very close to passing, and have to accept that this is the norm. Constantly thanking God for the curving system!

November taught me a lot of things. It taught me that waiting until the last minute to do something isn't always the end of the world. It taught me that every task, no matter how large, can be broken down into more manageable pieces. It taught me that I don't always have to fill my schedule with endless meetings and events, and that it's okay to just spend a day doing absolutely nothing. 

Most importantly, it taught me that worrying about things like essays and tests and speeches is pointless, because eventually those things will pass, and all that worrying will have been a waste of time that could have been spent more productively. Why should I be worrying about these things when He already has a plan for me? Reminding myself of that has allowed me to be so much more productive over the past few days, and I'll be carrying those thoughts into next week as my finals approach! So for those of you heading into your last weeks of the semester, or dealing with some other stressful time in your life, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." - Philippians 4:6

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DECEMBER GOALS

// Declutter my life: More like my closet, but still. I'm talking Instagram sales, donation piles, and major downsizing.

// Yoga, yoga, yoga: Now that my late afternoon classes are over, I can finally start going to the free yoga classes on campus! My body is just begging for some relief.

// Keep learning: Specifically in photography. I really want to get comfortable with my camera, and hopefully try out senior photoshoots next year!

What are your December goals?