Five Ways to Make Other Bloggers Absolutely Adore You!

A Satire by Jeanne Dininni, Writer’s Notes.

Have you ever wondered what it would take for you to become more popular among your blogging peers? Or pondered precisely which specific actions you could take that would put you in their good graces? Well, wonder no more! Here are five things you can do right now to make you the blogger that everybody loves to love!

First, tag them for every single meme that comes your way—even the ones that have nothing at all to do with their blogs’ topics. After all, it’s such an honor to be tagged and they’ll be so busy feeling special! because you’ve tagged them that they’ll hardly even notice that the meme involves a topic they despise—and even if they do notice, they’ll forgive you because of your incredible generosity. In fact, they’ll thank you. (Don’t they always thank you? See! I rest my case.)

Second, when they ask your opinion, always be totally honest with them—about everything. They’ll appreciate it. As long as you can say it in a nice way, it doesn’t really matter what you tell them. Many people believe that (as the saying goes) “some things are better left unsaid”; but do you really believe the bloggers you know would want you to hold back your constructive criticism? Of course they wouldn’t. I’m glad you’re beginning to come around. (In fact, the very definition of the word “blogger” is “one who never leaves anything unsaid,” isn’t it? Well, OK, I’ve stretched that a bit—maybe it’s more like “one who rarely leaves anything unsaid.” At any rate, you get the idea.)

Third, whenever you happen to notice that they’ve made a factual error in a post, be sure you never tell them, since it would only embarrass them. The same goes for errors in the spelling of someone’s name—particularly your name or, worse yet, the name of someone far better known than you are. Ditto for broken links. Many people will simply tell them privately, via an e-mail or private message, but this is much better avoided. After all, you wouldn’t want to cause them any emotional discomfort. (In case you’re wondering, this is much different than the situation in the above paragraph and therefore does not constitute contradictory advice. The difference? In the above situation, they’ve asked for your two cents worth.)

Fourth, if you’ve asked them to write a guest post at your blog and they’ve agreed, no more need be said about it. Don’t annoy them, reminding them of the deadline or planned posting date. They would prefer that you didn’t. You wouldn’t want to make them feel like children who can’t do anything without needing to be reminded by “Mommy,” now would you? I didn’t think so. As the deadline approaches, be strong, and hold your tongue (or rather your blogging fingers). Prepare another post just in case they do forget. (You should always have a few emergency posts waiting in the wings, anyway.) And if they do forget, calmly and quietly—emphasis on quietly—post the alternate piece without any mention of it to them. They’ll so appreciate the fact that you didn’t nag them about it—really!

Fifth, copy posts from their blogs and post them to your own—and do so freely and regularly. This is the perfect compliment—and they’ll love you for it! No need to let them know in advance. They’ll find out when they check their Technorati Blog Reactions or their stats or receive their next Google Alert. If nothing else, they’ll find out the next time they visit your blog—or the next time their friends do. As long as you give them credit and include a link to their blogs, it’s perfectly all right to do this, and don’t let anybody tell you any different. Those who believe you should ask permission first are the same boring people who have never thrown a surprise party for a friend or family member. Just think of this as a surprise posting party for your favorite bloggers. They’ll be elated once they discover your gift!

These are just a few of the ways you can become the blogger that other bloggers adore. No doubt you can think of others. But these five will certainly suffice to get you started on the road to becoming everyone’s favorite blogger!

Jeanne Dininni is the author of Writer’s Notes, a blog which offers a wide variety of inspiring and informative content to help writers and bloggers succeed at their craft. She is also a freelance writer and poet whose works appear in various print and online venues.

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