There Are No Rules For Blogging

There are many bloggers who try to portray themselves as blogging gods and goddesses who make up all these pretend rules for the blogosphere.  Truth is, there are no rules.  Are there tips and tricks to improve your number of followers?  Sure.  Are there tips and tricks to get potential sponsors interested in your blog?  Absolutely.  But, there is nothing set in stone that tells you how you should blog.  Quit worrying about comparing your blog to that of perhaps more successful bloggers than you.  Stop obsessing over how many followers you have.  If you don't get a post in tomorrow, who cares?

The "Pretend" Rules of Blogging

Buy a domain name.  It's a must.

Be involved in every aspect of social media.

Make sure you have the best layout ever.

Schedule every post a month in advance.

Make sure you don't skip any posts, ever.

Respond to every single comment.

Comment on everyone you follows blog everyday.

Put pictures in every single post.

Don't write too much, don't write too little.

Watch you're grammer.

Have an about me page.

Have a sponsor page.

Make sure you have a killer sidebar.

Put a fake copyright at the bottom of your site.

Use overly sophisticated words.

Stress out unnecessarily on whether or not your content is good enough.

Stress out over how many views you have or haven't gotten.

Not only must you blog, you must vlog as well.

Make sure your blog has a subtitle.

Labels are life.  Like omg, you need labels.

Over glorify your life.

Do things just because you want something to talk about on your blog.

Take pictures of every little thing you do, so you can post it on your blog.

Photoshop all of your pictures prior to posting them.

Participate in every link-up.

Relax.  Take a deep breath.  This is your blog and you can do whatever you want with it.  Don't let anyone put you under the impression otherwise.  Blogging should be fun.  Blogging should be stress free.  If it's not fun or stress free, you're not doing it right.  Don't try to be someone you're not for the sake of your blog.  Don't force blogging, period.  Let it come naturally, the followers and all.  Oh, and if your fingers fly off, hope that you have voice recognition to call 911 as you won't be able to dial the phone.

I do many of the things that are on that list of "pretend" rules.  Not because I feel obligated, but because I want to.  There is nothing on my blog that is forcefully there.  I put it there simply because I wanted it there.  Period.  And, you should do the same.  Besides, what you choose to do with your blog encourages individuality and originality.  Don't curse it.  Bless it.