This guest post is contributed by Debby, one of the readers of TheWeblogZone. She plans to create her own blog very soon. For the meantime, she wants to know what you think of her thoughts on building reputation online.
What is blog reputation? Hopefully, for the blogger, it is a good reputation. There are plenty of ways to be respected in the Blogosphere. Here are a few suggestions for building a good reputation online.
- A blogger should post daily, if possible. Not just thoughtless posting of words that don’t have meaning or matter, but post from the heart. A reader can tell if the writer believes what is actually written.
- Racial blogs make people’s skin crawl, and can eventually lead to legal problems, and crime towards the writer. It should completely be avoided at all costs. Reputations will immediately diminish.
- If you like a product then write something fresh about the item. Be significant in this case. Let readers know what is liked, and why. Invite them to try the item with a link. Do not, under any circumstances, endorse a product you are not confident with.
- The same tactic can apply to complaints about companies or services. To build your reputation as a thoughtful blogger, write complaints with tact. A blog that is constantly written with complaints, without likable words or phrases about products is not looked upon by the blogging community. In other words, a blog full of complaints is interesting, but becomes boring.
- Watch grammar and spelling. Proof read your blog, and think, “Do I really want to type those words?” Well written articles display an intelligent writer.
- Use acronyms correctly, and know the meaning of every acronym used. There are acronym dictionaries available online, if you are not sure of the meaning. AcronymFinder is a useful website for that purpose.
- Provide a guestbook widget among the links in the blog for feedback and visitors. This allows the visitor to post comments about the blog.
- Read the feedback to get a feeling of the reader’s attitude towards the writer. Don’t take the comments seriously or personally. If comments begin to bother someone personally, it can eventually harm their self esteem. This doesn’t have to occur. Read all comments with an open mind. Learn from the reader’s advice.
- Consider the type of website where the blog is hosted. Myspace.com is for social networking, and can also be used for promoting. Today.com, is more selective. Blogger.com creates a soft atmosphere. Consider the reader and the population.
- Blog posts should provide detail and and a picture of the situation with the words provided. A good online reputation can often be earned and reflected in the smoothness of the text.
- Icons, or thumbnails of the author’s choosing can signify the author’s age or interests. Respect and reputation will immediately be warranted if the thumbnail picture selected is artistic, tasteful, and pleasing to the eye.
- Humor will bring traffic to the blog, and cause readers to speak well of the writer. Humor can make a blog memorable, and helps build a good blogging rapport and reputation.
- Not everything is humorous, nor should it be.
- The photographs posted on blogs should be of good taste. Conversations have started about certain pictures placed on blogs. Know that any picture placed online can be seen by millions of people.
- Finally, the title of the blog is of utmost importance. The title should point to the blog itself. The category of blog on the server is the first place to start. The category should be proper as to the subject matter of the blog. The subject matter, should be displayed in the title. A blog about cooking, does not belong in the same category as a blog about football.
Readers enjoy blogs,and writers enjoy posting. A blog written with thought is not that difficult. Just read these suggestions and have fun. 
If you would like to guest blog here at TheWeblogZone, please get in touch with me or send your guest post to bloggingmix[at]gmail[dot]com. Thanks.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Nice guest post. But I think I cannot agree with the posting daily, I mean this is NOT really a must activity for me. Although this may help, but not for always. First of all, if you are alone in your blog, you will be spending less in promoting your blog if you are writing everyday. I think it is most applicable only if you have tons of followers like Problogger. But again, not always.
Maki of Dosh Dosh is a top blogger, but posting an average of once a week or less. Besides, it is a bit hard to post daily with the same quality.
Finally, I think that posting daily is only applicable if you are relatively new or you have other guys to help you. I suppose the best way to build reputation online is to inspire your readers, and not by simply helping them.
No offense. This is just my mind talking.
Thanks!
Angel Cualas last blog post..Media – Does it really care for our Children?
@Angel,
I’ve been trying to observe the effect to my feed subscriber if I don’t update my blog everyday and I noticed about 20 - 30 decrease in the feed count. I believe that posting everyday on your blog is a healthy blogging habit but this could also compromise the quality of your post. I personally recommend at least 3 posts in a week.
Cheers.
No worries, kabayan. I understand you, as this is just a guest post. By the way, good luck to your road to Blogging Idol 2 contest venture. I saw the stats and you’re performing well.
Angel Cualas last blog post..The Latest Online Suicide Victim and How to Stop others
That’s a very comprehensive list! But I’m not quite sure about the part that says 1 post a day. I believe it’s not so much the quantity but it’s the quality of the post that drive readers to read them. From a reader’s point of view, as long as a blog is posting 3 or 4 times per week, then I’d go back to check it out.
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