Monday, August 1, 2011

10 Things I Hate About Your Blog

Have you guys seen the {10 things I hate about your blog}type posts? I love those! I like then because A) I get to see that others agree with me and B) they are so helpful to Newbie bloggers like me... they tell you what to and what not to do! I'll provide some links to others {10 things I hate about your blog} at the end of this post, but right now I'm going to do my own {10 things I hate about your blog} post.

 Hahaha, I saw that one of the lady's pet peeves was that she didn't like when people use exclamation points all the time. And then I noticed I basically use them every sentence... so I'm trying to resist it! And then I go and do it... wow Alyssa, wow. Anyways... no more babbling, here we go!

    1. I hate CAPTCHA{the confirmation code thing you have to do when you are trying to comment} It drives me nutty. I try to leave comments on other small blogger's blogs but I get frustrated and give up sometimes because they have CAPTCHA... so do me a favor, turn it off.
      2. The blogs with auto-play music... UGH! It's so awkward for me! I'm not sure why... but trust me, if I want to listen to music I would turn it on myself. thankyouverymuch.

        3. Advertisements all over the place! {not like Etsy shops and sponsors, Google ads (the big flashy kind)} It's okay if you have one in your side bar... but in between the posts and all over... NO.
          4. When you don't link your blog to your Google account, or when you leave me a comment with a link to your blog and I try to go there but I can't because it's blocked. Don't leave me a link if you don't want me to see your blog.
            5. When I leave you a comment asking a question and you reply on your blog. I don't really want to come back to that exact post and check if you have replied, so please, do me {and others} a favor and reply on my blog.
            Source: flickr.com via Ivana on Pinterest
            6. When your pictures are very low quality {blurry, grainy, dark, etc.} especially if you have a tutorial. The pictures are the first thing you see in your post, so your writing may be very good, but your pictures are bad which is a HUGE turnoff. Do yourself a favor and either edit your pictures or take them in natural lighting.

            7. When you expect us to put your button on our blog, but your button has no drop down scroll box with the HTML code

            8. When your blog's background is Black and your words are neon colors. It looks so un-professional! Do yourself a favor!

            9. When all you post about is your etsy shop or giveaways. I don't understand! It's okay to have a few posts here and there about your etsy shop and don't get me wrong, I love giveaways; but when your whole blogs content is about new stuff you added to your etsy... it becomes VERY boring and you will never get any followers!

            10. When you sound like a robot. Have some personality! I'm sure you don't talk like a robot in real life... so try not to on your blog. I personally don't want to follow someone who sounds like this. Yes, I just gave myself as an example. I wrote this post back when I started blogging, and I had my dad help basically write it for me through the instructions part. I didn't want to tell him how I felt, and I didn't want to change it behind his back, so I left it. That tutorial could have been really great and people would have started following me {I'm sure} if I had had personality. It just goes to show what your personality can do for you!


            Please, don't take this as 'I HATE YOU IF YOU DO ANY OF THESE THINGS', take it as constructive criticism. I didn't write this post to anger you, I wrote it to help you! I know reading other's posts really helped me! Also, I would love to hear what you think about my blog... is the font to wacky to read? Do you hate my layout? Header? ANYTHING! Your comments will help me so much! So thank you in advance!

            {others '10 things I hate about your blog' posts:}


            Photobucket

            13 comments:

            KaseyQ said...

            Great post! But to be honest, I just want to make that music paper rose...

            I agree with what you've said (especially the music, thankyouverymuch- LOL!) and I too suffer from extreme exclamation point saturation. It's okay, the first step is acknowledging that you have a problem. Ahem.

            And I too sounded like a robot when I first started- I thought I should sound like a magazine article with every post, then I started following blogs like Thrifty Decor Chick and I realized how much more fun it was to read a blog where the author had a VOICE and so then I started writing in my own voice and also discovered how much more fun it is to WRITE that way! :-)

            Thanks for all the great reminders! I mean, thanks for all the great reminders. Period.

            Anonymous said...

            I really really enjoyed reading this. I feel the same way! I am a new blogger too, so I probably do some of the exact same things. :) It is really helpful to read! Thank you. And, on another note, I am having a blog party over at my blog that I think it would be awesome if you joined! Here is the link if you are interested:
            http://mylilpumpkinpatch.blogspot.com/2011/08/stache-party-1.html

            Stylifiq said...

            oh, I agree with this post completely. CAPTCHA is a major turn off for me too. maybe check out my blog and critisize?major turn off for me too. maybe check out my blog and critisize?

            Tiffany & Brittany said...

            Good tips! I absolutely do not like it when people who have giveaways make a required or mandatory entry liking someone on Facebook. Drives me nuts, and I just close out the page and don't enter at all. Plus, I'm pretty sure it's against FB rules. I also don't like music on blogs! ;)

            Sharde said...

            Hey Alyssa! thanks so much for asking, but right now, as i'm sure you've noticed, i'm doing a ton of giveaways on other blogs so i can't fit one in right now :( I'm sorry! i still have more upcoming ones that i've already scheduled myself to do too many. and i started work this week and i start school in another week and its like CRAZY! so i'm going to have to say not yet. sorry girlfriend! but however, im very excited for you getting so many followers! :) its an achievement and you should be proud of yourself

            love shar

            Stacy Risenmay said...

            Amen sista! Great post :)

            Anonymous said...

            Ouch! (Yes, I use too many exclamation points, too.) I agree with a lot of what you've said. I have some thoughts on a few of them, though.

            First, I think most bloggers use the best photos that their camera, software, and time allow. We'd all like our pics to be awesome.

            Next, I try to comment on my blog so that others can see the ongoing conversation, but I always also reply to the email that I receive when a comments appears. I never go to a person's blog to comment because I find it disconcerting to have a comment appear for one of my posts that has little or nothing to do with the post.

            Last, on the advertising--I once commented to a blogger that the advertising on her blog was really getting to be a bit much. She emailed me that her husband had lost his job. She was really trying to keep her family going in any way she could. I have since assumed the best about this aspect of blogging. Maybe the blogger with excessive advertising really needs the money.

            Christy said...

            I love these lists too! :) I acctually had been doing some of these, until I read the first 10 things I hate about your blog on While he was napping. lol

            Oh, and I am addicted to !! and :) Oh, and lol. Have a good night.

            (hopping over from a linky party)

            Maggie Lamarre said...

            Hello,
            I agree mostly with everything except for #5 and 6. Sometimes people ask questions but have no way to get to back onto their blogs it's blocked.
            I mostly answered on my blog to let others know what the answer is...
            #6 sometimes I take pics as i'm working and it's mostly doing nighttime that leaves me w/either no pictures or no sharing the tutorial.
            So will it better not to share the tutorial due to lack of great pic?
            Maggie
            http://passionatelyartistic.com

            Anonymous said...

            Found your website by mistake and loved it! You are such a lovely girl....hello from Sydney Australia...

            Shona said...

            I love reading these too! They are great tips if you're just getting started (like me) and are learning the in's and out's of getting increased traffic to your blog. Thanks for sharing!

            Unknown said...

            I hope since you linked this to my blog party this wasn't trying to send me a message? If so please let me know! Great tips! Thanks so much for sharing!

            Jignesh Rathod said...

            Another point you did not mention is missing pictures.. which you showed live on this post! By the way loved the post. Thanks for sharing