Ways Bloggers Can Support Each Other

I'm sure most people will agree that one of the best things about blogging is being part of an amazing community. Blogging has allowed us all to meet so many different people from around the country and even around the world, all of whom we have similar interests to and for that it's amazing. However, there has been so much negativity in the community over the past few months. My Twitter feed has been clogged with people arguing over things that don't really matter, with people slating successful bloggers, with people bringing each other down. There are literally thousands of bloggers in the blogosphere now and we're not all going to get along and we're not all going to like each other. That's just life! I feel that as bloggers we should be trying to support each other more than we have been recently so I've put together a few little things that I think would help inject some more positivty into the community.



Accept you aren't going to get along with everyone.
Like I've just mentioned above, with thousands of people in the blogosphere and thousands more probably on their way, chances are you're going to come across someone you're going to disagree with or even dislike. Blog about political things and want to challenge someone's opinion? Fine. Want to make your view points known on social media? That's fine too. It's also fine if you don't want to debate with someone about an issue or don't want your opinions to be known! But what isn't fine is insulting someone personally or completely hounding them with tweets telling them how wrong they are. Accept that sometimes, people just don't agree and get on with your own stuff.

Make an effort to engage with other bloggers.
This is especially relevant with the talk of Instagram and Twitter introducing algorithmic feeds, something which I whole-heartedly disagree with as I think algorithms are simply a way for the social media fat cats to make another buck from people desperate to have their posts seen. However, that's another issue. What I'm talking about is bloggers making an effort to like each other's photos, comment on each other's posts and really engage with the blogs they love. We all know how nice it is to feel like our posts and efforts are being appreciated so if we all made an effort to actually tell people when we think they've done a great job, the community would become a much nicer place!

Accept that people get paid for blogging and that for some people it's their job.

There is such a negative attitude surrounding sponsored posts recently and I struggle to understand why. There's been way too much talk of people blogging for "the wrong reasons" or having "too many ads." For a lot of bloggers, money comes from their blog. Full-time bloggers and "big" bloggers have bills to pay just like the rest of us and how are they possibly going to carry on creating great content with no money at all coming in? I've seen so many people complaining that they don't feel sponsored posts are genuine and they are completely wrong. Sure there are those who will blog about anything for a bit of cash but mostly, bloggers will only ever feature something if they love it and feel passionate about it anyway and the truth is, I'd bet anything that most people complaining about ads would snap the hands off the PRs offering to pay them to feature their favourite brands!

Stop the bitterness.

Jealousy is natural. Bitterness is not. I'll be the first to admit I'm totally envious of some other bloggers. Getting paid to do what you love? Give me that life any day of the week. However, I envy them but instead of feeling bitter towards them, I let them inspire me. These people show that it is possible to achieve your dreams if you work for it and there's absolutely no need to hate on them because they're living the dream. 

Make the effort.

Help people reach that milestone they're after. Click on an affiliate link when you're buying something (it doesn't cost you any more and you might just be helping someone pay their rent!). Use that blog discount code if you're making a purchase anyway. Enter that giveaway. Actively trying to help people is a great way not only to help them, but to help you. Don't you just feel better knowing you might have just made someone's day or helped them pay a bill? You never know - people might start doing this for you too.

Don't be a dick.

Finally, I think this could apply to life in general. Don't be a dick. Be a nice person. Don't like a blog? Fine. Move on to the next one. Don't like a video? Fine. Move on to the next one. You don't have to tell someone if you think their make up looks crap or if you think their writing style is boring. Put the energy used to criticise into praising the blogs you do love. Like I keep saying, you're not going to like everyone's blog but you don't need to shout about it. Just. Be. Nice.

What do you do to support other bloggers?

Amy x