0 teacher blogging DOs and DON'Ts

Everyday I get quite a few emails asking me blogging questions... 

even though I am behind in answering them, I try to answer them all (my apologies if you are still waiting)!

And sometimes, these questions inspire me to dedicate a whole blog post to them.

Someone recently emailed me a question about Teacher Blogging DOs and DON'Ts.

I thought I'd share my response:

(Disclaimer: I am not a teacher blogging "expert" and I don't want to be! 

However, these are my opinions based on my own personal pet peeves when it comes to teacher blogging.)

DO blog frequently, but DON'T blog more than once a day.

Even if I love someones blog, I find it hard to keep up with them if they are blogging throughout the day. Unless you are TBA where they have a community of bloggers who want to share 24/7... 
I'd just stick to once daily and let your readers actually see each post. However, I realize 
that sometimes there are exceptions and that is okay!

DO celebrate your followers, but DON'T blog about how many you have.

This is just tacky... need I say more?

DO link up to linky parties, but DON'T forget to follow the hosting blog's rules.

Lot's of us are new to blogging and so I see this one a lot. Teachers are linking up, but they aren't following any of the rules and sometimes their link has nothing to do with the linky party topic.  

Jen at Finally in First did a great post about Linky Party Etiquette.

DO get inspired by other teacher blogs, but DON'T steal their ideas and post it on your blog.

There is a fine line between being inspired by some else's work and violating copyright. If you are inspired by someone else's classroom project and you want to do it for your own classroom, DO IT! And then when you blog about it, make sure to link back to the person who inspired you. I get it, teachers BEG, BORROW, and STEAL, just make sure you use common sense when doing it. 

DO invest in a good blog design. DON'T use the free templates.

Think of your blog as an investment, especially if you sell teacher created items. You want people to remember your blog and come back to it. You definitely don't want it to blend in with everyone else. For business success, you need to be (and deserve to be) unique! Here is a list of great blog designers who are very inexpensive ($10.00-$25.00): Designer Blogs, Delicious Design Studio, and Ladybug Teacher Files. There are a ton of other blog designers out there--just Google it! If you love someone else's blog design, go all the way down to the bottom of their blog and it will usually tell you who designed it. If you can't find out who designed it, then email the blog author to find out... believe me, they will be flattered!

Once again, I don't claim to be a teacher blogging expert... 

This is my blog and my blog comes with my opinions.

ENjOY!

Any other DOs and DONTs that I should add?

Detail: teacher blogging DOs and DON'Ts

0 blog help: pop-up comment window

Let's face it... we all LOVE to get comments.

For some of us, it is the fuel that feeds our inspiration.

Comments make us happy!

Did you know that a pop-up comment window is the easiest way to leave a comment?

And not only is it easy, but it is super convenient and quick.

If you love comments, then you want to have the pop-up comment window on your blog.

When it is easy for your readers to leave a comment, then they are more likely to do so.

Unfortunately, everyone doesn't have a pop-up comment window on their blog.

Most people have the comment box embedded on the same page as their post.

This way is okay and it works, but it is REALLY annoying!

Sometimes I don't leave a comment (even if I really want to), because it takes so much longer!

This a pop-up comment window (a.k.a. the easiest way to leave a comment):

To get the pop-up comment window, you need to click on Settings, and then Comments.

 Once you are on the comments page,
you need to find the section that says Comment Form Placement:

Then make sure Pop-up Window is filled in: 

 If you scroll down a little bit further,
then you can leave a message to the people who comment on your blog:

Then scroll all the way to the bottom of the page and save your changes!

Wahoo! Comments will be a lot easier to leave on your blog now!

Detail: blog help: pop-up comment window