Blogging is a wonderful way to share content with potentially huge audiences and meet a lot of like-minded, great-to-know people in the process. But – as with everything else – every rose has its thorn, and sometimes those thorns can create quite a bit of ‘blogging drama’. The following ‘rules’ of blogging etiquette should help to keep such dramas down to a minimum.

Do leave friendly, thoughtful comments that show you actually read a post – not a general ‘Hey, that’s great’ Fellow bloggers will appreciate such compliments as much as you do – and they will regard you as a sociable person.

Do reply to readers’ comments, e-mails or tweets. It may take up some of your precious time, but hey, these are the people who are making your blog the success it is.

Do be kind and share that link to the amazing blog you’ve just found. You never know, you may be doing a beginner a well-deserved favour (and they might return it).

Do help others out – if you happen to come across a post/ tweet that you know will be of interest/ helpful to someone who is not following the same person. It’s another way of showing kindness – namely putting someone into touch with exactly the right person they need.

Do be yourself – and do be honest. As far as reviews are concerned, never feel obliged to praise a product just because you happened to receive a free sample. Always remain honest and, if necessary, offer constructive criticism. Remember to remain professional – your blogging integrity is at stake.

Don’t say anything unless you have something nice to say. This is particularly important if you really disagree with a post or a comment made. It’s all too easy to come over as offensive, even if you didn’t mean to cause offence. This also applies to how you talk about other bloggers, brands, and so on. If something not so nice has to be said, contact them directly and work it out with them in private – don’t wash your dirty linens in public.

Don’t ever use comments on someone else’s blog to advertise your own blog or give-away. It’s rude, it’s spamming and it’s just not done. If you leave a comment, make it worthwhile to the blog’s owner.

Don’t ever copy someone else’s content. If you really like the content and want to share it on your blog, get the owner’s permission to do so and credit them with it, link back to their blog from it or both.