Friend Friday...

Welcome to this week's edition of Friend Fridays, sponsored by ModlyChic.

So far, what have been the 5 hardest blogging lessons you’ve learned during this process and have helped make you a better blogger as a result.

(1) Be honest. That doesn't mean I have to tell everyone everything all of the time, but I don't want to be the sort of blogger who only posts the great outfits. If I've got the time to grab a shot, I'm gonna show you the good, the bad, and the ugly.

(2) Don't feel required to blog. It's OK. Sure, you don't want people to get bored and stop reading. But you don't want to get burned out either. Besides, as a reader, when I can tell that the author is posting more out of a sense of requirement than a true interest or love, it's just not as enjoyable for me to read. I've seen several bloggers apologize or take a hiatus when you can tell that they really need a break but feel like they are letting their readers down. It's OK. We all have lives outside of the blog, and sometimes those lives have a lot of things going on that just rank higher than blogging. It's OK. It's OK!

(3) Post topics that are interesting to you. If you're not feeling it, it will come through in your writing, and no one will want to read it. For example, I'm just not a high-fashion kinda gal, so you're not going to see runway-themed posts on my blog. Sure, if I spy a haute couture outfit that just speaks to me, I might point it out, but otherwise, I'm sticking to writing about what I know and love.

(4) Let pieces of you peek out. Don't worry, I don't want you to pull a Janet Jackson Super Bowl stunt. I just mean, let your readers get a little insight into your non-blog life. My favorite fashion and beauty blogs are the ones where I have a pretty good sense that if I met the author offline, we would probably be good friends. I've come across other blogs where I couldn't get a sense of who the author was, and despite the fact that the blog was otherwise pretty good, it just didn't hold my interest. I like seeing your pets or silly notes from your hubby/wife/BF/GF or knowing that you're as deathly afraid of spiders as I am.

(5) Respond to those who leave comments on your blog. Let me apologize right up front, because I'm really terrible at this one. But I'm trying to do better! There's nothing that will turn off a reader faster than when they take the time to post a comment on your blog and get zero feedback from you -- just a thanks to appreciate their readership or (even more importantly) an answer to any questions they may ask. Lately, I've seen a lot of bloggers change their comments to DisQus because it allows the author to respond individually to each comment. This is awesome! Other writers prefer to email the commenter back personally. This is great too. Whatever your preference, take the time and make the effort to let your readers know that you hear them and appreciate them.
And to my readers, I'm trying!