Blogging Basics 101

Should I ask permission to link to a blog I find interesting, or should I just link to it without bothering the blogowner?

I don't think you need to ask people if you want to link to them. For the most part, when you link to another blog or web site, you are helping generate traffic for that blog or site. In most cases, you are sharing the link because you think it's worthwhile and you want others to be aware of the content. It's win-win-win: You share the info with reader, readers learn something new, the linked-to blog/site receives a traffic boost.

There have been instances where one site links to another to flame or make fun of it. These are unfortunate, but there is no rule that says one site has to ask the other permission to link. Once you put something out on the internet, it's going to be fair game as far as linking goes.

I do not usually ask for permission from any site I link to. I link to things because they are relevant (e.g., Mighty Helpful Links) and they will be useful to my readers. Sometimes I receive a thank you from the person I'm linking to, but it's because they've figured out via their stat counter that I'm sending readers their way. It's nice to hear from them, but I don't expect anything in return. I'm sure that if they deem anything I write or offer as helpful, then they'll link to me. If not, that's OK too.

If you do decide to give the other blog/site owner a heads up about your link, you shouldn't necessarily expect anything in return. They may or may not respond with a polite "Thank you"; certainly you cannot expect a reciprocal link just because you link to them.

The great thing about blogging and the communities it inspires is that everything is shareable.

I have started a website about "Work from Home" and have been advised to contact webmasters and request to exchange reciprocal links but have not done so because I don't feel comfortable asking. What are your thoughts?

This is the second part of the question I was asked yesterday.

Reciprocal links are a gray area. I don't care for reciprocal links. I don't like to be asked and I don't like to do it. I feel like anything I link to (that's not a paid advertisement) should be something I *want* to link to of my own volition.

However, there are many people who don't feel that way and are perfectly happy to do a reciprocal link. It's win-win for both of you.

If you're not comfortable doing it, then don't. If you think it might be worth a shot and don't mind a few "no thank yous" then go for it. The most they can do is say no, right?

I'd really love to hear your thoughts on this, readers.

• What do you think of reciprocal links?
• Have you ever asked for a reciprocal link?
• If so, have you had more positive or negative responses?
• What are the pros and cons, as you see them, of reciprocal links?

I have started a website about "Work from Home" and have been advised to post comments on blogs. Am I on the right track by posting on any blog or should I just be posting comments specifically on "Work from Home" blog sites?

This is part one of a two-part question I received this week. Part two will be answered tomorrow.

Leaving comments on WFH blogs (or any blogs for that matter) consistently will allow other readers to start to get to know you. They'll recognize you from the comments section on blogs you both frequent. If your profile name (the name you leave in comments) links to your site, then they'll be able to link over and find out more info if they are interested. Leaving thoughtful comments, not just Wow, that was a great post, will be more effective. Remember that blogging is a community of people with common interests. If you want to be part of that community, you need to contribute something useful.

My advice to you would be to concentrate on leaving comments at Work from Home blogs. However, it's considered bad form to comment, then leave a link to your own site--especially if it's just for linking purposes and doesn't have a direct link to what's being posted on. That's essentially trying to poach traffic and many people find it distasteful and akin to spam.

I want to clarify that having your profile name (the name you leave when you post a comment on a blog) link to your site and actually typing a link into your comment are two separate things. The first (your profile name) is acceptable as a link; the latter (typing your URL into a comment, especially if it's not relevant) is poor blogging etiquette. If, however, you have written a similar post or discussed a relevant topic recently, go ahead and leave the link. It's adding to the conversation.

What do you think, readers? Do you have any experience with this type of thing? How do you feel about people leaving links to their blog in your comments?

When entering an online giveaway, is giving an e-mail necessary when you've left your blog link?

Many online giveaways require that you provide a valid e-mail address so they can easily contact you if you win. I would say you need to leave your e-mail address even if you also leave a link to your blog. My reasoning is that if the host has to track you down, they may just choose another winner so it's not as much work for them. Whether that's right or wrong, it's a possibility.

On the other hand, leaving your e-mail in a comment opens the door for spammers to collect your e-mail address. One way to deter spambots (the little code robots spammers send out to collect data, similar to how search engines look for key words) is to type your e-mail without using the @ or . in the address. For example: bloggingbasics101 AT gmail DOT com. Just about everyone knows to change the AT to @ and the DOT to the .

If you do choose to leave a link to your blog instead of leaving your e-mail address, make sure your e-mail or contact information is clearly marked on your blog. It won't do any good if the host actually clicks to your blog and still can't find and easy way of contacting you.

I use Typepad for my blogs. When I receive a comment, I can automatically respond to specific commentators because they have had to type in their e-mail addresses in order to leave a comment. They don't have to re-type their address in the body of the message because my host already includes it in the message.

So what do you think? How do you handle this with your own online giveaways and such?

What is 'hotlinking' and what's the big deal?

Hotlinking is when you are directly linking to another site's graphics, files, video, etc. instead of linking to those items from your own server.

For instance, when I share a graphic like this one

I encourage you to right-click it and save it to your computer and either insert it into your blog from your computer or upload it to your account at PhotoBucket and use that code.

This is important because every time an image is viewed on a page on the web, it's pulling bandwidth from wherever it's stored. If all the Blogging Basics 101 readers used that graphic (great!) and used my URL instead of downloading it to their own computer/server (not so great!) then I would have a bunch of bandwidth being used and things could get expensive for me (definitely not great!).

I encourage all of you to read this article describing what hotlinking is, how to see if you're hotlinking, and how to fix the problem. That article does a much better job explaining everything than I can without getting in trouble for plagiarism.

If you need to know how to put a button on your sidebar without hotlinking, I have those instructions for you already.

How should I alert the winner of my giveaway--via e-mail or just an announcement on my blog?

For my own giveaways, I prefer to send out an e-mail to the winner. That way I know I have tried to contact the winner. I can put a time-limit on how long I'll wait for a response and mailing address from the winner. The next step is to either send out the prize or pick another winner (if the first one doesn't respond). Then I can move on to the next giveaway.

If I wait for the person to find their way back to my site, they may never realize they've won. Especially during a giveaway carnival, people enter multiple giveaways and it's difficult to remember where you entered and for what prize. They may never find their way back to your site without a little help! If the winner doesn't know they've won, that holds me up: I can't mail out the prize or pick another winner because I don't know if the winner has been notified or not.

Of course, you can always implement the rule that participants must check back at your site to see if they've won and that winners will have X number of days to e-mail you to claim their prize before you choose someone else. My opinion on this is that, if you're holding the giveaway, you need to be responsible for following through and contacting your winners yourself.

Blog Etiquette: Selecting a Winner for a Giveaway

I've received many questions regarding the etiquette of giveaways on blogs and it's oh-so-appropriate because I'm currently hosting the Quarterly Bloggy Giveaways Carnival!

Selecting a winner for your giveaway is fairly simple. Many people use a random number generator to pick a number. They then match that number to the comment number and voila! Instant winner. Of course, this is easy if your comments are numbered. TypePad does not number their comments, so this is a little more work for us TP users.

If you don't have very many participants, you can print out the comments and put them in a hat and draw a name that way. I've seen several giveaways done this way.

I know still other people who use a scrolling method. They open the comments section of the post so they can see all the comments. Then they randomly scroll up and down and choose the comment they land on.

Find the way that seems fairest and easiest for you and go with it. Be honest and quick. Don't make your participants wait for you to get around to picking a winner!

On a final note, those of you participating in the giveaways at any blog, make sure you include a working e-mail address in your comment! You can't be contacted if the host can't e-mail you!

I've found some great pictures of bentos created by people in Japan. Because of the language barrier, I do not know how to request permission to re-post the picture in my blog.

I can't post someone else's picture without their permission, right?  Even if I am saying nice things about it and linking back to their original post?

I know it's tempting to just post the pictures--especially because of the language barrier and, therefore, the difficulty in asking permission and because you're saying nice things. Unfortunately, this is still unacceptable.

The best way around this is to write interesting and gracious prose about their art (because let's face it: bento is art) and encourage your readers to visit their site and view their pictures. It is possible that the blog you link to will have a stat counter that shows where the increased traffic is coming from and they may contact you.

You can also try to send them an e-mail. The blog owner may very well speak English as a second language.

How should I alert the winner of my giveaway--via e-mail or just an announcement on my blog?

I do not have a tried and true answer for you on this one, it's done both ways.

For my own giveaways, I prefer to send out an e-mail to the winner. That way I know I have tried to contact the winner. I can put a time-limit on how long I'll wait for a response and mailing address from the winner. The next step is to either send out the prize or pick another winner (if the first one doesn't respond). Then I can move on to the next giveaway.

If I wait for the person to find their way back to my site, they may never realize they've won. Especially during a giveaway carnival, people enter multiple giveaways and it's difficult to remember where you entered and for what prize. They may never find their way back to your site without a little help! If the winner doesn't know they've won, that holds me up: I can't mail out the prize or pick another winner because I don't know if the winner has been notified or not.

Of course, you can always implement the rule that participants must check back at your site to see if they've won and that winners will have X number of days to e-mail you to claim their prize before you choose someone else. My opinion on this is that, if you're holding the giveaway, you need to be responsible for following through and contacting your winners yourself. To put the onus on them is sort of shirking your duty. But that's just my opinion and it's not the only way to go. It's just my personal way to go.

What has worked for you?

If the winner of my bloggy giveaway doesn't contact me, is it OK to not select another winner and save the item for another giveaway?

My feeling on this is that it would be wrong to save the item for another giveaway. Usually, if you offer something as a giveaway, you need to give it away--even if it means picking multiple winners until someone steps up to claim the prize.

I give winners of my giveaways four days to respond to my e-mail alerting them to their winning status. My e-mail looks something like this:

Congratulations! You've won whatever the prize is from name of my blog. You have four days to respond to this e-mail with your mailing address. If I do not receive your response in four days, I will have to pick a new winner.

Thanks for playing and congratulations!
Melanie

The e-mail spells out everything they've won, where they won it from (they've probably entered multiple giveaways around the blogosphere), when they need to respond, and what info I need from them. It also tells them they have a deadline--which is important for your own sanity.

If you don't hear from them after that, you can either send them a reminder or just go ahead and pick a new winner.