The Blogger Code of Ethics

56 | Posted In Blogging by David

It seems to me that I’ve never seen a code of ethics for bloggers. Have you?

I figured I’d write one. The interesting thing about this code is that it isn’t just an ethical code. It happens to be a success code. If one applies this code at all times, their chances of success increase. Success gravitates to ethical people, for the most part.

It also happens that this code would be true for pretty much anybody in business. But, since I’m a blogger, I like to talk about that. Naturally. :)

So, here it is:

  1. Be thankful.
  2. Be and act kind.
  3. Be and act generous.
  4. Help people.
  5. Be honest.
  6. Be transparent.
  7. Only sell what is in absolute best interest of the customer.
  8. Don’t require approval or praise.

What do you think?

Let me offer a few comments on this code.

Be thankful. Never take for granted that you have readers or that people pay you money. They made a choice to invest a small part of themselves in you. Thank them for it.

Be and act kind. You like it when people are kind to you, so always be kind back. It comes naturally for most of us. The biggest challenge might be when somebody goes after you in a negative way. When you get snide comments, it might be hard for you not to counter-attack. The quest for rightness is the path to nowhere. In most cases, you’re better off just deleting the email and walking away than to respond in kind. You don’t owe replies to people who don’t deserve one.

Be and act generous. Give more value than you take. Try to help your readers with personal email replies.

Help people. This is the foundation of this entire business. Help people solve problems and they will pay you back in spades.

Be honest. Always always always. Don’t promote something you don’t believe in. Don’t write anything that doesn’t come from a place of honesty.

Be transparent. People like to bond with real people. So, be a real person. Social media is the best tool for transparency. Also, bloggers have often seen how readers respond to posts which are most transparent. This doesn’t mean you have to tell your readers everything (that’d be stupid), but don’t be an impersonal faceless person, either.

Only sell what is in the absolute best interest of the customer. Pretty much a no-brainer.

Don’t require approval or praise. This is a biggie for many bloggers who just have a hard time taking it. Some bloggers have their whole day ruined when somebody decides to unsubscribe, leaves a bad comment, or requests a refund. Why? First of all, this is a people business and not every person is going to click with you. Don’t take it personally. Just realize that that person is not your ideal reader/customer, and part ways. But, under all that, just make it a personal policy that you don’t need approval. It you required approval for everything, you could never rock the boat in any way.

Do You Agree With This Code?

If you do, then spread the word by retweeting this post and sharing it with your friends.

More importantly, follow it.

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  • Billyjbowling

    Good, sound, basic human, (she and he), stuff. You can never go wrong by starting with this kind of simple, basic foundation. After all, everyone is just trying to get it all figured out, and service and helpfulness are the only true directions; everything else is selfishness and power tripping.

  • annegalivan

    Good list. Well-stated.

    For me, I think it all comes down to this: follow the “Golden Rule.” If we would treat others the way we want to be treated, we will be acting ethically.

    I like how you go a little further encouraging us that, while we are being kind and generous, we need to not get worked up by those who just want to dump on someone. Neither should we go into blogging (or any venture really) requiring that our actions be praised or approved. It's hard to walk away when we are being unjustly slammed. It takes courage to go where we feel led even if the road is lonely at times. But if we want success and fulfillment in life, those two things are absolutely necessary. Moreover, when we do those things, we inspire that kind of grace and courage in others. Win/Win.

  • http://twitter.com/AndrewCollinson Andrew Collinson

    yes only promote what you know works.

  • http://twitter.com/blogginkomst André Jonsson

    I would like to add

    - Have the courage to be a person, not a company.

    Often I see freelancers and bloggers who address themselves as “we” or “our”. “our goal is to…”, “we believe you as a customer…”. I personally think it´s far better to go with “me” and “my”. If i´m a single person doing all the work, why in the world should I go around and call myself “we”?

  • http://twitter.com/GrowMap Internet Strategist

    54 comments on this excellent post but not one of those who read it already took the time to review it on StumbleUpon? THAT is why I believe influential bloggers who understand how to use Social Media must collaborate with each other. No matter how many readers and followers we each have most of them are not adept at spreading the word effectively.

  • http://www.thepadrino.com/ The Padrino

    I am a huge fan of full disclosure, but I suspect that the relationship between influence and bias is often (or even mostly) not based on cash. That becomes virtually impossible to sort out so cleanly.- If a blogger works for one company and reviews a product built buy a partner during the early stages of a partnership between two companies- If a blogger’s main source of income is as a professional speaking, and he/she discusses a company’s upcoming product release while talking with that company about a speaking engagement- If a blogger has an industry-specific blog, and finds his/herself looking for regular employment, and provides reviews of the products of potential employers in order to garner a conversationAll of these situations are very biased, but not cash-related. I’m not sure that it would be easy to bucket the types of bias so cleanly. We may be best with a “sunshine” policy of simply declaring any potential sources of bias, to your own best knowledge.Great conversation to start though, thanks for highlighting it.

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