5 Tips for a Happy Cobloggership

6 December, 2012 Musing Musers 31 comments

Image by Libras

5 Tips for a Happy Cobloggership

Keeping a happy and productive cobloggership is about reigning supreme like a totalitarian despot compromise, trust, respect and friendship. Cobloggership can be an amazing, rewarding experience.  That is providing you know the secrets to cobloggership.  How to romance them, care for them, nurture the relationship and force them to unflinchingly do your bidding for all eternity.  I have no idea how to care for them or nurture a relationship.  But poor Stephanie has been working her tushka off on Cuddlebuggery all November while I frolicked in the woods and made merry with the Good Folk in their moon dances.  That woman’s kept this site going while I went tra-la-laing all of November.

Want to know how to romance and seduce your coblogger as much as Stephanie is CLEARLY romanced and seduced by me?  Here’s my five easy methods for unbridled coblogger passion.

1. Regularly appreciate your coblogger… by letting her do all the work.

Nothing is as important as letting your coblogger know that they are a vital, integral part involved in the running of the site.  There’s no better way of doing this than by letting her run the site.  People like to keep busy and they like to feel important.   You are truly doing a favour, a service to your precious coblogger by allowing her to do so much good work.  It’s only then natural that you would unburden her from the problematic and troublesome collateral associated with getting the credit.  Credit and wider appreciation are nothing but pain and exhaustive work.  All that love, all that praise, all that recognition!  Truly, it’s a curse!  One that your coblogger is better off not having to worry about.  She’ll be far too busy working to take any of the hard earned credit anyway, so do you really want to burden her with more?

2. Take interest in the hard work she does… at some point, I guess.

So your coblogger has spent exhaustive time tracking down and installing a new commenting system.  What’s the first thing a good coblogger does?  If you answered with, “Check it out and praise her hard work and dedication.” Wrong!  Probably you should eventually, lest she get discouraged and leave you.  But begin by understanding that your 12 hour Vampire Diaries marathon shouldn’t be interrupted.  Otherwise your coblogger will become used to you paying attention to her constantly.  Then when you inevitably neglect her, she’ll spiral into a pit of failed co-dependency.

3. Encourage her to branch out into new territories… like the ones you can’t be assed doing.

There’s a myriad of different roles required in the running of a successful blog.  Posting, planning, technical work, social networking etc.  No one person can do that all by themselves.  Well, not you anyway.  But your coblogger can totally do that!  All she needs is a little prompting.  “Can’t you do the social media?  You’re just so good at it!”  “Ah, you know, you should probably be the one to handle all that technical bullshit.  You’re just so GOOD at it!”

Not only will you be helping her broaden her horizons, becoming a more experienced, capable person.  But you’ll also be helping her to learn new skills, engage more in blogging and experience the joy of being productive.  So productive that you really don’t have to do anything at all.  Ever.

4. Embrace her ideas and passions… so long as it doesn’t require you to do anything.

Your coblogger is a human being with thoughts, feelings and a desire to better herself.  She’ll have dreams and desires, passions and a need to unleash herself.  As her beloved coblogger, it’s your job to be supportive and helpful.  It’s also your duty as her friend.  But, you know, sounds like a lot of work, yeah?  I mean, don’t stifle her or anything.  Not all the time.  Just on things that sound like an excessive level of effort and bother.  After all, you’re a kind, giving, good friend.  But you just can’t do it all!  You can’t be expected to be a continual font of helpfulness!  That would require doing things and putting in effort.  This is a little bit too much to ask.  You have to forgive yourself for not being perfect and, indeed, for not even trying to be.  It’s the only way to grow as a person.  So be a faithful, good friend!  Support your coblogger in all that they want to do!  So long as you can do it from the sidelines and it doesn’t take up too much attention.

5. Pamper her vanity with public declarations of love… to ensure her unwavering fealty.

My god!  Isn’t Stephanie just absolutely amazing?!  God, I LOVE HER SO MUCH!   Thanks, Steph!  For holding down the fort!

31 Responses to “5 Tips for a Happy Cobloggership”

  1. rabbitsfortea

    I love the sincerity you pour in to this article. I think you are also forgetting to take credit for your co-blogger’s work whenever possible.

  2. stinalindenblatt

    You forgot one. Encourage your co-blogger to focus on erotica because your YA readers love reading the hot stuff, no matter what their age (even those 10 years olds who are reading up). And if your blog is now adult content and doesn’t have a warning, all the better.
    Yep, been there!

  3. Fangs4Fantasy

    You also have to worry about security – and make sure your co-blogger is well and truly alert at all times, suspicious and crafty and ready for the most cunning of attacks the internet can throw at them
    We achieve this by ambush. After all, if a second’s inattention can lead to your co-blogger sneaking a commitment to review Twilight on you, you soon learn to pay attention! Nothing breeds alertness like knowing your co-blogger is plotting to try and make you read everything LJ Smith’s ever written. Always keep a stash of some of the worst series you can imagine hidden around and hatch your dastardly scheme, probing for weakness until, behold, your co-blogger now as the entire House of Night series to read and review and you can retire to your tower, cackling appropriately
    It’s for their own good, it helps them grow and learn. yes yes it does.

    • KatKennedy

      Fangs4Fantasy God.  You are so wise.  Every time I think I know it all, you teach me something new.  I bow down to you!

  4. Realm of Fiction

    This is brilliant! I don’t have a co-blogger, but I suddenly feel like I should get one. Steph is lucky to have you, Kat. Or maybe it is the other way around… 😉

    • KatKennedy

      Realm of Fiction *cough* Steph is very lucky to have me.  Yup.

  5. cynicalsapphire

    Bahahaha, oh, you two. You kill me. I totally need someone to take all the technical and social media stuff away from me. Can’t I just do all the reading and writing? They can also get all the fucking photos into Cover Snark. *exhausted*You two were obviously meant to be. http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_m3dad9ym851r5wpaw.gif

    • KatKennedy

      cynicalsapphire I know!  Cover Snark is massive now.  I don’t know how you do all that work by yourself!

    • rabbitsfortea

      cynicalsapphire I will be happy to do the social media stuff for you. I do dearly love to write, but I suck at it. Did that sound too much like a self advertisement? Oops.

  8. Sarah saz101

    KAT. This sounds like the key to having a happy friendship! Or MARRIAGE! I would like it to be known I support the Kat Kennedy Guide to Happy ‘Ships™ 100%!

    • KatKennedy

      LeliaTaylor Like Serfs, cobloggers are best when they don’t have a choice!

  11. Laurie200

    I laughed so hard. And then I cried. Because you have outted me so thoroughly. My co-blogger read this, and now she is on to me. God only knows what evil she will cook up to punish me for having pulled the book blogger wool over her eyes, by previously, successfully having implemented all five steps, repeatedly.
    I imagine I’m going to have to actually start doing heavy lifting again.
    Damn you. We could have been friends and frolicked in the woods together while our partners typed their fingers to the bone, now we’ll have to go back to actually working twenty hours a week like we did before we suckered our dear cobloggers into joining us.

    • KatKennedy

      @Laurie200 I know, damn it!  I’ve revealed my hand by trying to help others and now Steph is making me do work!  She made me edit my Crewel post like seven times!

  12. Kara_M

    You guys both put so much time and effort into this blog and it shows. I don’t know how you do it, to be honest. Every week when I go to type up my Top Ten Tuesday post I almost cry because of the amount of work it takes to find the covers, the links, and then to get it all formatted and looking pretty. And I don’t even know html all that well. ALL of your posts are like this. So hats off to you both for the hard work you do.Giggling over the Vampire Diaries marathon comment. I experience that same thing last year. 🙂

  13. jarndt08

    ahaha you girls are too funny.  I was laughing so hard through this. I’m not sure I could do a co-blogger, I am very territorial.

    • KatKennedy

      jarndt08 I know what you mean.  But strangely is was very comforting to bring Steph on and seduce her.

  16. Annie J

    I totally had a dream a few weeks ago that you were writing your farewell because Steph was leaving the blog.  a) I hope that never happens because the two of you are awesome and b) I may be spending too much time on your blog…