Elizabeth from Rosalilium.com raised an interesting question in one of her YouTube videos: should there be a bloggers code of ethics? After thinking about it properly, I wanted to share my response, because blogging ethics, transparency, and online integrity are subjects that matter to anyone who creates or reads content on the internet.
Should There Be a Bloggers Code of Ethics?
My instinctive answer is yes, there should be some kind of bloggers code of ethics. There are too many questions around how bloggers behave, how they work with brands, how they use other people’s content, and how honestly they communicate with their readers. That is a sad place for blogging to be, but it is also a sign that the industry has grown up and needs to talk about responsibility.
At the same time, part of me resists the idea of rules. One of the great strengths of blogging is independence. Bloggers are not traditional journalists working under an editor or a formal publication. They are individual voices, often writing from personal experience, without needing to fit neatly into a corporate structure. That freedom is one of the reasons blogging became so powerful in the first place.
Somewhere between those two positions sits the more difficult subject of ethics. A bloggers code of ethics does not need to be a rigid rulebook. It could simply be a shared understanding of what honest, respectful, and responsible blogging should look like.
The Cloak of Invisibility
Many of the issues Elizabeth raised come down to integrity. Do not steal. Do not deceive. Do not mislead your audience. These should be obvious principles, yet online behaviour often suggests otherwise.
Why do some bloggers do things online that they would never do in everyday life? Most people would not walk out of a shop with something hidden under their coat, yet some people think nothing of copying an article, using someone else’s photograph, or taking another creator’s ideas without credit. The internet can make theft feel invisible, but it does not make it acceptable.
Perhaps the relative anonymity of the online world encourages poor behaviour. If nobody physically sees you copying text or saving images from another site, it can feel less serious. But content theft is still theft. Someone created that work, spent time developing it, and put effort into making it valuable.
The problem is that the consequences are often limited. If someone stole my images, I would be unlikely to take legal action. At most, I might send a strongly worded email and hope they removed them. That lack of serious comeback means bloggers have to rely on their own values. Ethical blogging begins with deciding not to take what is not yours, even when you think nobody is watching.
Flattery Will Get You Everywhere
Another complicated area of blogging ethics is the relationship between bloggers, brands, and PR companies. Bloggers are often flattered with free products, event invitations, press trips, experiences, or paid opportunities. It can feel exciting and validating when a brand wants to work with you.
However, in practical terms, these arrangements are transactions. A brand or PR company offers something of value, and in return they hope for exposure, attention, or promotion. That does not automatically make the relationship wrong, but it does create a grey area if the blogger is not honest with their audience.
One of the biggest questions is whether bloggers feel free to be negative. If a product is poor, do they say so? If an event is disappointing, do they write honestly about it? Or do they stay positive because they do not want to damage a PR relationship or lose future opportunities?
Free products are still a form of payment in kind. They may not be money in the bank, but they are a benefit. If that benefit influences what a blogger writes, then the reader deserves to know. A glowing review that exists only because the blogger wants to remain on a PR mailing list is not objective. It may not be deliberately dishonest, but it is not fully transparent either.
Good blogging should aim for honesty. That does not mean being cruel or negative for the sake of it. It means being fair, balanced, and clear about the relationship behind the content. Readers are intelligent. They can understand brand collaborations, but they should not be left guessing whether praise has been influenced by payment, gifts, or access.
Transparency
Transparency is at the heart of any serious bloggers code of ethics. Sponsored posts, brand partnerships, affiliate relationships, gifted products, and promotional content are all acceptable when they are clearly disclosed. The issue is not that bloggers work with brands. The issue is whether readers are told about that relationship.
If a blogger has been paid to write about a product, that should be stated. If an item was gifted, that should be made clear. If a link earns commission, the audience should know. These details matter because they help readers understand the context of the recommendation.
Transparency protects both the reader and the blogger. It builds trust, avoids confusion, and shows respect for the audience. A blog is built on the relationship between writer and reader, and that relationship becomes fragile when disclosure is hidden or vague.
At its most serious, presenting advertising as independent editorial content can cross legal and regulatory lines. Even without considering the law, it is simply not a good way to treat an audience. Ethical blogging means being open about commercial relationships before readers have to ask.
Money, Money, Money-tisation
When I first became aware of blogging, it felt like an online diary culture. It sat alongside platforms such as MySpace and gave people a way to document their lives, interests, and opinions online. I briefly experimented with blogging in 2007, but other parts of life took over.
When I returned to blogging years later, the landscape had changed dramatically. Blogging was no longer only about personal expression. It had become an industry. People were talking about monetisation, sponsorship, influencer campaigns, brand deals, and turning a blog into a business.
There is nothing wrong with earning money from blogging. Creating good content takes skill, time, and energy. Writers, photographers, videographers, and creators deserve to be paid for valuable work. The problem begins when money and status become the only motivation.
The promise of easy income can encourage shortcuts. Some people see blogging as a quick path to free products, travel, public attention, or financial success. When those rewards do not arrive quickly, it can become tempting to copy content, exaggerate influence, mislead brands, or promote anything that pays.
That is where ethics become essential. A blog built only on chasing money is likely to lose its voice. A blog built on trust, consistency, honesty, and useful content has a much stronger foundation.
What Did You Expect, Easy Money?
From the outside, blogging and YouTube can look deceptively simple. Someone talks about their day, shares a few photos, posts a review, and suddenly appears to have a large audience. It can seem effortless, especially when the hard work is hidden behind the finished post or video.
In reality, creating good content takes planning, writing, editing, photography, technical knowledge, promotion, and persistence. Building an audience takes even longer. The appearance of ease is part of the illusion.
That illusion can attract people who start a blog expecting fast success. When they discover that the process is slower and more difficult than expected, unethical shortcuts may start to look appealing. Copying someone else’s work, chasing every promotional opportunity, or saying yes to unsuitable brand deals can seem like a way to move faster.
I have received messages from people asking how to monetise their blogs, as if there is a simple switch to turn on. The truth is that many blogs cost money before they make money. Hosting, equipment, software, design, and time all add up. A blog may lead to opportunities, but it rarely becomes an instant income stream.
The possibility of earning money from blogging is not the problem. The problem is when that possibility becomes more important than honesty, originality, and respect for the reader.
Please Sign Here…
Of course, nobody can force every blogger to sign a formal code of ethics before publishing online. Blogging is open to anyone with an internet connection, and that openness is part of its value. It would be almost impossible to regulate every personal blog, lifestyle site, food blog, fashion blog, travel blog, or professional content platform.
Still, a set of best practice guidelines for bloggers could be useful. It could help new bloggers understand expectations around disclosure, copyright, image use, reviews, sponsored content, and professional behaviour. It could also reassure readers that many bloggers care deeply about integrity.
The bloggers who already value honesty would likely welcome these guidelines. Those looking for shortcuts may ignore them, but even then, clear standards can help shape the wider culture. If blogging is going to remain trusted, then ethical behaviour needs to be discussed openly.
Ultimately, a bloggers code of ethics can only go so far. The real decision sits with each individual creator. Every blogger has to decide what kind of work they want to publish and what kind of reputation they want to build.
Brave Keyboard Warrior
Bloggers also need to be brave. That may sound dramatic when we are talking about people sitting behind laptops, but honesty often requires courage. It is easy to follow the crowd, avoid difficult opinions, or adjust your views depending on which brand has contacted you that week.
It is much harder to think carefully, form an honest opinion, and publish it knowing that not everyone will agree. Integrity can be uncomfortable. It requires self-questioning. It asks you to consider whether your words are fair, whether your disclosures are clear, and whether your work genuinely reflects what you believe.
Bloggers also need to honour their commitments. If you agree to attend an event, attend it or give proper notice. If you agree to produce work for a brand, do it when you said you would. If you accept a product for review, be clear about what the brand can realistically expect.
Time is one of the biggest investments bloggers make. Writing, photographing, editing, and publishing all take time. When someone steals a blogger’s work, they are stealing that time. When a blogger fails to show up or does not deliver on an agreement, they may be wasting the time and money of other people too.
Companies are not faceless machines. Many small businesses are built from someone’s savings, effort, and hope. Ethical blogging means respecting the people behind the emails, the products, the campaigns, and the collaborations.
It’s All About YOU
Beneath all of this is a personal question: how do you value yourself and your work? Creating original content with honesty and transparency shows confidence. It says you believe your own voice is enough. You do not need to steal, hide, exaggerate, or mislead in order to matter.
On the other hand, copying content, concealing sponsorship, or pretending a paid promotion is an independent opinion suggests insecurity. It creates a mask between the blogger and the reader. Over time, that mask weakens trust.
Good blogging ethics are not about perfection. Everyone makes mistakes, especially when learning. The important thing is to care enough to improve, correct errors, disclose relationships properly, and treat readers with respect.
I try to ask myself one simple question: is this the best I can do? That does not only mean the best for me. It also means the best for the reader, the people I work with, and the wider blogging community.
A bloggers code of ethics may not be enforceable for everyone, but the principles behind it matter. Be honest. Be transparent. Respect other people’s work. Keep your promises. Write what you truly think. If bloggers can do that consistently, ethical behaviour becomes less of a rule and more of a habit.