How to Cite in A blog: Learn The Correct Way to Cite Your References – 2022

As a content creator or writer, you must know how important it is to give and take credit. How would you feel if a person uses or shows your work to someone else and doesn’t even mention the fact that the masterpiece is made by you!

Well feelings aside, if you use the correct way of sourcing in all your content and blog posts, then not only does it make you look good but also shows your credibility. So, whether you are using a small piece of work or a big chunk of their work, you need to make sure that you are referencing it back to them.

It’s quite a wrong thing to use work created by someone else not credit it. Not only is it morally wrong, but it can also land you in big trouble if a person claims their copyright or your work comes back out plagiarized.

However, sometimes people don’t do that on purpose, they are just unaware of the latest internet trends and laws. So, today we are here to tell you how important it is to use proper blog citing and how to cite sources in a blog post effectively!

Why is Blog Citing Important?

Whether you’re writing a research blog or an entertainment blog. First, you need to keep your content clear. You can do this by adding information from different sources. May it is the content you’ve written or the images that you have added, proper citing is an essential part of it all. When you properly cite your blog, these sources serve several purposes that include:

• You give the original authors their right, by telling people it’s their work that you have taken.
• If your blog consists of a bunch of work and the citation is part of something bigger, then people can get more information by visiting the site.
• When your blog contains all the correct sources, you stay away from any trouble regarding plagiarism and copyright issues.
• When you reference precisely, your readers can tell that you’re a credible source and whatever, you have mentioned in your blog is thoroughly researched.

so, as a writer, knowing how to cite in a blog is very important. Accuracy goes a long way, and when you put the resources down, you are verifying that you are one of the most meticulous sources for all information. By citing it also shows that you have some killer researching skills that’s why your blog is full of sources that you have taken from all over the internet!

So, if you take care of all the citations in your blog, it will automatically prove your reliability as it will be the most visited source for people who read about your blog subject!

Master How to Cite in a Blog the Correct Way

Now that you’ve learned how vital it is to put sources in your blog, let’s master the skill to make your blog site, one of the most credible sources for readers and other writers!

First of all, you need to know what instances need citations. So, the places you need to provide proper blog citing include:

• When you’re quoting some other person in your blog
• Mentioning statistics in your blog that you did not calculate yourself
• Using an image created or photographed by someone else
• Making use of someone else’s ideas or thoughts
• When you add infographics or visuals that you did not create

So, anything that you have not written or created by yourself requires credentials and you better make sure that you mention the rightful owner.

Here’s how you can make sure that you are using the right referencing in all of your blogs:

Types of Citations in a Blog

There are three types of citations that you can add to your blog website. Learn how to properly conduct them:

• Quoting Someone

Let’s assume that you are using someone else’s words in your blog. It could be some famous personality or some other blogger. It could be anything that you did not come up with and are using someone else’s quote.

In order to cite them, you actually have to quote them and tell the person’s name. You can adopt their words and make them your own because they did the thinking, it was their brain that came up with all that, you use it because you just couldn’t have said it better!

So, for example, Ken Poirot said in his book, “On any given day if I conduct a new search, I find additional posts referencing my name.” – Go Viral! The Social Media to Get Your Name Posted and Shared All Over the World! Follow him on Twitter here!

This way, you’re giving him the credit that’s due to him. Because he is actually right and I could not have said it more correctly. Once you write something and people start citing you on their blogs and other papers, you automatically start gaining fame among your readers.

My example gives my blog more credibility. How you may ask? Well, not only did I link a site to find his book but additionally I also added his Twitter handle, which will erase any doubt that my readers might have had.

• Using Data and Statistics

Another example would be to cite data and statistics from other sites. How do you go around doing that?

If it’s a company that did the research and found out all the information, it is your responsibility to write the source of the information. It’s probably quite rare that you will find a research number in a blog. So, if you are the one who has conducted the research, you will have to provide a complete backstory for your readers to believe you.

However, if you have taken the stats and data from another site, then you have to reference their site as well as name them.

For example: According to the University of Michigan Library Research Guide, “The International Polar Year of 2007-2008 conserved a Data and Information Service program to manage and coordinate the groups’ participations from all over the world.”

This way, not only are you representing your integrity to your reader and your willingness to provide true information on all subjects, but you are also using a credible site yourself. So, you are giving them the credit that they are due because of the intensive research and tests they conducted for you to know the information. The link that you have provided should contain the site’s page that holds the statistical data that you have mentioned in your blog. This benefits you greatly as well as your readers. So, become a credible source for them, and if they want to read more about the stats, they can click on the link and get more information.

• Using News or Other Update

There is an internet etiquette that you are following here. How to behave with others and how to let others know how to behave with you. And nothing speaks louder than actions. If you want to use news and storylines that others found before you then you have to give them the credit.

So, if you got a story from someone else, you have to mention their name and say that you discovered this piece of story or news through them. It is the proper way of referencing. 

Citing Your Social Media Blogs is Essential

social media is also a hub of bloggers who are busy blogging about different things and reviewing products right and left. In this era, people believe the reviews of a product that come from a blogger more than a company. so, unless you are a credible blogger who links products correctly then people will believe you. 

So, how do you cite other people, companies, and websites on different social media platforms? Here’s how:

• Citing on Twitter

When you’re using someone’s work on your Twitter blog, it’s quite easy to give them some recognition. You can either click on the retweet button and circulate the post with the original author’s name or you can simply mention them by adding a short “via @username”.

The retweet usually shows an RT on the post. However, if you are taking someone’s content and changing it into your own words, then you can add an MT to the tweet, which stands for “Modified Tweet.”

This way, you won’t be getting in any trouble with the social media policy!

• Linking on LinkedIn

Giving attribution on LinkedIn is quite straightforward. If you have taken words from someone, you can simply mention them. If you have gathered the information from another website, then copy their URL and paste it on your post to give proper appreciation.

• Citations on Facebook

Sharing content on Facebook is also quite effortless as the creators of the application have ensured that the original owners get the recognition they deserve. All you have to do is click on the share button and share someone’s hard work on your timeline and give them the deserved appreciation.

• Referencing on Instagram

Reposting on Instagram is a little hard. The app itself doesn’t have any reposting other than on stories. But to do the right thing, you can download some of the reposting apps available for the gram. You can also just screenshot the posts you like and crop them on your phone and share the content. To give credit, you can share their Instagram handle with the post and add a hashtag saying #repost!

• Don’t Leave Pinterest Behind!

Pinterest is the hub for sharing ideas and pinning all your favorite interests, so it’s no surprise that sharing proper source credentials are built right into its system. About all pins lead to their source websites and if you decide to pin an inspiration post to your board, the pin system works as a Re-pin that keeps the original owner and site intact.

Even if you share the pins from Pinterest on other platforms, the platform automatically generates a link to its own website and the original site. This way, you don’t have to worry much about how to give proper credit.

Don’t Miss Out on Referencing Visuals, or You Might get Copyrighted!

If you are going to use infographics and visuals from different sites, then adding in the source is proper internet decorum. You should also ensure that the quality and content remain the same while you are publishing on your blog.

You can either add a link to the original source under the image, or you can just add the link to the image itself. If you want the people to see the masterpiece for themselves, you can add a preview of their image on your site, and with the link, you can redirect the audience to the original site.

If you are taking the help of a designer for some original visuals, then it depends on the designer whether they want credit or not. Suppose you have worked with a ghost designer, in that case, there’s no need for any credit. However, if you have worked with a renowned designer, then there must be a designated small space in the visual image that shows off the watermark of the designer.

Enclosing Thoughts

So, we hope that now you know how important it is to give the credit that’s due. We know that if you are reading this blog, then you definitely know how wrong it is to acclaim someone else’s work as your own and how much trouble you can get into if you are not careful.

To avoid any kind of plagiarism and copyright issues, that might result in taking your blog off any search engine forever, make sure whatever content you use, you give accreditation to the original owners.

What will happen if you don’t?

You might be seeing a lawsuit if it’s possible for the owners or they might contact you and ask you to give credit or take it down. Sometimes, even search engines, recognize duplicated content on their site and delete it forever or make the site blacklisted that it never appears on the first page ever again. So, in order to avoid any of these horrors, let’s make sure that we do the right thing!