Today, not only will I take you through a step by step guide on how to reblog a post on WordPress, but I’ll also cover some of the pitfalls of reblogging.
For the purpose of this post, and because I use WordPress, some of this information will only be relevant to WordPress.Com users.
The first thing you need to do is find a blog post that you want to reblog.
Usually, this will be a post that you have thoroughly enjoyed reading and/or will have left a comment on. However, some bloggers use reblogging as a way to promote other bloggers, authors, writers, books, etc.
Let’s get started
- At the bottom of a post are the sharing buttons.
- In some cases (depending on the WordPress theme) the sharing buttons can be found elsewhere such as towards the top and just to the left of a post.
- The screenshot below shows the sharing buttons I have chosen to appear under my blog posts.
- Beneath the sharing buttons is where you will find the ‘Reblog‘ button.
- Click on the reblog button, and a mini-window will open.
- The next step is optional, but I recommend you tell your readers why you are reblogging the post. After all, you wouldn’t recommend a book, movie, product or hotel to your readers without saying why.
- Tell them what it was that you liked about the post and why you’re reblogging it.
- Just below the text box you’ve filled in, is a list of your blogs. If you have more than one blog or are an author of more than one blog, this will show a list of blogs you can access. Select the blog you want to reblog the post too.
- Click on the ‘Reblog Post’ button.
- The post will now be reblogged to all your followers.
For some bloggers, this is all they do after reblogging a post. However, there is still more important work to do if you want the reblog to be found by more visitors to your blog.
- Go to your blog’s dashboard navigation bar and click on ‘Posts’.
- Find the post you’ve just reblogged, and click on the edit button.
- Add categories and tags to the reblog.
Why do you need to add categories and tags to posts you’ve reblogged?
It helps more readers and visitors find it.
You can have a category called ‘Reblogs’ if you like. However, try and categorise the reblog to whatever it is relevant to – e.g. recipes, books, blogging tips, social media, book reviews, etc.
What happens if you don’t categorise a post that you’ve reblogged?
It will show under ‘Uncategorised’, which is of no help to anyone. Did you read my blog post, Are You Making Any Of These 7 Simple Blogging Mistakes? Then you may recall that I compared not categorising blog posts to walking into a library and finding none of the books has been sorted into categories.
Many visitors won’t stay long if they can’t find what they are looking for or your posts are not categorised.
What about adding tags?
You can use some or all of the same tags as the blogger who wrote the post, or you can use your own.
Like categorising, tagging your posts correctly will help visitors quickly find what they are looking for.
If you do not use tags, then it makes finding your post and/or reblog harder to find, and the reblog is less likely to get seen by new visitors.
- Press the ‘Update’ button.
Should I disable comments on posts I’ve reblogged?
Yes. Why? Because readers then have to leave comments over on the original post. It’s far better to have comments all in one place rather than being scattered across varies reblogs.
Untick the ‘Allow Comments‘ box (which you’ll find under Discussion). You can do this after pressing ‘Update’, but remember to press the ‘Update’ button again.
- Finally, check your reblogged post to ensure that it looks good, is easy to read, and that any pingbacks you’ve included also work. If you’re happy with everything, then you’re done.
Are there any pitfalls to reblogging?
Yes.
There are a few I am going to list below, but don’t allow these to put you off using the reblogging feature. If you reblog sensibly, then you’ve nothing to worry about.
Media Space
When you reblog a post, any images on that post are added to the media library of your WordPress blog.
This takes up valuable free media space. The more images in a blog post, the more space they will take up. You can buy more media space from WordPress, but not everyone has the funds to do this.
Copyright
We all know that we should never use images and photos that are not ours or free to use.
Before you reblog a post, check any images included in the post and ask yourself if they are free to use.
My blogging friend, Debby Kaye, was fined for having a copyrighted image on her blog from a reblog that she did.
It didn’t matter that Debby never wrote the original blog post because, by reblogging and downloading the image to her blog, she was fined for copyright infringement.
You can read Debby’s post about it by clicking here. If you reblog posts, I recommend you read it.
If you’re not sure if images are free to use, ask the blogger whose post you’re reblogging where they got the images from and if they are free to use.
If you’re not convinced or are still not sure, then don’t reblog the post.
Permission
As crazy as it may seem, some bloggers get upset if you reblog one of their posts without asking their permission to do so first.
It’s very rare that this happens, but I wanted to mention it because it can happen. They may have a reblog button on their posts, but it doesn’t mean they want their posts shared.
If you’ve not reblogged one of their posts before, ask for permission to do so.
However, the majority of bloggers will be delighted that you’ve reblogged and shared their post. You’re less likely to come across someone who does not like any of their content being shared.
Just for the record, I welcome my posts being reblogged.
Any questions?
Leave them in the comments box.
Do you have any tips you’d like to share about reblogging? Share them in the comments section.
Originally written and published in 2017. Updated to take account of new procedures on WordPress.
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Hugh's Views & News 
Excellent reblogging tips, Hugh! Thank you for sharing!
You’re welcome, Jan. My thanks to Sally for sharing this post on her blog.
Hi Hugh A great resource that I have pinned so I can return to it at ay time. Thank you. x.
You’re welcome, Ellen. I’ve only reblogged one post this year (I tend to use Press This), but it’s useful to know what to do if I decide to reblog again.
I thought that too. I am surprised you are not invisible being as I have pieces of you ( or your advice) saved everywhere for when I can not quite grasp something. xxx
I hope all those pieces of me come in handy.
Hi Hugh, Congratulations, your post will be showcased as one of the top three posts for this past week at Senior Salon 174. Thanks for participating.
Thank you for the great news, Esmé. Enjoy the rest of the weekend.
Lots of good information here, I think it is a courtesy to ask permission before reblogging someone’s post, and cautionary to think about copyrights on pictures. Also, I hadn’t realized about space on one’s media library. I need to do some cleaning up on mine! Thanks for the information. Michele
Yes, reblogging can take up a lot of storage space in the media library, especially when the post you are reblogging has many photos that have not been resized. Sadly, copyright is a big issue that many bloggers don’t think about when reblogging.
Thanks Hugh!
A really interesting post and the step through guide is really handy! I cannot say I have ever reblogged a post and to be honest, after reading the pitfalls and knowing how much the blogging world is changing, I probably wouldn’t. Sim #SeniorSalon
Reblogging is a quick way to share a post, but the pitfalls of reblogging a post belonging to another blogger are often never thought about. I rarely use the ‘reblog’ button, preferring to use ‘Press This’ instead. It’s a far safer method of sharing a blog post with your readers, even if it does take a little longer to do.
Hi Hugh I have a question. I recently posted a reblog but it was of a post I did several months ago. Was I wrong to call it a “reblog ” if it’s something I wrote? Should I have called it a repost? Sorry for the odd ball question there’s so much I still don’t understand 😅
No, not at all. A reblog is a reblog regardless of whether it’s one of your posts or that of another blogger. So it’s a reblog.
Thank you 😁
I don’t really get reblogging. I’ve come across some blogs that seem to be made up only of reblogged posts. I wouldn’t follow someone that didn’t post their own content.
The only reason I allow the reblog button is that at least then I know when someone has reblogged my post. I have had people copy and paste my blog posts without using the reblog button and without asking. The only way I know is if in the original blog post I linked back to another of my blog posts. I’ll get a pingback there and click on it to find someone reblogged my whole post. I don’t know, that just seems like stealing content and drawing readers away from the oriignal post, or at least using someone else’s content to draw traffic. I appreciate that at least you close comments on the reblogged post.
I do, however, believe in sharing good content I’ve found online with others. On most Saturdays I’ll post a list of links to good blog posts I’ve read that week, with either a short comment about what I liked about it or a quote of a couple of sentences from the post. That lets people know about it plus drives the traffic to the original blogger’s post. Some people have linked back to my posts that way, and I appreciate that much more than reblogging the whole post.
Those blogs you refer to are known as ‘Reblog farms’, Barbara. I don’t follow them unless they publish some of their own content, which I find interesting.
I’ve also been the victim of having some of my blog posts stolen and published under another name. I always report those blogs to WordPress (if they have published my content on WordPress).
I always share blog posts I’ve enjoyed reading by sharing them on my social media accounts. I also use pingbacks in my posts to other bloggers I have found interesting. Those bloggers get a pingback notification, so they’ll know I’ve linked back to their post.
Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts with us on this post, Barbara.
Excellent tips, Hugh. As always. I’m often surprised when someone asks if they can reblog. If I have a reblog button, it’s there for a reason. But I get it that not everyone knows they can remove it. I do ask permission if someone’s post doesn’t have a reblog button.
And I totally agree about closing comments. I think the original post and blogger deserves the traffic. 🙂
It’s such a shame when comments for a particular post end up on different reblogs, Diana. It takes away a part of the conversation and discussion and means many people who read the original post won’t see them. I’ll have to suggest to WordPress that they change the reblog structure so that comments can’t be left on them and are diverted to the original post. I wonder how much work that would take, though?
I doubt they would change that. I think it will stay a matter of blogging courtesy. 🙂
Hm, just tried to reblog one of your recent blogs and the drop down box which enables you to select which blog to post to, doesn’t give me the option of my main blog – the booker.com site. It’s not listed at all which is most peculiar. I think I need the forum’s help with this one
Is the blog you wanted to reblog the post on a self-hosted blog, Karen? I’ve checked, and it reblogged on My Blog.
As a rule I don’t reblog someone else’s post unless the Reblog button is present (by the like and the comments.) As for writing prose or poetry, I often cite my own stuff, as too often I’ve seen something later and not be sure if it was mine or not. I find that when I get on a roll and the content spreads automatically from brain to fingers to paper, which is great, sometimes I have to question myself.
Reading old term papers and papers I wrote for an academic course years ago I often stop and think — “did I write this crap?” or “…this is a fine piece of work, I wonder who wrote it?” 🙂
Same here. If the reblog was missing, I would not reblog the post without first asking if it was okay to reblog it. However, I think the absence of a missing ‘reblog’ button and sharing buttons is a clear message not to share the post.
I almost always ask permission to reblog even when the button is present. Sometimes there may be a second thought about a re-post.
Thanks so much Hugh, I’ve just followed your step by step instructions and reblogged your post :). So easy and I know I’ve done it before but it was good to go through it all again. Glad to see you don’t mind your posts being reblogged (after I’d already done it) 🙂
No, I don’t mind any of my blog posts being shared, Debbie. It’s something I think most bloggers thrive on. And thanks so much for reblogging my recent blog post about Gravatars. It’s great to know that more bloggers will benefit from it.
Have a lovely weekend.
Very thoughtful post, Hugh. I always like how you include screenshots when demonstrating ‘how-tos’ navigating WordPress. It makes it easier to get there in the end. I agree with the tips about re-blogging and making the reblog more seen. It’s always nice to share another blogger’s work around and make it be seen. I do see why reblogging is a positive: it offers other the chance to share your blog posts and refer readers to your blog – as opposed to posting your post in full which would be an infringement of copyright in most cases.
This post also made me reflect on the reblogging feature and why I turned off reblogging for my blog. I turned off the feature after reading a post of yours a while ago on reblogging. This is because generally I prefer my work on my own blog. As you alluded to, I prefer it when others ask me before sharing my posts on their blog. Didn’t know that photos get uploaded to the other blogger’s media folder. Very interesting.
Also very interesting to hear that Debby got into copyright issues because of reblogging. It goes to show that you have to be very careful what you post on your blog, especially if the content isn’t originally created by you.
I am not sure if you know the answer to this. I used to let others reblog my posts. Then I turned off reblogging. I have always assumed that my reblog stays on their blog, and wondered if you can affirm this.
Hi Mabel,
I think many of those who reblog do so without thinking about the consequences of copyright infringement. It’s not so much the content (because WordPress only copies a small part of the post over) but any images in the post that are the cause for concern because they get downloaded into the media library of the person reblogging the post. This is how Debby was fined, and I’ve since heard from another blogger who has recently received a notification of copyright infringement for a post she reblogged in 2016. So it seems it doesn’t matter how long ago you may have reblogged a post, the robots looking for copyright infringement can still get you.
Yes, once a post has been reblogged by somebody, it’ll stay on their blog until they delete it regardless of whether you have since removed the reblog button on your posts.
I hope that helps?
That is a thorough explanation, Hugh. It’s interesting how you can be tracked down for infringement of copyright on WordPress and really anywhere else on the online sphere. Best to be thinking twice about what you are reblogging. Thanks for sharing about such an important topic.
I agree, Mabel. It’s one of the reasons why I prefer to use ‘Press This’ than reblogging.