Hi friends,
Today’s discussion topic has been inspired by Nick @theinfinitelimitsoflove ‘s tweet. She was saying that she feels disconnected from the book community part of it because she feels “rather invisible” when she is not actively shouting about things. And that gets quickly exhausting.
Find her tweet HERE.
And it made me think.
Because of course if you don’t post a lot you will probably have less visitors right? And you’d be forgotten, right?
So you’d think you HAVE to post every day, to be super upbeat, to be original, to comment on everyone’s post, to reply within minutes to comments to be a “super blogger” to be worthy of book blogging. Right?
But I also see some bloggers not posting every day or even taking breaks for months like @theorangoutanglibrarian who can post every two days or not at all for months and still be known and loved!
Take also Raven @dreamyaddictions she posts mainly reviews (Gasp! It is said to be one of the least attractive kind of posts for book bloggers) and does it about twice sometimes three times a week and yet ..she has tons of followers and reactions (and she so deserve them all)!
Yet to give you a counterargument, Pete from @bettleypete posted some months ago a very wise post about how an untended blog would soon shrivel and die like an untended garden. Read his article HERE. One very revealing excerpt of his post was “
Much the same applies to your blog. Put up a few random articles, ignore the likes and comments, and you will soon discover that it will not flourish. Don’t bother to reply to people, fail to read their blogs, and don’t invest in being part of the community, and you can be sure to see your blog wither away on the screen, until you might just as well delete it.
If you want to get the most out of blogging, you have to regularly add relevant content to attract readers and followers. Then you have to engage with them, show them that you value their involvement and input. Ignore this advice, and you will soon be posting everything for just one reader. You.”
So what’s true?
Do you need to post constantly? Do you need to shout to be heard and seen? To be arresting to have people come to you, notice your blog?
As I wanted some more material for you to think about, I asked my twenty year old son about it.
My son is from the opinion that to be a “good” blogger what you need is passion and motivation. You have to do it for yourself and find some other people to chat with. Not many to begin with but a small tribe of four or five or …. Likeminded people. Other passionates like you.
Then you’ll slowly begin to speak on your blog like you’d talk with friends.
Let people come to you but don’t be phazed by some comments or lack of comments.
You can’t please everyone. Stay true to yourself. Blog for YOU not for others and follow YOUR schedule. Quality above quantity.
What I do think is indeed that you need to be consistent BUT it does not mean that you have to post every day.
If you want to post twice a week but are passionate about what you write and need to share, you’ll find your tribe.
I also think that being authentic, doing YOU and not everyone else will be your life saver. Because in the long run, pretending to be someone else because it’s “hype” or because it’s something you think people are expecting from you will be just exhausting. Shouting included if you are the murmuring type.
Also if you need to take a break, just do it. The blog must stay a hobby, something fun.
Last: I don’t think you need many followers or many comments to be a blogger neither to be a “good” blogger. It’s enough that you want to share something you are passionate about with others to be worthy!
Now that you have my two cents on this topic, let me know your opinion please. Do you think things changed for book bloggers? Do you also feel disconnected? Do you think just doing you is enough? Any tips/thoughts?
Thanks for reading!
Sophie
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Great post Sophie, and I agree! I think you have to find the balance that works the best for you and make the most of it. I never wanted to be a big blog but find people to share and talk books with. It took me awhile to find my niche, but I’ve made the best friends. I still have things I need to work on (like posting more consistently) but it is a hobby and real life and family comes first. I enjoy IG the most lately and have made the best connections there, but like you said, if you don’t interact you won’t get there – on any platform!
I think the blogger is the key ingredient to a blog that survives or not. You definitely need to do it for yourself, love what you do, post when you want about what you want but if you don’t interact, don’t care about others and don’t put an effort to connect, your content might reach oblivious people but others won’t want to keep on connecting with you! Fantastic post as always, Sophie! 😀
This is such a fabulous topic and I think it depends on why you’re blogging. For us it’s just for fun, so some weeks we have a post every other day, other weeks we may have one post and that’s it. We have a small group of blogging buddies who love some of the same books we do and I couldn’t ask for more. I’m sure if you were focused on numbers then having a consistent schedule and posting regularly would be more your focus but we like being in our own little bubble and not caring about that lol. I will say Instagram felt daunting at first but it almost was easier to make friends there instead of the blogging world. I’ve really fallen in love with the bookstagram community and how sweet and welcoming everyone is!
With so many different ways to connect, I have seen many bloggers, who are not consistent in posting, but they interact on other platforms a LOT (Twitter, Instagram, GR, etc). They build relationships there, and those people come to the blog when there are posts. I am not going to inject any negativity here, but there are some observations I have made when it comes to follows, and people are going to follow and interact with who they want. I love the people I interact with, even if it’s just a small group of older YA lovers.
Sam that’s a very true obsrevation here! I have seen indeed bloggers very active on other platforms like Goodreads drawing in their friends on their blog even if they don’t post every day. They have the knack to bring steady traffic to their blog and I am always in awe!!! Now that’s the same for interacting with me. I realized pretty quickly that I coukd not interact with everyone all the time because …life! But I do chat and comment with a small bloggers group and I am happy with it as it allows me to get to know them better every week and build something deeper 😉
This is such a fantastic post! I think it is something that always lurks in the back of our minds as bloggers. The best way of looking at it as far as I am concerned is the pleasure blogging brings, Being a popular blogger is fine and dandy, but if you don’t enjoy it then what is the point? 😉
Exactly Lori! If being famous does bring more bother than fun what’s the point really?
I totally with Book Twins Reviews in that it depends on why you blog. If you blog for recognition and followers and are all about the numbers and stats, then yeah, I guess you better be willing to shout into the void, and generate talk, and spearhead the discussions and be on top of every hot topic and controversy.
However that is decidedly *not* me. I am not big on social media, I’m hit and miss with Twitter, I’m on IG but I’m not a bookstagrammer. And I couldn’t tell you a thing about my blog stats. I have no clue because it’s not important to me. I blog to share my thoughts and to connect with others. And if that means quality over quantity I’m more than okay with that.
Tanya it’s the same with me! And I realized pretty quickly that if I had tons of followers and comments I’d never would be able to keep up!!!! So small it is 😉
Awesome post, Sophie – gave me some things to think about. I don’t usually pay attention to my stats, but when I looked, I had more views and comments on my ‘share days’ or when i posted what I was reading. But you’re right – as long as you’re passionate about what you”re posting, you’ll find your tribe.
I stopped looking at my stats months ago Teri as I was exhausting myself! I’ve decided on a healthier way to blogging now and I feel way better, only keeping the fun LOL
You chose a good topic for discussion. I used to think I had to blog every day. Had to visit everyone’s blogs every day. Had to be on Facebook and Twitter and such every day too. Now I’m working two jobs and it isn’t always possible. I worry sometimes that others think me rude when they comment on my posts and it takes a couple of days sometimes to visit theirs. Then I thought of so many others in the same boat and talking and worrying about it. Blogging is my hobby, not another job and I want to keep it that way so it remains fun:) I love all of ya word lovers and bloggers!!!
Well yes Laura! We are all in the same boat indeed! These last months I can only visit and comment back every other day as life is taxing so that’s what I am doing trying not to feel guilty for it!
This is a great topic, Sophie! I think you don’t need to post everyday to be a good blogger. It’s pretty impossible for me to post everyday. Blogging should be fun and not a chore. I also agree with Pete that you need to interact with other bloggers if you want your blog to survive in the blogging world especially to the ones that doesn’t have large following. And yes Quality posts definitely attracts readers.
Thank you Raven! And yes quality is key to keep your followers and have a steady friends base. Keep them interested. It’s sometimes challenging to come up with something creative but that also makes blogging interesting 😉
Once again, another thought provoking topic that has, well, many sides and as many answers to the eternal question, why some blogs are more popular than others. It’s a quotient we all wish we knew the answer to and could tap into. Certainly, we all have to find what works for us and blog for ourselves.
Blog for ourselves is the most important message here indeed or we won’t last Alexandra!
These were great points that you brought up, Sophie! You really got me thinking.
Thank you Nia!!!
Yepp, great points…. I would say that I actually prefer blogs that don’t post every SINGLE day… a couple times a week is much easier to keep up with as a blog follower just as much as a blog writer. So as long as the content is engaging, I don’t need the author to be over-the-top or posting every single day!
Oh I didn’t think about it but that’s a very valid argument Jordyn! I struggle to follow bloggers who post every day or several times a day!
Love this! I used to try and post every day but it felt like pressure so I cut back to a few times a week and I have to say I’m getting my love back!
I dont think I’m loud, I just go along in my own little bubble most of the time but I do go and read, comment and like blog posts on those I follow. I set by an hour per evening as I just need that little bit of entertainment before I get my read on!!!
One hour is about right Caro! Same as here. And I too am in my little bubble LOL
Haha Haha! Bubble is best!
I don’t think that you have to be “loud” or consistent to be a “good” blogger. I honestly think its all about the interactions with everyone else. If you take the time to look at their stuff they will take the time to look at yours <3 Its a give and take!
Give and take that’s indeed the perfect word Brittany!
I think it all depends on WHY you are blogging. For the community, the free books, the recognition….
There are thousands upon thousands of book bloggers writing reviews and discussion posts – ten years ago it was a fraction of it.
And then it depends on who your audience is. I’m honest here and tell you, as a blogger I rarely read reviews. But I love to chat about books I read and loved. So, most of my reviews I write for people that aren’t bloggers.
And with any social media site, and IG is a great example for that as well, the rule is always the same, if there is no interaction your posts won’t be seen – makes sense to me. And huge blogs have the same issue, it’s not just us little ones.
And honestly since most of my clicks come from search engines, that means just regular readers – not other bloggers…. I clearly write for the people who search for reviews.
There you go Sophie, my two cents for all it’s worth – lol.
Well Corina of course interaction is key especially on IG as the algorithme is built in such way as to have your posts seens by people commenting. It makes sense as you said. So if you are not ready to comment a lot on others posts then yours won’t have a great exposure. So yes it depends on what your goal is! I am happy to be a rather small fish as I could never comment all the time. I have a job, kids, hobbies and I don’t want to burn out. That means that I have to make peace with the idea that I will never be big LOL
Same Sophie! I’m a small fish in a big pond and I’m ok with it.
Great discussion, Sophie! I feel like you shouldn’t have to post all the time or be loud and follow things for hype. But sadly, that’s what seems to be the norm. Its hard to feeling a part of the community at time because of that reason.There was a time that I wanted to stop blogging completely because it’s hard to feel like a “good” blogger.
I just think you have to find your niche and you will find a part of the blogging world where you feel like belong.
Exactly! Finding our niche is keay Kayla and also taking everything with some cool as it is not life an death 😉
I agree. I need to work on that. Sometimes I get so obessed with reading and blogging that I forget it’s just a hobby.