Wednesday, February 26, 2014

Blog Followers vs. Blog Readers

I think as bloggers there are just some truths out there that apply to 99% of us.
  1. We write because we want people to read it. Otherwise we would write in a private journal that no one would ever read.
  2. We like to talk about blogging
  3. We love gifs.
I just think those are basically indisputable facts. Ya know? Are you catchin what I'm pitchin?


This post was absolutely 100% inspired by Ashten's post yesterday.
Go read it now.
I'll wait.

 
 
 
 
 

............Okay, so I'm assuming you've now read it and you're all caught up. While she made several (and i do truly mean that. several!!) good points and gave some seriously great and honest advice (seriously, this is not me blowing smoke up her ass) the thing that really made me think some big thoughts was in her first tip. She said -

Anyone can be a “follower” but it takes good, consistent content that creates READERS. Personally: I’d rather have readers over followers.

I read that and I almost shouted YES at the top of my lungs.
There IS a difference between a follower and a reader.

I'm guilty of it too! I follow several blogs on GFC or BlogLovin that I only read once or twice a month (or uh... never). I also follow some blogs that I read every single time they post and I comment frequently. AND THEN sometimes I still read their post every single day and I don't always comment. It happens.
Here's what I know. Let me spit some facts at you..
I have some readers who comment consistently on my blog posts. I recognize these people. I notice these people. I've formed relationships with these people. They are some of my readers.
I like those people. For me, that's what this blogging thing is about.
I see things like Steph and Katie (update: speaking of this bloggy friendship, check out katie's post today), Whitney and Erin, Allie and Brin, etc, etc.. And I mean how could you NOT want that? These people who met through blogging and found their best friends. It's fun to read about it and they all started by being each other's readers.

It's easy to get caught up in the number game.
Number of GFC followers.
Number of BlogLovin followers.
Number of Twitter followers.
Number of Instagram followers.
I get it.
I'm not saying it's all bad. Lots of good comes from some of those numbers for a lot of people. I'm also not saying that wanting to grow those numbers is a bad thing. Heck, I wouldn't mind having a few more hundred followers. I am saying that it's easy to get caught up in those numbers.


Wednesday Conversation Starters
  • Where do you stand on the follower vs. reader discussion?
  • Do you always comment after you've read a post?
  • Are you following me on BlogLovin, Twitter, and Instagram? HAHAH
  • Is the 2nd "L" in BlogLovin supposed to be capitalized.... Or nah?

25 comments:

  1. This is a great post, and a great point! I'd definitely rather have "readers" than "followers" because those are the people that you're connecting with!! I also find that your consistent "readers"/commenters are people whose blogs you might find interesting yourself, too! I try to comment on any post that resonated with me in some way, or asked a relevant question that sparked a conversation! I think the second l is lowercase in bloglovin! :)

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  2. Let's be really real: I'm horrible at commenting. That's actually one of my March goals, actually commenting on the things I'm reading. I've kind of gotten to the point where I don't ignore my numbers but I don't care as much as I cared around this time last year. If I'm supposed to gain readers, they'll show up sometime, somehow. :)

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  3. I love this! It's so true. I tend to read the same blogs every day but I don't always comment. But I try to at least comment twice a week. If I never comment, chances are I'm not reading and I probably followed you to win a giveaway.

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  4. Oh oh oh! and to add to that, I also try and answer ALL my commenters because that's what personally keeps me coming back to a blog, engagement with the writer!

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  5. I read (actually read!) tons of blogs svery day, but I must admit, I often don't comment. It's so bad, I know I should, but I get self doubts about it. What will I say? Will anyone even care? Will it add any value? But the thing is, if I have time to read, I have time to comment, and I should start showing that appreciation to the bloggers I like reading by doing so. I love seeing that I have comments on my blog, even if they're short and don't say much, so I don't know why I overanalyze commenting myself. Henceforth I shall comment more! I hope. Did you see that post about the blogging state of the union? It also had some awesome and thoughtful points.

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    1. I totally agree with this- I read lots of blogs but never seem to comment much. I think I blow it off because I figure the blogger is too busy to read them all or won't care what I have to say anyway. But I think it would be nice to show them the appreciation they deserve!

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  6. I read lots of blogs, but I don't always comment. I try to frequently comment, but there are days where it's just not in me, or I didn't connect well with the post so I don't have anything constructive to add and I hate the "great post!" comments. Haha! However, I do respond to every comment that I get on my blog because I feel like it lets the reader know that I'm there, I care, and I appreciate their time to read what I write.

    I completely agree with followers vs readers and I think this is the main hurdle to gaining 'readers' because generally give away followers don't become readers. I know personally, after the give away is closed, I usually unfollow the majority of the people unless I truly enjoy their blog. I have a hard time reading things I don't connect with regularly.

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  7. Awww well aren't you just a peach!! Thank you for loving Katie & I's crazy, sarcastic, blog-formed friendship! Though we've been really close for a few years now, it's still SO weird to know that I met one of my very best friends in this whole wide world ON THE INTERNET!

    Oh- and gifs. Yes-we heart gifs!!!

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    1. Crazy is putting it mildly ;) This made me so happy to read missy! Thank you so much for the shout out and kind words!! I love how the blogworld can bring together two people from different sides of the US! Amazing. Love all this but I'm also partial to the Ryan Gosling gif...let's be serious.

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  8. i definitely have the two groups of blogs i read. those i comment on and those i read, but don't engage. your blog is one i just read but never comment on ;)

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  9. Numbers are not everything! I have a few blogs that I follow but only sometimes read, and a few I read/comment on every time.

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  10. I definitely don't always comment after I read a post but I try to do it whenever I have something to say other than "Great post!" I'm totally with you on preferring quality over quantity.

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  11. I don't always comment. Mostly because I don't have anything to say or I'm to shy or it feels silly. But I only pick blogs I love and think if I wasn't such a chicken... We could be friends

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  12. I don't always comment on every post I read, but if I agree or like it I try to comment. I mean I love comments so they would too. Besides how else will they know you are a READER! I totally want readers over followers since those are the ones I talk to a lot, want to visit, connect with, and then feel comfortable to ask advice or bounce ideas off of when we need it.

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  13. Girl, those numbers are so freaking tricky because they just suck you right in to a vortex of I'm not enough! I've struggled with them over and over and over since I started blogging. I realize that I need to keep my blinders on and my focus on what's in front of me to ensure my own sanity.

    I realize that I'm a better blog reader (and I guess follower) without commenting... I know that's sort of lame, but sometimes I read a post and really enjoy it but just don't have anything wonderful to add to the conversation, hence, no comment. I guess I believe that no comment at all is better than stupid unrelated "I liked this a lot." comment.

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  14. i really try to read a lot of blogs. but sometimes its hard and you get caught up. i am especially guily of the numbers game. but we just have ot remember that doesn't matter and that you can find "friends" out of it. Like for me, Sarah!

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  15. Pretty much most of the comments I get are from people who are readers. Or at least I hope they are reading my blog. I have a lot of followers but I wonder where they are when it comes to my page views and comments.

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  16. i definitely think readers are more important if you want to form relationships and make friendships (I do). unfortunately i've been so overwhelmed with law school recently I barely ever comment on blogs anymore (i'm taking tonight off from studying!! :D) but i do still read all my favorite blogs daily!

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  17. So I try hard to get a comment in for most people but when posts get back-logged and I'm reading the weekend recap on a Friday - I feel like it's silly to comment and at this point irrelevant right? I tried to help myself by following less people, but I swear I add a new person to Bloglovin' each day! <3 followed you on insta before you even plugged it today!

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  18. First off, gifs... yes. Always gif (verb form, cause duh). Second of all, I'm so happy that we've found each other and that we are finding out that we have a TON in common and obviously that we are going through the whole weight loss thing at the same time. Thirdly (is that right?), Readers are so much better than followers. I recently cleaned out my blog reader and it was crazy how many people I unfollowed. Not to be mean, but because I don't read them. I've started reading blogs at night (when I used to be able to read them all day long) and because I no longer have a time limit on how much time I've spent reading blogs instead of actually working, I have found that I comment A LOT more. Great post love <3

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  19. I don't always comment, but if it's a blog I read regularly, I try to comment more often than not :) Sometimes I get behind on blogs and don't get to read every post, which I guess contributes to my not always commenting, too! Ack.

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  20. I am also guilty of not commenting sometimes. It is definitely something I am trying to work on. The whole readers versus followers issue is something that has been on my mind lately. I keep reducing the amount of blogs I am reading. So I can keep up with it because I want to be a reader not a follower every time since that is what I want for my blog. I guess I am just trying to find a better balance.

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  21. This is a very good post and couldn't be more true!

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  22. There are some blogs I read every day and don't comment on. They already have so many repetitive comments that I dont need them to think they have to reply to my comment as well

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