Saturday 4 May 2013

Whatcha Doing?

*Warning: spilling of the heart in this post*

I know we bloggers don't do what we do for the followers, but as I just lost some followers and have been doing it for a year and still have under 50, I'm having a slight crisis of faith. I am aware of how silly it is to get upset about the number of followers, or readers and commenter's. And yet I just cried because I suddenly felt so depressed and useless for putting all this effort into my blog and hardly anyone reads it! Don't get me wrong, I am ever so grateful for those of you that do read my blog regularly, but I can't help compare myself to other blogger friends, those with hundreds of followers...

Anyway, I'm going to take a leaf out of Sophie's book and ask you what you want to see on this blog! Would you like to see:
- personal posts
- blog tours
- movie reviews
- discussion posts
- guest posts
- anything else?

For your consideration, I've also been thinking of some ideas:
- I've already asked Faye to design me a pretty new banner
- I have been debating trying to make some sort of rating system to put at the end of my reviews
- If I can come up with some ideas, how about a few themed weeks a year? Like love/sex in YA, or top ten stuff, or guest posts about blogging, or anything else I can think of?

I've been doing this for over a year but apparently am still very much a noob when it comes to encouraging followers and loyal commenter's, so any ideas are welcome! Seriously you guys, I love that I have any readers at all but I would love to spread the book love as far as possible!

7 comments:

  1. I think it's always nice to see a variety of posts on blogs, not just reviews, and not just discussions. I've enjoyed reading your Weekly Highlights posts over the past few weeks.

    Themed weeks are really fun and I'm in the process of planning my own at the moment. It would be lovely to see one of yours. :)

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  2. Write what you like to write and followers will come naturally. I only have 16 followers and I've been blogging for two years. I do, however, have close to 15,000 pageviews, so many of my readers choose to read my posts, but not follow my blog. It's nice to have book reviewers and I feel that you should write what ever you want to write and is of interest.

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  3. Oh I agree! I'm just reviewing Doctor Who at the moment but I'd love for people to start commenting like they used to!

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  4. I've been doing this for four and a half years and my comments and page views have suddenly plummetted and I got upset as well, but, unfortuanately, it happens. You just have to keep doing it for the lvoe of it, regardless of comments, followers etc.

    And with the comment, you officially have more comments on this have I have had on my last five posts! Does that make you feel better? :)

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  5. Hey Anya, I think your blog is lovely the way it is. What I'm interested in is people sharing their excitement and love of books, and whatever else they're passionate about. I read many more blogs than I follow (well I follow hardly any at all). Also, I wonder if people tend to follow fewer blogs in general now - I rely on twitter a lot to let me know a new post is up, and things like Bloglovin maybe make a difference?

    I know I could take a bit more time to comment on the blogs I read, but when we are all on our mobiles so much that tends to get a bit lost.

    Don't lose heart, that's my main message!

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  6. I know it can be upsetting looking at page views, comments and number of followers. Until you're at a number that's comfortable for you that's probably not likely to go away. I used to get upset that I've been doing this for so long and that I didn't have more followers too :(

    But then I made that decision not to let it bother me and to just focus on writing good content. I do spend a lot of my time visiting other blogs and commenting, talking to people on Twitter hoping to build a network around me in which I have loyal readers who regularly read/comment. It takes a lot of work though.

    My advice would be to push yourself. You're probably comfortable writing mostly reviews with the occasional non-review post. Shake things up. Do something different, something that you're excited about. I think that's what people will respond to.

    Good luck and keep your head up!

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  7. I think it is easy to be discouraged by things like followers, pageviews etc. I think there are some steps to take to combat this, but I'm no expert! This is what I do/suggest:

    Blog layout: As much as we hate to admit it, everyone loves a pretty blog layout. You can find premade ones, or get a friend to design one if you're lucky, take a crack at it yourself or bite the bullet and pay for one. I think it's important to have an identity: a banner, a button, a theme for your blog

    Twitter: this is key to building up a following, I think. Interact with people on twitter a lot and you'll build more friends who are more likely to visit your blog, and you'll get your blog out there to a wider audience as well

    Mix posts up: I definitely think it's a good idea to post more than reviews on your blog! Everyone always loves a good discussion post and weekly/monthly recaps are also really good

    Memes and events: These are a good way to get follower numbers, but not necessarily a good way to build a dedicated following. Parajunkee runs a follower meme thing on a Friday, and there's memes like top ten tuesday and waiting on wednesday. You can also take part in blog hops but again, you're not necessarily getting a dedicated readership!

    I think the most important thing is to visit other blogs more: I think time should be split in a 2:1 ratio, with more time being spent on the visiting. Leave a link to your blog at the end of the comment and try to visit the same blogs consistently.

    I follow you though Bloglovin now (thanks for following back :) ) and also though GFC even though it's going; couldnt resist being your 50th follower!

    Cait x

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