While trying to develop a readership on my blog I’ve noticed I may gain a new follower one week only to quickly lose them the very next.
I try not to take the rejection personally but inevitably I feel I have failed that reader and I wonder why they left. What did I do wrong?
I started to think about all the reasons I stop reading a blog to better understand the reasons that reader dropped me.
Top Ten Reasons I Stop Reading A Blog:
1. They post too often.
I know this goes against the grain of what many of the larger bloggers practise. They post daily and some of the biggest ones will post 5 or more times per day.
I’m sorry. I don’t have that much time in the day to commit to reading everything they have to say and let’s be honest, they’re saying too much. I think the maximum one should post when blogging is once/day. Please note: this does not include other social media. Go to town on FB, Twitter and Instagram.
2. They don’t post often enough.
This is a “damned if you do, damned if you don’t” scenario. Honestly though if they only post every 3-6 months I will have most likely forgotten or lost the connection I had with them in the first place. I believe the minimum a blogger should post should be once per week if they want to keep their readers engaged. Of course holidays and vacation are exceptions to the rule.
3. They are constantly slogging merchandise or promoting companies products.
I get it, everyone wants to make some cash via blogging, I’m not immune to that. However if the blog feels like it is 95% advertising and 5% personal input I am not going back. I am exposed to too much marketing already.
4. They have too many large multi blogger giveaways.
You know the ones I’m talking about. You have to enter 50 blogs on 5 different social media platforms, and promise your first born child…yeah those ones. I hate them. I don’t care if you might win $1000 cash. Trying to remove myself from all junk that gets delivered after I’ve entered and unsubscribed to all the blogs and websites I didn’t even like in the first place is way more hassle than it is worth.
Also I don’t like blogs that have giveaways all the time. It is boring non-content and feels like they are trying to buy followers.
5. They don’t write enough.
There are some really great blogs out there that have beautiful photos, gorgeous people in them and the writing is horrible or non existent. Writing something authentic from the heart creates a personal bond with the reader. I want more than just pretty pictures and basic information. I want to feel like I know that person.
6. They have no sense of humour.
If they can’t laugh at themselves, make jokes or just generally smile once in a while I won’t be sticking around for long. Life is too short to be so serious all the time.
7. They don’t stimulate or entertain me.
I need a blog to either challenge, inspire, entertain or enlighten me in some way otherwise I get bored and move on.
8. They don’t interact with their commenters.
If I have been commenting on another blog regularly and they have never visited mine or bothered to comment back often I grow frustrated and will stop visiting. It feels like I’m always trying to be their friend and they simply can’t be bothered.
9. They are vapid, inauthentic and simply trying to inflate their readers.
You know the ones I’m talking about. They leave comments like this,
“Loved your post! Please come and visit me!”
These are people that have never visited you before and have no intention of visiting you again. They are a living breathing “spambot”.
They make ridiculous comments that have nothing whatsoever to do with the post. I liken it to them to vandals signing their name on an bathroom wall only to prove they were there.
I ignore these comments and I never follow their blogs.
I feel deeply about rewarding people for authenticity and just as deeply about ensuring I’m not encouraging those that aren’t.
10. Their blog/style hasn’t grown or changed over time and they no longer appeal to me.
We all change. What we liked last year might not be what we like this year. Blogs that don’t move forward to change with the times become stale and repetitive.
I also read some other suggestions ( bad titles, boring posts, unfocused, posts are too long) another opinion (poor design, long paragraphs, inconsistent photo sizes, read more button, only personal posts, not on Twitter) as well as these suggestions which are a bit more personal (too many blogs to read, interests have changed, blog focus has changed, grown apart, unfocused blogger) as to why people stop reading blogs.
I realize that for someone to want to follow my blog something must resonate with them and this simply is not always the case and possibly why I lost that follower in the first place.
What about you? Do you agree or disagree with the reasons I choose to stop reading a blog?
What are the reasons you stop reading a blog or won’t follow them to begin with?
I always get sad when I lose followers too. I’m try to grow my Instagram so I’m constantly worried about what I post on there. lol. I love this post! These reasons are so true! I especially hate the constant group giveaways! I’m totally guilty of participating in these but I try to limit the ones I do. Thanks for giving me these things to think about when working on my blog! 🙂
P.S. I always love the humor in your posts!
http://www.kaciesklosetblog.com/
I love your humor too Kacie. I’m always disappointed when I see often your readers aren’t reading and are only looking at your photos. Probably because they are always great, but they are missing out on your fab writing skills.
I can relatebto your points… I once unsubscribed a blog when the blogger posted the 3rd post that day… Seriously, who has the time??? And people hawking merchandise… Well, that just gets old very soon. A small dose of an interesting personality, that’s what gets my vote, something I can read on the train, and a personal take on life, style and everything. And sometimes we just take a break from reading blogs when we get busy with all sorts of trivia (a.k.a work.) and have no energy to connect as fully as we might want to… Or in my case, I might be reading the blog on my iphone or ipad and commenting is just so incredibly slow and frustrating (evidenced by this comment, it’s taking me ages to correct my spelling…) and decide to focus on reading and skip commenting… But what I really want to say is that if you start thinking about how to best “serve” potential readers, you go nuts. You can’t instantly change your personality to suit every reader’s whims, it’s a slipery slope to multiple personality disorder… When I started blogging, I decided to apply the same strategy as I do at work: this is me, take it leave it, I know I can’t please everyone, but I know that a lot of people like me and that’s enough.
I couldn’t agree more about trying to comment with my phone. It is a nightmare! That is when I just say…nice shoes! LOL
I totally agree with you. Especially with the large group giveaways and the ads. Like you said, a giveaway here and there or a promo post once in a while is fine, but when it is constant or what they are advertising has absolutely nothing to do with the content that they usually post, that is a huge turnoff for me. I also don’t like if I am constantly engaging with a blogger and they don’t ever engage back. Like you said, it feels like they just don’t care and cannot be bothered. I love blogs with writers that I think I would be friends with in real life, that tell a good story, that are funny and don’t take themselves too seriously, and whose style and content appeals to me. It is always tough to lose a follower and to not take it super personally. Especially since our blogs are so personal! But you definitely cannot please everyone!
I too choose bloggers that I’d love to meet in real life.
Hi Suzanne! I totally agree with you and with what the Birds say – the people I feel I would be friends with in real life. Well written (and the first born comment is HILARIOUS!)
I lost two followers last week (or the week before) and I felt really sad about it. Also, I guess my blog is just not interesting enough for many people- I know I am waffly, probably a bit too personal about my life, probably don’t offer enough impersonal life advice tips- I have been blogging almost 10 years but I have a lot less followers than people blogging a tiny amount of time. But, I do sincerely love the people who go on the journey with me and it feels better to have the small, wonderful community of people who comment (and for me this is the best part) and talk together than thousands who don’t ever interact.
Don’t get me started on those who don’t even acknowledge your existence after a myriad comments!!!x
(unless someone has Disqus or Google+ settings which I can’t comment on!)x
I agree that having people that are willing to interact with you makes it worthwhile. Otherwise it feels like you are blogging to one vast void.
I am not a blogger (yet-maybe someday) but I very much enjoy reading blogs and I don’t comment often but this post is so on point. I have a core group of blogs that I love-this is one and then others that I “try-out”. I quit or stay with them for the most of the reasons you gave above. 5 posts a day-no thanks. Blogs that are too commercial, too perfect, too needy -no thanks. I just want to read a blog that I think is trying to talk to the reader not advertise or turn themselves into an online magazine. So please keep posting your gorgeous outfits (love the vintage) and writing with the wit you do.
Thanks.
I do love getting a comment from a non-blogger about this! : ) I kind of feel I’m a bit jaded just by being a blogger. It is good to know that you feel the same.
Vintage (and Anthro) are my two great loves so they won’t be disappearing anytime soon. Oh yeah, my husband and my pug too! ha ha (wink)
I don’t pay any attention to how many followers I have. I blog for me. If someone likes it, great, if they don’t…tant pis.
I’m likely to quit following a blog as my tastes change, and someone no longer inspires me (papercrafting blogs). There have also been times when I felt the blogger’s flagrant narcissism was too much and quit (fashion blogs). Photo after photo after photo after photo (scrolling, scrolling, scrolling) of the blogger in basically the same pose with the same outfit, showing nothing new, not even interrupted by text, is a turn off.
I also will not follow a blog where too much personal information is revealed.
I think you have a very healthy balance of subject matter, photos and humor in you blog, which is why I follow you.
I find it very interesting that you don’t like to follow someone that shares too much personal information. Is it because it becomes too mundane?
That is so funny about the narcissism. I read once that if you’re including more than 4-5 photos of one outfit you simply love looking at yourself. Often for me it is a challenge finding 4 photos that I like of one outfit.
By personal, I mean REALLY personal, childhood problems, sex life, abus and the like. I’m sorry if someone is dealing with that kind of trauma, but I don’t care to read about it.
Ditto! I stopped following a blog who kept talking about her sexual abuse as a child. I know it happens and it’s despicable. But I don’t choose to read about it…all the time.
Yes, yes and yes. Another reason I end up dropping blogs is if they fail to compress their photos. If they don’t make them smaller for the web it takes FOREVER for their page to load. I’ve unfollowed tons of blogs because they post seventeen 2 + mb photos. I don’t have time to wait around for the page to load. Ain’t nobody got time for that. 😉
Too true! They must have unlimited bandwidth from their hosts to be doing that.
Yup. As we discussed (in person!), these are sound reasons. Many bloggers make these mistakes and the truth is there are hundreds of other blogs out there for us to enjoy.
So many blogs…so little time!
I agree with all of the above reasons. The two other reasons I often stop reading blogs are 1) something in the blog design makes it hard to read; 90% of the time it is centered text on the main parts of a post. Occasionally it is really bad photography. I can often overcome these if I feel there’s a connection with the blogger, so clearly these are smaller things, but it makes me less likely to stay with a blog to form a connection too.
I agree with these as well. I used to really hate blogs that had a black background. Thankfully there aren’t many of them left.
My numbers are up and down as much as a tart’s drawers but I don’t write to gain acceptance or to please people so its no big deal.
My pet hates are if someone never comments backs, wears clothes produced in sweatshops, constantly bleats on about illnesses or how unfair their life is, takes rubbish photos or posts too many of the same outfit, writes badly, and posts too often. I don’t bother with sponsored posts or posts where somebody is trying to flog me something I don’t want.
As soon as anyone posts racist, xenophobic, homophobic or extreme right wing views I delete them immediately. xxx
That is a given about racist, xenophobic or homophobic posts.
It’s a very subjective thing, but as long as I feel a certain connection with a blogger, I’ll stick around. They can take crap photos, spell and punctuate badly, put their blog together in a way which I don’t especially like, and that’s all fine, as long as they seem genuine, have decent enough content, a few pics, and they interact with me. The more commercial blogs don’t tend to offer anything very personal, so I don’t bother with them, and if someone never comments back, it’s clear they aren’t interested in a two-way blog relationship. Some of the sponsored/giveaway posts make me laugh out loud – I’ve seen someone review corn plasters and e-cigarettes, because they got a freebie! But I would hate to get into a really judgmental frame of mind where I discount any blogger who doesn’t do it like I do it, or who doesn’t follow an arbitrary set of guidelines. We may have personal preferences, but there are no rules. xxx
Well said Curtise!x
Everyone’s reasons are unique unto them, especially the one that’ll break the camel’s back. Often times I keep the blog in my reader forever before I will go in and delete them.
I like people. In general, I mean. Of course there are times, when I feel like I don’t, I’m sure we all have such moments or even periods. I read not too many blogs, and I almost never read every single post, sometimes I just look at photos, try to get the general idea what the post is about (remember it’s all a foreign language to me, so extra effort goes every single time when I read). So I don’t really get overwhelmed by reading. If they want to write a lot, they absolutely have right to do so, and if I enjoy the personality behind the blog, I will choose what and when to read. If they only post photos, there should be something quite exceptional for me to stay interested – I love words.
I want to accept more and judge less. I truly believe that everyone is cool – that is why I get interested in the first place. Sure, people have their limits, and at times it feels like you have been reading one looooooooooooooong post for a few months. I get bored sometimes. I give it a break. If there is something interesting about this person to me, I keep coming back. I will admit that I do still struggle with all this “being accepted and liked for who I am” thing. I think it’s because I am very accepting person myself and am curious of others, it’s just hard to wrap my brain around the idea that someone who got interested in me in the beginning, stopped visiting. I tell myself, they are busy, people have lives, well, we all do, but I see them visiting other blogs and leaving comments. I tell myself, not everyone gets me, and that’s OK. And to tell the truth, I really don’t care if they don’t like my style choices, or they don’t think I am smart or funny enough – I know myself. When I feel hurt is… when I open up with someone, encourage them sincerely… and never hear back. Or worse even, hear sarcasm. Then eventually I stop visiting and commenting. People can be smart, funny, boring, tired. That’s all fine. Everyone sparkles at least at times. But I do value kindness. That’s me, really. xxx
That is true that sometimes you feel like you are reading the same post month after month.
My readership has stayed constant in the past year, gain 2 lose 1 or vice versa all the time. I do try my best to ignore the numbers but it’s hard. I do stop following posts that has way too many pictures of the same outfit. I haven noticed that I have stopped visiting blogs with those gigantic giveaways too.
I was doing those giveaways on IG and had to stop myself because I was following people for the wrong reasons.
I try to remember that I started reading blogs and started my own to connect with like minded people and ignore the lack of readers or free items.
Alice
http://www.happinessatmildife.com
It is easy to forget why we blog or why we follow people. Especially when you think you might win $1,000.
I love this post so much. I’ve been blogging on & off for 5 years, but made a new commitment last March & haven’t looked back. I love the blogging world, but there are definite turn offs–which you nailed. one of my biggest pet peeves is when the blogger never responds or interacts with the readers. I think it bothers me because we’re all in the same boat, trying to build a community & it feels very selfish to not interact. It’s funny because until I really started blogging I rarely commented on blogs–I’d comment or share on social media if I was really inspired–but I stayed away from commenting on the actual blog (for no particular reason except that it felt intimidating for some reason?). But after blogging & realizing how much I appreciate blog comments I realized that other bloggers probably do, too. It’s funny this community & how it works…I discovered Two Birds via another blogger in Minnesota, then Ally through them & now you due to Ally. Love it! Sorry, this got a little long… 🙂
Here is something funny…when I started blogging…way back when…I actually got weirded out when someone commented on my blog for the first time! LOL I thought to myself, ” Who is that? Why are they commenting on MY blog? I don’t know them!” LOL Yes I was that lame.
I like variety and I like short posts. And I like blogs that have a creative approach, something different each time. My interests change, but some personalities just click and so I look forward to their blogs.
I expect my followers to come and go, and a lot of the ones who stay probably don’t actually read my blog all the time. I don’t keep track.
The ones I will stick with are the ones that make me laugh.
My blog suffers from time to time from many of the reasons you quit blogs! – except I don’t do advertising and have only done one DIY giveaway in which I may have asked you NOT to give me your firstborn. Please, don’t!
I see people drop off my follower list and I always fear that I have offended someone with a comment I’ve thought was humorous but which may have come across as harsh or prickly, which is not my intent.
I think that when you are funny, as you are, you take more risks with your writing, which sometimes can offend people. Those of us that get the humour though won’t be offended and are probably you are writing for in the first place.
I really enjoyed reading your list, and also the comments. As a fairly new blogger, I’m still deciding exactly which direction to take, and it’s important to read about what engages different people. On the one hand, I want to write about the things that I find interesting, but at the same time, I want someone to read what I write! So there is always that balance to take into account. For me, I find myself drawn right away to certain bloggers, and I try to never miss one of their posts.
I agree. I too am trying to find the right balance to increase my readership and maintain true to myself and the readers that I have managed to engage. Overall though, I still go with the idea that I try to do something I personally would find interesting or funny.
Awesome post, Suzanne! I just find I have too little time to read too many blogs! And although I try to backtrack through my comments once a week and visit the people who’ve commented (if they have a blog), I am not on any social media and have very limited overexposure online (said the woman posting pics of herself), so unless you have a Google Reader (I am old skool, man), I don’t/can’t follow you, nothing personal. I don’t have a cell phone, iPhone, tablet, iPad or even a laptop. I actually find that this keeps my interactions at a healthy level – I do have a real life and my blog is only part of it.
That is healthy. We need balance in our lives and those of us (like you and me) who remember life before the Internet took over know how to savor the opportunities of online activity without being sucked into its vortex.
I agree that reading other people’s blogs can become overwhelming and it isn’t a sustainable way of growing your blog, if that is your end goal.
Google reader is defunct now so that is an assured way of decreasing the blogs you read.
This is really interesting to read (I came to you following links from another blog – I really should be working, so hush! Don’t tell anyone) I’ve got two different blogs, with two slightly different focuses, and have been blogging for quite some time now. While I don’t have a lot of followers I love getting comments from those who do read the blogs. I’m trying to be better at replying to comments too – either in the following post, or in the comment section itself.
I’d love to be offered the odd “review” to do – I think it would make me think I’d “arrived” as a blogger!! – but I can’t see that happening really. I like to do Giveaways, but they’re my own things (I’m offering a Sapeurs Pompiers calendar at the moment!) and it’s only because I want to give something back to my readers.
I’ll be bookmarking your blog to come back to.
Thanks for popping by Alison!
It’s interesting to read what turns us off/on to a blog, the blogs I read I feel are inspiring, individual, personable and awesome! and genuine and sincere! and with a good dose of humour! I do follow a mix of different styles of blog, but for me the thread is the relationship I feel with the Blogger, that’s quite important – losing followers is one of those things that come with blogging, though looking at #2 I see I am a dreadful offender!! must resolve this! x x x
Your wicked sense of humour makes up for everything : )
so many of those ten points sounded like my own thoughts, almost each and every one of them! for example when someone posts like ten times a day I just can’t handle all that information and I don’t even want to (once a week is enough for me, I find it pleasant, but when a blogger posts 2 or 3 posts per week it’s also completely okay).
then commenting. I have this small group of bloggers that I love the most and I leave my notes under their posts and they leave their notes under my posts. it’s like chatting and I like it! besides, feedback is very important! but bloggers who never leave you their thought but want to hear your thoughts are kind of… not for my taste, let’s say it that way. why should I spend time on someone who doesn’t care about me?
oh and then there are those bloggers who always say “great blog!”, “cool post!”, “follow me and I’ll follow you”. those are the ones I always ignore. I have nothing against following someone but only when I and that someone are sharing thoughts, interested in each other’s blogs.
finally, I know I’m not the best blogger myself because even if I’m trying my best to write once a week I just can’t always do it. but I still want to blog because I love it and I love communicating with this group of bloggers I mentioned before. I know I’ve lost readers because of the rare posts but I can’t change it and I appreciate the readers who have stayed and who are looking forward to my posts. that’s exactly the same I feel about their posts! and it’s only normal bloggers have life outside their blog. many have full-times jobs, households etc and it all needs time. and blogging should be pleasant, not a mandatory thing you just HAVE TO do.
I think there are huge differences for bloggers that are blogging as a hobby and those that are making a go of it as a business.
Wow thanks for this great post a.k.a. tips hehehe! You’ve been such a hilarious, love the snark too -keep it up Suzanne!!!
Best!
Rebecca
http://www.redtagchiclosangeles.com
Excellent post, Suzanne! I always enjoy your fresh perspective on topics like this. I am in complete agreement. While I love to promote support and generosity in our blog community I will stop following a blog for some of the same reasons you’ve listed. If a blogger never responds to comments, stops visiting my blog or commenting, I’ve been known to lose interest and stop following. Too many outfit posts, or photos in the same outfit, gets boring! In fact, I’ve realized fashion blogs don’t typically have enough heart or interest for me. Since I moved to WordPress.org I’ve had some tech issues. One is that unless I put a ‘read more’ the comments section doesn’t show at the bottom of the post. Readers were having a terrible time finding where to comment. I’m still working on that one. Thanks for sharing your candid thoughts on blogging with humor and style! Love this post!
xx,
Heather
Don’t get me started on techie issues. I have a 2 page list that I need to hire someone to fix since I switched over to WordPress. It is a constant never ending battle it seems.
Coming over from Ally’s blog – I love all the points you made here! I am probably echoing what many have already said here. I agree so much about not interacting when comments are left – I try so hard to respond to every comment I receive, I want to thank the person for taking the time to say something and let them know that I appreciate their sharing in my life. And I also agree about the contests, I am fine with a giveaway here or there, but when you have to follow 25 people on ALL of their social media links, I just can’t. Ain’t no one got time for that (even if I could really use that $500 Target gift card!)
Thanks for this post! I’ll be reading along from here on out!
Thanks so much for popping by Beth!
What a frank, excellent post, Suzanne. I was nodding from start to finish, though I am the first to admit, it takes a fair bit for me to stop following a blog point blank. Perhaps the biggest reason for me is if, should it be a blog I regularly comment on, that person (assuming they’re not a mind blowingly popular blogger who gets hundreds of comments a day – and even then, still…) almost or never (even over the course of multiple years in some cases) returns the kindness and comments on my site. There are exceptions here of course and I don’t expect a tit-for-tat ever naturally, but it just seems like common courtesy to me and that’s something that always matters a lot in my books (or blogs! :)).
♥ Jessica
I do think that blogger to blogger we need to make an effort to reciprocate.
Also though, there is a difference between someone that blogs for a living, like you, (and I’m trying to do it in my slow half-assed way) and those that are just blogging as a hobby. Someone that has hundreds of comments can’t be expected to keep up, although I would still expect them to read and respond to a few.
Absolutely across the board, Suzanne. What I meant was not the people are expected per se to reply to comments on their own blogs directly (as you just did to mine here, for example; though of course that can be lovely, too), but rather to visit the blogs (if applicable) of those who have sites themselves and leave sincere comments on their posts at least once in a while.
I live by the Golden Rule in all areas of my life and massively appreciate and treasure the blog comments I receive, so it’s just as natural as drawing air for me that I would return the kindness of a blog comment, whenever possible. Again, I don’t expect others to necessarily comment on a tit-for-tat basis, but if someone has a person commenting on nearly every post of theirs and they rarely if ever comment on that individual’s blog, it just doesn’t seem right or fair to me.
Of course we all have the right to blog however we like. This is just the approach I’ve always taken and will always take in terms of how I interact with my wonderful commenters.
♥ Jessica
I enjoyed reading this from two perspectives. 1 – as a fellow reader. And 2 – as a blogger who’s constantly reflecting and trying to be better. I follow a blog for fashion inspiration and fun personality. I like bloggers who don’t take themselves too seriously and who approach fashion with a sense of humor, individuality, and creativity. I like when someone’s dress reflects who they are. I’m not so interested in seeing the hottest trends that I’ve seen on everyone else. I want to see you do something unique that I haven’t seen a billion times before.
I love your mix of vintage and contemporary pieces and that your style bridges different fashion eras. It feels timely and timeless at the same time. I love when you can’t pinpoint when a look is from because it perfectly blends so many different themes and styles.
<3 Liz
http://www.withwonderandwhimsy.com
I love it too when you can’t tell what era pieces are from. I’ve seen a few films that are done like that and it makes them so interesting.
I agree with everything you’ve written. Of course, there are exceptions, but, yeah…. I don’t like constant marketing or a whole lot of errors. We all make them, but OMG proofread at least one in every ten posts.
Now for the funny part, sometimes I feel bad when I unfollow a blog. So silly.
Ha! Don’t worry…you’re not alone about feeling guilty. Then I have to tell myself that 99.9% of people wouldn’t even notice.
I agree with pretty much all of this, especially the situation where you reciprocate with reading the other person’s blog and leave a comment only to never hear from the person, again, or to rarely hear from the person. I understand that people get busy and sometimes they can’t immediately respond. When you don’t know the blogger that well, it’s hard to discern sincerity. I receive late (i.e. days or a week later) comments quite often, but they’re from bloggers that I’ve been following for years and who I consider to be my friends, so it’s cool. I’ve also been guilty of taking a long time to reply to people and being sporadic with the detail of my comments, but I have two jobs and blogging is my hobby. I follow 100s and as you mentioned, some bloggers post daily and multiple times per day.
I get bogged down with 1000s of unread blog posts at the start of each week. It’s a…lot…of…work. If a post really inspires me, then I’ll have a lot to say. If I don’t get a whole lot of inspiration, but I still see bits that I love, then I’ll highlight those bits quickly and efficiently and move on. That’s just how it has to be (for me, anyway). Every now and then I have to remove people from my reading lists for many of the reasons you mentioned, because our time is valuable. We shouldn’t feel bad about wanting to spend that time wisely. Reading junk posts isn’t a good use of time. I don’t really care for makeup posts or movie reviews or basically anything that doesn’t have to do with style construction. That’s just me. I want to see what people wore and how they wore it. That’s it. So, I skip allllll the other stuff, because I won’t have anything meaningful to contribute to those posts.
It all boils down to personal preference and time. For everyone, both of those factors will vary. As a blogger, I really appreciate my “repeat customers,” the ones who keep coming back to see what I’m offering because I know they have their choice of “fashion carriers,” but they choose to fly with me every week. Hehe. It’s tough being able to hold people’s attention and stay relevant for all of reasons you mentioned and more. I hope people review the list seriously and try to be mindful of the needs and expectations of their readers.
– Anna
http://www.melodicthriftychic.com
I agree that we often assume that other people will have the same personal expectations and desires as we do.
You sound like you are good at prioritizing and making good use of your time. I need to work on that.
You totally beat me to the punch! This has been on my list of posts to do for the past couple weeks. The whole not interacting back think REALLY grinds my gears. I don’t expect a follow but they could at least swing by to say thanks or something. And pimping products sucks too. I started a whole separate blog for that kind of stuff and gave my readers the option to follow. It’s totally not fair to force that kinda stuff on people, especially after they’ve been following you for over a year and they change things up like that. That’s happened to so many blogs I used to follow.
Ha! You can now just forward them to my post! Ha ha! (wink)
Thanks for popping by Hollie : )
I agree with every one of your points. I also stop if the page loads so slowly I get bored waiting.
Another pet peeve is that they never respond to their commenters. It makes me feel like I’m speaking into a dead phone. Who wants to do that?
If the font is so small I have to squint,the background is black and it’s hard on my eyes, or their photos are blurry and really lousy quality.
I don’t have time to read all the blogs I enjoy, so why waist time on boring ones.
I enjoy your breath of fresh air honesty. Like you said…those pretty, air headed blogs get old really fast.
Yes. I agree. Especially with the black page and white font. Thank heavens most of those are gone now. I think it was mostly guys that designed those to look like Star Wars! ha ha
I can mostly relate to your list, and have definitely experienced #8. I know what it is like to struggle to respond to comments since I am going through that right now, struggling to read, comment, post my own and respond. But I genuinely make an effort to stay connected to the people who have tried to connect with me and I am truly sorry for any times I may fail at that. I can and do enjoy a blog that is mainly visual, just as I can enjoy a style blog by someone whose style is nothing like my own, but they are a different experience and don’t offer that feeling of connection that is so enjoyable about a blogging community.
xoxo
A sense of humor is really important to me. And I have stopped following blogs that I liked, and commented and commented on, but never received a response or had any indication that the blogger knew I existed, just because, I guess after a while I got bored talking to myself. Often I just unfollow if I realize that for months at a time I’ve been skipping every single post they publish, for one reason or another.
I guess I can also lose interest in blogs when the order seems a little too ‘unrealistic’ for me…I once saw a blogger ask, seriously, not as a joke, something like “I can’t decide whether to get these Tory Burch shoes or these Hunter boots! Help, suggestions?” and that really made me laugh, and also realize that while a comment like that may be realistic in some communities, it just sounds bizarre in mine.
I just found this web site and love it. I agree with your tips, I don’t always think about them while writing my blog however I will start. Thank you for the post! Going to read more.
I find this post valuable and insightful!
I am a newish blogger, and have a distinct tech deficit..
I do not have a bevvy of folks following me around with a camera, so i get my photos,
when i can, how I can, and I need to find a better system.
I am working on that.
I do not like overly commercial bloggers either,
but that said, If I like their personalties, i get that this is a job for them, and I am happy to follow some of those.
I do get put off when i write a fair amount and no one really reads it,
and I get that, I am responsible for that.
I guess it is a bit like high school,
isn’t everything, ?
you have to hang out with different groups
to see where you belong, and then like growing up,
culling that group for the values you cherish.
thanks for posting this!
I loved reading it, as well as the responses,
I learned alot from this.
xx, elle
http://mydailycostume.com/
Very interesting post! I agree with you about many of the reasons why a blog stop to be interesting…. for me the most important is the interaction wi
Ops! I said … for me the most imortant is the lack of interaclion with the blogger…
I appreciate your great writing and sense of humor! Me, I’m rather minimal with my words. I decided that my blogs are all art projects. If I don’t post much on one [or several] so be it. SpyGirl gets posts regularly because of the published list of weekly link-up themes scheduled through to next June. If I hadn’t committed myself to that, I would have been a lot quieter.
Comments are tough for me. Sometimes I can’t think of anything to say beyond “love this,” which seems so banal. Or, on the other hand, it’s a long response and I’m at work, so I can’t write it then and then I forget about it when I get home. Sigh. Small problems.
Love your post! Come visit me!! ….just kidding. I completely agree with you about people not providing content. Despite the importance of photos, a blog is first and foremost about content. Without something fun to read, its just pictures. And the multi-blogger giveaways…I am turned off by those as well. I click on one of those multi-blogger giveaway posts and there are all these instructions and rules and whatnot, and I just don’t want to work that had.d. Call me lazy. I’m here to enjoy myself 😉
Kristin
I know why I read your blog – you are hilarious! I went on hiatus last part of last year and lost most of my readers. Sad but that’s the fact. I am back and trying to build back the crowd I used to have. It’s going to take some time but I am determine 🙂 I too cannot stand giveaway. I did once and it was a disaster.. never again will I let myself be talked into this. Interaction is important and with interaction comes connection. Great read!
I wondered what happened to you : )
Oh man. I feel you. I also will stop reading a blog if out of nowhere they will post some very astonishing view on life. I had really liked that blogger and could not read any more after that. I was disappointed when that happened a few months ago. Because I do giveaways where people need to subscribe for a second entry, I will often get dropped subscribers shortly after the giveaway ends. It sucks but it is what it is. I have not been commenting all week. I got a not so nice comment on a post very close to my heart last week and it was out of place. It kind of made me just want to step back and reevaluate blogging. I am trying to catch up today. I promised myself I would blog daily for two years. I have missed a day here and there but it is coming up! Then I need to make some decisions about the blog.
This was very good and sound advice!
Jenni
WHAT??? I feel terrible for you Jenni. I’ve had a couple of those and they are really upsetting.
I for one would miss you very much should you decide to stop blogging. I adore your stories and your brilliant writing.
Sometimes I wonder if people think at all when they comment. Was it a regular reader? Or just a troll? Trolls shouldn’t be taken seriously.
(((((( Jenni )))))))
I think they are valid reasons! I was surprised when I came back recently after all the other things were getting in the way of my blogging, how many of the blogs I followed had become advertising, pure and simple. It is hard because I can understand people want to make money from what they are doing. But I did a huge cull and a new gathering of content based, quirky and interesting blogs. This one here, your blog, would never disappear from my list! But I guess I am an ‘at risk’ because I am terrible with the actioning of my intentions to reply to every comment. Bad, bad me!
I totally agree with all 10 points. And you are going to hate for leaving a short comment. But I am very behind and my husband is waiting downstairs… for an hour now while I am still blogging.
Greetje
Great post. All things I’ve read before, but it is always a good refresher. I followed a link here from a blog I have in my reader. I miss the good ‘ol days from 2005 and 2006 when bloggers all followed each other and returned comments. That is how I got followers back then my mutual commenting and getting to know each other.
I cannot keep down to 1 post a day though and sometimes wonder if that annoys people. However, I think it is up to the individual blogger and the types of things they share on their blog. I sometimes feel my readers have come to expect more from me (3 to 7 usually). I take time to schedule blog posts in advance and even re-post some old good stuff by scheduled posts.
My readers had moved to chatting with me in my forum and not on my blog, but I’m trying to get rid of the forum and go back to good ‘ol blogging now and encouraging comments there. Forums are dead. Blogging seems to be living on.
Nice to meet you.
It is fun to see a scrapbooker stopping by! I’m not sure if you are aware that I used to own a scrapbooking company and blogged about scrapbooking before I did style. My company was called Bisous and I designed and manufactured the PDQ line of products as well as stamps, chipboard, note pads etc. That was well over 10 years ago now though and I gave it up about 5 or 6 years ago. Maybe that is how you managed to stumble across me? I also used to design digital but haven’t in a while.
I agree that it totally depends on what type of blog you have as to how many times people expect an update. People watching the markets would want them all the time. Fashion and style bloggers or even lifestyle bloggers I find become annoying when they post more than once a day. Twice a day if something really extraordinary is going on is fine, but more than that and I often will stop following them.
I wrote these tips from a very personal point of view. It is interesting to see that most of them are shared views.
I also agree that forums have kind of had their day.
Thanks for popping by!
That is fun to learn about your scrapbooking days. I do digital scrapbooking. I think it would be annoying to have posts about the same topic every day, but I do a variety of topics and spread them out. I make sure I tweet and Facebook “real me” stuff. I do a Twitter roundup once a week where I delete my personal stuff from twitter and move it to a blog post. But people just marketing at me makes me unfollow them, so I try to have a good mix.
It was a local blogger that I have in Feedly that loves style that I found the link to you: http://livingoutsidethestacks.com/
All very true, dear. I agree. Besides these kind of reasons, I sometimes ‘drop out’ for a while, because I am simply overloaded. In whatever way. Too tired, too busy, overwhelmed. But after a while (a day, a week, a month) I will pick up where I left of. Happy to be back here;-)