Fact: I don't like coffee. I just like saying Coffee Clutch in my best and deepest New York accent. Considering I'm a New Yorker, I'm pretty freaking good at it. So I've got my tea and I hope you have your heated beverage of choice, because it's time to gab the day away.
Guys. I am tired. Seriously. SO EXHAUSTED. My blog is SO DEMANDING. It's all:
And I'm like:
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| Justin Guarini Hair Guy was totes a choreographer on early SYTYCD |
I even have a set schedule. I know what I'm going to post every day (and I do post every day). And sometimes, if I'm really industrious, I can schedule a couple of posts in advance (I think my record is 5 or 6. I don't know how people manage to have a whole month done in advance, but basically I want to be you).
But is posting every day really necessary? I do it because I'm a newbie and I feel like my blog NEEDS the content. But when is enough content, enough content? When can I slow down?
Furthermore, features are fun, but are they really CONTENT? I feel like the ones I do are informative on both the "getting to know me" front AND the "here are the books I love/want" front, but are they really worth it?
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| This is how I feel sometimes when it comes to blog content |
Now I know these are all very personal, individual questions and even though I'm TIREDTOWN and FEATURECONFUSED, I probably won't stop doing what I'm doing any time soon. My blog is, at its foundation, FOR ME, but I also like having followers and such (validation, I suppose), so I'll probably keep plugging away for a bit. I just feel like getting a glimpse into how other bloggers make their blogs so phenomenally stunning might help me in the future, y'know?
So if you guys don't mind, I'd like to use this week's discussion post to poll the audience: How many times a week do you post and why? How many features do you do? Which ones and why? Let me know in the comments below! Who knows? Something YOU say could help me shape the future of my blog!
No I know exactly what you mean! I'm still trying to figure out if I count memes as content because really? There's not that much too them!
ReplyDeleteDefinitely feel your pain. I'm trying to at post every other day because so etimes every day is just too adventurous! And I think the only meme I'm going to do religiously is the top ten Tuesday one, its the one I find the most interesting!
But I don't think you should feel pressured to post content, everyone blogs differently and if you have something to say, say it. But don't just post something you're not happy with for the sake of content.
It's not that I'm unhappy with my memes because I think I really do have REASONS for doing the ones I do, it's just sometimes I'm nervous I'm doing the WRONG THING. And no one wants to be doing the WRONG THING, do they? >.<
DeleteMemes have content... they give books a chance to be found by lots of new people. But the purpose of newbies doing them *in my opinion* is to help get the word of your blog out there. They are great for that. I do four memes (Top Ten Tuesday, Waiting on Wednesday, Inspired Fridays, and Stacking the Shelves) For me memes are my easy days since I do normally post every day. I don't have to do much for memes. But taking a day or two a week to not blog? Totally ok. I mean hey, it's your blog. My only concern each week is trying to have a review on my blog every week, and normally more than one if I can manage it.
ReplyDeleteI will say that if you do decide to do memes, make it worth it. When I first started, I would comment on like thirty freaking blogs every tuesday and wednesday so I could link back to mine. I am not saying do thirty, but if you comment on maybe ten? At least then you memes will be worth your time as you try to get your blog out there.
I hear what you're saying about the getting my blog out there. I just feel like it's a lot of work for something that I want to be fun. I dunno. It's so stressful and confusing. But I think I'm just gonna do whatever I want and how for the best? You have good points for sure though.
DeleteHmmmm Well I used to do regular Memes but I found them to be quite time consuming with very little value ( few page views or comments).
ReplyDeleteI do enjoy reading some Memes, particularly Broke and Bookish's Top Ten because it tells me more about the blogger(s) and very often highlights older books. I also like Waiting on wednesday, which is responsible for most of my amazon wish list! Having said that I tend to only read these posts on blogs that I am already familiar with and whose opinions I trust.
When looking at new blogs, I tend to steer clear if their meme to review ratio is too meme heavy.
I hear what you're saying. Memes can be useful but I don't like time consuming, little value things. Thanks for the input my dear!! ^_^
DeleteI think you should do what's best for you and your blog. Some bloggers are gifted with the ability to produce discussion after discussion and interesting content pieces. Some bloggers are better for introducing you to books. Every blogger has their strong point, nobody has the absolute perfect blog.
ReplyDeleteI don't see anything wrong with posting everyday, especially if you consider yourself new. I haven't been but I actually plan to start doing that. I think the challenge will help me to become a better blogger. I'm currently on a blog break but I'm coming back next week & I've actually managed to get two months ahead on posts (minus the meme I'll be doing) which is great! I'll be doing Booking Through Thursday and maybe another meme depending on if I like the days question.
I think you need to create the blog you would want to read or else you won't have fun doing it & it'll show.
check out my blog at avantisplace.com
You say WISE things Avanti!! I really like the whole "create the blog you want to read" deal. You're definitely right about that and I'll have to keep that in mind!!
DeleteThanks for stopping by! ^_^
I'll have been blogging 3 years in June and my schedule has changed so much. Sometimes I'm more organized and sometimes I'm not. Sometimes I'll go a week without a post at all (mostly last year bc of wedding planning). It's funny because when I was a newbie I felt like I HAD to post every day or have a certain number of reviews a week. Now? I don't give a crap AT ALL what anybody thinks about my posting schedule. I do what I CAN. What works for me. What I LIKE. I've given up many a feature I've created because I didn't enjoy doing it anymore. There are some that I'm borderline on because they take up so much time to do but I've found they are really useful for other people so I keep them because I DO enjoy them..but if other people didn't care I'd probably stop haha. I only do my TTT meme personally because I find that it works for me and is a little more in depth (which is a personal decision and matches the direction and vision for my blog -- other memes are totally awesome!). I used to do IMM/STS but have been lazypants about it honestly. I don't enjoy it much anymore so I decided it was time to weed it out. Interesting post! I actually have a post coming up that addresses this and a few other things based on an email I got recently! Moral of the story: do what works for you! I notice I get in slumps when I don't enjoy the content I'm doing. And sometimes maybe it is as simple as putting it on pause until you want to do it again. I've done that for sure. And I believe that quality > quantity anyways. So yeah some people can pump out quality posts 7x a week but I know I can't go at that rate all the time. I'm decided that I'm only going to post M-F and use Saturday for catching up on blogs. We will see how this plan goes. I think have 2 less posts will help me.
ReplyDeleteIt's so funny because when I started blogging I didn't have a schedule and then I was like: THIS DOESN'T WORK and now I have a schedule and it's TOO MUCH for me. So I think there's definitely a middle ground. I also like your attitude towards features. I guess I feel like if I start doing them, it's a commitment and I have to keep going, but I'm beginning to realize that no one's taking attendance and the only thing that matters is that I'm doing what's right for me and my blog.
DeleteI'm REALLY GLAD that you're doing what works for you and I hope I can do the same!! Thanks for stopping by Jamie!! ^_^
Blog content is always an interesting thing to think about, especially in the book blog world. There are so many things you can post - reviews, tour posts, and all the memes in the world - but how do you decide what's right for you and your blog?
ReplyDeleteHonestly, to me, I've come to realize that I prefer quality over quantity. I generally post only reviews or tour posts (which are often reviews), and perhaps the occasional personal/discussion posts. Rarely ever do I do memes (except my Sunday one) anymore, unless I really like the topic OR it's just a secondary post for that day (like TTT), but that's a personal thing.
I think it depends on what YOU feel comfortable with and what YOU can do. Some people post every single day. I generally post reviews etc on weekdays, have Saturdays open and Sundays are just my A Sunday Retrospective posts. I think, with more time, you'll fall into a rhythm of your own and be able to determine what exactly you want to have on your blog.
ALEXA YOU ARE SO WISE. Quality over quantity really IS the phrase here, isn't it? I feel like it's about what I want to have on my blog but also what kind of blog I want to have. It's strange to think of my blog's goal, though, because when I started it, the goal was just: BOOKS and now I'm realizing there's a lot more to it, isn't there?
DeleteThanks for the words for thought, my dear!
I'm actually planning on writing a post about scheduling and stuff like that next week. I used to post every day but have since found that I don't have to to maintain my pageviews. I've been enjoying blogging a lot more since I cut back and there definitely isn't as much pressure. I try to post every other day now and much prefer it to every day.
ReplyDeleteI also thought that joining in with memes such as Stacking the Shelves would increase views/followers but I've since decided to post Letterbox Love and found that it really didn't make a difference.
I think blogging is about finding a balance between your happiness and your readers and sometimes us bloggers forget about our own love for it.
You definitely have a lovely group of readers who visit your blog and I know I'm trying to stop by a lot more now. Lovely post! :)
I feel like building a following IS a lot of it and I DO feel like I have that (small or otherwise) so it's okay to slow down a little, y'know? Cutting back if you really don't have the time is really the way to go, I think. But if you are dedicated and want to do the everyday thing, YOU SHOULD. Obviously. But yeah. I think your Letterbox Love findings are interesting though.
DeleteThanks for stopping by Lucy!! ^_^
Totally get this! I like how I run my blog but sometimes I wonder if people think I'm running it wrong(then I tell myself not to care and mostly everything is right with the world again, but it can be hard to keep that feeling at bay). For me, right now I have a lot of time to post almost daily, but I know that won't always be the case, so I decided as a general rule(which I am allowed to feel free to break at any time), to not post new content on weekends. I pretty much NEVER post on Saturdays, and I do a sort of weekly wrap-up posts on Sundays(that I really just draft as the week goes along so once Sunday comes everything's scheduled and the links are all ready to go).
ReplyDeleteAs far as memes go, I only do Top Ten Tuesdays because I think there's more content in those and I enjoy them more. I love lists! I've recently discovered a book discussion link-up, which I liked a lot because it's still a link-up so you discover new blogs, but since it's discussion based it still has room for quite a bit of decent content.
I've fallen into a pattern of posting Monday through Friday, but I never feel like I HAVE to post every day. If I miss a Wednesday or so, no big deal. I do try to make sure I have at least one review a week. I didn't set out to do it this way, but I've noticed I tend to do 1 discussion, 1 review, 1 meme, and 1 feature per week. I like that ratio, so I'll be perfectly happy if it continues.
I don't think there IS a wrong way to run a blog. People might say there is, but there really isn't. I mean, maybe your blog isn't the kind of blog they want to be reading, but that doesn't make it wrong. No one can tell you what to do, y'know? Unless you're breaking the law. Then maybe. But yeah. Set your OWN rules. I'm working on that and I think it's going pretty well!!
DeleteThanks for sharing, Stormy!! ^_^
Blogging IS hard! I know I've found it to be more difficult lately because I work all the time. Right now I'm posting 4-6 times a week. Most of those are scheduled before hand.
ReplyDeleteI know it's hard but there's no *need* to post everyday. Since you're just starting out, try focusing on maybe 4 posts a week but let those be very well written posts. I personally prefer reading those type of posts compared to 7+ posts a week of "filler" stuff.
Really in the end there's no right or wrong way to do this. Just what works out best for YOU. Hope you can figure it out. :)
Filler is the worst, isn't it? I feel like I need to work just hard figuring out what's filler as I do in writing all the different blog posts! But I think it's going well. Slash I think I'm figuring it out!
DeleteThanks for the advice! ^_^
Oh this is me all OVER the place! I swear up and down that I'll get ahead and get stuff scheduled and never make it past, like, FIVE posts. To help, I've taken myself down to 5 posts a week that take actual BRAINS and then one recap post (on Sundays) that just takes some copy/paste linkage. I also have a SPECIFIC schedule (thanks to Amanda @ On a Book Bender) so I know exactly what kind of post goes up when (like you). So, for example, I have two features that I alternate on Wednesdays, so if I wanted to, I could write a whole run of those at once and be scheduled on those till August, and have more time to work on reviews etc. I really like the features because they're lighter, but they're both ones that I came up with, so they still feel like ME, you know?
ReplyDeleteThis is a HARD thing, and I don't think anybody has the answer. But it's good to think about! :)
I don't think anyone has the answer, but hearing what other people do REALLY HELPS. It kind of puts things in perspective, y'know?? Also, it helps me feel less guilty about being bad about posting >.<
DeleteThanks for the input Anne! My internal spreadsheet thanks you ^_^
I don't think you can do it "wrong" and I think there is no NEED to post everyday. But you don't have to take my word for it - this is super-easy to check. First, go to your stats program and see how many visitors & page-views you have per month on average. Also, look at which days you have to most visits (but think is it because you comment a lot on those days). Now, switch to a blogging schedule you would prefer - 5x a week, or every other day - whatever. Do it for a month - or at the very least 2 weeks - have your visitors/ pageviews changed? Drastically? If you only get 10 more views for the week for example, is that worth the time it would have taken you to write up 1, 2 or more posts?
ReplyDeleteHope that helps - sorry it was so long. And of course, if you want to post everyday - nothing wrong with that :-)
Hmmm your math and logic is INTERESTING. The stats definitely are part of it and your break down is super interesting. I'll have to try and force myself to think about all of this and maybe DO THIS on the sooner side, y'know? Thanks for the advice! ^_^
DeleteI'm a new blogger and I do not post on a schedule because this blog is for fun. I write and post my book reviews as soon as I finish the book and I prepare top ten tuesday and the book chat posts on the day they are published also. I don't think there is a right or a wrong way to blog.
ReplyDeleteNo, there definitely isn't and I'm glad you're owning your blog! Thanks for stopping by Rachael!!
DeleteI try to post reviews 3-4 days a week, with Wednesday usually taken for various memes, Waiting on Wednesday or covers from around the world, or books with the same cover image, and Sunday for Stacking the Shelves. At one point I have been a week ahead with my reviews but that didn't last long. If I have a lot of reviews due for that month though I do post them for 5 days in a week.
ReplyDeleteAlthough I have been blogging for 2 1/2 years I feel like if I didn't post for too long I would lose followers or interest in my blog.
WOW. That is a lot of reviews. I don't read NEARLY fast enough, but I'm super impressed that you do!!! And I dunno about the followers or interest, but it's GREAT that you can post that much!! Colored me SUPER DUPER IMPRESSED (yes, I just said super duper. because I mean it).
DeleteI've been blogging for just over 2 years, and while I currently blog every day, I have gone up and down. One thing I've learned is that your blog is about you and what you want.
ReplyDeletePersonally, I current review 2-3 times a week, have 2 author features, weekly On My Wishlist meme and week in review post and occasionally throw in a discussion post. I'm not big on memes right now, but I have started and stopped several. It all depends on how I'm feeling about blogging at the time.
The one thing I always try to remember is that blogging is supposed to be fun. It's a hobby, and hobbies are fun. If it stops being fun, then you need to change something, because if it's not fun, why are you doing it.
YES YES FUN. I like fun things. And I like when blogging is fun. I think that was the point of this post - to force myself to sort out the whole FUN question. I'm getting there, I think. It's a SLOW process.
DeleteThanks for stopping by and sharing Sarah!!
I started my blog by posting pretty randomly, but I eventually worked up to posting every day. That didn't last all that long, though. After around 6 months to a year of it I ended up getting burnt out on blogging completely and spent almost a year barely keeping up with my blog at all. Since January I've been doing my blog the way I want. I don't post a certain amount a week and I don't participate in any memes. They probably did help me when I was starting out to get views and followers, but they eventually just became a burden.
ReplyDeleteAnd frankly, when it comes to IMM or whatever you want to call it, I started getting jealous of other people's posts which, in turn, made me uncomfortable with posting my own.
Now, I post about 4 or 5 times a week. I have my own weekly cover feature I do, an original feature I try to get up every two weeks, and I vlog my Next Five reads. Other than that, it's just reviews and whatever random thing I wish to post and it's really working for me. It gives me the freedom to post (or not) what I feel like when I feel like it.
Ooooh I don't want to get burnt out! But I'm glad you took the time off you needed! And I agree with you about the meme/features. IMM does get me a little jealouspants. I don't like that. I DO like the Next Five reads vlog that. That's so cute!! I'm glad you've figured YOUR blogging life out. I hope I can get more situated in my blogging SOON. I'm ALMOST there I think!!!
DeleteI've been blogging for about a year, and it's actually stressful-- you've figured that out, LOL! But it's a lot of fun too-- just remember that in the bad times. When it's not fun, it's no longer worth it.
ReplyDeleteAnywho, when I first started, I posted whenever I finished reading a book, which was all over the place. Seriously. I also did a mailbox post every week. A few months ago, I was averaging out at one review a day, along with Waiting on Wednesday and a mailbox post. Which meant four reviews a week. But I just can't handle that anymore-- I don't have as much time to read now, unfortunately. So now I'm trying for reviews on Monday and Friday, Waiting on Wednesday, and a mailbox on Sunday. But I think that this is the schedule that will finally work for me. And I envy those people who can schedule a month in advance too! (:
Loves,
Megan@The Book Babe
THAT IS A LOT. A LOT I TELL YOU. There is no need to do that if you can't handle it for sure!! It's definitely good to have a schedule tho, even if it's not one you can get crazy ahead on!
DeleteThanks for sharing Megan!
I've only been blogging a year, but I found that it really doesn't hurt anything to have a day or two without content throughout the week. It works especially well if you do one of your high quality posts the day before (like this discussion post <3) and then when people visit they will be drawn into that anyway.
ReplyDeleteI had a serious meme cut a month or two ago, and while it cut into my traffic because I wasn't obsessively commenting on other blogs, I think the quality of the comments I got on my blog improved. I also look critically at blogs I come across that have too many memes, since I've gotten tired reading them every week ya know?
Anya @ On Starships and Dragonwings
[I love my discussion posts. FOR REAL. Glad you like them too!!]
DeleteI definitely hear you on the meme/feature front. I want to see more than just that and I think I want less of that on my blog myself. Which is hard to admit because of the traffic, but it feels like a lot of effort for something that shouldn't matter so much if my blog is meant to make me happy/be a bookish outlet and not meant to generate stats.
Thanks for sharing Anya!!!
HOLD UP. I did NOT comment on this post? Oops. I had totally written a comment... in my mind apparently. But anyway, YES to this. Well, that's probably a bit of a weird thing to say, but YES as in: I know exactly what you mean. Blogging is very demanding actually.
ReplyDeleteA few weeks ago, I was seriously stressed out by feeling like I HAD to write posts because oh my god my blog is a book blog and I should review more books and read more books and then some other posts as well and commenting ALL THE COMMENTING. It kind of drove me insane. Which is not something a HOBBY is supposed to do. So I decided to stick to posting every 2/3 days. I don't have enough time to post more than that and honestly, I don't want to. Because then the posts I WOULD post, would be crap. Which is not something I want on my blog ;)
So that and... what else did you ask? OH FEATURES. Right. I do TTT, but only when I think I have something to say about the topic (or come up with a fun graphic idea haha). And NOT just for the sake of participating. I usually don't do any other features besides my own (Picture This every other week and Piece of Mind whenver I have something kind of intelligent to say). I still feel like I don't do ENOUGH. But I don't want my blog to be all features and no content, all discussion posts and no reviews. The hard thing is finding BALANCE. Not my favorite word in the world. I don't think it ever will be.
I'm rambling. I hope you get what I mean :D I'm still trying to find the right balance and until then, I only make posts I actually WANT to write.
I TOTALLY GET WHAT YOU MEAN!! Finding the right balance is HARD and it takes time. I'm also still working on it, so we can work on it together!!! Definitely only write what you want. Be true to your blogging integrity and I feel like the rest will just fall into place, y'know? And for as long as you're writing the good stuff, I WILL READ IT (and leave you novel length comments ^_^)
DeleteFirst of all: I totally just binged LBD and I LOOOOOVE. But then again, it's over. So y'know.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'm glad I'm not alone on the whole 7+ times a week posting thing being too much. You're right. If it's not you, it's not you!
Thanks for breaking it down for me! It honestly helps to see what other people do. I mean, I can (and do) visit lots of blogs but I don't really take the time to look at what they do so much and the fact that you took the time to break it down for me means a lot!! ^_^