It is two and a half years since I started blogging. In that time I have published 216 posts. My front page says I have 1,292 followers (thank you!) and I get between six and a dozen likes per post. Whilst there is definitely a gradual increase over time, I know this is not that great, especially after this amount of time and I have often pondered why this is the case. No great revelations to come – maybe what I write just isn’t that interesting! I look enviously at the five and six figure followers other book bloggers have but, to quote Matt Haig quoting Theodore Roosevelt:
“Comparison is the thief of joy.”
I subscribe to a few ‘blogging bloggers’ (!) who write lots of tips about how I can increase my following, but, to be honest, I don’t read a lot of the posts exhorting me to do x or y, or find out how z increased their following to so many hundred thousand in a week. As a busy mother of three with a part-time job, I find I don’t really have the time to read all these emails, let alone follow the advice. And frankly when I want to read, I’d rather read a book!
At the end of 2018, I spent some time reflecting on what my life’s priorities are and what I want to achieve in the year ahead. I turned fifty last year so that also gave me pause for thought. There’s no point doing things in life that don’t serve you. I like blogging, I like writing about the books I read, it helps me to enjoy them more, reflecting on what I’ve learned, so that’s why I do what I do. I don’t do it for followers, or for money (sorry, blogging bloggers, I don’t want to do ads), and whilst I accept a bit of social media is important, I don’t want to do it ALL the time. I blog because I like to communicate my thoughts about books, and it’s a great thrill when someone comments and you can engage in a conversation. (It’s also made me realise that I should comment more on other people’s blogs that I enjoy.)
So, forget the stats, ignore the number of likes, self-worth should not be dependent on that. In 2019 I’m going to do what I enjoy and enjoy what I do!
Do your blogging stats ever get you down? What do you do to try and increase your reach?
I would love it if you could follow me!
Julia's books 
I think a lot of it is down to the amount of time you can put into being part of the community. When I first started blogging I was at home ill for around a year. The blogging community was my lifeline and I visited a lot more blogs than I have time to do now. As a consequence I don’t get as many visitors as I used to but during that year I made several very good friends who still comment regularly and I am more than happy to be part of that smaller group. The effort it would take to expand my circle would take time I don’t have. Also, I think I would start exploring blogs whose authors’ bookish interests were only peripherally the same as mine. I am happy with a small circle of friends whose recommendations I know I can trust.
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Very good points, thanks.
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🙂 To be quite honest with you, my blogging stats are great and even though they were the opposite, I would still continue blogging happily. I truly enjoy blogging.
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That’s great, and yes, I also love blogging, regardless of the numbers.
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Followed 😁 And happy fiftieth birthday!
Sometimes I find those tips helpful but usually when I post things that are close to my heart, I get a lot more engagement and followers. I’ve decided to start blogging more regularly but to stop stressing about how well each post does.
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Thank you! I agree. When you write something that has an air authenticity about ti (that’s hard to contrive), it tends to resonate with more people. The difficulty, I think, is extending the reach.
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Regardless if you care about stats, enjoying blogging for blogging is where is starts! Good luck into 2019! 😀👍
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I agree! Thanks.
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No problem! 🙂
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I have been blogging for almost ten years now, and my stats are completely rubbish by comparison! Evidently I haven’t followed all of the advice and instruction from those professional bloggers you mentioned… I started my blog at the advice of my publisher, and then it grew into something else, my online diary of new motherhood and ghost hunting. Perhaps I just haven’t found my tribe… 🙂
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