I have been thinking about this for the past few days and decided to write something to share with the rest of you.
We all know that there is nothing nicer than to get a “Like” from one of the many bloggers that take the time to at least do a quick check of our blogs. Just as we all do with all of the blogs that arrive in our inbox every day. I recognize most of them but occasionally, a new name pops up requiring additional time in checking them out to see if they are of interest to me.
I have been blogging since 2011 and it took me a while to figure out the system, probably 3 years at least. I have posted over 600 blogs mostly about the great outdoors or things closely related. These are things I enjoy and like to share both my pictures and experiences with the rest of you. For a long time, I couldn’t understand how anybody could get 50, 100, 500 and even thousands of followers and “Likes” until I realized that other readers are only going to “Like” you as long as you “Like” them in return.
So, like many of you, I spend 2-3 hours every day going through my e-mails and checking out all of the blogs that many of you have put up. I do not have time to read them all so I list all of the “Unread” emails and then sort them using “From”and then I usually click on the “Like” button for each one. When the page opens, I do a quick scan to see if I really want to read the article. If at first glance it appears interesting then I spend the time in reading and commenting. If not, I quickly move on to the next one, all this after having pushed the “Like” button on the first one posted. Any other posts by the same person are ignored after opening them.
Now I am quite sure that many of you are doing the same thing, that is if you are having to check 200 plus e-mails every day and pushing the “Like” button more than 200 times in the vain hope that in return, others are doing the same thing. Sort of patting each other on the back.
The problem that I have is that many of you either have too much time on your hands or nothing better to do or, heaven forbid, think that your readers cannot do without hearing from you and are posting more than once a day, sometimes several times a day. Quite honestly, I do not read anything from anybody after the first posting of the day. After that, I just click to open the message without a “Like” and then quickly move on. I try to post 3 times a week but am satisfied if it is only 2 times. I realize that my blogs are usually after a hike or a pond event and occasionally a poem or words of wisdom (like this one) and therefore require time and physical effort before posting but for those of you out there, many of whom are my blogger “friends” I am appealing to you all to lower your output just a little and try to keep your blogs to one a day. I am quite sure that I am not alone in feeling this way and that many of you do exactly the same as I do on a daily basis.
The alternative for me is that I end up having to unsubscribe in order to control the amount of stuff coming into my mail box and in many cases, I don’t really want to do that because I find the blogs interesting and want to read them.
Sorry for the rant but I have been thinking about this for a while before deciding to blog about it. In no way am I trying to offend anybody, just making a point. And of course, you may not even read this if like me, you just push the “Like” button.
See you all tomorrow….
I’m sure a lot of bloggers feel the same way. I guess we don’t really know if people are taking the time to actually read our posts or just automatically hitting the ‘like’ button. I always thought it was surprising that I could have so many followers yet a relatively small amount of ‘likes’ but whatever the reason, I’m happy to just jog along, trying not to post more than once a day.
Thanks for responding. At least you stopped to read and didn’t just hit the “like” button…
Really good that you mentioned this. I have exactly the same problem. Some people post 10 things a day, some every day etc. I spend so much time with looking at this and give a lot of likes but nearly never get one back. I’m very disappointed with some people and kicked some out of my follower list. Thanks for mentioning this.
I figured that I was not alone with this problem. I don’t know whether it is ego, loneliness, or some other far out reason that makes people want to blog so many times a day. Thanks for responding (and the like).
I’m wondering, too, and I think quantity is not always quality.
It is a constant balancing act, and as a blog grows, there are necessary adjustments. I do a combination of email notifications and WP-reader browsing, and I always revisit after a like or comment, but it takes a minimum of 4-6 hours a day. I do tend to unsubscribe to bloggers that post ten times a day as it clogs everything up, but I will always return a visit, so we stay connected.
You are lucky to be willing to spend 4-6 hours every day on this. I figure that my 2 hours is way too much. Thanks for commenting.
I’d like to spend less as it cuts into my writing and family time, I just haven’t been able to figure out how to do it. Still trying 🙂
When I talk about ego, I guess I should include myself and the rest of us that are chasing those hard to come by “likes”.
I’m not especially fond of postaholics either! Too much water spoils the bath! 🙂
That is a great way to put it. Actually, I believe that some of the bloggers are so full of their own ego that that honestly believe that they have an audience that is just waiting for the next piece of magic that they blog. We all know that is not true… Thanks for responding.
Interesting take 🙂
Luckily, my opinion doesn’t count for much. Thanks for commenting…
Hi Fallcorn, I appreciate the likes you have left on my blog. I am someone who tries to post once a day, rarely twice, but there have been occasions when I have posted more than once. I think a lot of people hit the like button in the WordPress Reader. This is easy and quick and I think it is how many people ‘like’ my blog posts. I don’t worry about liking these back unless I have a lot of time…or a day like today…the Sabbath, a day of rest. I try to always, always, always respond to anyone who takes the time to comment. I feel that is so much more personal and I love to respond to comments. Likes are nice, but I don’t worry about responding if I don’t have the time. I also make great attempts to keep my blog visual, and my words short…unlike this horribly long comment, and I do apologize for its length. Thanks! Kathy
And a postscript to my long comment. I follow quite a few blogs, but I almost never, ever, ever subscribe to a blog. I have found, like you, that my inbox gets totally clogged.
First, thank you for taking the time to comment. It is worth a lot more than a “Like”. When I wrote this blog, I wondered if I could arouse a few people enough to reply and thankfully, that has proved to be the case. Now, if only the people this is really directed at would read it and understand that quality is much better the quantitiy. Thanks again…
You are welcome!
You have achieved so many milestones 600 posts blogging since 2011 ….wow..congratulations first of all..n for rest don’t think much…like or no like ..write for yourself…n I feel even if somebody don’t read n still bothers to like it is also a big deal
Actually, I do write for myself. It allows my expressive self to come out as does taking picrures. Likes etc are just a bonus. Thanks for your comment.
Hi, I enjoyed reading this blog post like others, but this one tells how I exactly feel. Not everyone bothers to read. My day work is on PC, and I hear some readers like one after the other of my posts, there’s no time to read, no time to look at the photos. My iPad keeps on chiming. If someone posts more than once a day, it won’t be read, nor liked. I am so happy you wrote about this subject 🌹 Congratulations on 5 years blogging 🏆 And thank you for reading this…
Beth. There are a lot of bloggers out there that feel the same as we do. The trouble is that many of them are too busy skimming the 100’s of blogs in their mailbox and have probably done the same with this one and have not got to read it. I can gurantee that we are not alone on this. Thanks for commenting.
And while there are many articles written about why you should blog to grow your business or become an expert or make a whole bunch of money—the best recommendations are still found in the personal realization that blogging changes you, the writer.
I totally agree with you, sir. I don’t think people get time to read so many blogs and posting too many blogs in a single day indicates if a person wants to attract more followers. People should start focussing on the quality and their self improvement as to what they are gaining by blogging, and not just post several blogs in a single day. It would be really appreciable if they would give us all a chance to read their effortful blogs. Thank you for putting across the topic. 🙂
It all comes down to the amount of effort that goes into each blog and the quality of that effort. Many of the 10 a day bloggers only write a couple of sentences for each blog and not every sentence is going to be awe inspiring. Thanks for commenting.
It took me a while to figure this part of blogging out. I couldn’t understand how people were getting over a hundred likes on their posts and I was literally struggling just to get one or two for each of mine. Granted, my blog is an anxiety blog and not everybody has anxiety but still…I couldn’t figure it out. Then I slowly realized its all about the tit for tat. But I just can’t bring myself to turn blogging into a game like that. It doesn’t feel real to me. If the likes aren’t “genuine” I don’t want them. I’m happy with the one or two a week that I get.
I subscribe to over a hundred blogs probably, because I believe in supporting other bloggers and there are so many great blogs out there. I try to go through and read as many as I have time for and I click the like box as a way to acknowledge that I stopped by and read the post and that recognize the effort they made. I can’t get to them all and sometimes I just have to do a big mass delete of my inbox in order to start fresh and but I do at least try and it feels good to know that my little avatar on somebody else’s blog is an authentic sign that I did read the post and thought somebody did well.
I am actually thinking about taking subscriptions off of my blog because I am not sure that they do me any good. Everyrtime I publish a post,my subscription numbers drop – which is depressing in and of itself, lol – but I also know that most people, other than other bloggers who do the tit for tat thing, just look at a lot of this subscription stuff as nuisance email, and that if somebody really likes my blog, they will favorite it on their computer.
Anyway, nothing like turning a comment into a blog post, right? lol Great discussion. 🙂
Since figuring out the system, I have moved on a bit to where if I don’t like the content of a blog (i.e. girly things or Religion for example) or if the bloggers are of the 10 a day kind, then I drop them from my list of welcome bloggers. I skim through the rest and if anything strikes me as interesting, will read and comment. That still leaves a lot that are just clicked with the “Like” button as I move on.
The beauty of bloggin is that the average Joe and the female equivalent, of course, can write and share what their interests are and those of us with similar interests get to enjoy them and even join in with the conversations. The bloggers who rant and rave or are just one liners have little of interest to share.
BTW, this particular blog has generated more interest than any other blog I have ever written and I will republish later on down the road to see if it can generate more. Thanks for stopping by and commenting.