Hello friends, happy Wednesday! Today I’m thrilled to be back again with my Blogging Ways series, where I casually freak out about all of the blogging things and give out some advice about everything and anything. I mentioned in my monthly wrap-up that I want to develop this blogging feature and spice things up with both my experience and my own advice.
Today’s topic is going to be my first “how-to”, where I’ll both manage to share experience and advice on crazy blogging things. I hope you’ll enjoy it!
If there is something I have learned while book blogging, it’s that I definitely can’t keep up with the community. There are too many people to follow, too many books to read and overall too much to do. I have said this before and I will say it over and over again, blogging takes a hell lot of time even if some people don’t realize it – so HOW do you manage to both blog, maintain your little corner of the internet alive and well like your favorite pet that needs attention to grow, AND keep up with the blogging community, this moving alive creature forever changing, growing and shaping with time, books, hype and love (and, okay, a bit of drama as well)?
I am not a full-time blogger in real life, only in my dreams, and as I grew up with this blog and my life changed along, so did my blogging rhythm and my idea of “keeping-up with the community”. I wish I could be an entire part of it all, talk to everyone and share the love, be there always and overall feel like a strong figure in this place – not in an “I’m bragging because I am the best and too important to this community”, which I know I am not. More like in a way that I know people miss me when I am NOT able to keep up and be there. In my own little selfish way.
Since we’re all very fond of lists, I’m going to share 5 of my tips to keep up with blogging.
Choose the people you want to follow wisely
I’m forever learning about following new people and keeping up with their new, amazing content. I used to follow a lot of different people and now I do realize that they are all not “my kind” of bloggers. This does not mean they are no good, it just means that they probably don’t share a lot of the same interests as I do and therefore I am a bit less interested in what they write about.
Keeping up with the community, for me, means keeping up with whatever my blogging friends are up to. With the blogs I like to read, the people I like to talk to and see what’s going on in their bookish lives at the moment and what’s the latest book stealing their hearts. It’s basically impossible for me to follow everyone, even if I know that there are tons of people I’d probably want to follow. Instead, I try and keep a small circle of people on my feed, people I read blog posts from daily and always enjoy.
How to: I use mostly my WordPress Reader but there are so many ways to keep up with bloggers, especially since not everyone is on WordPress: Bloglovin’, your Twitter feed -make a Twitter list of bloggers?-, bookmark your favorites…
This does not mean that this is the only way I keep up with people. There are so much more than just the ones on my feed, that’s why I try to have…
Blog-hopping sessions once in a while
With a place so big as the internet, there’s no way you can only reduce yourself to your little list of followings. WAIT, I see you coming here, and I am NOT saying that people who don’t blog hop are criminals of some kind, because they are clearly NOT. I myself fail a lot of the time at doing this and broadening my horizons, but I do want to more, always. That’s why blog hopping is a fantastic way to reach out to other people in the community, find out what’s happening and who knows, eventually find out new people to share bookish love with.
How to: If you are on Twitter, it’s pretty common just to put a tweet out there warning people that you want to blog-hop. Believe me, links wil FLY your way. Otherwise, I often
stalk, well, watch bloggers I enjoy and blog posts I enjoy and read comments, go from here to blog, to other blogs, and end up spending another hour commenting. Oops.
Goodreads and Twitter: best friends to keep up with books and hype (and, erm, drama)
WordPress – or Blogspot or whatever blogging platform you are using- is not my only resource to find bloggers, to keep up with new books and everything else. I found out that there are two other best friends any (or a lot, at least) book bloggers have: Goodreads and Twitter. Let’s start with Goodreads, shall we?
Goodreads is the website popping up in your search bar before Google because YES, you’re THAT obsessed about it. It’s all good and you should be on it because reasons:
- Keep up with your TBR
- Add a gazillion more books to your TBR
- Follow what other bloggers are reading and loving at the moment
- Just, freak out because BOOKS.
Twitter is one of the greatest -well, let’s not get too ahead of ourselves here, but it’s pretty good- social media to keep up with the blogging community because so many things happen on here.
- You can follow all of your favorite bloggers and find out new book bloggers
- You can instantly talk to them and fangirl and share your #bookwormproblems because you are not alone in this.
- You can easily follow and make conversation and also keep up with blogging happenings and hyped books because EVERYONE is TALKING ALL the time.
Downside here, Twitter can quickly get overwhelming. People talking in 140 characters can get misinterpreted. There happens to be a couple of dramas but also a couple of big conversations about blogging, bloggers, diverse books and many calls-out for problematic issues begin on the twittosphere. It’s GOOD to talk about these things, this is not an issue at all. Just saying, a LOT happen on Twitter and if you expect to keep up with everything, time difference and the “too-many-people” problems will quickly make you think otherwise.
Have some sort of blogging / blog-hopping schedule
You know me – or if you don’t, well now you will -, I like being organized, or at least try to be as much as I can. Keeping up with blogging, meaning my blogging schedule AND the community, blog-hopping and trying to be a part of it, is a matter of organization. Sure, I do happen to scroll down Twitter and find out what the latest bookish hype is all about while I am at work, but I also like to dedicate times to be up-to-date. Just like I like to take my Sundays afternoons to binge-watch a couple of tv shows and catch up.
How to: Try and dedicate time-slots for blog-hopping, use a little down-time to watch Twitter or Goodreads and engage a conversation. Organize yourself as you want to feel part of it all.
Do whatever you want
Now this is the last and fun part of it all: when you ignore everything I said above and just do whatever the f*** you want. I might think that having a schedule makes me feel empowered like a blogging queen, but some of you will get overwhelmed. I might think that Goodreads is the best place on the internet and you might like to write down lists of books in a bullet journal.
Keeping up with everything and everyone with the blogging community is impossible anyway. Too many people. Too many books. Yes. But also there is SO much love. So here’s to hoping this encourages you to give some back.
TeacherofYA says
I think you do a darn good job of keeping up with the blogging community!
Marie says
Aww thank you, Stephanie – I’m doing the best I can ahah 🙂 <3
Holly says
Love this post! I struggle with this a lot, especially during the semester when classes are in session and I barely even have time to post on my own blog, never mind read and common on other ones. Twitter has been really helpful in this regard lately because it helps keep me in the loop with new posts and people’s lives. One thing I definitely have to work on getting better at is responding to comments on my blog more quickly, though!
Marie says
Thank you so, so much, Holly! To be honest, I don’t really notice if people are taking a lot of time to answer to my comment – it matters the most when I see that they actually took the time to answer, whether it’s an hour or a week afterwards 🙂
Ali (@thebandarblog) says
I agree with all of these! I’m soooo behind on going through the blogs I follow XD When I run out of time it’s the first thing to go, and I always feel so sad when I can’t see what everyone is doing!
Marie says
Thank you so much, Ali! Haha it’s SO hard to keep up with everyone and everyting, sometimes I feel like I’m losing my mind ahah. But I guess we can’t do it all and anyway, we manage to catch up a bit once in a while, so I guess it’s okay ahah 🙂
Kat Impossible says
Awesome post, Marie! I suck at keeping up with everything. I always miss what’s happening on twitter unless someone specifically directs me towards a conversation. That does have its upside too though, because I am way too oblivious to see any of the book spoilers that are milling around there as well.
I try to do blog hops every once in a while, but I am nowhere near as good as you at it. You are always so kind and active and I am just happy if I can write my own posts ? I should do better. ..
Marie says
Haha well you’re so lucky – I constantly see spoilers, thankfully for books I haven’t read or ones I’m not interested in, but….I think spoilers find me ahah.
Honestly, it’s so hard at times and I feel like I’m a bit crazy – blogging has completely taken over my life. I don’t regret it at all, but sometimes I do wonder if I do too much haha. You definitley should do everything as you please anywya, there is no “right” way after all 🙂
Kat Impossible says
That is unlucky. I miss so many tweets on Twitter, I think it’s mostly because my timeline is clogged with actors and actresses hahaha I follow them on a whim.
Well, if you feel like it’s too much, then you should maybe take a step back every once in a while. Everyone would understand that.
Marie says
Hahaha, well it’s good then 😛
I always take a step back from Twitter – I can’t be too often on it otherwise it consumes me. I often take a step back on weekends and don’t watch my feed at all – except for my DMs ahah 🙂
kirstychronicles says
This is such a great post! I think one mistake I made when I first started blogging was following SO many book blogs, I’ve realised now that some of these bloggers just don’t read the same books as me so their blog doesn’t interest me. I need to sort through who I follow so I don’t feel so overwhelmed with all the new content on my feed everyday! I LOVE blog hopping but I just don’t have the time to do it at the minute, which makes me very sad. I used to do it all the time! Why can’t you use Bloglovin? Have I missed something??
Marie says
I get this so much – I used to follow almost everyone, but now I realize it’s way too overwhelming on my feed, and I don’t even share the same interests as some people. A little sorting is in order just as well ahah 🙂
Haha I don’t know why I just suck at using it. I am on it but somehow I never use it for blog hopping even though it might be very useful? haha. Do you use it? 🙂
Angela says
When I first started blogging, I don’t think I realized just HOW MANY other blogs were out there. I come across new ones almost every day! I have a (growing) number of blogs that I follow, through Bloglovin’ and Blogger. I like having them all in one place so I can just pick and choose the posts I want to read without visiting a bunch of different sites. On days when I participate in memes, I use that opportunity to blog hop. Sometimes I feel like I have to follow a million blogs so that maybe a few of them will follow me back, and that’s when it can get overwhelming.
Marie says
SAME here, Angela! I had NO idea there were SO many bloggers, I’m still amazed every single day at everyone I find. It’s so great to have such a massive and diverse community 🙂
Bentley ★ BookBastion.net says
This is all great advice! I’m newish to the blogging community – been blogging book-related stuff since January of this year – and the first bit of advice you gave really hits home to me. I have this compulsion to try and read and follow everything, and as my circle grows it’s become harder to handle all the different things that crop up on my feed. I feel like I probably have to get a bit more selective and pare things down a bit in order to stay sane.
Marie says
Oh thank you so much, I’m so happy to hear you enjoyed this and that it could be helpful 🙂 That’s exactly it – at the beginning I wanted to follow everyone, but it gets so overwhelming and insane sooo quickly ahah. Better thing is to find bloggers you enjoy reading posts from and with the same interests as you, sort of a regular circle 🙂
bookishgirl61 says
I absolutely love all of your tips and will be sure to use them in the future! I used to blog hop rather regularly but now I barely do so. I think I’ve gotten super lazy when it comes to my blog and I’m trying to figure out how to change that. It’s been over 6 years since I started my Twitter account for my site and I’m still overwhelmed. But Goodreads is definitely an outlet that I never tire of. Thank you for such awesome tips! Happy reading!
Marie says
Oh thank you so much, I’m so happy you enjoyed this <3 I hope you'll find motivation to blog and everything – there are days when we all get a bit lazy with our blogs, after all it takes so much time and everything ahah 🙂 Happy reading to you too! <3
Reg @ She Latitude says
Love this post, Marie! I’ve been sucking SO BAD on the blog-hopping and Twitter front, but I’m so glad I managed to catch this post in semi-real time because hell, it’s just so relevant. It definitely is a challenge sometimes to keep up with the blogging community – there are just so many wonderful bloggers and blogs around, and so little time to visit or talk to them all – and I agree with all of your tips here.
I have to admit, though, Twitter has taken a HUGE backseat compared to Goodreads and WordPress for me and while I miss the easy “mass” interaction, it’s a bit of a relief not having to be 100% updated, 100% of the time, haha. I don’t doubt that one day I’ll check it out again and be back on it again, but for now I’m plenty happy not really focusing on it. It’s definitely got its strengths, though! ?
Marie says
Oh thank you so, so much Reg! <3 It's such a challenge indeed to feel like you're up-to-date with everything. I NEVER ever feel like it ahah.
I get it – I'm often scrolling down Twitter but rarely interacting, but it's SO overwhelming seeing all the conversations and things happening on here. I sometimes need a step back from that as well and only focus on WordPress 🙂
Thank you so, so much, Reg! <3 <3
mikaela says
I really need to work more on blog-hopping! I feel like I should start reaching out in the community since I follow such a small amount of people, so blog-hopping and going through Bloglovin’ every once in a while is a good idea! My main goal of blogging isn’t really to keep up with the community too much, which is probably why I don’t like Twitter too much (I just use it to share posts and that’s it, basically), but this is a great guide for those more social than me! ?
Marie says
To me, blog hopping, keeping up with the community and overall just being part of this IS so much of what book blogging is, I would not imagine blogging without any of it 🙂 I hope this helps and that you’ll love finding out about other bloggers, Mikaela! 🙂 Thank you!
Dacian says
Great post! Awesome advice!
Marie says
Oh thank you so, so much, I’m glad you liked this 🙂
Olivia says
These tips are all super helpful, thank you! 🙂
Marie says
Oh you’re so welcome, thank YOU for your sweet comment <3
Bionic Book Worm says
I totally agree. No one in the blogging community should ever feel obligated to follow, like, comment, etc. Like you said, blogging takes a TON of time! Way more than I ever expected!! Great and helpful post!! ?
Marie says
Thank you so much, I’m so glad you agree. I used to feel so obligated to do many, many things in order to be a “good” book blogger. Really, in the end, we should do things how we want to do them and enjoy it, that’s what’s most important 🙂 Thank you so much for your sweet comment! <3
MetalPhantasmReads says
This speaks to me a lot! I’ve only had my blog for three months now and it did feel slightly overwhelming at first. But I do the “blog hopping” thing; the Goodreads groups for like Top 5 Wednesday have been very helpful in that. But I’m also noticing that keeping up with my schedule has really helped and just doing what I want like you said 🙂 hopefully this helps others.
Marie says
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts about this! I’m glad to hear you’re just like me ahah, keeping up with a schedule really helps in feeling a bit less overwhelmed by everything 🙂
Sweet Sunday Table says
haha thanks for the tips… there’s definitely a lot to keep up with and it can be overwhelming!
Marie says
You’re welcome, hope this helps! 🙂
Ashley says
Great post, Marie! Your tips and advice are really awesome! Ahhhh! I definitely agree with you about blogging taking up a lot of time. There’s so much to do between updating your blog and checking out the blogs you follow, especially if you take a break and you get so far behind! I can find that a little overwhelming. I’ll be away for almost two weeks from my blog when I go on my honeymoon and I already know when I get back it’s going to be crazy in the blogosphere for me with having missed so much. I try to blog hop a couple times a week. It’s hard to find time to read/comment every single day, so I try to dedicate some time a couple days out of the week to play catch up and reading my favorite blogs and reply to comments.
Marie says
Ohh thank you so, so much Ashley, I’m so glad you enjoyed this <3 There is WAY too much to do, I agree – whenever I step away for like, a day, I feel overwhelmed to catch up with everything. But we're allowed to have breaks at times, right? Also, HONEYMOON, yay, you're going to have such an amazing time I hope <3 <3
Thank you so, so much Ashley <3
Ashley says
I can’t wait for the honeymoon! We are going to Washington DC and also to New York City and I’ll be able to go to BookCon! I’ve never been to a book event, so I’m excited about that. 😀
Marie says
Ohhhh this is SO awesome!! I hope you’ll share your experience there so I can live it through you ahah, I dream of going to one of these events 🙂
ravenblake99 says
I totally agree with your post! Blog hopping is definitely time consuming and It’s pretty impossible to talk to everyone I follow. I blog hop whenever I visit my blog and as for keeping up with the community, I only check out the posts that I’m interested. I love Goodreads! It’s really the best place for all the book lovers and bloggers. Love your post btw! 🙂
Marie says
Oh thank you so, so much Raven, this makes me so happy <3 I used to try and do all the things and read all the posts but it became too time consuming and also very irrelevant because I wasn't interested in everything ahah.
Thank you so, so much <3
Sue, the YA Author says
I appreciate your point about following those who share a similar interest. There are way too many bloggers out there to keep up with them all! Sometime you just feel that connection and know it’s right.
I’ve been on and off WordPress for over five years and have made some of my dearest friends from this site. But I had to sift through a ton of bloggers to find the ones who resonated with me – and ones I looked forward to reading. You hit this post right on the old noggin!
Cheers!
Sue
Marie says
YES, that’s exactly it – sometimes we do feel some kind of connection and it’s the best thing 🙂 Thank you so, so much, Sue! 🙂
Sue, the YA Author says
Those connections can be a funny thing. Sometimes it’s just a simple like and comment that starts you on the road to a blogging friendship!
Marie says
Oh yes! A simple comment is all it takes at times, it’s so great 🙂
agnesmack says
Like the others who’ve commented, I found this helpful, thank you! I find it easy to keep blogging once I get into a rhythm but whenever I get off schedule it seems impossible to get back to it! Though, I keep trying. 🙂
Marie says
Thank you so much, I’m so happy you found this helpful 🙂 I get it, whenever I am off schedule it quickly gets overwhelming. But breaks are sooo needed sometimes, too 🙂
Beth (Reading Every Night) says
This is all such great advice Marie. 🙂 <3 Keeping up with the blogging community is something I struggle with at times, and it makes me think I need to develop a more solid schedule for blogging and blog hopping, but I love interacting with the community too much to change what I'm doing at the moment. As long as it works I'm sticking with it! 😀
The choosing who you follow wisely is good advice. I used to follow everyone who followed me back when I first started out but as you can imagine in the grand scheme of things that didn't work out well. Now I am more selective and it gives me more time to read and comment on other posts. Also the do whatever you want advice is good too, definitely important given how much time we dedicate to blogging right? 😀
Marie says
Well I don’t know how you do it, Beth, but you seem to be doing amazingly, always on top of your blogging and commenting for sure!
Haha yes, definitely, blogging should be something we love anyway so we should be able to do whatever we want ahah 😀
Beth (Reading Every Night) says
I try, I think I just have something going for me at the moment that works. Not gonna question it too much. 🙂
Marie says
Well you’re right 🙂
May @ Forever and Everly says
Awesome post, Marie! I think I spend TOO much time commenting on people’s posts — starting today, I’m reading and commenting on the posts I genuinely want to! It’s just tiring to read and comment on every. single. post. everyday. Xd
May @ Forever and Everly says
Darn it the D didn’t capitalize — XD
Marie says
Oh thank you, May! Haha, it really is so tiring, we can’t do it all unfortunately haha, but we already do ou very best to give some love 😀
Julia says
I’ve been blogging for about 6 months, and before blogging I was barely on social media – only Facebook off and on. I get social media fatigue so quickly, I am not good at getting involved on social media (although I do enjoy it once I do!) and often need to take short breaks! In saying that – I don’t have any sort of schedule so I might try that 🙂 Great post!
Marie says
I get it, social media can be so exhausting – I’m on it often but try to take little breaks at times, otherwise I’ll lose my mind ahha 🙂 Thank you so much, Julia! <3
Puremilkbloodinyouand me says
Superb advice
Marie says
Thank you <3
Grace @ Rebel Mommy Book Blog says
Really great post! It is so hard to keep up with everything out there – your own blog, everyone else’s, Twitter, Goodreads, Instagram and whatever else. I did realize that every blog I had followed wasn’t always my speed – like you said that didn’t mean they were bad blogs. Twitter is super overwhelming. I try not to get involved int super crazy stuff. I love blog hopping but sometimes I can’t always.
Marie says
OH thank you so much Grace! Twitter is so overwhelming at times, it’s crazy – I need breaks in order to stay sane haha 🙂
Zoe says
These are some great tips! I definitely agree about bloghopping and interacting on social media. Thanks for sharing and, as always, fabulous post! <3
Marie says
Oh thank you so much, Zoe, so happy you enjoyed this <3
fiberti says
Thanks Marie I find this article very helpful. I’m not really into bloglovin but I do have feedly to catch up with my fellow bloggers.
Marie says
Oh you’re welcome, I’m so happy this could help 🙂
Resh Susan @ The Book Satchel says
I try to blog hop regularly but sometimes there just isn’t enough time to visit everyone. I always try to visit back the ones who visit my site though. And now I feel I really need to find new bloggers too
Marie says
Right? It’s almost impossible to visit everyone’s blogs, but we all do our best to at least give back some love which is already great 😀 Thank you so, so much 🙂
Melissa @ BookNerdMomo says
I love this post so much, Marie! I actually struggle so much with keeping up with the blogging community and just the book community in general. I look away for a few days to read and suddenly I’m way too behind (my life right now ?). Like you I have a bit of a blog hopping schedule that I keep to (or try to keep to) and it usually helps me keep up with the blogs I actively follow and comment on regularly. But outside of just blogging I completely fail at keeping up with social media. Especially twitter because I’ll look at it a few times a day and tweet when I’m freaking out over a book but beyond that mine just sits there lol. And Goodreads I just end up using that to help me keep track of my TBR and how far I am in a book. Also, I can relate with Bloglovin’. I have one but I don’t use it at all. It just sits there with my posts and I follow people back on it. I usually bookmark the blogs I follow outside of WordPress so I find that I don’t actually need Bloglovin’, I guess. Mostly I have it for those who I know use it as a following platform big time. ?
Marie says
Haha right? I feel the same way, I step away for a few days and I feel SO lost and SO behind on everything, it’s crazy ?
I’m glad I’m not the only one not using Bloglovin’, it seeems useful but I guess I don’t find myself needing it too much since I bookmark just as well 🙂
MyBookJacket says
This was so helpful Marie. I always find it hard to blog hop because I just don’t enjoy reading things on an edevice. I wish there was a service that let you print out all the blogposts on your reader into newspaper format so it’d be easier to read. Alas. The schedue thing sounds perfect though. Thrice a week or something, you’ve so helped me out.
Marie says
OH that newspaper idea is AWESOME, I would love it if that would be possible. I’d be the best thing. I’m so glad you enjoyed this post and that it was helpful 🙂
Sylvia Jo says
Great advice. I’m new to all this and I believe these tips will help with managing time. Especially your idea of scheduled blog hop times.
Marie says
Oh thank you so much, I’m glad you liked this post and hope this helps you 🙂
lindseyhabets says
Great post Marie! And I definitely agree with your tips! I wish I could add any to the list, but honestly my strategy for keeping up to date with the blogging community involves a lot of chaos, flailing, frantically blog-hopping and commenting, feeling guillty for everybody and everything I’m missing, getting overwhelmed, taking a step back, realising I’m doing okay and then the cycle starts again from the beginning 😉 But while I could do more, I guess overall I’m doing okay and that’s good for me 🙂 You are so right when you say there are too many people and too many books… but there’s also a lot of love, which makes it all worth it!
Marie says
Hahaha, that’s actually the very cycle I am in ALL.THE.TIME. I try my best to make it work and be organized and NOT lose my mind but, erm, it’s hard at times ahah 🙂 Thank you so, so much <3 <3
Darby @ Books and Bling Blog says
Thank you so much for this post! It helped me so much! I’m pretty new to the blogging community and I’ve been wanting to connect and be more involved, so this post came at the exact right time for me!! 🙂
Marie says
Ohh well this makes me so happy! I hope this will help and that you will have tons of fun blogging 🙂
theorangutanlibrarian says
Awesome post!! Agree with you one hundred percent that the blogosphere is just sooo ginormous and impossible to keep up with all the time! I’ve found more recently I have to be much more selective about who I keep up with- because, like you, I’m not a full time blogger! (and even if I was the internet is just too huge!!) I try to bloghop regularly though and always set aside time to do it! And as for Twitter… I’m not very good at it. So aside from the occasional person trying to wrap me up in their drama, I generally miss these things (I do think that if someone wants to have a proper discussion there are better ways to do it than firing off ten 140 character bullets 😉 )
Marie says
Thank you so, so much!! <3 <3 Haha I 100% agree with you on this,there are too many people and it's exhausting trying to keep up with everyone and impossible ahah 🙂
Keira says
I’m horrible at keeping up with other peoples blogs and even worse at tweeting! I do try though… I like following a lot of different people because then it gives me a wide selection of choices in my Reader, although there are always those who I have a better, more personal relationship with 🙂 Great post!
Marie says
Thank you so much, Keira! It’s impossible to keep up with everyone ahah, but it’s good to see so many different people in the blogging community and so many good posts around 🙂
Mystery Date with a Book says
Girly girl, you’re doing an AMAZING job at keeping up with the blogging community! I can imagine how busy you are with such a successful blog, so every time I see you left a comment on one of my posts I really appreciate it! Your blog is brilliant! Whatever it is you’re doing, it’s working! 😀
Marie says
Awwww Fernanda, why are you SO sweet, thank you so, so much <3 <3 This honestly just made my day <3 And, erm, I'm not that successful let's not get carried away ahah 🙂 Thank you so much, you're the best! <3 <3
Mystery Date with a Book says
Oh stop, you’ll make me blush! Haha!
Marie says
YOU ARE THE BEEEEEEEEST <3
Mystery Date with a Book says
Blush overload!!!!
Lais says
i really need to be more active on the blogging community, i like to read other people’s posts and comment, but i struggle a lot with twitter. i feel soooo shy to approach people there and i everytime i take part in chats, like BBTC, i end up exhausted. i’m a true introvert, hahah. i really wish i could deal well with that, because getting to know others through blogging is one of the most exciting parts of it! thanks for your tips, marie! (especially the last one. i really need to stop worrying so much about everything sometimes!)
Marie says
I understand – I’m not that active on Twitter and I get shy to talk with other people just as well. Twitter chats usually happen at 2 A.M in my timezone so it’s impossible for me to take part most of the time, which sucks :/ I’m trying every day to do better and engage with people and it’s a lot of fun, but I understand you being shy. WE can both do this, and don’t be afraid, you are awesome, Lais <3 <3 Thank YOU so much, I hope this was helpful and I worry too much about everything just as well, so…I'm here if you ever need to talk about it. Maybe we will learn to relax together ahah 🙂
lostartofreadingblog says
To be honest I just use WordPress and Goodreads. I don’t have a twitter account and for the time being I don’t want to start one because I don’t think I’ll put in the time it needs. On a side note I also could seem to get into using bloglovin haha
Marie says
I get it – Twitter is time consuming and definitely not for everyone, and as long as you’re okay with what you’re doing, it’s what matters 🙂 Thank you!! <3
lostartofreadingblog says
I’m alright with keeping it small, I’m having fun taking about books with people it’s a hobby:)
Marie says
And it’s one of the best hobbies there is 🙂
lostartofreadingblog says
Agreed!!
Amanda @Cover2CoverMom says
Wonderful “how to” post idea Marie!
Ugh keeping up with the community is one of my biggest struggles with blogging. I try my best to read and comment on as many of my fellow book blogger’s posts as I can, but it just isn’t possible. I often feel guilty over this, but I am only one person. I have email notifications from the blogs I follow. For those bloggers who tend to post multiple times a week, I will set it to email me once a week with all their posts for the week. I try to go through my post emails twice a week. After reading, blogging, and commenting on the blogs I follow, this doesn’t leave me much time to discover new blog unfortunately 🙁
Marie says
Oh thank you so much, Amanda, I’m so happy you like this post! I was so nervous about writing this but I’m glad to see you and other bloggers are finding it useful and enjoying it 🙂 I often feel guilty about not being able to do it all, but just like you said, yes, we are only one person and can only do so much everyday ahah. I think you have such a great way of dealing with all the blogs you follow, you seem pretty organized! I get the feeling though – once I’m done with my blog hopping, I don’t have much time to discover new blogs either :/ It makes me sad and I want to try and do it more, even if it’s just one blog a week ahah 🙂
salmahsbookshelf says
Such good advice ! I know I struggle to keep up sometimes
Marie says
Oh thank you so much, so glad you liked it! 🙂
Bridget & Books says
I use Goodreads to keep up with what everyone is currently reading or just reviewed. I don’t use Twitter. Like… ever. It is just way too much for me. And frankly I still don’t like the extreme character limitation. Because whenever someone has something substantial today, it’s separated into 10 tweets which just clogs up the whole feed.
I have a bloglovin account because I know there are plenty of good blogs that aren’t using WordPress as a platform, but I just… never use it? I mainly keep up with blogs through the WordPress Reader and I find new blogs by searching terms like “book blog, book haul, etc.”
I’ve found a lot of cool blogs that way – this blog included! 😀
Marie says
I get it – Twitter definitely is not for everyone and it gets a bit overwhelming at times 🙂
I’m glad you’re not the only one not using Bloglovin’ ahah – I always think that it has to be such a great tool, but never manage to actually use it. Instead I do just like you ahah 🙂 Thank you so much, you’re so sweet! <3
lyndari says
Nice advice! I am new to blogging and I very much like the idea of doing whatever the f*** I want 🙂 I got rid of social media because it was all just too much and too time consuming. So far blogging is a relaxing new approach to the internet that I think I really needed. And keeping a small circle is way less exhausting!
Marie says
I’m so glad you enjoyed this post, thank you! 🙂 Social media and following too many people quickly gets overwhelming, it’s good to have a small circle 🙂
Julia Elizabeth says
I’m just learning how big this blogging community is and definitely agree it can be overwhelming ? I love this post but I do have a question for you! As a new blogger (started one month ago), how would you balance creating your own content versus reading/commenting on others? I’m struggling to find the right formula to engage with others but also get people to engage with my posts ? Thank you!
Marie says
Hi Julia, and welcome!! I hope you’re having fun blogging so far 🙂 To be honest, I don’t know if there is a “right” formula : I find that what really works for me is to have a time dedicated to writing my blog posts, another to promoting them on Twitter and another to finding new blogs, reading and commenting on their posts. For me, being organized and having this schedule makes me feel less overwhelmed 🙂
Julia Elizabeth says
Thanks Marie 🙂 That sounds like a good place to start! I do love scheduling 😛
Marie says
OHHH well if you love scheduling…you will LOVE doing things this way 😀
AvalinahsBooks says
Yep, it’s very hard to follow everyone! That’s why I like linkups. That way I can just catch up to everyone once a week or so. It’s really nice.
And of course, then there are those several really special bloggers whose blogs you will remember from the top of your head and don’t even need to bookmark (ha!). Those I come back to even without newsletters…
I also have a separate mailbox for blog newsletters. Because my real life one would die very fast if I used it for those 😀
Marie says
OH yes, there definitely are special bloggers you always keep in mind no matter what. It’s beautiful how blogging made us feel this way about other bloggers 🙂 Thank you so, so much for your comment! 🙂
AvalinahsBooks says
My pleasure 🙂 the funniest thing is that I didn’t know it was a community at all before I started blogging 🙂 had no clue!
Marie says
OH me neither, at first I didn’t know this either – and now I’m surprised because HOW could I have missed this gigantic community? ahah 🙂
AvalinahsBooks says
It’s kind of an inside thing I guess? 🙂
Marie says
Oh yeah, definitely is 🙂
Jackie @ toomuchofabooknerd says
Fantastic post! I find it hard sometimes to balance uni and blogging especially when it comes to keeping up with comments! I think I should really start to make somewhat of a schedule for when I reply to comments and do some blog-hopping! I love to chat with fellow bloggers but often I’m so busy and I try to comment inbetween writing essays and blog posts and it’s just a mess! 😀 Thanks for your lovely advice!
Marie says
Oh thank you so much, Jackie! I get this so much – I always had a hard time juggling between uni and blogging, and now it’s the same with working ahah. Having a kind of schedule really helped me in feeling less stressed about it all: time to dedicate to writing, time to dedicate to comments… I feel much better doing it this way and not trying to do it all at once 🙂
Thanks again for your sweet comment! <3
Jackie @ toomuchofabooknerd says
Yes, scheduling really helps me keep up with everything and it makes me feel a lot less stressed! You’re very welcome 🙂
Lenna @ Sugar Dusted Pages says
This is such a great post!! I find it really hard to keep up with it all too. Especially blog hopping! I feel like I spend so much time just searching for new blogs to read, and not as much time actually reading them, which I really like.
Marie says
OH thank you so much for your comment, Lenna! Glad you liked this post 🙂 Blog hopping really is time-consuming, I get it: that’s why I find it easier, for me, to blog hop with the blogs I am used to reading every day, and really do a big “blog search” only once in a while. It feels a bit less overwhelming this way 🙂
Lenna @ Sugar Dusted Pages says
That’s a very good idea!! I’ll have to try doing it that way.
Marie says
Hope it’ll work for you! 🙂
Candid Cover says
It is such an overwhelming experience to try and keep up with everything! I think that you hit the nail on the head when you said to choose who you follow wisely. It can really save so much time sorting through content in your feeds and it makes so much more sense to interact with people who have shared interests as you. However, I do admit that it can get stale and I have branched out a little bit into the cooking community and it has been so refreshing. Thanks for this wonderful post. 🙂
Marie says
Thank you so, so much! <3 It's definitely better to follow blogs you really enjoy, saves up so much time every day – and it doesn't prevent from finding some new blogs once in a while, either 🙂
Thank you! <3
Summer @ Xingsings says
Ugh, so I really, really want to branch out and converse with other bloggers outside of WP… but Bloglovin’ isn’t for me either. I was mutually following a bunch of people on it at some point but then I just ended up unfollowing everyone on there because I hated how the feed was displayed. So I guess I mostly stick to my WordPress reader, which works great for me.
Omg, your tip of choosing which blogs you follow wisely is the best advice! I think I’ve only followed 30 blogs max but now I follow less than 20. (Which I guess sounds bad since unfollowing is such taboo.) I love how decluttered my feed looks though, and I can actively and easily catch up to my friends’ posts this way. I also like using the commenting back and blog hopping system because it allows me to have the freedom to explore other blogs and comment on the content without having to commit by following them.
Anyway, this is one of the best discussion posts you’ve publish so far, Marie! Brilliant job. ^.^
– Summer
Marie says
I’m so glad you said that, Summer! I can’t get around with the Bloglovin’ feed either, so I barely check it – I’m more used to the WP reader and a couple blogs outside of WP I think about, but a bit less regularly.
It does not sound bad, if you ask me – I need to declutter my feed as well because there are blogs I am not really that interested in anymore and that I don’t interact with… It’s sad but we can’t have endless hours to get through a feed of 1000+ blogs unfortunately.
Thank you so, so much! <3 <3
Summer @ Xingsings says
Aww, well that does make me feel a little better.
Right?! If only we had unlimited time in a day, haha. XD
Megan says
So many amazing tips! I find it so difficult top keep up with everyone, especially with school, so this was very helpful.
Megan @ http://wanderingsofabookbird.blogspot.co.uk/
Marie says
Ohh thank you, Megan, I’m so happy you find this helpful 🙂
Cait @ Paper Fury says
Eeep, kI love this! And TOTALLY agree about the blog-hopping. I think it’s really crucial if you want to grow your blog/make friends/network, but it’s also exhausting and there’s so much to be done.? I spent 2hrs answering comments/visiting blogs last night and didn’t get time to read! The book blogging life can be so hard haha. And omg the twitter dramas I’m sure are half the time due to people misinterpreting 140 characters. It’s just not enough for a proper rant, right?! And then tweets get lost in threads and yiiiikes. I try to keep twitter for just humour and promotion and do my discussions on my blog.?
Also YES AND YES to just doing what you want! I think there’s pressure for us to like all follow the same patterns in blogging, but we really don’t have to, right?!? It’s important to make blogging work for us and have fun with it still!!
Lovely post!!??
Marie says
Haha right? It IS hard at times, I stopped counting how much time I spend blog hopping and commenting, it gets crazy out of control at times but…I love it ahah 😀
Well you are doing AWESOME with this twitter thing, Cait, your twitter is one of my favorites <3
Thank you so, so much for your sweet comment!! <3 <3 <3
Yani says
Marie, I have to admit that I have been out in the community for months already. My blog is sad to look at. Completely lonely. Only two posts since 2017 started and not a single comment existed. And I apologize for that. I want you to know that you are one of my favorites and I am so happy that your blog is growing. Happy lots and lots of comments! :>
Marie says
Oh thank you so, so much Yani <3 It makes me so sad to hear that – trying to keep up with the community, make friends, talk about books, leaving comments and everything does take a whole LOT of our time and my blog feels lonely at times whenever I took breaks (haven't taken one for a while but I did ahah). I hope you'll want to get back into it, maybe, little by little, and enjoy blogging and talking about books again 🙂
breenysbooks says
As a newbie blogger, this post was eye-opening. Juggling blogging, reading, writing, and being a full-time student is a lot, but it’s all worth it in the end. Great post!
I’m new to blogging and book reviewing, and am very impressed by your blog. I was wondering if you had any tips for newbie bloggers and book reviewers.
If you have the time, please check out my blog @breenysbooks. I’d love any feedback. Have a wonderful day.
Marie says
Oh thank you so, so much! 🙂 Well, if ou have any question, feel free to ask! 🙂
Kel says
So…I’m pretty bad about blog hopping. Every now and then I go on a marathon hop, but in general, I’m more of an internet hermit, lol. I have Goodreads, Twitter, Instagram, etc., but unless I’ve subscribed via email (because my inbox is the only thing I check consistently), I’m probably not checking in regularly. 🙁 Although, I just signed up for the Discussion Challenge Nicole and Shannon organized, and that’s been great. I LOVE discussion posts, so I’ve been clicking on a bunch of those. Great tips, Marie!
Marie says
It’s HARD to check up regularly, don’t beat yourself up about it – it’s almost impossible at times to keep up with everyone, we all do our best to after all, whether we are checking in only once in a while or every week or so 😀
Ohh that’s SO great – discussion posts are the best for sure 😀 Thank you so much! <3 <3
Molly's Book Nook says
Love this! I have such a hard time keeping up with everything. I recently abandoned Twitter. I haven’t gone on in probably over 2 weeks now just because it got too overwhelming for me and I felt like I wasn’t making any good, meaningful connections with people there. This has opened up more time for blog hopping and Instagram which I enjoy! I LOVE watching people’s stories and replying to them through messages…which then opens up a conversation with a new person. It’s amazing.
It’s definitely hard to keep up with everything, but eventually, I’ll find a balance haha
Molly @ Molly’s Book Nook
Marie says
I understand this A LOT. I’m not much on Twitter – actually, I am, but I’m here as an invisible person meaning that I read tweets and all, but I am not that active. Twitter gets SO overwhelming at times, I don’t feel like I have my place here sometimes.
I’m so glad you’re enjoying your time off and found that it worked out well for you! <3 Finding a balance is the hardest thing ever, but…we can do this ahah 🙂 Thank you, Molly! <3
Sarah @betweenthepages says
Hello, I have tagged you for the What Cats Do book tag! https://btweenthepages.com/2017/06/03/book-tag-what-cats-do/
Marie says
Oh thank you so much, Sarah! 🙂
Jeann @ Happy Indulgence says
Hehe I love this post about keeping up with the blogging community Marie! I used to be great at it but lately…not so much and I can’t comment back all the time and read everyone’s posts. But when I do, I really enjoy it and I try not to beat myself up over it. Thank you so much for sharing!
Marie says
Oh thank you so, so much Jeann! It is so hard and at times impossible to comment back on everyone’s posts, there are just too many bloggers and we all have lives and responsabilities…We all need to enjoy blogging and talking with other without it being too overwhelming 🙂 Thank you! <3 <3
Analee @ Book Snacks says
Ahhh I’m so behind on your blog haha I can’t believe this was posted back in MAY?!? Where does time go. I loveeeeee this post so much!! You are such a great presence in the bloggig community ahah, and you’re so good at keeping up with posts, HOW DO YOU DO IT?!? I mean, there’s this post but.. tell me your secrets. ?? I love your tips, and totally agree! I made the mistake of following wayyyy too many blogs when I first started and I have since been too lazy to unfollow sooooo both my email and Reader are flooded with posts all the time omg haha. Oh same!! I struggle with Bloglovin’ so much??? How do people use it I don’t knowwww. ? Again, lovely discussion as always Marie! ❤️Sorry I’m so late on this haha.
Marie says
Ohh Analee, THANK YOU, you are way too sweet catching up on old blog posts and everything <3 I don't KNOW honestly, it's mostly because I dont have too much of a social life and whenever I do something I'm obsessed at times?! Haha.
Haha HOW do you do it with ALL these people on your feed?! 😛
Thank you so, so much <3 <3
Michelle ? says
Since I was pretty much on hiatus last school year I feel completely out of the blogging community (I feel like that sentence is weird so I hope you’ll understand what I mean haha) so this post is really helpful. I have this crazy idea of wanting to catch up on all the blog posts I would’ve read if I hadn’t been on hiatus, but it’s proven quite difficult haha. I just don’t want to miss out on so many amazing posts though??? It’s also making blog hopping a bit harder, because I still have so many posts to read from people I follow haha. Planning when to blog hop sounds like a good idea though, and something I’ll definitely do once I’m sort of caught up 🙂
Marie says
I understand ahah – and I kind of saw all of your comments on my blog which makes me SO happy but also, you are a bit crazy aahah. I get the feeling of wanting to catch up with everything. I remember having it after my holidays last year, and I will have it this year too… But I guess we can’t do it all! Planning a little blog-hop sometime sounds good, but also, trying and catching up from, like…now, unless of losing yourself in old posts as well, might help. There are SO many blogs and posts…no one is ever really caught up with everything ahah 🙂
Michelle ? says
Haha yeah I’m probably going to give up some time soon but for now I’m trying ? so many amazing blog posts have been published during my hiatus that I want to read, but it will be impossible to read them all
Marie says
I ADMIRE YOU SO MUCH right now. Also, I know I’ll try and do that as well, can’t help it, but… it makes us lose our minds as well ?
Michelle ? says
Yepp it’s very stressful ?
Marie says
Hahaha, don’t forget to take breaks and take care of yourself <3 <3
Michelle ? says
Don’t worry I won’t!! ❤ ❤
thoughtsnlifeblog says
Nice and totally agree
Marie says
Thank you! <3 <3
Ilsen Leon says
Ok so I’m one of the few that actually don’t blog hop a lot. Like you said above, I rather have a close feed of people that I like and will read from daily rather than follow everyone and get overwhelmed. Also, bloggers have other interests and such. But maybe if I can hype myself up to get a book blog someday, it will change. Also I love Goodreads. I check it everyday and what would I do without Goodreads. Twitter is good but I usually don’t get sucked into the drama. But I like seeing what’s going on the book community. I personally love Instagram. I love bookstagram and I find a lot of bookish friends there! Great post!
Marie says
Oh I completely get it – there are billions of blogs out there, and they don’t and can’t interest us all 🙂 It’s important to focus on the ones we are really interested in and the ones we want to interact with, too, our interactions are richer this way and it makes it all worth it, too 🙂
Thank you so much for your sweet comment! 😀