Any dinosaur blogger like me will tell you the same thing: things have changed on book blogs.
It may be because we’re all “old” (in the community, I mean, obviously) and really nostalgic or something, but… personally, I know it’s not just that.
Engagement has changed on book blogs, because the book community has changed a whole damn lot in the past 8 years I’ve been there. I’m fairly certain it has changed even more for “older” bloggers that are celebrating their 10th or more blogoversary anytime soon.
For the ones that are still there, I mean.
The lovelies over at Pages Unbound recently shared, as they do each year, their Book Blogging Stats Survey Results and the trend is here, it’s real (and not just in my mind) : getting engagement is one of the most challenging thing about book blogging lately, according to the survey’s results.
“I feel like my engagement has been slowly decreasing and I’m not sure why.”
quote from the book blogging stats survey results 2022 – Pages unbound
It’s good to know that I’m not alone.
Before heading into this, small disclaimers :
While things have changed, please know that I am deeply, deeply grateful to everyone engaging on my blog, to the ones I’ve known for years to every new person stopping by. Your support is so appreciated.
Of course, I’m going to very selfishly write this post from my own point of view, agree to disagree depending on your own experiences. Which I’d love to hear in the comments below!
How Engagement Has Changed on Book Blogs
In my (almost) 8 years of blogging now, I’ve seen a lot of things happening in the book blogging community. I’ve seen people come and go, I’ve seen trends rise and disappear, I’ve met, lost touch with people, created content I’m proud of and content I hope no one will find ever again.
What really hit me, in the past couple of years, was the big turn that engagement took.
What is blog engagement?
Small definition before getting into my rant. When I’m talking about blog engagement, I mean engagement on the blog itself. This can include: likes, comments, shares on social media…
My story with blog engagement
When I first started blogging, obviously my engagement was non existent. I was new, knew absolutely no one, just admired bloggers from afar, fingers poised on my keyboard wanting to type a comment, to engage, and terrified to do so.
Once I got over the fear of engaging for the very first time, things only went uphill.
I started chatting, creating connections, having fun and meeting some people I’m still deeply grateful to have in my life now, almost 8 years later (hi, Kat!). I started blog-hopping and found my people, had LOTS of fun and people started coming back to my blog. Visiting, leaving likes, comments, starting exciting conversations.
Before I knew it, I had 20 pending comments and a whole lot of happiness waiting for me each time I logged in. (Obviously, the 20 comments is a number. Don’t think I had this every day.)
As the years passed, things slowly changed.
Friends I’d made from blogging, constants on my blog and theirs, quit. Bookish social media grew. Bookstagram turned into this huge thing. Booktok suddenly appeared, a tidal wave taking everything with it.
For full transparency, here are the hard facts: between 2018 and 2021, comments on my blog have decreased drastically : -76 %.
So, yeah. Tough math, in just two short years.
Things have changed, but I’m not blaming everything on external factors here. I, and my relationship to blogging, has changed as well.
I stopped participating in book memes. In 2020, I decided to self-host my book blog. I went from university far away from home to my first full-time job, to another job, to moving back and back again. I traveled, explored, cried, changed and grew.
All of this takes us to today. A slow, but kind of drastic decrease in engagement I’ve (kind of) made my peace with, but that I am still very sad about.
Why has blog engagement changed?
I’m not going to put the blame on anything, here. Honestly, while I personally am sad and nostalgic a little bit, I also know that some things change, grow and sometimes, for some people, it’s for the best.
I’ve been thinking about why. Why my blog engagement hasn’t been the same as it used to be. I realized that both external factors and I, myself, share that responsibility.
- The all-mighty social media is holding everyone’s attention, now.
I’m talking about bookstagram, booktok and book twitter, the main social media where the book community is active, thriving (and creating a lot of drama, at times, let’s face it). When I first started blogging, social media wasn’t necessary, but it still seemed like a pretty interesting place to be. Note my words here. I created my twitter account in January 2015 and started my book blog in November 2014.
As the years went by, social media grew into a place where you SHOULD be. Where everyone was talking, creating connections, taking bookish pictures and so on.
Now, if you’re not on social media, you might as well not exist (Harsh. But true).
Everyone in the book community is using social media, whether they have one account or are everywhere. They’re not just using it as a complement to their blogs: they’re CREATING content, there. Reviews moved to instagram, when before, when I first started, reviews were on book blogs. Book threads with favorite reads on twitter, book reels with recommendations, tiktoks as well.
Basically, people are doing it all on social media AND are having the conversations there. Because, of course, it’s easier to answer to a tweet or comment on an instagram post than read a full-length blog post and leave a comment there.
The thing is: we’re always running after time to do more, want more, and we just aren’t taking time anymore to read long blog posts. We want short, easy to consume content and therefore, we tend to interact more with that kind of content, too.
I get it. I understand it.
Doesn’t mean I can’t be a little sad about it, too.
☂️ Related blog post: Blogging VS. Social Media: why having a book blog still matters
Am I to blame for my own demise?
It’s all fun to think about external factors and never question yourself, but you know me. I’m not like that and obviously, I question myself a whole damn lot.
A little too much, maybe, but that’s a topic for another day.
I have come to realize that a couple of decisions I took might have affected my engagement, as well. Since I want to be transparent in this post, obviously I’m going to share them with you.
- I don’t participate in memes anymore
This is a decision I took a little while ago. Like, so many years ago. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, I’m talking about these regular topics you see on book blogs, every now and then, such as Top Ten Tuesday, Waiting on Wednesday… These kind of topics with a prompt, that you can participate in each week.
These kind of blog posts were a huge help, when I first started. They helped me discover new bloggers, they helped me grow my engagement and my blog, as well.
Why’d you stop, you’ll ask? Honestly? Because I got a little tired of it, uninspired and just wanted to write different blog posts.
The correlation between my drop in engagement and my lack of memes on the blog wasn’t immediate, though. Sure, I think it might be a reason, but there are two others that affected that, as well.
- I blog-hop less
In all transparency, my relationship to blog hopping wasn’t the healthiest one. Meaning: I spent years putting others above my own content and what I really wanted to do, thinking I should be there for others before being there for myself.
I’m not going to say it was a mistake. Sure, it wasn’t healthy and I lost my mind a bit sometimes, wanting to support everyone. But it wasn’t a mistake, because I love supporting book bloggers. I think they deserve SO much more than they’re getting, really. I also was able to chat with some incredible souls I still talk to, to this day.
Yet. My relationship to blog hopping has changed in the past couple of years. Because I realized I couldn’t go on like that with the changes in my life and also, because I wanted to do more of what made me happy. Selfishly. I wanted to focus on creating content, more.
This resulted in me blog-hopping way less than I used to. Because it turns out, I can’t be everywhere all at once. i can’t do it all. Because when I do, I want to take the time to do it properly, be genuine and appreciate everyone’s content the way they deserve it.
Honestly: I think, because I’m less present on others platforms, I might also get less interactions back, in a way.
☂️ Related post : Why I don’t believe in fake engagement in blogging (+ tips and tricks to engage and build genuine connections!)
- I self-hosted my book blog
WAIT: I’m not going to say that self-hosting is a mistake. Honestly, it was one of the greatest, most stressful experiences I’ve had with this blog.
For me, it was 100% worth it.
That being said, since I’m transparent and all: my engagement dropped since I self-hosted. Maybe because I was on an entire month’s hiatus for it, maybe because people lost their way on my blog, maybe because the blog has changed a little bit and it wasn’t to their taste.
This decrease was a little stressfully terrifying in the first few months. Now, I’d say that my engagement settled at a comfortable pace again. Still miles away from where it used to be, before, though.
Of course, this is all theory.
I know that none of these reasons I just mentioned are solely responsible for my drop in engagement.
☂️ Related post : How To Self Host Your Book Blog: Sharing My Exciting (and Stressful) Experience
I’m also not saying that you shouldn’t do these things listed above. Like I said, self-hosting has been incredible and I wouldn’t go back, I don’t want to start memes again, either, for instance.
I think, if we’re looking for someone to take the blame here, it’s ALL of the above. External and internal factors, decisions I’ve made and ways the book community changed.
Now that all of this is on the table, you’ll probably ask…
What do I plan to do about this?
You know what, that’s a great question…. I wish I had an answer.
I wish I could tell you all some sort of secret recipe to get engagement back, but I haven’t found anything different than what you’re probably used to hear. To increase engagement on your blog, these are still golden rules:
- Be consistent,
- Write unique, quality blog posts,
- Invite people to engage with a call to action, questions at the end of a blog post,
- Reply to your comments,
- Visit & comment on other blogs,
- Promote your blog posts on social media
☂️ Another helpful blog post : How to write a blog post people will read
I’m still doing all of these things.
I just guess that things have changed. So have I.
It’s okay. Of course, I’d love to get these exciting 20 comments waiting for me again. But I’m content and thankful for all of you still here and for where I am, now. Even if it’s a little different than it used to be.
So, thank you. I deeply, deeply appreciate you all.
For more blogging discussions, you might also be interested in:
- 7 Ways My Blogging Has Changed in 7 Years (Is It For The Best?)
- 8 Hard Truths About Book Blogging (And Easy Tips To Keep On Loving It)
- How To Increase Your Book Blog’s Traffic : 7 Easy Ways To Grow
📌 Pin How & Why Engagement Changed on my book blog on Pinterest!
I’d love to talk about your feelings towards engagement on blogs! Whether you’re new or an “old” blogger like me, did you notice a change in engagement on your blog, or not? How do you feel about it?
Do you prefer interacting on book blogs, on social media, elsewhere? What makes YOU interact with a specific content?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on the topic in comments!
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Oh, Marie! I felt this blog post on a cellular level. I just came back to blog – first post went live yesterday – and I moved from book blogging only to literature and lifestyle. But am I already behind? Omg yes. There’s so much to do to put a blog up front, but even on brand new social media accounts. In fact, I’m a couple of engagment focused days – but doubt it will immediately work.
I’m in the old guard too, but I changed name, as I was The Reader in the Attic before, and I must agree with you. Personally I’m not on Tiktok simply because I don’t have the combo of energy and time to do that too! It’s already so much, but people attention span has decrased – which is kind of sad to me because I noticed it also changed for worse how people consume some media? And fully misinterpret it? But that’s a whole package of another discussion. I could honestly rant for ages about this
Ohhh Camilla, I remember your blog, HI! SO lovely to see you back! 🥰 There’s just so much to do and it also takes patience to see the results. And yes! People consume media so differently these days. Honestly, if you ever feel like ranting more about this, I’m here to listen (or read if it’s a blog post!), ahah, because I can relate to this SO much 🙂
Nice to see you back! I already lost your blog years ago, but now I know why. I used to be lauriesbookshelf.
This is a great post. I know that my blog visits and views have gone down a lot over the past year plus. My comments are hit or miss. I know it’s partly my fault because I go through spurts where I don’t blog hop enough or don’t reply to my comments for two weeks. But I do think it’s social media too. Adding TikTok to the list definitely took away some of the readers. I’ll still blog because I enjoy it, but it does make me a bit sad to see that people aren’t coming by as often now.
Oh thank you so much, so happy you liked the post! I feel like we’re on the same boat ahah. While I know I am partly to blame with my less consistent blog hopping, I also feel like the way others consume content and are more often on social media has changed things here, too.
Thank you so much for stopping by! 🙂
You’re welcome.
I really relate to this comment.
What an amazing and thoughtful post! Your content is one of the best out there! 🙂
I’m certain you will have far more than 20 replies!!
When I first started the blog I currently have with my sister, it was your tips that helped me with the process!!
Social media is where everything is happening right now of course and personally I get overwhelmed… Commenting does help to put yourself out there and get your stuff discovered of course. The absence of a unified platform just for blogs is another reason why new blogs don’t get as much engagement.
Consistency is something I struggle to be honest and it’s difficult to post just for the sake of posting; sometimes I feel like my photos/posts are just a drop in an endless ocean… But at the end of the day, it makes me happy, so I just read and write whenever inspiration strikes!!
Oh thank you! This is so, so very kind of you to say, I appreciate it so much, thank you!! 🥺 and I’m so happy I could help you with your own blog as well! 🥺🥺
I agree! In a way, it’s frustrating that we’re not all on the same platform and certainly makes commenting a little more complex. That being said, I also LOVE how we all each have our own platform. Every time I blog hop, I stumble upon a new, unique website, made exactly the way the blogger intends it to be. I love that, too! 🙂
Consistency is tough to keep, at times. I think in the end, it’s important to write what inspires you, and if you’re not inspired at all times, that’s okay, too 🙂
Thank you so, so much for your sweet comment! <3
I thought this was a very well balanced post. You looked at external and internal factors and honestly, in full transparency on my side, I definitely am to blame (in part) for the decrease in engagement on my blog as well. I, too, stopped participating in regular memes (bookish or TV) and I kind of went a little M.I.A. when I went to Canada and Berlin. Life happens and we change, our circumstances change. But so does the community and the way platforms are used and perceived. Great post!! (also: hi, Marie! 😉 )
Thank you so much, Kat! 🥺 Things change and sometimes, all we can do is accept it and do our best! 🙂
Amazing post! One thing I have experienced and might be the reason for less engagement is lack or less blog hopping. I think blog hopping makes people notice you, it makes them at least check out your post and some might return back for engagement out of favor as well. I have noticed if I blog hop less, i get less views as well and even less the engagement. So if anyone ask me what to do to get engagement I would say show people you exist, good content is not enough.
Thank you so much! You’re definitely right about that, that’s why I mentioned it in the potential causes in my post, as well. I agree that blog hopping and putting yourself out there is such a good, easy and fun way to make people notice you! 🙂
This was such an interesting post to read. Hope you are doing well 🙂
Oh thank you so much for reading, so happy you enjoyed it! 🙂
As always, this was an informative post, Marie! I definitely agree with your points about how social media has definitely impacted blog traffic. I find now that most of my blogging friends are those who started a long time ago and stuck with it, not many new blogs are popping up now. That being said, I’m loving how blogs don’t always stick to memes as much as we all used to. Not to say that memes are a bad thing, but I remember back in the day everyone was doing the same memes every single week, but now, things are a bit more unique which is fun!
Oh thank you so much, Emily! I agree with you about memes. They can be fun, but it also felt a little repetitive, seeing them everywhere all at once. I love how diverse the content is, now 🙂
As always, you deliver such wonderfully crafted discussions Marie! I have definitely seen my blog engagement change within the past couple years, especially as some blogger friends have stepped away for a bit. Though each year I do find myself making more blogger friends which is always incredible!! I think the struggle is that we want to engage with others but with a busy schedule or other things that come up, we forget to focus on our own content & its almost a double-edged sword, because you see it reflected in your engagement too. I think it is sometimes tough for me to comment because I feel like I repeat myself a lot, but I still take time to read & like posts. Often-times I wish that was reciprocated a bit more, though I notice this happening with other bloggers content also. 😭 I like interacting on all bookish platforms, though blogging does feel like it takes more time & can be draining. I’m certain that blog content won’t be forgotten and will continue to have an audience, sometimes I think it just goes through waves. Hope my comment wasn’t too rambly, but you brought up a much needed discussion 💕💕
Oh thank you so, so much, so happy you enjoyed this post 🥺 I completely agree with you. I want to engage, but with a busy schedule it’s tough and I’m learning to prioritize… other things, too. I feel bad about it, sometimes, but I also know it’s important to focus on what I love. Like writing, for instance. It makes me happy to focus on my writing, but then it makes me sad when I see my engagement not being that great. I know I’m at fault, though, so I can only be mad at myself for that!
I feel like it’s something that’s generally happening more and more, yes. I personally do my best to reciprocate, even if it takes me a bit of time to come back and do so, I feel like it’s so, so important. <3
Thank you so much, I appreciate you SO much!! <3
My engagement died when I went self-hosted too. I am not sure the top ten tuesday and other memes work so much these days. Even when I participate, I get about 8-10 comments max when earlier it would be 20 or more.
To be honest, I am not very consistent anyway. Still I love blogging, I still leave comments on the odd post that captures my attention. I do get a fair amount of engagement through pinterest/reddit, but these days I blog for my own pleasure.
I feel like a lot of people are focusing on shorter content lately, as well, instead of long blog posts! And I get that, I’m the same way, I blog because it makes me happy before anything else anyway 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts!! <3
I just made the decision two days ago to start a book blog, so this is a sobering reality check!
Honestly, though, I love blogs. Longform written content is how I prefer to get my reviews and my recommendations, and I love the idea of having a home base in the internet that’s just *yours* to write whatever you want.
Oh I really hope this post won’t drive you away though! I’m with you, I love having this little home here, a place that’s yours, that you can customize to your taste, where you can rant endlessly, too ahha 🙂
Thank you so much for your comment! 🙂
I noticed that when the pandemic hit my blog traffic upped quite a bit. Since things are back to “normal” it’s back down a bit. I never drew huge numbers, though. I do think you’re right about losing some when you swap to self-hosted. I felt that way, too. But it did make me make it a point to hunt down other self-hosted to support them as well.
I’m glad I’m not the only one that felt that way with self hosting! It’s so wonderful that you’re doing your best to support self-hosted bloggers because of that. Thank you!! <3
Great post, Marie! 😊
I’ve been around the block for a while now and I relate to what you’re saying! I have to say I was looking at my stats the other day and thought it was interesting. My stats a few years ago were good, not great, but good – then the pandemic happened and boom! large spike in stats – now that we’re going back to regular life I can see my stats starting to go down again. I know for me, personally, I haven’t been the greatest on engaging a lot, and I think, as you had said, effects the engagement on your own blog. I, like you, also decided to stop doing memes too, but you’re correct those and tags are huge on traffic, but sometimes they can get boring and tedious to do.
Anyways, all that to say, I agree with you about things changing as social media evolves!
Thank you so, so much, Meghan! I’m so glad you can relate to this post and I agree. I know personally I haven’t been the greatest or the most consistent at engaging, so maybe that’s why I’m getting these results. I’m trying to get used to this new reality, because I know I can’t do much more about it 🙂 Thank you!!
It’s so hard to determine the root cause of declining stats. The only thing we can do is try the best we can and put out the content that makes us happy and proud because if we start to put out posts for likes I feel it loses the authenticity of ourselves, you know?
But I’ll always be around to support your posts and blog! 😊❤️
Exactly, you’re so right <3 thank you so, so much, this means the world 🥺🥺
❤️❤️
Hm, lots to digest here and to think about. That drop off in engagement is certainly dramatic so clearly something is going on.
I don’t think its your decision to back away from memes. I do very few of them now — just the occasional Top Ten Tuesday when I feel the prompt is interesting — but a) they didn’t a lot of comments when I did them and b) I haven’t seen the number of comments fall off.
There does seem to be more emphasis on Instagram and Book Tok now. The people whose blogs I follow and who follow me don’t seem very engaged on either platform so I’m thinking its very much a generational shift. And maybe relates to a certain kind of book. I don’t see a lot of discussion on IG about classics for example or translated fiction but lots of chat about crime fiction and YA
My guess is that your own level of social interaction is playing a big part here. I certainly find when I run out of time to blog hop that my stats get affected.
I agree with you that it might be a generational shift and there’s not much that can be done about that, unfortunately! Like I mentioned it in my post, I agree that my own level of interaction might affect my stats at that point, I know I haven’t been as active on others’ blog as I used to be. I feel happier and less stressed by doing so, so if my interaction on my own blog suffers, but I feel better personally, I guess that’s alright 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! 🙂
marie, i absolutely love reading your blog posts about blogging!!! i am always happy to see how insightful and honest you’re willing to be. i’ve definitely noticed a drop on engagement in my most recent posts and it has made me lose a bit of motivation to post, not gonna lie. but i keep coming back to blogging and i genuinely think it’s not even for the books or reviews anymore (although that is obviously a part of book blogging). i just appreciate this community here so much and all the people i got to know through book blogging. at the end of the day, i think this matters far more than being as popular as social media allows you to get.
Ah thank you so, so much, Lais! I understand the feeling, the loss in engagement has been tough at times and making me feel… well, a little bad about my content, as well. Still, I feel like this is the place where I’m the most comfortable and the place where I enjoy creating content the most, so… that’s what matters 🙂
Thank you so, so much for your comment!! <3
This is a great discussion Marie. I always appreciate how candidly you talk about blogging, it always makes me feel comforted. 🥰
Compared to the start of my blog, I blog hop less too. It used to be one of my top priority as part of my blogging routine, but it became frankly exhausting dedicating so much time to it all. Whilst I enjoyed the interaction with bloggers and reading their content. It was the volume I felt I HAD to keep up with, and the pressure I put on myself. I still try to blog hop fairly regularly without the pressure, and whilst it isn’t always as much as I would like, i feel much more content with it. My blog does seem quieter now in certain aspects, and whilst I think many factors are linked to that, I do think my blog hopping influences it too.
Of course, tiktok has took the community by storm. It is a hard platform to compete against 😅
I’m glad you have a healthier relationship with your blog now, using the time for what you enjoy. I think it is natural to be sad about lower engagement still! It’s okay to be sad, but I also try not to focus on it all the time for my sanity’s sake!
Thank you for sharing this post and sending you all the best wishes ❤️❤️
Ah thank you so, so much, Sophie! I’m glad to hear your point of view, I feel like we’re pretty much the same. I used to put so much pressure on myself to blog hop constantly and, while I adore supporting other bloggers, it was really getting… too much. I know my lack of blog hopping is probably the reason why my engagement isn’t what it used to be, but I also know that I can’t go back to what I used to do and burn myself out!
Thank you so, so much for your sweet comment! <3
Did my comment come through the other day?
Hi, it did! I’m just taking a bit of time to reply sometimes, that’s why it doesn’t appear right away 🙂
I loved hearing your perspective on this!! ❤️ I have also noticed decreasing engagement in recent years. Some people went on hiatus or left the platform, so I’ve been searching for new blogs to follow (a mix of newbies and discovering established blogs) and support!
Social Media is definitely also a force that has changed the community since it’s fast-paced and I also noticed that the need for easy-to-consume content has steadily increased. I understand that, but also love that blogs are a bit *slower* because the fast pace of information and social media is a bit much for me at times!
I also used to love memes and I still appreciate them, but I don’t participate any longer. I always did Top Ten Tuesday and Top 5 Wednesday when I was starting out and it helped me find my way by providing topics and connecting me with readers. But as I’ve grown as a blogger, I’ve switched to different content.
Oh thank you so much, Caro! I hope you found some lovely new blogs to follow, I really need to explore the blogosphere more again, as well.
Right here with you on social media! It’s a bit too fast paced for me as well, I love how relaxed blogging feels, too 🙂
Thank you so, so much for your sweet comment! <3
I pretty much agree with everything you’ve said. I know that I didn’t really discover book blogs until after discovering booktube. Kind of an unusual story. I realized I really enjoyed reading fantasy so I thought I’d try looking for recommendations on youtube (without really any expectation of finding anything), then I got ensnared by booktube, and have been an avid viewer ever since (not as much now, mostly because my time is even more limited but still a fair amount), then from there I discovered book blogs and inconsistently read them. I’d binge read then go away for a while because of life and unwanted distractions. And repeat the cycle. I’m not into bookstagram, booktwitter and booktok, but even I’ve noticed people’s attention spans are greatly reduced to not even read full blog posts. Even for me, I find sometimes I just simply don’t have the time, even though I want to. At least, this is my perspective.
Thank you so much for your comment and for sharing your thoughts! I agree with you. Reading blog posts is wonderful, but it takes much more time than, say, consume a quick instagram post or a video. I sometimes just don’t take (or have) enough time to read all the blogs and… that’s alright. Even if I want to, I know my life isn’t the same as it used to be and I can’t spend so much time on this.
Thank you so, so much for your comment!! 🙂
Confession, I have been hoarding this post until I had the energy to write you a nice long comment 💜 I’ve never been one to stare at my stats but I did give them a brief peek the other day and a part of me felt sad and nostalgic for my earlier blogging days. Where I was really trying to do ALL of the things, co running a blogging event with another blogging friend definitely contributed to a spike in my engagement and overall stats. Since we’ve stopped doing that, as well as my year long hiatus, my engagement is pretty low compared to how it was at one point. However, there’s a peace with that because at least I’m happier now, happier with the content I’m creating and that’s enough.
Like yourself, I also made the choice a few years back to no longer do memes or tags on the blog, it’s no longer the type of content I want to create for my blog. I would consider doing them on social media though, perhaps if I ever find the energy or willpower to explore that rabbit hole. I think another thing is a lot of the people who used to engage with us, are either no longer blogging or just trying to make it through life and blog hopping had to take a backseat for them.
I definitely don’t blog hop as often as I used to, when I do I want to be able to leave meaningful comments on posts and really take in what I’m reading. I’m also not really aware of any new bloggers, which is another reason engagement is possibly lower (ignoring everyone’s move to social media). For me personally, I tend to use social media to keep up with my online friends mostly and keep in touch with them. I tried bookstagram and just gave up, the jury’s still out on whether i’ll ever return to posting on my main feed on instagram though. I used to be more active on twitter but now I don’t spend a whole lot of time there and it’s done wonders for my mental health to be honest.
In terms of the content I typically engage with, I prefer discussion style posts first and then recommendations/other types of posts and reviews are usually last. They always have been just because I usually read reviews after reading the book – for some bloggers I’ll read the review regardless (you’re one of those bloggers, who I will pretty much read anything you put out Marie 💜)
Whilst I will say you’re lack of presence on social media and blog hopping has no doubt impacted your engagement, if you’re happy and aren’t feeling burned out then that’s all that really matters. I was afraid for ages to post different content on my blog (things like KPop themed posts) because I worried people would care for it. Instead, it’s brought me a lot of joy to share my love on my blog as well as potentially reaching out to other people who have that similar interest.
Anyway, I think engagement is like a rollercoaster, right now it seems to be on a low. Whilst we know of some ways to maybe try and increase it, I’m alright with the lower engagement because I genuinely enjoy blogging again and getting to create content I love. Sending you so much love Marie and I hope my ramble of a comment brightens your day 💜
I’m so, so happy to hear you’re happier overall now. In the end it’s all that matters! I’m right here with you, feeling nostalgic and sad sometimes about what used to be, but I also know I can’t be like I used to be, before, so.. there’s that! 🥰
I get it so much about social media and your presence there. I spend a lot of time on it, but I’m not too active on either platforms (twitter and bookstagram), even if I’ve been trying bookstagram a little bit more lately. I just feel like it’s overwhelming, sometimes and yes, not really too beneficial for my mental health, either, so… yet, I also feel like I SHOULD do more, because everyone’s there, in a sense? It’s confusing ahah.
Thank you so, so much for sharing your thoughts, I appreciate you SO MUCH really, thank you! I’m so happy you’re enjoying what you do, now and the way you’re doing it, too. That’s the goal <3 <3
My earlier discussion topic this month is about COMMENTS. I essentially have discovered the same thing on my blog: less engagement, fewer comments, fewer visits to my blog in general. I honestly don’t do many things to drive higher engagement. I don’t like watching people book talk books on YouTube (or whereever) so there is no way I’d do video content. I’m leery of TikTok as I’ve seen articles about China mines data from it. So I am stuck with trying to get engagement by being a good participant in blogging opportunities like this space, Top Ten Tuesday, Book Beginnings on Friday, and Sunday Salon. I, etc. have personalized all of my posts so that they are specific to what I’ve read or am reading, personal family details, book reviews incorporated. I feel pretty good about my content. What bothers me is how few people engage back. Let’s say that I make 20 comments on blogs who linked to Top Ten Tuesday, I will likely get less than half of those folks do the return favor. What I don’t understand is why would anyone add their link if they don’t plan on engaging with others? Clearly I approach this blogging world differently than others.
I know you say you don’t want to participate in memes, but you are here, on the discussion post. So I understand that you want to create your own content and not feel constrained by the format on them. I am trying to get a discussion topic going on Random Thoughts. Take a look and join in if you want. Thanks for this helpful and thoughtful post.
Random Thougths #1
Thank you so much for reading and for sharing your thoughts! I’m so happy to hear you feel good about the content you write, honestly that’s what matters the most. I can understand the frustration about not engaging back – I’ve been wondering about that a lot in my earlier blogging years, as well. Honestly, now, I always try my best to engage back, but sometimes it might take me days (or, weeks, aerm) or sometimes, I just stumble upon a blog where I don’t find anything to say. Because we don’t have the same interests at all, for instance.
I don’t really understand people that don’t really want to engage though, because for me, blogging is all about chatting with people and sharing our love for books 🙂
I felt this post on a very moleculer level given that this year my blog will be ten (!!!) years old.
Engagement has definitely 100% changed, especially in the past few years, I’ve noticed. When I look back through my WordPress stats from when I first moved from blogger to now, I think mine would be about the same amount decrease if not more (I think it’s more, but I didn’t calculate). A lot of mine now tend to be lurkers where they’ll visit, and maybe they’ll come back regularly. A small amount will leave a like, and an even smaller amount will leave a comment. I did chalk it up to the pandemic playing a huge factor though, because many bloggers during that time fell out of reading and blogging and started going into other things they’re passionate about (which is okay!) or they experienced major life changes that blogging became a back burner (also okay).
Part of it is also me as well – I definitely blog hop less, I take time before replying back to comments most of the time, I’m very picky about the memes that I participate in now unless I can make it original and feel like something I would normally do, etc. And I’ve definitely been much less active on social media despite still sharing posts and popping in once in awhile.
I’m not too bothered though, whether that’s the case of I need to put myself first and having every platform is just exhausting or the belief that, “I own the content since I’m self hosted, I don’t need to worry about algorithms too much or Instagram Blackouts” on top of most of my traffic isn’t even from social media it’s from search engines, or a combination of all of them, I have no clue.
AH 10 years old, wow, congratulations!! This is so incredible, I hope to reach that milestone as well 🙂
Thank you so much for sharing your experience, I’m glad to hear it’s pretty similar to what I’ve been seeing in the past few years, just as well. I’m also guilty here of blog hopping less and taking time to reply (I mean… I’m slow and I know it). I’m trying not to be too bothered by it, either, things have changed and so have I. As long as we keep the love for blogging here, that’s what matters 🙂
Thank you so much for taking the time to write this comment! 🥺
Wow this is SO relatable! I am completely certain that my numbers look the same (or really, likely much… I don’t want to say “worse”, but perhaps… startling?) as yours. And I think for exactly the same reasons! Like you, I used to legit forsake sleep to comment on posts and such. I did every meme and event and tag that crossed my path. I was posting at least 6 times per week, and trying to both respond to and return hundreds of comments a week (and, because I couldn;t just phone it in, I was leaving legit comments on all the blogs who “cool post here’s mine”-ed me), and I was completely and utterly exhausted.
Now… it just is what it is. I try really hard to keep up with bloggers I have built relationships with, but man, it is a struggle, no matter how much I WANT to, time usually destroys me (in fairness, I was a stay-at-home mom to two babies when I started blogging- now, I work full time, and neither of these big ol’ “babies” nap now bwhaah) and I fall short of legitimately any goal I set. And, add to it, on a GOOD week I post once or twice, some weeks it’s zero.
All of that said… I have made my peace, I think? It ate at me for a LONG time, but I have nearly no control over it (I mean I guess I could forego sleep again but.. gosh, why would I?) so I just had to let it go. Maybe some day I will be able to find a happy balance, but for today… here we are! Thank you for sharing such a thoughtful post, it really helps to read other people’s experiences with this stuff!
Ahh Shannon I’m so glad you can relate to this, as well. I find myself so much in what you’re saying here: posting a whole damn lot, replying and returning to comments every single day and exhausting myself in doing so. I did that so much, too!
I think, as I grew as a blogger – and as a person, in my life, things changed and so on -, like you said… I had to let things go, as well. It is what it is and we’re doing our best. As long as we’re happy with what we put out there, that’s what matters 🙂
Thank you so, so much for your comment! 🥺
I’ve noticed blog comments going down, too. I’m not sure it’s the lack of memes. We haven’t done memes for years, really, on our blog and we used to have really great engagement. Now even our discussion posts don’t get many comments. And our views actually went down significantly, too. It could be partly that I don’t have much time to blog hop anymore. But I think you may be on to something that a lot of people are on social media instead.
I can relate to that! Even when I first stopped doing memes, discussions posts did pretty great, but lately it’s been a bit different. I think social media has taken a bigger place than it used to and therefore, people might take less time to read and interact with blog posts.
Thank you so, so much for sharing your thoughts on this, Krysta!
I really enjoy reading your posts about blogging, they are always so well-written and insightful. I’m hardly a veteran when it comes to blogging, I started mine two years ago, but even I saw a decline in engagement, which is so interesting. I participated in memes at the beginning of my journey, but not that much, so I don’t see that’s the reason why. I am not on any social media, because I came to dislike them, they had a damaging effect on my mental health, so I just ditched them. Of course that’s a huge impact because I don’t share my posts anywhere. I usually don’t mind this, but it definitely makes me sad sometimes to see a drop in the comments!
I love blog hopping, I especially love discussions and wrap-ups, because it feels like catching up with a really great acquaintance. 🥰 It’s hard to discover new bloggers though, as 1) lots of people prefer social media, so they don’t create blogs, 2) I look for blogs that have more discussions and other bookish or non bookish posts besides book reviews (which I don’t read).
So book blogging is definitely not a priority for most bookworms, which is sad, but I still love it, because it’s much more relaxed, kind and slow-paced, which is exactly what I’m looking for.
Oh Morgan thank you! I’m so happy you enjoy reading these posts, it means a lot! 🥺
I can understand that, social media is a hard place to be, at times. I think they can bring a lot of traffic and new interaction, but I don’t think it’s worth it to bother with it when your mental health is at stake. What matters is what’s best for you! <3
I so agree with you! Blog hopping is fun and always feels like catching up, yes! I wish I could take more time to do so, but we're all trying our best. I also feel like I have a harder time finding new bloggers, I often end up on the same blogs, too. I guess people aren't there? Or where are they hiding?! 😂
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts! I love blogging so much because of this, as well, how relaxed it is <3
Everything you say here is so true for me as well, but I honestly think most of the changes in engagement are due to my own lagging in engagement in the community. It’s been a combination of just being much, much busier and feeling a sense of fatigue after blogging for so long. I’m just not doing the same amount of blog-hopping and even posting that I used to. It’s a sad reality, but I’ve decided that, for now, I just have to live with it because I don’t have the enthusiasm or energy to get back to the engagement levels I had before. Like you said, many of the bloggers I used to connect with are gone and many people are on social media instead. I’m slowly adapting to that as well (I’m getting better about posting regularly on Instagram, for instance). I guess things will always change, but I am still very glad for my blog and the friends I’ve made along the way!
I completely understand that and I feel the same way. I know I’m to blame here, after blogging for so long. It’s hard to keep up with the way I used to blog hop and don’t feel the same level of enthusiasm, either. I’m glad I’m not the only one experiencing this. Thank you for sharing your thoughts, Nicole! <3
I relate to this so so much! My engagement has gone down a lot and I think that although that has a lot to do with other social media platforms taking off, I think it broadly speaking has to do with me changing my habits. As much as I would like to, I can’t post as often as I used to and I can’t bloghop as much either. My lack of consistency makes my engagement go down for sure. I think that I’d love to promise to change that, but it’s not realistic at the moment.
I’m so glad I’m not the only one feeling this way. Same here, my habits have changed a whole lot lately and I know that’s part of the reason why my engagement has gone down, as well. As long as we’re doing what makes us happiest, that’s what matters! 🙂
The way this blog post was a mirror of my experience over the past few years is uncanny. My engagement has significantly dropped as well, but for me there were slightly different reasons.
Firstly, I think that hiatuses kill engagement. It’s so unfortunate, because bloggers need to be able to take a break to recharge, but the truth is that upon your return, people care less. Being new also helps engagement. People are first discovering you. You’re excited to blog hop. You respond to comments quickly. All that really helps engagement. I think that once blogs have been around over 6 months to a year, the novelty has worn off, both for the creator and for their followers. Plus, that’s around the point creators take a hiatus, and the combination of the two just means less engagement.
I do agree with you about social media being the more active bookish community, but I think that the blogging community has shrunk significantly as well. It’s not just that pillars of the blogging community are no longer blogging or have decreased their amount of content. It’s also that there are very few blogs replacing them. Sure new blogs pop up all the time, but I haven’t seen many stay for long. I feel like it’s a lot harder to start a blog now, especially since engagement is harder to achieve, which in turn motivates people to blog less.
Like you, I don’t really have a solution. I do what I can, when I can. I post when I can. Blog hop when I can. Comment/respond to comments when I can. So I’m definitely part of the problem at hand, but I’m also still here and still blogging and blog hopping, and I hope whatever little actions I take are enough.
Thank you so much for sharing your experience, it’s good to hear I’m not the only one feeling and experiencing this with engagement, lately!
I have to agree with you: i also feel like the book community hasn’t… grown, lately, not like it used to. And yes, like you said, people might start, but they’re not that active or engaged on book blogs.
I think as long as we do what we can and what we’re happy with, that’s what matters. I know I’m part of the problem, being slower to answer to comments and so on, but I also know I’m doing my best and what I feel comfortable with, lately. We can only hope that’s enough and that the right people will always stay or discover us, anyway! <3
What a great blog post, I have re-started my blog in the new year and I know that engagement is going to be my biggest struggle and I am hopefully going to get back into the consistency, I am going to try some of your tips to help engagement.
oh thank you so much! all the best of luck with your blog, hope you’ll have fun!! 🙂
Thank you, it’s just getting into the swing of things
You can do this!!