Blogging for followers versus blogging for yourself. This seems to be a bit of a hot topic at the moment. I've seen a fair bit of twittering about it and a few blog posts and I really can't remember who said what, it's irrelevant anyway!
Now then, the gist of it seems to be that there are those who think followers and quantities of followers are important and those who think that getting followers in unimportant and that blogging should be about writing for yourself and that follower numbers are irrelevant. Which camp do you fall into?
I'll tell you which camp I fall into. I started writing my blog for myself. I started writing about a topic I love solely for myself BUT, I enjoy writing and I want people to enjoy my blog posts, and I get a little thrill each time my numbers swell a little. I write my reviews on products solely to give my opinion to people, not a great big void of nothingness on the Internet. I don't strive to have thousands of followers, or to be the biggest or the best but I do like to know, like any writer I suspect, that what I'm writing is being read, and especially that perhaps it's helped someone in some way. Perhaps to choose a product, or to not choose a product. I don't understand the backlash towards anyone who is actively wanting more followers, I don't see why this is a problem? Journalists and authors don't have backlash for publishing and hoping people will read?
Then there is the thorny issue of having giveaways to attract readers which, if I am reading the situation correctly is the crux of the matter. Again, I still don't get it? What's the problem? I understand it attracts a load of losers only along with the hope of winning your prize, but they drop away as soon as they haven't won, and with any luck you're left with new followers who enjoy reading your blog, who might not otherwise have found you, and indeed it works the other way too. I had one giveaway at 50 followers, I found some fab blogs as a result of checking out all the entrants (although I found the whole thing so stressful I can't see me having another any time soon...). It's just advertising isn't it?
So what say you? All opinions welcome and respected although I may not agree!
Lets have a heated debate!
I just blog for myself but then I don't have much to say really..! I would never advertise it but it's pointless rambling really.
ReplyDeleteDid you notice a trend on the forum a few months ago of people begging others to follow blogs (not regular forumites but n00bs). That did my head in. I pick up on blogs through their excellent reputation and via word of mouth.
I agree, I would write my blog even if no-one read it but I find myself getting excited when my page views creep up and followers as well.
ReplyDeleteI think we should write for ourselves and then people will read it
kellie
Parky - I did not know you blogged! *follows* I have been too absent from the forum of late to notice but I am glad!
ReplyDeleteKellie - you're right I think!
ReplyDeleteI think exactly like you. Obviously when I started my blog, I have no idea about followers, and just wrote for myself hoping one day people might find my stuff interesting and follow so they can continue to read what I write.
ReplyDeleteWhen my followers started going up... I loved it, its a fantastic feeling and you get so much more from your blog knowing so many people enjoy what you do and rely on your reviews and honesty etc.
I can totally understand people wanting more followers, its a buzz of course it is. I don't think theres any harm in anyone wanting to build up their readership at all.
xxx
Well my ramblings are intermittent now - I haven't properly written since 2008 because my hands are b**gered from the RSI. And I am building my new website... :D
ReplyDeleteI write my blog for myself. I very rarely get comments on my posts but that doesn't really bother me. For me blogging is just a way of getting things off my chest without boring the Mr stupid, its not a popularity contest - I'm too old for all that nonsense.
ReplyDeleteYes, its nice that people follow my blog, because its nice to know that there are other like-minded people out there, and yes, I have held a giveaway to say thanks to the people who read my drivel, but I completely agree about it being a logistical nightmare - far too much like hard work for me and I won't be rushing to do another.
Its the constant 'follow me' tweets that REALLY get my goat!
xx
I totally agree with all this. I always said that I would have a giveaway when I reach 100 followers and will be doing so very soon. It's not intentionally to get more follower members; it's because I'd rather have a giveaway for people who actually read my blog than those who might just stumble across it looking for competitions to enter. Obviously, there'll still be a degree of this but hopefully not so much.
ReplyDeleteThough obviously I get a little buzz when I get a new follower (afterall, it's a pretty huge compliment to know someone wants to regularly read your blog!), I would write just as much if I had 1 follower or 1000.
Oops, long comment!!
I started blogging just for myself, as a way to keep a record of my polishes and Konad designs, I was amazed at the followers I got and thrilled too. There is no feeling like it when those numbers swell and you get lovely comments on your posts. I now hope my blogs help people choose polishes or inspire konads. I try to post now thing things people will like too, as well as my own stuff. I have 'met' some amazing people thanks to blogging, so many friendly bloggers and followers out there. I am loving it, just regretting not having started years ago! lol
ReplyDeleteI agree, I write because I love doing it (in fact I've surprised myself with quite how much I love it) but it is a great feeling when someone new follows or you get a comment when someone find what you've said useful or interesting.
ReplyDeleteI have started following someone's blog because I've noticed a tweet about it but I only do that if I like the look of the blog and I'll keep following after the competition.
Great post.
Thank you for the comments everyone, so far no one disagrees which doesn't make it much of a debate!
ReplyDeleteBrionyLou - thankfully I seem to miss those tweets!
I like it when my follower numbers rise, and I like it when my page views rise, but I LOVE it when I get comments. When I started blogging I assumed that the only people who would read would be the people who'd nagged me to start it in the first place, and those who I FORCED to read it on a regular basis! It was nice to know that I was wrong. For once ;)
ReplyDeleteWhat I don't like is reading about how some people think other bloggers are somehow blogging "wrongly" because we're not all doing the same things.
Blogs are as individual as the individuals who write them, which is how it should be, if you ask me. There's no "right" or "wrong" way to go about it, so you don't like what someone else does, it's none of your damn business!
Comments are the BEST!
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, my giveaways aren't follower-only, because I know a lot of my readers aren't bloggers and don't have accounts to sign up to Google Friends Connect. Diff'rent strokes for Diff'rent folks (RIP Gary Coleman)
ReplyDeleteI blog for myself, talking about the drivel that I like! It's nice to know that I've helped someone or inspired them in some way and any responses or recognition I get means so much to me but I certainly don't expect it. I like to have giveaways when I can because I think it's nice to be able to give a little something back as a thank you, I certainly don't expect to gain anything from it. Whilst it would be amazing to have thousands of followers, it's not the be all and end all to me as I'm not doing it to win some sort of popularity contest. Blogging just allowed me to focus on something positive when I was having a really tough time and I've made some lovely friends because of it, wouldn't ask for, or expect, anything else.
ReplyDeleteKelly x
I blog for myself, I don't see it as a popularity contest, which I think some may do.
ReplyDeleteI blog mainly about hair, and do so because that's the career I'm in. I love getting new followers, and comments on my posts - and must admit I have been sad when I see someone getting 32 comments on a picture of a top and I've worked hard on a post and got 2 comments. But that's the way it goes.
A blog is personal, starting to copy someone else to get followers etc isn't really what blogging should be about.
Great post, very thought provoking.
X x
Thanks for all the comments everyone. It's interesting! :)
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure I follow everyone who commented, so I'm off to check you all out now :)
As a side comment (apologies Lady G, it's a bit off topic) but I really dislike it when celebrities tweet "oh, I want to get to 25,000 followers today" or "help my friend x get to 1,000 followers today". Especially when neither them or their stinking friend have anything useful to say.
ReplyDeleteI don't really know where I fall in this camp ... I think I'm basically Switzerland. The sole reason I started writing my blog was because of my own personal journey of getting back into make up so I guess I write for myself but it's also nice to know that people are liking what you read. At the moment I'm doing a poll to see what my followers like hearing about the most, but equally that doesn't mean that I'll only blog about what people have said they like if you get me... it's more just a bit of a guidance for my messy, obscenely anxious brain.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing that I do struggle with is the whole "Help me get to 8 squillion followers TODAY" stuff that goes on on twitter... I mean sure promote your own blog but I don't really like some of the begging for followers that goes on (ok maybe I'm not Switzerland... maybe I'm errr The Netherlands? Do they have a nice political stance?)
I wonder if part of it is that having lots of followers and getting lots of PR freebies is perceived as going hand in hand and therefore occasionally people will try really hard to boost their followers if they notice a lot of pr review bits flying around? Does that make sense?
Equally though, there's no reason why people shouldn't try to get lots of followers if that's what makes them happy. I have to say I agree with the lovely Get Lippie though - I love seeing followers and page stats go up but I adore getting comments :)
Thanks for following me by the way. That's something I love about people commenting on my blog, it means I'm a lot more likely to check out the commentor's blog and find lots more fab things to read about!
ReplyDeleteI started a blog to express my love for make up. I blog for myself really, I hardly get any comments and I haven't got many followers but that doesn't bother me, I must say though, I do love it though when I log on to see fellow followers are following me and I love it when I get a comment. I also started a blog so I could check out other blogs to get useful tips or read reviews on things I'm planning to buy. I enjoy reading other blogs!
ReplyDeleteInteresting reading. I agree that I write for myself but it is nice to know you're not just wittering on to yourself. I know I'm guilty of tweeting that I was thrilled that I'd got just over 40 followers. I'm not trying to drum up trade but am genuinely excited to have new people to talk to and really look forward to more comments and interaction.
ReplyDeleteI also love writing for the mental stimulation. As I'm not working and at home with the children, I love to have something that keeps my brain active.
I'm in a bit of a quandary now as I was considering a giveaway if I manage to hit 50. I'm not so sure now though given that some think there is a subtext to it. Hmmmmmm....
Thanks for this post, it's certainly giving me food for thought as a new blogger,
Jane x
DO A GIVEAWAY!!! Man, if we were all that self-conscious all the time, we'd never blog at all ...
ReplyDeleteIncidentally, it's not the happy "I've got so many followers!" tweets that are annoying as the "Please read my blog and follow me, now" tweets which are annoying. It's okay to be proud of your achievements - and followers *are* an achievement!
I totally agree, I love writing for myself but it's even more enjoyable when you see someone commenting of what you have written. I'm not going to lie, I love having followers, I tell my parents everyday how many I have haha.
ReplyDeleteAnd with the giveaway thing, I'm glad people hold them, or else I wouldn't have found their blog. Some people think that you only join to win free stuff, which is true yes, but I also join because I've found another good read. And if your blog is good, those followers will stay with you.
I'm half and half, I write for myself but the followers are a big bonus :D
x
You're right, if I've posted my mug for all the world to see I really ought to get over worrying what other people think, lol!
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry I'm not replying to everyone individually!
ReplyDeleteModesty - do your giveaway and be proud of your followers - who cares what others think. x
Louise - love your comment :)
Danielle - your numbers will definitely pick up!
I started blogging for myself, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't excited when my followers started to rise, or I get a few comments or my page views skyrocket. Every time I get a new follower or a new comment, I'll go and check out their blogs and quite often follow if I like what I see.
ReplyDeleteThe one thing that annoys me is people on Twitter begging for more followers. People have found my blog through word of mouth, which I think is a great achievement. Quite a few people recently have done blogger spotlight type posts which is great as their readers get to find out about blogs that they may not have known about previously. I don't see the need to beg for followers. Then again, I can understand that people want to publicise their blog, and fair enough, I just think there's probably a better way to go about it.
We all start off with no followers so we're all blogging for, and to, ourselves when we first start off. I was beyond excited when I got my first few followers and I'm still excited now when I see my follower number increase. It's lovely to think people want to read and follow your blog and leave comments! To me, follower numbers are not important, but they're lovely to have and my followers are great at getting involved, leaving me comments, sending me nice e-mails etc. It inspires me and keeps me very highly motivated!
ReplyDeletePersonally I don't mind people promoting themselves/their friends on their own twitter because I've been pointed in the direction of some very good blogs, which I might not have found otherwise, through people giving their friends a shout out or tweeting about a new blog they've found. I think self-promotion on your own twitter is far better than leaving comments on other people's posts saying 'great post - please follow my blog!!!'
I think giveaways are entirely up to the blogger, (Modesty Brown, you go for it!) but I've seen a couple of good ideas from bloggers lately, I can't remember who it was but one had a giveaway only open to her existing followers and one allowed new followers to enter but gave an extra entry to her existing followers, I think both of these are great ideas and something I'll be doing in future giveaways!
May
xxx
wow, this thread is good, seems we all think pretty much alike..........plus I can see a lot of new blogs I haven't discovered yet, off to follow now ;o)
ReplyDeleteI must say I didnt realise the Twitter thing bothered people so much? I barely notice it. I Just filter out what I don't want to read I guess.
ReplyDeleteI have 66 followers (I think..) and I'm doing a giveaway but you don't get extra entries for blogging about it and, although I haven't stated this, I'm going to allocate more entries to my regular commenters. Seems only fair! I've struck up internet "friendships" (well, acquaintanceships) with a few people and I want them to win. I'm not going to outright fix it but it is loaded towards people who comment. The random generator will probably pick a new follower whom I haven't "spoke" to but we'll see!
ReplyDeleteI don't care about the quantity as much as the quality. So I'm not going to trail it here just to get more followers. I enjoy doing it. I enjoyed assembling the stuff for the giveaways (one for UK and one for everywhere else) but you only have to look at the stats and blogs to realise that followers tend to accumulate over time like dust on my furniture. Many followers doth not necessarily a good blog make.
I had a little moment of being stats obsessed and then google did a numbers rejig and my figures fell massively - I was gutted. It was only then that I realised that actually, yes, followers, comments and readers are incredibly important to me. I suppose the more there are the more it validates what I'm doing. I did start out blogging for me, but when figures are high the shift changes - you learn more about what people want to read about - and if they're good enough to stop by and read then I want to provide content I think they'd like. I am not bothered about twitter numbers but did get genuinely quite excited when I hit a certain number. I hadn't taken much notice up until then. I feel very lucky that people follow me at all really. All in all, I think you have to live and let live in Blogsville; after all, people will vote with their mouse - they either like what they see or they don't. And, its not compulsory to read blogs! So I guess in effect bloggers should be hugely grateful that anyone stops by at all. I don't have a problem with people giving away stuff to boost their figures because its quite a fun thing to do...and it won't really work as a follower booster because they'll only unfollow if they don't like it. If they do stay then it was worth the effort and a mutually beneficial thing. I'm not keen on shameless self promotion, I must admit...feel it can lack dignity at times, but you know, that's why there's a block button lol xxx
ReplyDeletejaljen - I will check out your giveaway! and you are quite right, followers do not necessarily tally with the blogs quality. There are several popular blogs with many followers that I just don't get at all!
ReplyDeleteBBB - interesting. I don't have a CLUE without going to look how many followers on Twitter I have. I think it's 100 ish but I don't know at all, it seems quite unimportant to me. Re the Shameless Self promotion... on occasion I have been known to lose my dignity x
You have 224 followers!! xx
ReplyDeleteI don't care about follower numbers but I do care about comments - it means someone is finding your views and writings interesting. To be fair if I ever get more followers I probably would be more concerned about follower numbers but it's comments I'm really interested in.
ReplyDeleteI agree with what you said :) I like getting more followers, but that's because it makes me happy that more people seem to be interested in what I have to say. I write for myself and share my bad moments, but I also write for my followers and share things they might be interested in. My goal is to inform them about the products they might like or things that just didn't work out for me :)
ReplyDeleteAnd about the giveaways, to me they are just fun and/or to give something back to your loyal and supportive followers. It's also helpful to get your name out there of course, but a giveaway is definitely not all about the blogger and just for the benefits. In the end you reach more people, people you can protect from afwul products or inform about the awesome ones. And you meet great bloggers! ;)
So yeah, a growning amount of followers makes me happy and I enjoy giveaways. Although I'm not sure how I feel about people on twitter 'begging' for followers or leaving the 'follow me please?' comments, I wouldn't do that myself because then it feels like I didn't earn them by working hard ^^' But I don't get annoyed by it or anything, I can understand it's hard to get noticed sometimes :)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDelete*** edit *** i forgot some important words in my previous post and only realised after i hit the button
ReplyDeleteI am a youtube girl at heart and my blog is so so young: I've just started it. Not sure where I want to go with it, if I am doing the right thing but I think I am enjoying the journey so far. I say 'I think' because at times I find it stressful. I've got so much to say, so much backlog and I wish I could be like those experienced bloggers who schedules their posts in advance.
Of course, seeing your number of followers increasing is great, but for me, I value comments more than a high number of followers. I am at that stage that I enjoy more reading than writing, and i enjoy reading blogposts even more than because i know the work involved back stage.
Blogging, whatever people say, is bloody hard work so it's only normal people would like to get some attentions to their posts right?
Begging for more followers all the time seems a bit desperate for me, but if people advertise on twitter, the same post, multiple times in a day, then I don't mind. I personally would not want to tweet more than twice a day about the same post, as I feel I would bore people with it, but i dont mind if people do it.
I spend my time tweeting about posts from OTHER people which excite me and I hope I am not boring my followers too much about it. I love knowing about new bloggers all the time and I love following and commenting.
As for blog giveaways, it can be overkill at times, and when it's obvious that when some people do it, it's only to get followers at all costs. I don't like that. Special occasions only please, not every 5 minutes.
I started blogging as I love writing and after deciding not to do A-Level English I needed to find somewhere to continue my love for writing. I had no idea how to get followers at that point so I just did a couple of reviews and quizzes even though it felt silly that no-one was reading. I gained a few followers who must have found me through comments or because i'd started following their blogs. At that point followers did matter to me as I felt like my writing was more valued and I wasn't wasting my time.
ReplyDeleteWhen I had my 250 follower giveaway I didnt realise that there were even people who made blogs just to enter giveaways and from that I gained a significant number of followers. To be honest I wasn't that bothered about the fact my followers had risen because those people hadn't followed because they liked what I was writing but just because I was giving something away. I think it was then that my followers didn't really matter much to me anymore and I realised that they were just a number - for me my real followers are the people that regularly comment and actually enjoy what I write. I know that a huge percentage of my followers probably don't even read my posts anyway and realistically I probably have about 150 true followers.
I know that i've found quite a few blogs through the advertising of their giveaways so in some ways I think giveaways are a really good way of advertising your blog but people who are having them just for the follower increase are probably wasting their time if they're looking for more genuine followers.
I do sometimes get annoyed by tweets urging people to follow so they can get more followers - I think its ok if you're on 198 for example and you want to get to 200 but i'm sick of tweets where people are on 179 and they want 200 - because they haven't reached it they feel it's necessary to repeat the tweet every couple of hours which is pointless. At the end of the day people will follow your blog if they like what you're writing, not because they saw that you wanted another follower.
Sorry for the really long comment - thanks for writing such a good post though Charlie :)
xx
Thank you so much for all the replies everyone, this has been my most read blog post ever! I've l;oved reading all your replies and am pleased I'm not the only one who feels the way I do.
ReplyDeleteTBH I would love more followers,
ReplyDeleteIts not ALL about followers,
but i tend to find the people who are annoyed at bloggers for wanting more followers, tend to have loads of followers themselves!
if that makes sense!
I love to blog,
but sometimes, especially at the beginning,
it feels aweful lonely to have no comments, and not many followers!
Also it gets my goat a bit when people who have only been blogging a week get a bazillion followers because they have blogger friends who promote them loads, when actually they arnt that great yet!
And i know of atleast 5 blogs, which i love, with under 30 followers, and nobody seems to follow or comment on them. just because they arnt in the gang or dont have loads of blogging friends!!
I have giveaways at landmark numbers like 50, or 100 etc
As a way to thanks my followers, and get more
I know half of the new followers wont read mny blog but hopefully i will get a few that genuinly like my blog, and i may find some new blogs to read on the way!
rant over!
I would say i'm a bit of both. I like to vent. I like to post things that interest me and my friends (because they also read my blog) but then some topics I cannot speak to friends about because they don't find it interesting. So that's where my followers come in. My followers are interested in subjects my friends are not. So overall, i'd say I blog for me, my friends and followers. Can't say what percentage but probably more so for myself. I hardly get comments. I get around an average of 2 per blog post but I am always always thinking of subjects to talk about, things to post...so i'm guessing that the biggest majority/percentage would conclude that I blog for myself.
ReplyDeleteIt's nice to let it out. It's also like talking to yourself....but more sane ;)