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| Photo by Cassandra (aka @thisgirlwithcamera): S Miss J Contributor |
Recently
there has been some chatter among my blogger friends about the blogging and
social media community. It almost seems that the community is growing
exponentially every day. Some of my blogger friends felt
pressure to increase their follower-ship and blog page views in
order for their respective blogs to be taken more seriously and of
course I had to chime in to share my views. Needless to say, that is
what prompted me to share my thoughts on the subject and hence,
the inspiration behind this post.
Most of us blog for ourselves and
started our little space on the internet in order to share our love of
“something” with others. Eventually, things like followers,
engagement, and views become important as they are the measuring stick for
how a blogger stacks up against other bloggers and how successful their
blog is perceived. Sometimes this causes us to begin
to obsess over numbers. We begin to compare ourselves to others and
sometimes to those that are not our peers. There are some very
successful bloggers out there and when you compare yourself to
them it may make you think your thoughts and opinions are not important.
I will be the first to admit that I
go through periods of frustration from time to time where I pay more
attention to my numbers than my actual content. In the
end that only helps to distance me from the reason I
started the blog in the first place. It’s important to keep track of those
numbers because ultimately higher numbers usually equal more
opportunities to grow your blog and find opportunities for some awesome
collaborations. However, it is important to keep a healthy balance and not compromise your self,
your integrity or your quality. You don’t want to reach the point of buying
followers and likes.
Ultimately, you can have all these
amazing numbers but if your content is not very good your numbers
become less important to brands, companies and the readers that
you want to reach. Therefore, continue to focus on building your brand
organically and focusing on pushing out great quality and creative content.
If it’s great someone will notice. Gaining confidence in your work
regardless of your following and getting out there is key to really starting to
build your brand. Don’t allow numbers to dictate your value or de-value
your content. Always go back to why you started and if it’s sincere, your
passion will continue to let you grow, improve and master your art.
Until next time,
Sincerely Miss J
What are your thoughts about the numbers game in blogging? Is it all about the numbers?
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Great post! I was not aware that people pay for followers. I think because I blog just to share my experiences and receive from inspiring people such as yourself that it has protected me from all of that. Hope you are having a wonderful week!TiffHttp://tinytiffs.blogspot.com
Nice lines
Lovely post! Have a great day 🙂 Beauty and Fashion Freaks
Sometimes it can become very frustrating seeing others do better than you, especially if they started their blog journey at the very same time you did. When that happens I always try to remind myself why I began blogging in the first place. I do it for myself and my readers I've had since the very start and not for the numbers or likes. Those are just an extra topping.http://style-krush.blogspot.is/
"Always go back to why you started and if it's sincere, your passion will continue to let you grow, improve and master your art", these words really made my day!I agree that creativity is one of the key for a success blogger, your post is so inspiring :)xoxo,|CHELSHEAFLO|http://chelsheaflo.blogspot.co.id/
Well said!
follow me i follow backhttp://betrendylbeyourself.blogspot.de/
Hello lovely! Thanks for stopping by my blog! Sure, it's a great idea to follow eachother on GFC!I just followed you #222, please follow back so we can stay in touch and keep supporting eachother! xo from Italy,Sonia Verardohttp://www.trenchcollection.com/
Great post dear, love it ! 🙂 xxNEW POST !VISIT & FOLLOW MY BLOG PEOPLE :http://katycolorfulfreak.blogspot.com/2016/03/swag.html
I love the honest in this post. It's always disappointing with the number, like having a post without a comment, few insta likes/followers etc but what matters is 'Why did you start'? I believe in keeping up with the good work and enjoying what you do most. The rest will follow.www.kayiniafrika.com
That is a lovely post and great advice. I do feel the pressure too sometimes and it demotivated me for a long time when I realised I had been blogging for a while and was not getting as much feedback as I hope. I guess ultimately I realised my weakness was the fact that I stopped blogging for the love of fashion and just started blogging because I felt I needed to and thus I blogged less and less and lost followers along the way. I have decided to get back into blogging and get back into the reason why I started blogging in the first place and love it again. Networking with other bloggers and discovering other blogs like yours has also been helping me too. I hope you will reach your goal and continue with the great work!http://www.anicheberry.blogspot.co.za/2016/03/t-shirt-and-jeans-part-1.html
Love it!!xoxowww.its-dash.com
I totally agree with you: bloggers cannot loose the essence of their blogs, the reason why they started their personal sites. But at the same time i understand that brands want not only good bloggers but big traffic so their messages arrive to more people. Like you said, you have to find a balance.I liked your post :)Thanks for visiting my blog and for your comment! I'm glad you liked it and I hope you come back very soon :)xxEliwww.acurlystyle.blogspot.com
Your´re just so right!xxSarah
Great post and advice! To those of us that try to stay true to ourselves..it definitely gets frustrating at times but being steadfast to who you are pays off in the long run. http://www.dressed2dnines.com
Oh just don't get me started on the numbers game in blogging. I have good numbers, great numbers in fact. But I've been at it 10 years. You don't compare yourself to someone like me. I've worked bloody hard for it. You have to compare like for like. Also, the best paying blog post I've ever had had 220 views in it's lifetime. It never went viral, it never had a comment on it… And yet it earned 7 figures.There's too much obessession with numbers when the focus should be on other things. I'm also told that's easy for me to say as I have the numbers… but once upon a time I had zero just like everyone else. If it hurts to talk about your numbers talk in percentages. Traffic up 50% in the last week? Great. That's a fantastic achievement whether it's 10 visitors up to 15, or 10,000 up to 15,000.Blogging is not a race. It's not a place for comparing yourself to others (unfavourably); I've done that too. It's about your writing, your connecting and you doing all the amazing things that you love and sharing those with the readers that will love you right back. It is definately not about the numbers and never should be
This is such a great way to think about things. Thank you so much for sharing your insight! I agree with you. 🙂
Definitely a great post! It's so easy to get caught up in the numbers, especially being a new blogger. I am always reminding myself not to compare my beginning to someone else's middle. It's definitely important to just keep chipping away and working hard. I think "success" however you define it comes to those who are just working hard everyday.
Great post Miss J, It is so easy to get caught up in the numbers and forget that we are creatives. If we lose the passion what is it all for?