I’m taking a break from posting bookish lists, book reviews, and wise-AF comments about bookstagram. Instead, I’ve decided to candidly talk about why YOU visiting my blog (or anyone’s blog for that matter) is the way to prove you’re the coolest person in the whole wide world.
Reminder: 99% of us don’t get paid.
I hella don’t blog for the money (wait, why am I blogging then?). I blog because it’s fun (oh, yeah). I don’t get paid to do this and that’s okay. Sometimes there are perks of blogging, though. I get free books, sometimes advanced copies, and sometimes even miscellaneous merchandise. These perks are amazing, and a small part of the reason I continue to stick with this hobby!
But to get the goods, you need a bit of clout.
Unfortunately, we don’t get to just start a blog and expect the free stuff to start pouring in. We have to stick with it for a long time. We have to build followers and traffic to our sites. This is where you come in.
Your clicks and subscriptions keep us chugging along.
If no one visited my blog, I guarantee I would not still be doing this two years later. But you guys keep coming, clicking on links and some of you even *gasp* subscribe! It’s because of YOU that I can receive free books and have fun interactions with authors and other bloggers. It’s because of YOU that I’m still here gracing you with my awesome presence. (Aren’t you pleased with yourself?)
So what’s my point?
It’s the LITTLE THINGS that help me as a blogger (and help others, too). We don’t need your money (but just saying, I wouldn’t say no to a few thousand dollars). We need something that ultimately costs you very little:
– We need your clicks on our links. Even if you’re on that page for 10 seconds, just clicking on it adds another view. It helps our stats!
– And if you have the time, we’d love a comment on our posts. Again, it helps with the site stats.
– And if you’re feeling OH-SO-STUPENDOUSLY generous, SUBSCRIBING to an e-mail list (even if it’s with an e-mail you never check), is basically equivalent to giving the blogger a winning lotto ticket.
It’s the subscriptions, clicks, page views, comments (AKA, ENGAGEMENT) we get on our blogs that gives us the validation we need to keep on blogging. And bonus, it gives us the clout we need to cash in on some of the blogging perks.
So next time you see a link to a random blog, do that blogger a favor and click on their link! If you like what you see, comment on the post! If you really love what you’re seeing, be a hero and subscribe.
DId you make it this far? Prove it by telling me what your favorite color is in the comment section below!
(Or, tell me what you thought about this post as a blogger or blog-visitor!)
A.S. Thornton has evolved from book blogger to author with a particular fondness for writing forbidden love in ancient deserts. When not writing, she’s caring for dogs and cats as a veterinarian. You’ll never find animals at the center of her writing, though, because those fictional worlds don’t have veterinarians and her literal brain can’t accept that the poor critters would be without parasite prevention. Thornton’s debut, DAUGHTER OF THE SALT KING is available wherever books are sold.
Kelsey
As a fellow [book] blogger, I think your post is the perfect reminder that while many/most of us are here to express ourselves, share our thoughts and stories, and spread [book] love in a creative and fun way, we cannot ignore the fact that in order to make more connections we need to catch the attention of Google/WordPress/the Internet – through clicks and page views and comments! I mean, that’s the difference between writing in a physical journal and choosing to publish posts on a blog. I think it’s important for blog-visitors to keep this in mind, but it’s also vital for bloggers – engaging with other blogs is just as important as using the right keywords and incorporating beautiful images in a post.
Oh, I almost forgot. My favorite color is green. 🙂
Kelsey just posted Grimm’s Complete Fairy Tales: Fair Katrinelje and Pif-Paf-Poltrie
Kelsey
(sorry about the link – I didn’t uncheck it before hitting “comment”)
Ali
Yes! Thank you! I know that it comes across a bit as me saying “we need free stuff,” which is 100% not what I was trying to say – so thank you for seeing through that and realizing the ultimate thing we want is engagement! And yay green! 😀
Holly @ Nut Free Nerd
Definitely! I love this post because it really shows that blogging is just as much about ENGAGEMENT with bloggers as it is about simply reading posts. Commenting on a lot of blogs takes time, but I’m really trying to make the effort to do so in 2018. Great post <3
Ali
I know. It’s very hard for other bloggers to find time to comment on each other’s blogs – I mean, we’re all managing our blogs/social media so much ON TOP of whatever it is we deal with in real life! I’m hoping that non-bloggers will see posts like these and realize that we love to hear from them, too (:
Aj @ Read All The Things!
I’ve had my current blog for 4 years, and I’ve never gotten any free stuff. Not even free books. But, that doesn’t matter. I love the community, and I get ridiculously excited when someone follows my blog. Knowing that someone appreciates my hard work helps me keep going.
Ali
Yes! I know my post seems sort of like it’s all about the free stuff, but that was me writing poorly – I really meant that as a fun bonus, but that yes, at the end of the day, we REALLY just want engagement and that’s what keeps us going, like you said (: Thanks for commenting girl!
Emma
Yay blogging! You’re doing such a. Awesome job!
Ali
Thanks girl 😀 😀
Maraia
I completely agree! Sebastian and I get so few comments on our posts (except TTT, and then only after we’ve commented on a million other blogs), and it’s pretty discouraging, not gonna lie.
My favorite colors are blues and greens. 😊
Ali
It’s so hard to get engagement! But every time we do, it keeps us working at it! I was hoping with posts like these it will remind my current non-blogging readers that we love to hear from them, too (:
Briana @ Pages Unbound
I don’t get tons of free stuff, partially because I don’t bother to pursue it. (I’m on one publisher’s book blogger mailing list–Quirk Books.) However, I think this is a great post to make blogging more transparent for readers who are not bloggers themselves. Page views and subscriber numbers do matter for book bloggers to get review copies, so if you like a blog and want to see them review ARCs, clicking and subscribing can help! Personally, I think comments matter less for stats for publishers, but they tend to be more meaningful to bloggers. I love when people take the time to comment, and I think it’s also good validation that the person did read and engage with the post instead of clicking it, thinking “meh, boring,” and moving on. 😉
Briana @ Pages Unbound just posted 6 Blogging “Failures” at Pages Unbound
Ali
Yes – I really strive to make my blog for non-blogging readers, so thank you for saying that it could be helpful to them! I want them to know that ultimately, even if they don’t have a lot of time to read and comment or subscribe, just offering a click on the link bumps up our stats and helps us! I know I try to do that for bloggers even though I don’t have loads of time to comment. Thank you so much for commenting Briana (:
Molly @ Molly's Book Nook
Love this. It’s simple, to the point, and SO FREAKING TRUE. Y’all, we don’t get paid hahah
Ali
Gosh, wouldn’t it be nice to get paid?!
Amber @ The Literary Phoenix
Purple! 😉
I think this is an excellent point. As a blogger, it I am so grateful every day when I see the subscriber number go up, or my average views are more than last month. On Netgalley (which is the furthest I’ve pursued free books) I saw my acceptances drop SEVERELY then my average views/day went down. It’s the little things people don’t realise…
Amber @ The Literary Phoenix just posted The 90s Kid Book Tag
Ali
Yay purple! And yes, our stats are so important to us. It helps us know that a) we’re not blogging to NO ONE and b) it helps us pursue what we love even more, which is reading!!
Audrey
Green is my favorite color.
Ali
Haha yay! I love green, too (:
Jacey Cerda
Green! I think it is amazing you are doing this with all your other work.
Ali
Thank you Jacey! And I didn’t realize you had a blog!! I’m following now! Hope you and Robert and doing well (:
Kari @ Kari Reads and Writes
Agreed! I’m already a follower of yours, which is how I could read this post .
Fave color is turquoise, by the way, since you asked 🙂
Keep up the good work– I enjoy reading your take on books that weren’t even on my radar yet.
Ali
Thank you Kari! I really appreciate your support AND your comment (: And hooray for Turquoise. I love that color, too.
Amy
My Favourite colour is purple!
Amy x
Ali
I love purple, too!! Thanks Amy (:
Kat Impossible
As an international blogger I still don’t get free books or merch, although I sometimes to get eARCs, but it’s very true that I most likely wouldn’t still be doing this if it weren’t for the people following my blog! It will be 5 years this June and I cannot believe I am such a blogging dinosaur. I keep seeing the changes and sometimes I feel irrelevant in the blogging community, because I am not as good with social media and such, but then there’s people who really care about my opinion and who make blogging such a worthwhile thing. This was a great post!
(still, some days I really wouldn’t mind getting paid for all of this)
Ali
Girl you are a blogging legend to me! You were one of the first people I followed, and when I’m able to blog hop (which sadly, is not that often due to stupid life), I LOVE seeing your posts. And LOL to “blogging dinosaur.” Keep up your AWESOME work and thank you so much for commenting Kat (:
Jamae Ann Sabangan
I agree! Knowing people are reading, clicking, and engaging with the material I share gives me the fuel to keep creating.
Also, my favorite color’s blue. ☺️
Ali
YAY blue! Such a calming color (: And yes, we definitely need that fuel!!
Jacalyn Thornton
As a blog visitor, I can tell you this blog is very informative, and makes me want to click and comment more. I’ve always enjoyed reading your blog but never realized my clicks and comments were important for the blog to survive and thrive. And my favorite color is green (as in the bucks or goodies you might earn from blogging!).
Ali
Hahaha, thanks Jackie! And I appreciate your reading and viewing my blog baby! (: (:
Becky
Purple
Ali
Hahah, yay!! Thanks for commenting (:
momknu
green, no blue, no fluffy white and white with black spots. Did you ever notice that there is a Rhysland (hottest immortal ever) and a Prince Rhy in 2 of the series you recommend? What’s with that?
momknu just posted Hello world!
Ali
Hahahah. I don’t know what that’s all about…
ShootingStarsMag
Favorite color: Purple!
Okay, back to the post. haha I lOVE THIS and it’s so true, we need the clicks. And comments and everything else are just icing on the cake. I’ve been blogging for a little over 10 years now – it’s crazy, but I know I wouldn’t be doing it still if it weren’t for the people visiting my blog and commenting. I like the connections, and it makes me really happy to see! 🙂
-Lauren
ShootingStarsMag just posted Unwrapped: Christmas 2017 Gift Haul
Ali
That’s amazing that you’ve been blogging for 10 years! I hope I can say that one day!
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Megan
My favorite color is purple! Also, this is so very relevant to blogger life. I’ve been blogging for four years now and honestly get a comment once every 20 or so posts? And I have two subscribers? I do this because I love it for sure but I have realized that stats matter to publishers and I’ve been doing my best to get my blog out there more this year! This is a great post and hopefully it will reach someone who will pass it on and begin a wonderful comment and follow spree!
Ali
Thanks Megan! (: Four years in a blogging is impressively compared to my small two! I hope to be able to say I’ve been doing it for four one day!
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