Answers To Your Questions: The Blogging Q’s Edition

Thank you so much to everyone who responded to my first ever call for Q&A questions. The form is still open for now if you want to submit something! I still have a couple of questions that came in after I grouped the initial questions but I’d love a couple more to make for a better post instead of those two questions that are left without a group (I have a whole other grouping left to do).

I’ve broken them into smaller sections and some are themed and some were questions I decided I would devote a whole post to! So today I’m going to answer most of the blogging related questions. You can check out the more personal questions in part 1.

Your blog header is gorgeous! Where did you get the idea for it? (Laura @BlueEyeBooks)

Thank you! I feel like I’ve had it for way too long but I’m too lazy to change it! I was going on this hot air balloon kick and wanted hot air balloon everything so I was perusing Creative Market for some inspiration to make a new blog header and this hot air balloon set stood out to me and I just started really started thinking of a header with hot air balloons that could capture that feeling, to me, of how I feel when I’m reading…just off on adventure. I don’t know, it probably doesn’t come off very obviously, but that was my inspiration. I’m trying to come up with ideas to redesign my site but I haven’t had as much inspiration this time around haha.

What are the top ways you have gained traffic/followers?

In the beginning of my blogging journey I think I grew really quickly because I was employed part-time so I spent a lot of time the summer of 2010 when I started my blog just DIVING into networking and building community. I was commenting on other people’s blogs (not just “nice blog!” but actual things I wanted to say and connect with) and made it a point to really insert myself in the book blogging community on Twitter.

I also started The Broke and the Bookish blog (RIP as of this year) at the same time and I hosted Top Ten Tuesday over there — a community link-up that became very popular. I participated here at this blog also and I saw growth and traffic from that. So, I think at first it was community — really making an effort to find it and build it and starting something that centered around community (and also participating in it on here also — I got lots of traffic from that especially in the beginning).  A lot has changed in blogging since I started in 2010 so I’m sure it would look different in how I would dive into this community but I think finding other people is the first way of gaining traffic and followers. Those were some of my most genuine followers and readers.

I think that was my initial way I gained followers/traffic but then I started pouring my professional life skills into my blog — I focused on SEO to gain organic traffic and connect with people who were looking for what I was writing about and then when Pinterest hit the scene I really started experimenting with that in 2012 and then went crazy viral with 2 of my first experimental posts. Fast forward and so much of my traffic and new followers come from Pinterest. I think writing posts you want to write but having search engines in mind when you write them is a good way to gain traffic (help people find you and your info!)  and I think finding where your ideal potential reader hangs out on social media and connecting with them is a good idea. For me, Pinterest has worked. But as a blog follower I’ve totally found blogs through people’s engaging Instagram feeds or their super engaging Facebook pages.

So I guess TL;DR: 1) engaging in the community in some way (commenting/chatting on social media in a meaningful way, participating in a community THING with others in your niche (linkups, readathons, challenges, anything that connects people) and 2) learn SEO  & figure out a social media strategy that works for you. I only dedicate time to the ones that seem to bring traffic and “convert” better (ie I don’t just want people to come and never come back just for a number…I want them to come and find what they need and maybe even come back).

(I don’t know who asked this but if you want more specific things answered I’m happy to answer here or you can email me!)

Do you think blogging is dead? I’ve been wanting to start a blog after following you and so many other book bloggers (I know you aren’t a book blogger anymore) but it feels kind of more “dead” these days and don’t know if it’s worth the effort. — Marie

Ooh I love this question! I absolutely think if you want to start a blog, start it! There’s still space and an audience and it can be incredibly fulfilling. It’s DIFFERENT for sure. But dead? NAH. I’ll tell you why. It’s different than when I first started in 2010 because there weren’t as many social media platforms that had people spread out. Blogging was very centered on, well, BLOGS. That’s where a lot of the engagement and the convo happened.

Twitter was there and felt like an extension of the convo but soon it became more important and you could really sort of micro-blog via that. Then more people got into Youtube (at least in the book community it became a bigger thing than it had been) and then Instagram and Vine and Snapchat and Facebook Pages seemed like a place you had to be if you had a blog. Suddenly there were so many places you needed to be and rather than it being an extension of the blog…it sometimes became people’s main outlet  to microblog so to speak.

So 1) the conversation has become so spread out and 2) people began to move to other platforms to “blog” or have their presence. So of course it’s going to seem like blogging became less popular because of that AND ALSO…everything new is shiny so of course the attention of brands and publishers or whatever became on integrating those things in their marketing/PR/social media strategy. Blogging isn’t new and shiny anymore but it’s still there.

But the one reason I refuse to ever concede to what is new and popular personally (and I use and LOVE mostly all those other outlets) is that my blog is mine. I don’t have to contend with algorithms that suck (*cough Instagram*) or things like what Youtube pulled (monetizing capabilities being pulled if you don’t have a certain amount of views or followers). I am not beholden to any of those platforms. Like let’s say you put all your apples in Vine…well, Vine is dead and gone and then you have to move on to a new thing. I don’t know much about how those Vine influencers were able to get their stuff off the app and to somewhere else but that seems like a hassle to me. So, for me, even if I start getting into another platform that works for me…my blog is always going to be here because I own it and own everything on it. I happily use all of these platforms and they are important to me but my main hub is here.

Does that make sense or was that just the most confusing thing ever? I hope it made sense why *I* think blogging isn’t dead, at least not for me. Maybe others think it is but it’s my Q&A so that’s my answer haha.

Do you think the book/blog community has changed? And what do you think of the changes? Good and bad?

The book blogging community has definitely changed since I started. I’m just going to list what I think.

1)I think the above answer is A LOT of how I think it changed aka it grew from just having a blog to having a blog + a social media presence everywhere.

2)I think also when I first started in 2010 publishers were just starting to put bloggers in their marketing/publicity plans and now it’s just not blogs but Youtube and Instagram. Now “influencers” from all those realms are pretty integrated like in other industries — though book blogging has always been the slowest to get on board with what the rest of blogging niches are doing in my experience as a blog reader of lots of other blog niches and having worked in marketing.

3) I think it’s a lot more ~polished~ in some ways. Beautiful photos, beautiful graphics, beautiful sites, more professional looking. I don’t think it’s a bad or good thing…it’s just a thing that I’ve noticed. I personally want to die thinking of the ugly banners and graphics and grainy pictures I had at first. EYESORES.

4) I think the community has definitely changed on a community level. I don’t quite know how to explain it. I think book blogging finally had an explosion and is way bigger than when I started so that makes it obviously different — growing pains happen with that. It’s also become SO diverse which is amazing and probably the best thing that could have happened — I feel like I’ve learned a lot from the conversations that happen now and I’m thankful for it.

But my own personal experience community-wise has changed. I feel like it was really tight-knit when I started and still very home-y and now I find it’s harder to find my people like I did early on (sadly a lot of those people stopped blogging years ago but they are still my people). Maybe it’s because there are so many people now comparatively and we are all scattered as blogging isn’t the main hangout? I’m not quite sure.

I think also because there’s this huge push for bloggers to be like a ~brand~ also is how the community feels different. And I’m like 50/50 on this…if you read my blog you know it’s home-y and personal but I also totally want to build my platform so I just try to personally operate in that way. So I understand it, and don’t think it’s BAD necessarily because you’ll find the people you want to follow that feel like a good fit for you, but it IS different from when I first started.

But I think the heart of it is still there — super passionate people who love books and want to talk about them and be inspired by them and who find solace in this online book community in a way they might not IRL.

How do you feel about book bloggers making money  (affiliates, sponsored posts, ads)?

Ooh do I have feelings about this! I remember years ago my feelings were kind of unpopular opinion (some people were only cool with people making money through design/bookish products..which lol sucks for me I’m not talented) but now I don’t think they are as much. I think book bloggers should absolutely make money (if they want to). It’s always surprised me how resistant the community has been as a whole to people who have even brought it up — at least back in the day. I feel like if you don’t WANT to monetize, that’s cool! But I don’t get how people should feel bad about wanting to make money doing something they already love doing?? I mean, that’s the dream right? Finding something you are passionate about and being able to make money doing it?

When I started blogging I saw the community just really start getting ARCs and promo stuff from publishers and I think that felt amazing to get BOOKS GALORE.  But I think the book blogging community started doing even more and more in terms of working with publishers. In other niches, our counterparts were making money and charging for that kind of exposure. I think book bloggers really underestimated their worth and, of course, the publishers aren’t going to pay if they don’t have to because people are content what they are given. It got kind of frustrating because I, and some other long-time bloggers with great stats and standing in the community, dipped our toes in the water on it and the vibe was that basically book bloggers wouldn’t ever be paid for any of it — though others in the book community were being paid from the marketing side vs. the publicity side where bloggers were mostly working with. Sure those influencers have great numbers and reach but some top tier book bloggers also totally did too from the conversations we had privately — different but a powerful reach nonetheless.

And for awhile it became this ~purity~ thing almost…like “I don’t blog for anything except for the love of books!” And I don’t think that’s fair (even if it’s YOUR truth for your own blog) because I think you can blog for a love of books (or anything) and still make money in a non-icky way. I mean, I’ve done this for 8 years so I’d be riled up if someone tried to tell me that for making any money on my blog I did it for anything other than a love of books and reading. I’ve done it this long, largely without making money for the first few years, for A LOT of reasons (community & connection, love of books, having an outlet & voice etc) and certainly the drive has never been about money. I mean, I’ve had jobs that could have paid all the money in the world and I still wouldn’t have been motivated to do them for 8 years like I have blogging.

Sure, there will always be people you can’t trust because they are just in it to make money and will do whatever. 1) don’t trust them or follow them and 2) guess what, there are a lot of people who weren’t so honest just to get favor in the publishers eyes and weren’t getting paid but getting “free” stuff. So yeah, I think bloggers should be able to do sponsored posts and sponsored Instagram posts and whatever. Just be honest about it then people can decide how much stock they take in your opinion.

I think there is a way to be 100% authentic/have integrity and also make money. There are always going to be ~those people~ (and it’s mostly pretty obvious to me) but there are always going to be people who can do it genuinely. I know, for me, I am sooooo picky about what I will accept. I don’t want to do something that I wouldn’t EVER write about naturally. Maybe an opportunity inspires something to write about but I have personally turned down so many actually decent paying posts because they weren’t a good fit or something I’d talk about. I kept thinking, “would I be inspired by this opportunity if it weren’t paid?” and that definitely guides me a lot. I want to be excited about what I’m writing about and that goes for sponsored, paid or even just the posts that I come up with on my own that aren’t paid (like, all of them). I want to be excited and inspired by the things I’m putting out there.

WOW that was a long answer, sorry to whoever asked that. But that’s my thought. Do what you want! And if you don’t want to follow people who might make money, then don’t. But if you trust someone’s opinions, then let them do them. I personally LOVE supporting bloggers I love through their affiliate links if I’m buying something or if they sold me on something. I WANT people who I think are awesome to be able to make money doing the thing they love. And I really only FOLLOW people I trust so, it’s a no-brainer for me personally.

Okay that’s all the questions I wanted to fit in this section! Feel free to ask any — through the form or in the comments if you have any you want me to answer! This is so fun!!