This Week’s Topic: Why I Follow You
Not too long ago, I was commenting on a post about blogger stats, and I lamented how, of course, I would like more followers, but you know, it is what it is. What I didn't expect, was the blogger to tell me, that she would follow me, but she doesn't follow Blogspot blogs.
After I recovered, I was thinking about why I follow the blogs I follow. Hint: your hosting platform does not figure into my decision, but I did come up with the following list.
- Your blog talks about the type of books I like to read. I read a LOT of YA and am a romance lover, therefore, I follow a ton of YA and romance blogs, because they highlight and talk about books I have either read or want to read.
- I think you are amusing. There are some bloggers, who never fail to make me smile or chuckle, and I like to smile and chuckle.
- I appreciate how nice you are. There are some super sweet bloggers out there, and I love visiting them, because they are just a ray of sunshine and light up my day.
- I am absolutely dazzled by your beautiful website. Eye candy + great content = a blog I want to follow.
- You have the ability to come up with awesome discussion topics, and you can intelligently talk about so many things. I just want to bask in greatness.
Now it's your turn!
What makes you follow a blog?
Let us know in the comments!
I follow a lot of bloggers. I try to follow in a lot of different ways (bloglovin, GFC, Google+, Facebook, Twitter) as well. I am a little more picky about which blogs I will sign up for emails though. I follow lots of bloggers because I want to support the book blogging community. I love and appreciate all of my followers and hope others feel the same. I can't understand how the blogger's platform factors in.
ReplyDeleteIf I love you, I will follow you all over the world of social media, and I am like you, I have a squad, who's posts I don't want to miss, so I have email subscriptions to those blogs. I was floored when I read the platform comment, but my co-blogger had thought about switching to WP a few years back BECAUSE of the blogspot stigma.
DeleteYes to all of these!! I am in awe of people who can come up with discussions because for the past year I have had nothing lol. I appreciate blogs who have YA, Women's Fiction and romance and thrillers/suspense books the most. Plus like you said nice people are always a good reason to follow.
ReplyDeleteI follow a TON of romance blogs, because I love romance, and a lot of YA blogs (obviously) since I am part of a YA blog. I actually unfollowed a blogger, who kept going on these rants. I just try to keep my angsty negativity to a minimum. So, nice bloggers are high on my list.
DeleteI totally agree with you the platform of the blog isn't part of my decision to follow a blog at all. I enjoyed blogs that have a variety of books because even if it isn't 100% of what I read sometimes I find one with a new book that I fall in love with. Great topic!
ReplyDeleteMaybe they only want to check out blogs through WP reader? I don't know. There are blogs I follow, where they never read any books I would read, but I love their discussions. I check in every week for those posts.
DeleteI agree with so many of these! The platform doesn't factor into my decision - with Bloglovin' I can basically follow everyone. I tend to follow blogs that read similar books as me, but discussion posts are a big thing as well.
ReplyDeleteOn the weekends, I scroll through Bloglovin and visit blogs that had posts I am interested in . I am finding more and more hybrid blogs, where the bloggers are 20s and up, and feature books all over the age range. I am staying true to my co-bloggers vision (since this was their blog first), but I sneak in some of my non-YA books too. Hey, I read a lot.
DeletePretty much all these reasons are my reasons for following too. I also love it when I can see bloggers interacting with their readers and being friendly! It says a lot about the blogger, in my opinion! :)
ReplyDeleteOne of my favorite things about blogging is interacting with other readers. I don't have any IRL readers to fangirl with, so I love my daily visits with each and every one of my blogger friends.
DeleteYES to all of these. I’ve also had someone tell me that they only follow Wordpress blogs, so they didn’t want to follow my blog. That’s sad. I’ll follow any blog that intrigues me and posts regularly.
ReplyDeleteAj @ Read All The Things!
I didn't even know how to react to that WP thing. I just unfollowed her and stopped reading her posts. I have no room for bias in my life. I do find, that WLABB has gotten more and more visitors since we have a steady publication schedule these days.
DeleteReading a range of interesting books, writing coherently, and having a pleasing palette are all important to me. Also, not just having reviews and tours, which are my least favorite things to read. Also, somewhat similar tastes. It's totally okay to have differences of opinions, but the other day I was looking at a blog that gave three of my very favorite books really low ratings, and I decided we probably just didn't have very similar things we are looking for.
ReplyDeleteI follow a few bloggers, who do not like the same kind of books as me. I am always on edge when I see they are reading some of my most beloved books, but I have connected to them via discussion posts.
DeleteI do find it easier to follow fellow WordPress bloggers, but there is bloglovin and you actually can add other blogs to your WordPress feeder (I follow your blog on it, for example), but sometimes I have trouble viewing certain blogs on it. I follow my fellow bloggers if we have similar taste in books and if we talk in the comments often. Funnily enough, I might still follow someone if we have a great rapport even if our taste in books aren't very similar.
ReplyDeleteHey! I just learned something new. I had no idea you could add other blogs to WP. Yep! I totally visit some blogs because I like the blogger, and I want to support them in the community.
DeleteWow, that comment would have taken me aback, too. Sometimes certain commenting platforms are trickier than other for me (sometimes due to firewalls at the office, sometimes due to commenting on my iPad) but I've never based who to follow on the blog host. *shakes my head*
ReplyDeleteWell I know you don't follow me because of my awesome discussion posts - since I've never done one. LOL I swear, I am intimidated beyond belief by discussion posts! Going on 3 years now and I still haven't done it (even though I swore it was going to happen in 2017). Maybe this year... *sigh* This was a great topic, Sam!
Tanya, I think I gasped when I read the comment. You can follow and never comment, but to say that. I don't know. It didn't sit well with me. I follow you because I <3 you! You always make me smile, and we have that Jax connection too. =)
DeleteTotally agree with all of these! I of course love following people who have similar reading tastes because I feel like I have more to contribute to the conversation in their comments, and I love those bloggers who just seem like little sunshine angels. Nice people are the best.
ReplyDeleteBring the sunshine. There is too much bad energy out in the world, and I need someone super positive on my team.
DeleteI don't really get why people have the Blogspot stigma? I have WP, but never really minded what platform I followed. I'm also a big romance reader, so follow mostly romance books.... but also really enjoy following blogs that host challenges! Great way to bond with other bloggers :)
ReplyDeleteYour GIF game is on POINT!
Give me romance or give me death! I love it! Before I was asked to join WLABB, I was really active in romance reader groups. That fanbase is incredible. I still check in once a week, and I follow a lot of romance blogs, because I am about 50/50 with YA and adult/NA romance when I read. I am a gif lover, and just cannot help myself.
DeleteI don't mind what platform you use, I don't have blogger prejudice. LOL. Great topic. I pretty much agree with all your raised points. I follow anyone who have the same interests as I do as well and being nice is super important. :) ~Aleen
ReplyDeleteRight? We need more nice in the world, and I try to surround myself with the bloggers, who make me smile.
DeleteWait, she doesn't follow ANY Blogspot blogs!? HOW!? Half my faves have Blogspot blogs (present company included, of course!) That seems really arbitrary, wowww. Anyway, let me try to recover. I really think that your reasons are my reasons. Funny, stuff in common, nice to talk to... yep, I'm in! If I like a person and enjoy talking to them, I will pretty much follow them any way I can, because I want to stalk- erm, keep up with them :D
ReplyDeleteThe comment was, I would follow you, but I don't follow Blogspot blogs because their content is not to my taste. I don't know how EVERY blogspot blog could be excluded, but yeah. There was that. I have followed you for a really long time, mostly because you always make me laugh, and you are a straight shooter (I appreciate that).
DeleteI follow a ton of blogs but hosting platform is not a consideration. I like your reasons, and agree with all of them. It's a mix of things really. I follow blogs that read stuff I wouldn't read, but I still like their insights or content or whatever. And frankly I've expanded my horizons so much since I started blogging, trying genres and books I never would have tried, so there's that. I feel like the more blogs I follow, the more I gain from it?
ReplyDeleteI also follow blogs, which do not feature books I have a tendency to read, and it's a combination of the stuff I mentioned as to why. It's awesome that you have branched out as a result of blogging. I love your philosophy!
DeleteI'm trying to shake things up so that I don't get stagnant following the same blogs, they can make me lazy and blinkered, so I'm trying other methods. I'm seeking out posts which interest me by finding them on other social media platforms, or on challenges / blog hops.
ReplyDeleteIt works at the moment by I may change my methods again.
I have been dabbling in some new groups and trying to be more active on Twitter, but it's hard. I don't know how everyone finds the time!
DeleteI follow blogs for many reasons - but blogging platform for me too is not one of them - I like if you read books similar to me, also different from me. Also blogging style features heavily into why I'll follow a blog.
ReplyDeleteTanya Patrice
Girlxoxo.com
Books are the first thing that attract me, but as I bounce around, I tend to keep bumping into someone and the we have a good rapport on another platform, I will totally follow them.
DeleteI usually follow blogs for the personality behind the written words or for the discussion posts and reviews. Humor is always a plus for me! The platform doesn't come into consideration if I really like a certain blog. I'll jump through quite a few hoops to follow a blog through other social media to get to a place where I'll be getting a notification when something new is up :)
ReplyDeleteI love funny people, because there is too much sad and serious stuff in the world.
DeleteThis is such a great post! If I don't follow blogs based on their platform, I have two ways of following blogs: since I am on Wordpress, I follow the ones on Wordpress so that they appear on the reader, and the other ones thanks to blog-lovin' and keeping them in my bookmarks, since I suck at blog-lovin', haha :)
ReplyDeleteI love to follow people reading the same kind of books as I do, obviously, but also bloggers whose personality shines through their posts, blogs I like to read posts from, they're fun, they're wise, they're... well, themselves in any way they can and I love that :) <3 I loved this post ! :)
I think "fun" is almost my trademark word. I am all about that, because sometimes the world gets me down.
DeleteSomeone really said that? They don't follow based on platform? That is absolute crazy talk!
ReplyDeleteI pretty much agree with you on your reasons for following blogs. I've gotten past just following the big names of blogging who have thousands of followers. I still follow some but now it's all about the nice bloggers. I tend to drift more towards bloggers who read similar books to me but ones who stop by my blog regularly are also followed simply because I like seeing their name stop by so I need to read and comment back.
Pretty sites are less important to me now, but I am more likely to read someone's blog when I stimble across is when it's pretty. I'm simple and like pretty things!
Mostly, I just like to follow blogs which have something to say. One filled with blog tours and no original content will be skipped but those who write discussions and reviews and put the effort to do their own thing are going to be the ones I keep going back to.
I swear, when I read the blogger's reply to me, I gasped out loud. I couldn't believe it.
DeleteThat is an interesting point you bring up. I do follow a bunch of the HUGE blogs, but I don't tend to interact with them. You know what I didn't mention? I like bloggers, who feature a mix of old and new books as well as hyped and hidden gem books.
Great post! And most of the blogs I follow are for the same reasons you mentioned, similar interests, nice bloggers, etc. I can't imagine not following someone just because of where they happen to host their blog.
ReplyDeleteI think that is a maybe a younger blogger thing, because I have seen follow tweets that specifically state wordpress blogs. Made me scratch my head.
DeleteI can't say the platform has ever stopped me following a blog. Getting on with the blogger is my biggest "follow want". #letsdiscuss2018
ReplyDeleteI totally agree. I totally value my interactions with the blogger, and vibing with the blogger is tantamount to my experience.
DeleteWhy would someone not follow blogspot blogs????? Humans confuse me. I think I follow blogs for many of the same reasons you do. I read almost all YA, so i gravitate toward that. I also like blogs that make me laugh, or are super insightful. Following blogs also helps me to do my job. I buy YA books for my library, if I see the same book raved about on multiple blog pages, I'm going to buy it!!
ReplyDeleteI had no words when I saw that comment. But, to each their own. I wish I had your job!!! But I probably would stress so much, because I want all the books, and like, budgets.
DeleteI actually don't follow that many blogs (at least, not compared to other bloggers I know) because I want to be able to actually keep up with and engage with all the bloggers I *do* follow...and I'm not the best at it even with the small number I follow currently. All the reasons you listed factor into why I follow a blog, but the two most important for me are: 1) similar taste in books and 2) interesting discussion posts.
ReplyDeleteEven though we don't read that many of the same books, I love checking in on your blog because you always have the most interesting posts, Sam!
Kristin had this great post about how to use feedly, which would let you add a bunch of blogs and scroll though like any other social media site. For blogs I stalk, I have an email subscription. Then, I have a bunch I subscribe to via RSS. I click the things I am interested in and comment when I have something to say. And awww, you are too sweet. Thank you! *crying*
DeleteThe only reason I wouldn't follow a blog because of their blogging platform is if I can't find the dang button or link to follow!! Haha. And HEY! Romance and YA are also my genres, so now I'm following YOU! :) Though I've been posting a lot more romance than YA lately I think... I also love amusing blogs, or ones that post fun discussions (with gifs! yay!) or that make me think about things in new ways.
ReplyDeleteHa! That would be a problem. There are a few I wish I could subscribe to via email, but I cannot find it on their page. I was asked to join this blog, so I stay true to their YA vision, but I share all my weekly reads with some thoughts in my Sunday post and on Goodreads. How did we express ourselves properly before gifs?
DeleteThis is a great discussion! I’ve been thinking about “when does a list become a discussion” lately since we’re dong the Discussion Challenge (which is how I found your post) and a lot of the posts I see in the linky I just go “um, no that’s a list.” But here’s a great example of how to be both. So thanks.
ReplyDeleteBut to actually be on topic, I totally agree with your list. We’re a blogspot blog too and we had issues with people being able to comment at one point, but a plug-in solves that. So unless someone just had a bad experience with Blogger, I don’t think it matters. I often don’t even notice the host unless I have to log in to WP to comment. Since I forgot my login info because I use it so rarely, that’s a problem.
-Gretl @ goldiloxandthethreeweres.blogspot.com
Thanks! Discussion posts are hard for me, but I try. I never really paid much mind to the host, but my co-blogger went through this whole thing a few years back about switching and buying a domain and whatnot, because she felt it was necessary to grow. There could be some truth to it. My computer stores my passwords, so I don't know any except for the sites where I pay my bills.
DeleteDefinitely agree with your posts! I do follow a lot of blogs to support the community and try to engage as much as I can, especially when it comes to those who share the Genres that I enjoy the most! I'm definitely trying to post a lot more discussions this year but, keeping up is proving kind of difficult at the moment. I usually prefer following blogs via 'Bloglovin because it makes it easier for me to engage more than I normally would. Blog hops are also a great way for me to discover new blogs, which is how I discovered yours so, yay for that! I can't imagine not following someone, just because they have a Blogspot blog. It sounds immature and kind of arrogant in my opinion! I would've been shocked if someone said that to me!Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteElena @ Book Lady's Reviews
Discussions are so hard! I am grateful for Nicole and Shannon, because their challenge motivates me to do my weekly discussion post. You pretty much summed up how I felt when I read that blogspot comment. Once I go through my inbox and visit the blogs I want to comment on, I scroll through Bloglovin and visit the ones that interest me. Kristen turned me on to Feedly, and I am going to try to use that more. It has some cool features.
DeleteThe type of hosting doesn't affect my decision to follow either! I mean, if I'm loving the blog or the blogger, I'm ready to fill up my inbox by subscribing to them via email. Though, some blogs have absolutely no way to follow them *frustrating sigh* and am close to bawling because I want to do something good but am not able to. Ugh.
ReplyDeleteAmazing interesting content especially in discussions (LIKE THIS ONE) gives me an inevitable urge to follow a blog which is exactly what's going to happen now :D Great post <3
Fanna | https://fannatality.wordpress.com
That's what I'm saying. I think the biggest reason I follow a blog is the blogger. There are people I follow, who don't really read any books I read, but I love their wit, humor, or observations, and enjoy interacting with them. I never really noticed their platform.
DeleteI've never heard of anyone specifically not following Blogspot blogs. I wonder what their reasoning is?
ReplyDeleteNicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction
When I brought it up with my co-blogger, she said people feel blogspot bloggers are not as serious, and the person who made that comment to me, said blogspot blogs don't have content she is interested in. I find it hard to believe that all blogspot blogs are uninteresting to her, but whatever. I still see follow trains on Twitter that say "if your wordpress, I will follow you". It is what it is.
DeleteGreat post! I usually follow blogs when they have great reviews, awesome discussions and are just nice, kind human beings that I want to be friends with. The type of platform doesn't really interest me but if a blog looks nice (no matter the platform) that WILL make me more keen on following them.
ReplyDelete