It’s been a really stressful week for me with a lot of input, information and things to get creative about, but now it’s finally Friday and that’s the time to cool down for me. And of course, Let’s talk bookish hosted by J.R. @ Eternity Books where we discuss a bookish topic each Friday!
#1 What do you do when you feel pressure to post or read more?
I don’t know if I’m the only blogger who feels pressured sometimes. I follow a lot of other bloggers who either post everyday and with post I mean interesting and different topics everyday (discussions, lists, redathons, reviews etc.) and the ones who write reviews almost every day (like every second day). And then I look at my blog and think: I don’t have the time to read more than one book a week; or post more than my regular posts (Top Ten Tuesday; WWW Wednesday, Let’s talk bookish; Monthly Wrap-Ups, First Impressions and Reviews – that’s all my content).
What I am trying to say here is: other people manage to post so much creative content and manage to read so much and I don’t know how to increase number of points – so what do you about the pressure you feel or do you feel pressure at all? (Feel free to answer!)
#2 Do you care for stats at all or is it a waste of time?
I know many bloggers who would advise you not to look and care for your stats at all. But if a post has way fewer likes than some other posts, what does that tell me? Should I change what I write and just maybe be a little user-orientated; or should I ignore my readers and post whatever I want or feel like. In my opinion, it should be a mixture: still let it be your blog with your ideas and what you enjoy writing, but also research what your readers like best. But I’d still like to know.
#3 How much time do you spend on your average post?
This is not really a question for more experienced bloggers, but for everyone. I usually spend 30 minutes up to an hour on a post, but as soon as I try to incorporate many pictures or gifs, it takes way longer. So I’m curious, how much time do you need to write a whole review (30-60 min), Top Ten Tuesday (30 min) and WWW Wednesday (15-20 min). Those are the top three posts which take up different amounts of time for me, how about you?
So that’s it, feel free to comment your answers on my questions, I’d love to hear different opinions on the matter! Have a great Friday and enjoy your weekend! Happy reading!
Blogger Books 
Hey there! 🙂
I can totally relate to your much-needed post! Thanks for writing it.
Ok, onto your questions.
1) What do you do when you feel pressure to post or read more? I ground myself the best I can, and then I focus on my passions and priorities. It’s still a struggle, but I’m making progress by strengthening my new perception of reading/writing as a time of joy. Rather than viewing them as burdens or obligations.
2) Do you care for stats at all or is it a waste of time? I’m new to WordPress (since last month) and I don’t expect anything spectacular. Plus, I have the free version, so I can only do so much. LOL! But, I’m already preparing myself to NOT fall into the trap of numbers or followers because I don’t want to get discouraged or lose my focus as to why I started blogging: therapeutic purposes, to enjoy it, and maybe bring some hope to others along the way.
3) How much time do you spend on your average post? I take the time to blog once a week. For now, anyway. With that said, I spend about two days creating a post I feel led to, enjoying the process of rewriting and editing too.
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Thanks for your amazing comment, first of all!
And same, I always writing to get into a better mood!
I totally understand your opinion on stats! I’ve been blogging for two years and the start was super rough! Only five or ten people viewing your posts and like 10 followers. That can be very discouraging and so I tried not to look at that and it got better and better and you find your way and eventually people will be interested in what you have to say because they notice that you’re writing with passion! I usually use my stats as a guideline, but just as a help and not something I feel obligated to… like only posting the things with the most likes as it turns out that the posts with the most likes are the ones I didn’t spend much time with and maybe even wrote on my phone because I didn’t have any time (so the bad posts)… And then people don’t love the posts where I really put a lot of time and effort in – and that’s why I usually don’t listen to the stats!
Once a week is a great start! I started with maybe once or twice a month as I started with reviews only and also just some books! But then one year ago, I discovered all the different post ideas and realized that I love everything about blogging and now I blog at least three times per week! But I never stress myself and I’m not disappointed with myself when I decide to take some time off and don’t write that certain post now…
So, do what makes you happy and makes you feel good and not what other people tell you to!
Sorry for the LONG comment, I hope I made sense, it’s pretty late where I’m from and I’m additionally listening to music and I tend not to be super great at writing + listening haha!
Happy reading and thanks for taking your time!
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Aw, no problem. It makes me HAPPY to have connected with a fellow blogger/book lover. 🙂 I LOVE reading blog posts just as much as books. Reviews too.
I’d like to post more often and hopefully I’ll find a rhythm that works for me to be able to do so.
So, what is your favorite genre (s)? I prefer YA reads (Christian or Clean). Urban Fantasy Portal Fantasy, Speculative, Contemporary, a little Steam Punk and Fairy tale retellings too.
Do you like traditionally published authors or Indie? I like both.
Do you have any works-in-progress? As for me, not yet. Although I have some past story ideas, unfinished outlines, visuals and playlists that I may bring back to life. And maybe even finish them!
It was awesome talking with you. And I HOPE you enjoy every aspect of all things bookish and writerly. ❤ 🙂 ❤
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Thanks so much for the questions! I also love YA reads, but I also enjoy reading mystery, crime and contemporary in between my other books as a break to cool down and take my brain off of stuff!
Normally, I stick to traditionally polished authors but only because nobody really introduced me to Indie authors, so I really have to work on that haha!
And same as you, I have had multiple book or story ideas over the past years and some already in a rough draft of like 20 pages (so only the beginning haha), but I’m not working on anything now or in the near future as my time schedule wouldn’t allow it!
And thank you so much, I hope you enjoy everything as well, bookish and the other parts of your life!
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Thanks! You’re awesome! 🙂
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Great questions!
I always keep checking my stats, even though I know I should do that less, because my main reason for blogging is for enjoyment, so it shouldn’t matter that much..!
(www.evelynreads.com)
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Thanks! Yes, it’s the same with me! I only blog because I love books and there’s no money involved anyways, so why should you check your stats?
Happy reading!
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Sooo I can totally relate to this! I do feel pressure to post, to some degree… but I remind myself this is a hobby, not a job. I’m doing this for fun. And try not to worry too much about it. Also, writing posts in advance helps ALOT! This is how they do that regular posting, I worked it out from another blogger. I’ve been trying that and to stick to a regular posting schedule so I dont feel that pressure.
I do care a bit about stats, if I’m honest… the thing is though, discussion posts are always going to get more attention than most book reviews. Unless it’s a super popular new book. I think you have to do things for you and not worry too much about what everyone thinks. Authenticity shines through and your people, who appreciate what you do, will find you. Though, making the time to go connect with other peoples blogs and so on helps. This is a social space, fundamentally.
I probably spend about 30 – 40 mins on a post. It depends on what it is!
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Thanks so much for commenting!!!
I also feel pressure sometimes, but then I also remind myself that I do this for fun and then it’s okay! I also write most of my posts in advance, I have some evenings where I can just write and write and never get tired and that’s when I try to come up with many new posts! Although my tags are always written on that very day, like WWW Wednesday or something like that!
I totally agree with your opinion on stats: I do care, but the people who appreciate my posts and blog will eventually find me and that’s something that keeps me from looking at my stats too much!
And for me, it’s also about 30 min!
Happy reading and thanks again for the great comment!
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This is so incredibly relate-able. Thank you again for taking part this week! Now onto your questions!
The pressure is real, and it can sometimes be so overwhelming. I always wonder how other bloggers somehow manage to write three or four posts a week that are all so creative, and different (like discussions or things like that). It can be a little discouraging because like you, I always have the same kind of posts every single week. But then you’ve also got to remember that blogging is a hobby, a hobby that you’re doing for yourself, and not to compete with others.
The answer I’m supposed to give is no, I don’t care about my stats, but that’s not true. I do care, quite a lot, about my stats. It’s become better than before (I used to check a few hundred times everyday lol), and I check probably once or twice a day. Like you said, if one post gets lower likes, I want to know why or what I did differently than normal. For me, blogging is a hobby, but I also really care about my readers and what they like to read, so my stats do matter and I do worry about them.
Haha, it takes me about 20-3- minutes to do a WWW Wednesday post, and around 1 hour to 1 hour and a half to write a review or do a Let’s Talk Bookish post. I haven’t done a TTT in a while, but it used to take me 30 mins to maybe 40 mins.
Great questions and I hope my answers helped!
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Sorry for the late comment, my weekend was so full!!! I know, the pressure is real and I feel it too, the same as you! But I also remind myself that blogging is a hobby and that helps get rid of the stress!
And yes, I also care about stats! And one to two times also applies for me!!!
Thanks sooo much for taking your time and replying, it really helped to realize that I’m not alone haha! Happy reading!
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Lots of good questions here but I’ll weigh on on just one or two points otherwise I’ll be writing an essay which isn’t what you want.
– on stats, I do pay attention to number of hits each post gets. What I’ve seen over the years is that the meme/discussion posts get a lot of initial traffic but that fades away whereas reviews still get hits long after they went live
– time taken to write posts. I take way longer than you and the other bloggers who comment. Yesterday I did a post about mysterious deaths of 10 authors. It took me about 3 hours to research, write and format…. Reviews take me a stupidly long amount of time because I constantly tinker with the text
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Thanks so much for commenting!
I’ve noticed that!! Discussions get a lot of likes after posting, but some people like reviews from months or years back!!
And, wow, yes that’s a long time! I usually also need a lot of research time because I always feel like there could be more and I don’t know when to stop! But for book reviews, I don’t need research, gladly!
So thank you again for taking your time! Happy reading!
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