Are bloggers the only ones who read blog posts?
A thought popped into my head the other day as I was laying in bed. Are bloggers the only ones who read blog posts?
I never really thought about it before. While I have considered where my readers come from, I never stopped to think that the majority of my readers are bloggers.
Before I had a blog, I almost never read blog posts. While, I didn't spend much time on blogs, I still read a lot of content. I read a lot of books and magazines. I would even go on Yahoo and read through all the different types of articles! When it came to blogs, I would only read a post if I searched something on Google, and it came up.
When compared to other online content, a blog is not like Youtube. Where regardless of whether I took an interest in content creation, I still watched the content. It's also not like Instagram where the content is all contained in one application.
I came to a conclusion. When it came to blogging, I think it's a lot less simple to find blog content. Especially blog content you liked. It's not like YouTube, where all the content is on one website. Blogs all have their own URL. Therefore, unless you create a compilation of bloggers you enjoy through the WordPress Reader, Bloglovin', Feedly or some other reader, they're not all in one spot.
While I do get some people who don't blog reading my blog posts, the majority are bloggers. Not only that, but every person who comments is a blogger.
When I was younger, I used to read books about characters who owned popular blogs. Where they would get dozens upon hundreds of comments, and even more views. I dreamt of having my own blog, and ending up like any of those characters.
I finally created my blog about three years ago. Now I wonder, is that unattainable? Do people other than bloggers read blog posts?
Also, does it matter who reads your content? While it's cool thinking that people who aren't in the "industry" are reading your content, viewers are viewers. Regardless what their hobbies are, they're still readers.
What are your thoughts on this? Do you think it matters who's reading blog content? If you're a blogger, are the majority of your readers bloggers as well? Let me know in the comments down below!
Sending you love, strength, and positivity!
I've wondered this too, most of the people supporting me are other bloggers right now. I actually really love that most of my readers have blogs of their own, because I feel like I can have a relationship with my audience that isn't just once sided. If it was mostly just people finding me on google I don't think I'd feel like I know my readers at all, so it's nice to have something tangible attached to the name in the comments!
But I also see the other side of it, it would be amazing to be able to have a huge fanbase like a lot of the larger creators out there. It would be hard to keep feeling that personal connection though.
Regardless of your readers being bloggers or not you've built an amazing community that genuinely cares about what you have to say, and you should be proud of that! x
You’re so right, i do feel a nice connection to my readers! Especially the ones that comment all the time. It gives me a better of idea of who my audience is, and I just think of everyone who reads my friends😂 thanks for reading and commenting !
Exactly! It's nice to feel like you know your audience personally 😊
In my experiene, it is almost exclusively bloggers, who comment on blog posts, but other people do read them. It's just rare that people outside a community follow a blog regularly. I think most people who aren't bloggers themselves just drop by because they found the blog on Google and then often leave again after reading the one post relevant to them. I love getting comments, but I blog, because I like to write and get things out there, so I will keep blogging (very sporadically) whoever reads it.
That makes sense! It's been super interesting to see how other people's engagement has been in terms of blogger vs normal people! Thanks so much for reading and sharing 🙂 xx
I'm just guessing from the page views to comments ratio on my blog that a lot of non-bloggers do read blog posts - but that it is mainly bloggers (excluding spammers) who leave comments -
and I really like that. I enjoy reading bloggers' thoughtful comments and keep a constantly updated list of bloggers' Twitter names and blog URLs on an Apple TextEdit document.
I love that there are generally links to commenters' own blogs with blog comments, or at least to their profiles.
I really love reading the comments - they are an excellent for getting feedback and resource for discovering other blogs.
that makes sense! Almost all the people, if not all of the people who comment on my blog are bloggers themselves, but I never stopped to think that the views might all be bloggers themselves. That's such a great point.
I love reading comments and responding back. While I'm not always the quickest in doing so, I love connecting with people. Having this little community on my blog is such a great feeling. I feel like I have gotten close to a lot of my readers for that reason. thanks so much for reading and commenting! Hope you're staying safe during this crazy moment in time xx
I've always thought about this well. I only ever seem to get comments and engagement from fellow bloggers, except family and friends of course. Much like other comments, I'm just going to be grateful for the views I do get, especially since I'm not very good at doing the "good" blogger things like scheduling posts and enough social media promotion! Great post xx
This is Janelle from thenellybean.com, not sure why it registered me as anonymous!
Some others have commented saying that while non-bloggers may read the blog, they're just a lot less likely to comment, which makes a lot of sense! It seems to be more work, and they don't entirely realize how important and uplifting comments are to a blog!
You're right though, I'm grateful for my views and comments, no matter where they're coming from. Thanks so much for reading and commenting Janelle 🙂 xx
This is some really good food for thought! I know I never actually read many blogs myself until I started blogging and I think most of my readers are fellow bloggers but it feels pretty good, as while we're all blogging for different reasons, the fact we all have different levels of experience means we can help each other out as well as support one another 🙂
That's a great point! I guess it doesn't really matter how or where your community comes from! Thanks so much for reading and commenting 🙂 xx
This is such an interesting topic. And there's a lot of talk about blogs and blogging and I guess the relevancy these days since it feels like blogging and bloggers are on the decline. I personally adore blogging. For me it's about the control of the environment, posting what you want, when you want and not having to worry so much about likes or views (though the latter is seemingly important). Plus Bloglovin doesn't go to lengths to block your content. I've never really thought about who was reading what I was posting. I guess I've always had a general idea (like you, a bit of both). But I do know for sure all the comments I do get come from fellow bloggers. One or two spam but for the most part it is always bloggers which is kind of nice. For me it has always shown the strength of the community.
Sxx
http://www.daringcoco.com
Ah this is such an interesting discussion! Before I started blogging, just like you, I would only read blog posts if I stumbled upon them on my searches, but I wouldn't seek out blogs just like I do, now. I feel like a majority of my readers are bloggers, certainly all of the comments I receive are from fellow bloggers, but I'd like to think, to hope that some non bloggers, but readers, still, stumble upon my blog and will still find something valuable on my platform, that's the goal 🙂
I know that personally, before I started blogging I was only following about 2 or 3 blogs, and I never branched out much. On top of that I never commented, partially because I felt too shy, and partially because a lot of comment systems ask for a website, and I didn't have one at the time. I think that what I appreciate most about blogging is the sense of community, which mainly comes in the form of other bloggers.
Besides for your really good point about how it can be difficult to find other blogs, I think that it's also harder to keep up with a blog than a bookstagram account for instance. It takes way more time to read a blog post and comment on it than to like, and even comment on how pretty a bookstagram picture is. Even booktube you can listen to in the background. But reading requires your full attention, and I think the people who are most interested in doing that are the people who blog themselves, and enjoy that platform.
This was a really great discussion!
The majority of my readers are bloggers too. I use to read so many books with fictional characters who had blogs too!! I absolutely loved books like that, but at the end of the day it isn't real. Its a lot more work than you'd think. I also think in general not many people actually read for pleasure, unlike the majority of people who will watch YouTube videos, or scroll through instagram. xx
http://zoe-ware.com
That's true, I guess views are views! Like you said, the characters in those books aren't real. Thanks so much for reading and commenting ! 🙂 x
I think it is hard because a lot of blogging sites make it so you have to have an account to comment, so naturally it is a lot of bloggers. But I do know a lot of people who "silently" read my blog and will mention it to me later on (mostly family and friends lol). <3
that's true! I'm pretty sure that my commenter allows people to sign in through facebook/google as well or if they want to comment and don't have an account to anything, they have to fill out the form. I understand that it's a lot more work to fill it out! I still fill it out for bloggers who don't have the wordpress commenter! I honestly just love leaving comments on people's blog. Like you said, I do know that some people in my personal life read my blog, so there might be some other people who read my blog who aren't bloggers. Thanks so much for reading and commenting 🙂 x
The majority of my blog readers are now from the internet and Instagram. I remember the first two years I started, I only had bloggers and I tried forever to get 'outside' people to view my work. But there's a good and bad to both. The internet means old blog posts can keep getting views, but non-bloggers don't really interact. My comments and likes are now minuscule in comparison, and so it's hard to know what people think.
Overall though, I think views are views. And as long as they are there and keep growing or not declining, it shouldn't matter. I guess it's more important whether people keep coming back and enjoying the content. I love your posts and I'm glad you're still blogging. That's another thing with blog readers - they make you feel like you're part of a community and supported. 🙂
https://thestyleoflaurajane.com/
That's really cool that so many of your followers are from Instagram! I've been working on my SEO, so a lot of my readers have been coming from Google!
I completely agree though, views are views. Not only that but bloggers are a lot better at interacting, and you just feel more connected to them overall!
Thanks so much for reading and commenting 🙂 x
I think the majority of my readers are other bloggers but I do have people I know read my blog too. Thank you for sharing your thoughts x