I’d begun to think about this topic again a while ago. I’ve talked about stats before, but you know what? It’s easier when you’re doing ‘well’. Whatever your definition of ‘well’ is. I remember when I felt like I wasn’t getting enough traffic, enough comments on the blog. I was very frustrated and sad at the prospect that people maybe didn’t like my content. Then I finally had the giant epiphany that people needed to see the content, before they could do anything else. And they wouldn’t see it unless I was more proactive.
So I was happy for a while, but then my stats took a big plummet. I was at loss, because I didn’t understand what was happening.
And that’s pretty much how the cycle goes. The growth cycle is exhausting, so I took the executive decision of stop letting it exhaust me.
I care about stats
The community has colletively moved away from villanizing statistics, and that’s great. But it’s crazy hard to ignore them. And in my case, I don’t want to. Statistics let you know so much information about what you’re doing and how well your content is performing. Caring about stats, for me, is caring for the people those stats represent. It’s not entirely selfless, because of course, by caring about the audience, I can also better serve them and in turn, benefit myself.
What I don’t care for is the spiral of negativity stats can bring. Because, yes, unless you’re the biggest blog ever, there’s always going to be someone with more subscribers/followers/views, etc. And even if you don’t compare yourself with others (good for you!), there’s going to be those days that you feel bummed you didn’t do as well as other days.
We’re pretty much f*cked because the disappointment is unavoidable.
Let’s be cool about it
If you’re like me and find it very hard to look away from those pesky numbers, I’ve found that you can change how you look at them.
Other bloggers get more comments on their posts
I’ve been there. Hell, I’m still there. But I can’t complain because that’s entirely my fault. I haven’t been very consistent lately.
But let’s say you are. Let’s say you’re posting three times a week, every week without a fault.
What are they talking about? How are they talking about it? Maybe you can write about something similar and give it another angle. What are the posts that are getting them the most comments? And you know what? If we’re talking about book bloggers, we’re some of the nicest of the bunch. I don’t want to generalize, but I don’t think bloggers would get mad if you politely asked them for some advice. Take this one with a grain of salt, because we’re not entitled to anyone’s time, but if you phrase it politely, the worst that can happen is you get a ‘no, sorry’, or no answer.
You’re going to be tweaking your style and content regularly to experiment with what works and doesn’t. And that’s exactly how it should be.
So much traffic last month but now stats are dead
Which were those posts that brought the traffic? How did your posting schedule look? Try to emulate all that blogging behavior. Seek new ways of getting traffic. Guest post for another blog, or think of a new feature you can implement that with attract readers’ attention.
From ‘no one likes my content’ to ‘what can I do better?’
Always, always be on the lookout for how you can improve. I absolutely love how Marie feels about stats, and her post actually gave me the last push I needed to write this one. She’s very upfront in her post and very positive too! Sometimes you’re not even doing anything wrong. It’s just a matter of bringing in new ideas. You’re allowed to be sad and frustrated, but only for a moment, then it’s time to think and research!
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Do you pay attention to stats? How often are you frustrated with them? What is the most common frustration for you?
Excellent post. I think we all go through this some time or another. In the end whether health issues, work or family I know we all are doing our best. We just need to support each other. Thanks Pamela! ❤️❤️
Dani Eide recently posted this awesome thing…The Long Way To A Small Plot but Happy Characterization
I think I tell myself I am blogging just for me, but it stings, when you see someone with a new WP blog hit 1000 subscriptions, while I’ve be at it for over 5 years, and I know some of it is a stigma with having a blogger blog, and not necessarily me or my content. But it is what it is, and I will keep screaming about the books I love anyhow.
Sam@wlabb recently posted this awesome thing…Sundays with Sam – The Sunday Post
Guilty! The envy monster consumes me when that happens. Then I go eat something and think about it more rationally and go like ‘Cheers’. I usually start browsing my blog and do some tweaks and then almost all the time I’ll feel better about it and feel so proud about what I’ve done here.
YAY FOR SCREAMING ABOUT BOOKS!
Great post! I used to pay lots of attention to my stats, but I honestly found it draining, so I mostly ignore them now. LOL! But I love your advice on how to look at those numbers in a different way that isn’t stressful. 🙂
Nicole @ Feed Your Fiction Addiction recently posted this awesome thing…March 2019 Monthly Wrap-Up Round-Up Link-Up & Giveaway
Ignoring it sounds great tbh XD But it’s too late for me now that I work in an environment where stats are literally everything.
Thanks for reading!
I am going through a phase of – I’m blogging for myself so nevermind the lack of stats – but give me a couple of weeks and I’ll be back to ‘why is no one commenting on my posts at all??? what am i doing wrong?’. it’s a frustrating cycle, but then i remember that I am blogging because I enjoy books and fandom and the community and producing content, so I try to hold on to that.
We’re so moody XD I totally get that feeling. Maybe you’re not even doing great, but you FEEL great, but then for whatever reason everything just looks way worse than it is. You’re not doing anything wrong! As long as you publish content you’re in love with, it won’t be too hard for people to see that and love it too! <3
This is such a wonderful post, Pamela, and one I (and many other bloggers probably) needed. I think caring about statistics is natural; we spend so much time and effort putting out content that we can’t help but care about how it’s doing, who’s read it, etc. Without the right mindset, things can start to spiral downwards quite quickly.
When I stopped posting every day like I used to a few years ago, my statistics naturally plummeted which put me in a blogging slump to the point that I quit for a little while. Then, I realized that hey… I love talking about books. But I can’t realistically blog everyday without burning myself out, and I also realized that blogging everyday meant I was putting out content I didn’t CARE about. When I came back, after about half a year, I made a pact with myself. That I’d make content I care about. And sure, my stats aren’t where they used to be when I churned out 25 posts a month, but they’re getting better. People engage. They communicate. Sometimes, a good post can make them think and continue the discussion. In the end, if the engagement and content is there, the statistics will come themselves. That’s the positive mantra I’ve come to embrace. 🙂
Truly wonderful post.
That’s an awesome way to blog. I think I was posting 3 to 4 times a week in the first year or so. But, looking back, I was definitely posting about 60% content that was a bit meh, just for the sake of posting something. I took a lot of breaks too, and it was all the more noticeable because I’d go from being on a streak to nada. It feels so great when you put something out there and it turns out people resonate with it and you can talk about it!
Thank you for reading!
The last part of your post is the one that truly hit me the hardest. I feel like I’m more of a procrastinator that likes to count my disappointments, but then I wonder how hard am I actually working to change that. It’s easy to put blame on things that I can’t change, instead of focusing on what I can. For example: I always think that my blog doesn’t get enough traffic because I don’t interact on social media, such as Twitter or Bookstagram, because I suck at both of those and they give me too much anxiety. So, I know for a fact that social media is not for me when it comes to attracting audience. But I’m pretty sure there’s more I can do to my blog – such as being more consistent with my commenting, which I’ve been awful at lately – and that I can actually change and improve at! It really is a matter of shifting your focus and trying to pay more attention on the things that you can really be better at!
Amazing tips, Pam! 😊
Lais recently posted this awesome thing…in which i discuss how my reading taste has changed over the years
This just made my day. I know there are so many bloggers that just don’t care for social media, or they have accounts but focus their efforts elsewhere and they still rock.
I know for a fact that if I were better at commenting, things would be better. And that awareness keeps me from stressing out too much. It was frustrating when I associated my blog’s performance with ME, and not the actual stuff that makes engagement and traffic spike. Our blogs are such a personal part of our lives, so maybe when looking at stats we should distance ourselves a bit and look at it more objectively. And also don’t forget we’re awesome!
Thanks for your comment! <3
I can totally relate to this! I try and stay positive about stats, but especially when they go down, I do find it hard. My stats have definitely gone down recently because I haven’t been posting as much, and it does make me feel bad, but at the end of the day, it’s to be expected.
I love what you say about trying to keep a positive mindset about it all though and use it as an opportunity to look at how you can improve, rather than feeling sad about it. I’m definitely going to try out some of the things you’ve suggested for research!
Great post! 🙂
Laura recently posted this awesome thing…5 Long Books I Want To Read
I’m so happy this encouraged you to consider how you look at your stats! It’s hard because ours blogs feel so very personal. Not getting attention on our blogs sometimes feels like people don’t like US. I think that’s the difference from business blogs. People are like ‘oh well, let’s throw some ads’. But for us, it’s just very hard to separate blog from individual. Thanks for stopping by! <3
I love this post so much, Pam! And thank you so much for linking back to my post, I’m so happy you enjoyed it so much <3
I sometimes find it hard to approach statistics with a positive mindset, because as you said, there are always other, bigger bloggers we could compare ourselves to and always things we can feel jealous of or frustrated about. Yet, I've learned to tell myself that… statistics can be unpredictable, at times, too. Statistics are not what makes or break my blog, either, since my blog is a hobby and not my job – if it were my job, then yes, statistics would definitely make or break my blog, haha, well you get what I mean here. It's fun to see that we are growing, it's great to see what works and what doesn't work and it's definitely good to see how we can improve, too, little by little, by trying things out and doing our best. what matters the most is that we are proud of what we put out there, at least, for me 🙂
Wonderful post! <3 <3
Marie @ Drizzle & Hurricane Books recently posted this awesome thing…Bullet Point Review: The Near Witch, Victoria Schwab
Sometimes I step back and look at my blog and I’m like WOW, I’ve kept this thing alive this long. And it’s precisely that feeling of acomplishment, and success and pride that we should hold on to at all times (easier said than done). It’s like we forget that we’re already awesome! Thank you for your thoughts! Love your insights!