I’ve slowly and surely been adding new blogs that I find to my WordPress Reader so I can easily see them again when there are updates.
But there are certainly key things that make me add blogs to my Reader, as well as key things that make me avoid adding them.
I definitely exit as fast as I can if the blog takes a long time to load or a ton of ads pop-up in my screen. Lol I just don’t have the time for that. And it might be a myth, but I’m incredibly paranoid about computer viruses and getting hacked and I always associated slow pages and tons of pop-ups with higher risks for that. So I just stay away.
I also stay away if the blog is heavily sales-oriented. If every paragraph is a sales pitch with non-stop links to amazon throughout it’s entirety, then I do lose interest almost immediately.
However, the subtle sales pitches don’t bother me. You know, where the post is mostly informative or storytelling and the sales links are embedded quite naturally into the content – that works for me and it actually impresses me when it’s done that well.
I also enjoy content that is very interactive, where there are alot of comments afterwards because I do enjoy reading all those too. I’ve found comments to be just as informative and entertaining as the original post.
I also get lured in by visuals. Blogs with a good mix of visuals included within their posts do catch my attention better than others and I tend to go back for more.
What do you all think about blogs that you find? What makes you follow them or exit them for good? And, where do you find your new blogs?
I used to find new blogs to follow on social media, mostly on Facebook. But I’ve lost my taste for those. Of course this is a blatant generalization that I realize doesn’t apply to everyone, but the blogs I find on Facebook seem way more interested in increasing their follower counts and site visit counts than on any authentic interaction. And I simply just don’t have the time to weed through most of those.
So now that I’ve been soured about finding new blogs on Facebook and social media, I’m wondering where else would be a good place to find them? How do you all find your new blogs to follow?
One thing that works much better for me than Facebook, is when a blogger I enjoy posts about all the blogs that THEY enjoy. It’s like, a personal reference. And usually, they’re spot on! A recent post by Happy Panda is the perfect example of this. I couldn’t be any happier when a blogger does this. 🙂
I would LOVE to find a blog directory somewhere that is managed via personal references only. That way, the people only interested in spamming, and playing the numbers game, don’t get included. And nobody has to filter through them anymore. Also, blogs that are spammy or slow or stuffed with advertisements won’t get included either because it’s very exclusive directory that focuses on quality over quantity. Does something like this exist? If not, we all should start one. Let me know if you want in! 🙂
As I was reading your blog post, these points came to mind:
1. I don’t care for journal entries. I don’t know these people, so why would I want to know specific details about their lives, like what they ordered at a restaurant or what they did each hour of the day? I really don’t care, unless they’re doing a review about a meal they ate or something.
2. I also need a blog to be relatable. If it’s mostly littered with ADs or sponsors where they got the products for free, of course they are going to give a glowing review of said product. I’ve noticed the some bloggers are placing a lot of emphasis on sponsored ads and it’s just not relatable anymore.
3. Yes, people who push their products or heavily hint at needing sales annoys me too. I’m quick to unsubscribe if bloggers become annoying. Sometimes I will refollow in the future, especially if I miss their content.
4. Blog posts that are way too long and lack organization annoy me. I don’t like blog posts that are written like essays. It requires me to scroll through it and pick out the points that are relevant to me. This is what lists are for!
So true about lists! I can’t believe I forgot about that. But I absolutely LOVE lists of info. As long as it’s not lists of amazon links, I can get sucked into lists almost every time! I 100% agree with all your points above. 🙂
I would have more comments if people actually commented. I reply to comments; I just don’t get many in the first place. And you can help with that… haha 😛
To answer your question, I guess I feel busy and overwhelmed with life, so I don’t really seek out new blogs to follow. I feel like I don’t have time to read everything. (However, it’s probably okay to follow blogs and not read every single post… I’m not good at that. I always want to read everything.) If someone follows me, or if a name I don’t recognize leaves a like or a comment, I always check out their blogs. A lot of them are spam or not in English. But I have found some interesting people that way. I’ve also found blogs through people who follow a blog in common with me (and a lot of my followers found me that way – I think that’s how you found me, right?).
I guess whether or not a blog stays in my feed depends on what it’s about, and if it’s relevant to me. I don’t read a lot of women’s fashion blogs, for example, because I’m a dude with no sense of fashion.
I don’t have a huge following, I’m not exactly writing what a lot of people are looking for, but I enjoy it so I’m going to keep doing it.
That’s exactly how I found you – you left a comment that I connected with on a blog I was following, and checked you out from there. Comments really are a good way to get to know people. Usually blog posts are very purposeful – to sell something or to tell a particular story – so you can decipher what’s really going on from the comments instead. And oh-my-gosh, you are so accurate about me – I stink at LEAVING comments. I usually get so caught-up in the reading and when I’m in that reading zone, I just want to read more and more and don’t often stop. I’ll try to do better about that, but specifically just for you. 🙂
Thank you… I hope my stories are the kind that you get caught up in…
You’re welcome Greg. I do get caught up in your stories because they remind me of that time in the past so well. Like, I had completely forgotten about stuff like The Goo Goo Dolls and mixtapes and chat-rooms, but you remind me of all those fond memories. Thank you. 🙂
I also have trouble finding new blogs to read. I find a lot via people who follow mine. I look for ones that are relatively short and sound like a real person wrote them
You said it best just then Tater – “sound like a real person”… That’s exactly what I’m looking for too. 🙂
I agree with all your comments about blog standards lol I look for new blogs from the WordPress reader (you can follow specific tags), I also get recommendations from other blogs I follow too! Good luck in your search! When I find a really good one it’s like finding a gem in a bed of rocks!
I’m so happy when I find that really good one! You’re right, it’s like finding a gem in a bed of rocks! Hm, I didn’t know about following specific tags in my Reader. I’m going to explore that. Thank you! 🙂
I am so IN for a compendium of like minded bloggers. I just cannot deal with the spammers or the ‘like for like’ crowd! I want to be able to interact with like minded people whose content I relate with and vice versa.
I also don’t like blogs that dish genric content – 5 ways to improve xxx, 10 ways to change your life – yeah I’m not buying it. 🙈
I like bloggers that talk about themselves and share their experiences. Makes them so relatable.
And thank you for the shoutout. I really like promoting my favourite bloggers. 😊
Oh gosh, I never catch a break with that “like for like” crowd that you just mentioned. I’ve tried it before, and I never get reciprocated. So now I’m totally over it. I have so much better ways to spend my time! For example, I could be reading blogs from all my faves instead! 🙂
I find that I look for comments on other people’s blog posts and then have a look at their blogs.. As you say if it takes too long to load, I’m out (haven’t got time for that 🤣). I like learning about people and their experiences and learning from more experienced bloggers with tips and secrets.
I think I’ve found most of my favorite blogs that way – via comments on other blogs. Because comments can reveal alot about that person, enough so that it makes me want to check them out further by visiting their blog.
I look for plenty of poets. But beyond that I love creativity, so I follow artists and photographers. Anyone showing creativity or beauty.
Have a great day.
Ah, I love seeing creativity and beauty too. It’s hard to resist when you find it in a blog. 🙂
I agree with you on pretty much everything! My biggest annoyance os a slow load time and I will add: tons of popups, awful when reading a blog on a phone!
Same! Sometimes I glad for all those immediate red flags tho, so I know not to waste my time! 🙂
My blog is fairly new, but so far, I’ve found blogs that I follow through the Reader, or through my own search with keywords, or through comments on other blogs.
I really think that Reader has been my best resource for finding new blogs out there, specifically like you mentioned through comments on other blogs. Every other way seems to be a waste of time. 🙂
There seems to be a spate of boilerplate blogs lately. Also, there are a few bloggers who return a like to one of their posts with a string of several likes to my blog all with the same time-stamp. It looks like they’re just clicking “like” while scrolling through my page. I’d rather they didn’t bother doing that if they’re not going to actually read the posts.
I’m also starting to find a ton of boilerplate blogs too. I usually skip them as fast as I can. It’s so sad. 🙁