Hosted by That Artsy Reader Girl
Hi everybody and welcome to a new Top Ten Tuesday! Did you know I’ve been blogging for over 9 years already? This little blog will be turning 10 next January! So naturally, during those 9 years, a lot has changed, so let’s take a moment to list the 10 ways in which my blogging has changed over time. Let’s go!
1. I am no longer obsessed with growing my stats.
This is a big one and the reason for a lot of the below changes as well. When I first started blogging, I wanted to have a ‘big’ blog. I saw all these amazing blogs with thousands of followers and a constant stream of cool posts and a great social media presence… and I wanted that too. So I focused so much on my stats and how I could grow them. I work in marketing, so I kind of felt like I had to make this blog ‘big’ to prove myself. But all it did was cause a lot of stress and anxiety. Because yes, I was growing, but not as fast as I wanted too. And I just couldn’t keep up with it all on top of a full-time job and other responsibilities. Slowly, the thing that was supposed to be a hobby and give me joy started feeling like a job instead. So about a year ago, I decided to stop obsessing over my stats and started focusing more on the pure enjoyment I get out of maintaining a book blog. I’ll never be a ‘big’ blog and that’s okay. As long as I’m having fun blogging and chatting about books!
2. I started reviewing less.
At first, I wanted to review every single book I read and write these long, thought-out reviews. But for some books, I just can’t say much more than ‘I liked it’. So while I still write my thoughts on every book in my monthly wrap up, I no longer write a big review on every book I read. I have started doing more mini reviews and combi reviews though.
3. My visuals have become more simple and standardized (but also prettier I guess)
When I first started blogging I was new to making visuals… and it showed haha. Below a selection of some of my old visuals for Top Ten Tuesday posts:
They were different every week, and they took me a lot of time to make (even if they don’t always look like it). As I got a bit better (I think) at making visuals, I also wanted to standardize my visuals and make them look more consistent and ‘in brand’ while also taking up less of my time.
4. I stopped doing blogoversary give-aways
Of course, I loved doing give-aways and feeling like I could give something back to the blogging community. But honestly, it was also one of these things I felt like I ‘had’ to do as a blogger to grow my blog. And then Bookdepository stopped (which was what I used for give-aways) and I didn’t want to work with Amazon and I just thought that was a sign it was time for me to stop the blogoversary give-aways.
5. I stopped trying to be present on all social media and promoting them on my blog
Again, this felt like something I had to do to grow my blog. And nowadays, I do sometimes still feel like blogging is becoming less and less popular and social media like BookTok and Bookstagram is where it’s at. But while I tried at first – I had the BookTwitter and the Bookish Facebook page and I (badly) tried the Bookstagram – it just wasn’t what I liked to spend my time on. It may be less popular, but I like writing blog posts and talking to other bloggers. So I stopped all the social media and focused my time only and purely on the blog. (Though I still love checking out other blogger’s social media though)
6. I do less book tags and book discussions
I still love doing book tags and book discussions. But they are some of the type of posts that take up the most time. So I’m just doing less of them. Also, I did run a bit out of inspiration for book discussion posts. But if I see a good book tag, I’ll still try to do them!
7. I limited my blog hopping to one evening a week.
Blog hopping is such a crucial aspect of book blogging, but it takes a lot of time and so I decided to limit it to one evening a week instead of several. Though it does sometimes make me feel guilty and like I’m a bad blogger friend… Though looking at it now, with one evening bloghopping and one evening writing posts, I’m thinking a 50/50 ratio may not be too bad after all…
8. I introduced Something Different Sunday, to talk about things I love that are not books
I realized I also liked talking about other things I love, like music or TV shows. So I started doing my Something Different Sunday posts, where I write things like my favorite songs of the year or do kdrama reviews. Though admittedly, I haven’t done a lot of them lately and need to pick it up again…
9. I stopped doing Quote It Wednesday posts and replaced them by Can’t Wait Wednesday and WWW Wednesday posts.
I loved doing my Quote It Wednesday posts, where I featured book quotes. But my inspiration for the topic ran a bit dry, so now I’m doing Can’t Wait Wednesday and WWW Wednesday posts alternatively. Maybe one day I’ll do some Quote It Wednesday posts again though, we’ll see.
10. I stopped freaking out if I don’t make my planned number of posts per week.
When I started, I wanted to do 3 posts a week. Then, I slowed it down to 2 posts a week. Nowadays, I sometimes only have 1 post a week and sometimes I even skip a week. And at first, it freaked me out. Thinking I was going to lose blogging friends and traffic and why would I keep a blog if I can’t post regularly? But the truth is, nothing bad is going to happen if I don’t post regularly. No, what would be worse is if I push myself to keep posting and lose my love of blogging altogether. So I learned to stop freaking out about my number of posts. It’s okay to take a blogging break and it’s okay to post less.
So overall, I guess what most of these have in common is: I learned that blogging is my hobby. It is meant to be fun and enjoyable, and never feel like a chore. So I started taking everything a bit less seriously so that I can enjoy it longer (and hopefully for many years still to come!)
Tell Me:
How has your blogging changed over time? Do we have some things in common?
I’ve mostly “given up” social media in terms of trying to get followers to “engage.” I’m guilty of not visiting all the posts of the people I follow so I’m sure anything I post gets lost in feeds, and I’m learning to be okay with this. I have constant new content on RW and that’s where my focus is. 🙂
…it’s also been a LONG time since I joined a tag post. Those were the throwback days!
Yes, I love that your focus is on new content for the blog! Social media can be great, but I also prefer to spend my time on actual blog content. Ah, I did love tag posts!
Sounds like you’re finding your grove and doing what works for you! Working smarter not harder! Great post! 🙌
Thanks so much!
I’ve limited the time I spend blog-hopping as well. Otherwise it starts to feel like a chore, and not something pleasant. That said, I do follow a few bloggers. And if I see they’ve posted something I’m interested in, I will check it out.
Pam @ Read! Bake! Create!
https://readbakecreate.com/the-ls-have-it-ten-titles-starting-with-l/
So true about making sure blog hopping doesn’t start feeling like a chore! It’s necessary to limit ourselves, otherwise we could be blog hopping 24/7.
We do our bests. A lot of weeks I can’t even manage to reply to comments, let alone blog hop. So I think you do fine. Our real life comes first in the end.
So true! As much as I love blogging, real life always comes first and some periods there’s just more real-life stuff going on and that’s okay.
This is such a healthy way to look at it!
Thanks!
I feel/do the same with a lot of these. If I don’t get around to posting or reviewing or commenting as much as I like one week vs the next then I try not to worry about it so much because that’s life. You’re doing great, Lindsey!!
So true and I’m definitely learning to get better at not worrying about it a little bit more every day 🙂 Thanks so much, Stephanie! <3
I also share non-book related things in my Sunday Post. It’s a fun way to share some things happening over the week without writing too many personal blog posts.
Yes, exactly! That way it doesn’t have to be all books all the time, but there’s still some structure to it 🙂
Having only started my blog in January, I haven’t had time for anything to change yet – but when I started I was firm with myself about how many posts per week was realistic (usually 2, sometimes with a 3rd if I have something extra to put up), as I wanted this to be a fun project, and not turn into a chore and end up feeling bad if I missed a day for some reason…
It’s definitely important to be realistic about what’s possible to be able to keep blogging fun and not a chore!
I agree with so many of these, especially accepting that blogging is a hobby and it’s ok if we don’t do it every day. I stopped looking at my stats long ago. My reviews have gotten a lot shorter. I love seeing your other interests, too!
Thanks Angela! It definitely took me a bit of time to accept that blogging is a hobby and it’s fine if my follower count is not growing exponentially or if I haven’t posted in a week. And I’m not saying I never ever freak out about it anymore, but I have come a long way in taking it all a little less seriously and focusing on enjoyment over stats 🙂
The stats comments are so real Great post. Here is my post https://paigesofnovels.wordpress.com/2025/05/13/top-ten-five-tuesday-how-my-blogging-and-review-style-has-changed/
Thanks so much!
I feel like there’s so much to relate to here! I think one of the biggest lessons I’ve learned over my years of blogging is to not put too much pressure on myself and not panic or feel guilty or irritated with myself for not posting as much as I want or when I say I will. 😂 I’ve also slowed down a lot on trying to be present on all platforms and I feel like I’ve really cooled my jets with the stats thing. I used to be obsessed with growing my follower count and while I still track it, I don’t lose my head over it if I don’t see the positive change that I want, lol. Great post!
Yes, I’m so glad to hear this is relatable and most of us bloggers actually do feel this way! I definitely had to learn that the blogging community understands if someone doesn’t post as much or doesn’t comment back as much because everyone’s pretty much in the same boat – life happens and that’s okay 🙂
I think we all have been feeling bad about blog hopping. I do try to respond to everyone that comments and go to their blog and do the same. Sometimes life gets crazy and I don’t have the time. I have had a little more success on bookstagram this year. I think the photos have become less “photo project that takes hours,” to creativity with Canva. I have loved being able to do it that way because it feels easier. All I know is that I love the blogging community though! <3
The blogging community is indeed so great! <3 And I do love how we all feel pretty similar about blog hopping and not posting as much and everyone's so understanding because everyone is in the same boat. I do love playing around with Canva, so if I ever do try to do bookstagram again, that might be the way to go for me too :)
My blog has changed in a lot of similar ways! I’m a lot more relaxed about it and no longer care about followers. Something Different Sunday sounds like a good idea. Sometimes I wonder if I should post more non-bookish stuff.
It’s definitely been so much better for me to relax more about my blog and learn to let go 🙂 I love the idea of a day to post non-bookish stuff as it gives us a day to share something else we love, without feeling like the entire blog ‘purpose’ is changing.
At least seven of these are mine too Lindsey! I guess if we want to keep blogging we have to relax a bit or we would burn out!
That’s my motto these days: I’d rather blog less intensively so I can blog for much longer 🙂
Yes, especially #10, that is one I recently embraced. Great list.
Thanks!
Sounds like you are achieving more balance in your life. I like that you have standardized more of your visuals. That helps reader like me know where we are and what to expect.
Balance is the goal indeed! Thanks, standardized visuals are indeed easier to navigate for the reader too!
Same! I’m not good at social media, so I’ve never tried BookTok or Bookstagram. When book blogging goes away, so will I…LOL
Happy TTT!
Susan
http://www.blogginboutbooks.com
Haha, I’m the same! 🙂