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[LET’S CHAT] Have You Ever Changed The Way You Blog To Suit Your Audience?

Mikaela @ The Well-Thumbed Reader51 Comments

I think we can all admit that we’ve made a couple of changes to our blog to make it better.

Unpopular opinion time: even though most people talk about how you should always blog for yourself first and foremost, that’s never been my thing. I blog for all of you guys, not only so I feel less alone for talking about my favorite books, but also because I created this blog so people would read it!
I thought I would talk about some changes I’ve made that have been catered to all of you guys (and even some that I’ve done for myself)!

For My Audience

One Review Per Week

I actually used to do two reviews per week – one on Monday and one on Wednesday – when I first started my blog, but once I realized how unpopular they were and that I didn’t really like writing them that much, I nixed my Wednesday reviews and just saved it for Monday, not only to just get it over with, but also because I feel like it’s a nice break if I decide to post three Let’s Chat posts in a row. Reviews are also not that popular in the first place, so I’m not really a fan of murdering my stats for reviews I don’t care about too much.

Doing Less Tags

If you’ve followed me since the beginning, I used to do a lot of tags. Like, a lot of tags. Instead of doing as many tags as I used to, I definitely limit it to at least one a month, and I try to do an interesting one since I personally feel like some tags are really boring and are just the same questions applied to whatever the theme of the tag is – I usually like doing tags such as the Unpopular Opinions Tag, Book Sacrifice Tag, If You Disliked This… Tag, Mid-Year Book Freak-Out Tag, Burn, Rewrite, ReRead Tag, etc. Most of the tags I do are just largely unpopular (one I posted a couple months back literally only got 20 views), so I’m okay with doing them less for sure.

More Discussion Posts

Believe it or not, I was terrified to post my first discussion post back in January. It was about the recent trend of bookworms who constantly complain when more is added to a previously successful series, and I was so nervous that people would hate it or feel attacked or yell at me. I literally had to get up the nerve to check the notifications, and I was so relieved when I realized that not only were people nice to me, but it was also one of my most popular posts (at the time, of course). At that moment, I decided I would write more discussion posts, and I have! My stats have improved, it seems like you guys enjoy it, and I enjoy writing them. I haven’t regretted it since!

For Myself

No Monthly Wrap-Ups

I don’t know if anyone ever notices, but I personally don’t do monthly wrap-up posts! I actually did one after my first month of blogging, and not only did it take a lot of time on something I didn’t really enjoy writing, but I also don’t find those types of posts interesting to read, so I didn’t think I should force myself to write them! Also, trust me, I’m not reading enough to even WRITE one, so, I quit it!

Three Posts A Week

My blogging schedule has been pretty much all over the place, from no schedule to three days a week to what it is now, but I just recently changed it to three days because it’s sometimes a bit stressful to write posts for that many days, not to mention that I don’t always write reviews if I’m not reading books, so I’ve shortened it to three days – Sundays, Wednesdays, and Fridays – and I’m satisfied!

The Overall Blog Design

If you guys have read my blogging evolution post, you’ll know I’ve gone through a lot of designs for my blog, but the one I have now is currently the one I’ve had the longest by far! No one told me my blog was ugly or that they didn’t like the way it looked, I just didn’t like the way it looked and thought my graphics needed improvement and that I wanted to incorporate my bookish photography, and, alas, I did it, and when I introduced it, you guys really seemed to love it as much as I did, and that made me happy!

Have you ever changed your blog to suit your audience? What changes did you make? What changes have you made just because you wanted to?

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51 thoughts on “[LET’S CHAT] Have You Ever Changed The Way You Blog To Suit Your Audience?”

  2. I used to just use my blog to post promo material from PR companies, same format, no originality…..and that got old quick. Also there was a blog got sued for using a teaser that had been provided to them so I quickly changed what I did. I didn’t just want to post unoriginal stuff, I wanted to find my voice.

    I’m quite new to all this so I do post reviews, wrap ups and tags but in the New Year I’m thinking about looking at that. I’m really nervous about discussions…what if no one comments 😂

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  4. This is soo true! Why does no one admit to doing this?

    I’ve actually picked up some things from what popular bloggers do – like coloring, bolding, and enlarging their main points, putting in lots of gifs and graphics to space it out, and just make all my posts a little bit more tongue and cheek – so the experience overall is more fun to read.

    I also try to limit how many tags I do. I’ve gotten tagged in the same liebster award several times, but I’m not going to repeat an award – I appreciate the nomination, but I don’t want to do a repeat post…

    And discussions and more talkative type of posts I’ve been trying to do more often because it seems people like those more. I think discussion posts just make a blogger seem more friendly and approachable because obviously they want to talk to people! So I’m trying to do more of those! 🙂

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    • Yes, same about the design thing! When I was unsatisfied with my own, I stalked the blogs of people I followed to get some inspiration. I still do that if I redesign my blog now, like if I think a theme or color looks nice! 😄

      Yeah, I used to do awards way back around when I started, but I don’t do those as much anymore. I get nominated all the time and appreciate it, but they’re not posts I enjoy writing, so I don’t force myself to!

      That’s so true! It definitely makes it easier for other people to get engaged, in my opinion! 😄

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  5. I haven’t really changed anything for my followers at this time. The one thing I want to work on for my self is the way my blog looks. I am not happy with it the way it is now but I don’t know how to do all of that. I would like graphics and everything but I don’t even know where to begin.

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  6. I think everyone makes changes to their blog to suit their readers. Over time you get to know your audience and what they like, who they are and what posts are the most intriguing overall. I think that’s a healthy part of blogging for sure! 🙂

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  7. I think that blogs are always changing. Finding the posts we enjoy to write and how busy our lives are at the moment is always changing
    I personally blog for me. I write what excited me and what I’m passionate about. I know tags get views but I don’t like doing them. I know reviews get less views but they’re my favourite thing! If people view my stuff then awesome! I couldn’t be happier that someone is interested and can’t wait to talk to other book nerds! But I won’t change who I am for views – not that it’s a bad thing if you do! It’s actually a very smart thing that you know what your audience enjoys!

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    • Yeah, I think I do the occasional tag that interests me, but awards are something I’ve stopped doing just because they’re repetitive, I guess? I personally don’t like writing reviews, so I don’t do it as much, though I still do them, occasionally. I do think it’s perfectly fine if someone just blogs for themselves, though – I hate that people think it’s something that’s exclusive, as if you’re only writing for yourself or you’re only writing for your audience, since I do both easily. 😝

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      • It is definitely a balance of both. I don’t like to do tags because like you said they’re repetitive. I feel like I’m always mentioning the same books and same things about myself. But people like them so I do them.
        And I enjoy your reviews! I know you don’t like doing them but I think you’re good at it 🙂

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      • Same! I feel like most tags just repeat the same questions except changing it a little according to the them of it, so I prefer doing more out of the box ones, or ones where people get to know me!

        Aw, thank you! ❤️ I feel like my reviews are written terribly or I’m repeating the same things over and over again, so it’s nice to hear! 😘

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  8. I think it’s good to balance changes for yourself with changes for your audience. I try to keep in mind the kinds of posts that get people involved and commenting, but I also think it’s important not to force yourself to do the kinds of posts you really hate just because you get good stats either. Personally, I write better posts when I’m really excited about whatever the topic is, so I figure it’s more important to blog about things I enjoy talking about than it is to try and conform to what people want.

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    • Yes, I also feel like I’m more dedicated to writing posts if I’m excited for the topic I’m writing! I know there are some topics I love, but when I attempt to outline them, they come out as meh, and I decide to just save them for a different occasion so I’ll be able to write and publish them with more vigor! 😄

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      • That’s a great idea! I definitely have discussion ideas that sound great, but when I go to outline them I’m just not feeling it. I’ve also had posts I drafted when I felt pretty meh about it, but I always save them in case I can edit them later when I’m more interested in it. Thanks for the tip!

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  9. Appearance has always been changing, still not quite happy but are we ever fully happy with it? I’ve played with posts topics too. I do write for myself but I really try to keep the reader in mind all the time. They are the ones reading it after all. It’s a balance to try and keep yourself and the readers satisfied I think but the more you blog the easier it gets I feel.

    Digging your blog and your topics btw so i think what your doing is working pretty well ✌

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    • That’s true! I don’t think we’re ever fully satisfied with our blogs (I think I’m the most satisfied with it right now, though). And, exactly! I guess blogging can be a personal hobby, but since you share it with the public, it’s less personable that way! I know that I personally write posts I think will be popular, but I also enjoy, so it’s a happy medium.

      Oh, thank you so much! ❤️

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  10. I don’t do monthly wrap-ups either. I never read them on other people’s blogs, unless it’s a link round-up to other posts (which I do as well sometimes), and they take surprisingly long to write up for apparently little gain.

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    • Yes, they’re SO LONG TO WRITE! I’m also not even reading that much, so there’s really nothing to wrap up, in a sense. 😂 Unless I just talk about all the TV I watched! Yeah, I’m not a huge fan of reading them either. The only time I do is if someone linked my post, and that’s usually it! 😝

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  11. Honestly, I feel like I never really changed (when I was SERIOUSLY blogging) because I was like, “you know what, imma do discussion posts on my blog”

    At that time I was vv inspired by Cait (Paper Fury) and she did TONS of discussions posts and I was like “yaaaas discussion posts” and I thought that EVERYONE did discussion posts a lot. I never realized that there are SO MANY MORE BLOGS that do only reviews/tags/book blasts.

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      • Honestly, same. I think 90% of all the blogs I follow regularly post discussions, because I LOVE AND I’M OBSESSED WITH DISCUSSIONS.

        Yeah! Discussions definitely aren’t necessary, but I think that they do bring more traffic because it gives you more chances to be funny and show off your personality!

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  12. This was so interesting! I know that people are always telling us to blog for ourselves, but like you, I think it’s okay to mix it up. If a certain post is more popular generally I try and write more of them, I don’t think it’s a bad thing.

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    • Yeah, if something is popular, I usually think it’s an indicator to do more of it – for instance, my posts about blogging tips are popular, so I’m definitely going to do more of those! Or posts where people learn more about me are successful as well! I mix it up often; I definitely don’t think it’s a bad thing to blog sometimes for your audience!

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  14. I always think of my readers when I blog. I will often draft a Sunday post (the most boring type of post for a reader, in my opinion, cause it’s a wrapup), and then rewrite it to sound more funny, so be more interesting, to basically give the reader a better time reading it. I think that’s why I blog… I want to give quality content. And that involves the enjoyment of the reader 🙂 in the end though – that makes me happier with the result, so… It makes sense to do that 🙂

    I have actually also changed the amount of reviews for the same reason as you! Except for when the ARCs hit the fan (hah… hah… I know, I’m corny. I like it :D) That’s when I post more reviews. Or when I’m really busy. Discussion posts are wonderful, but they require so much more attention, and then there are also all those deadlines for the ARCs to not fall behind one. But one review per week is definitely fine, I think 🙂

    However, I do like tags. I try to make my tags more readable than just boring answers, all texts and no jokes, no pics (unfortunately, I think that’s why people dislike tags – that’s what a lot of bloggers do…) But I believe that you can make almost ANY post interesting! So that’s why if you’re on my blog, you can assume that a tag / an award = a discussion 🙂 cause I will make it into a bundle of small discussions. I also aggregate tags (cause I get tagged a lot) so I don’t overwhelm people with them. Tags are also great when you are too busy with real life stuff (as I’ve been lately), and I’ve noticed the people who do read mine, do enjoy them 🙂 so I must be doing something right! Haha. So I still stay on the side of tags, I like both reading and writing them 🙂 although of course in moderation. Two at most during a given month, I’d say? Or less, if it’s possible.

    And of course, the discussion is both the king and queen of a blog! I’ve actually introduced a few memes to my blog lately for that – with linkups! Everyone always enjoys that, after all 🙂 one of them is State of the ARC (I think I’ve told you about that one), where people can share their ARC progress, and while I’m still not very happy with the format, it’s just the second episode! I think I will probably figure it out in degrees (isn’t that how blogging works, after all?) And then I’ve also added a meme about “what to do when this and that”, only one has been posted so far, but I’ll keep it up 🙂 and it’s all good fun! Wish I did more discussions, but I think I will, once my crazy workload and all the social gatherings and friends visiting thing sort of calms down 😀 then I can give my blog more attention again.

    I do love monthly/weekly wrapups though! And reading others’ as well 🙂 don’t know why, stats geek, I guess? But if you don’t enjoy them, there’s absolutely no reason to be writing them for sure.

    Nice post! Sharing it on my Sunday update tomorrow 🙂

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    • Yeah, one review per week is good for me and my readers as well! I usually write mini reviews if a bunch of books are close around release date!

      Yeah, I think because I plan ahead, I have zero need to do tags/awards! Usually people say they do them when they’re busy, but since I wrote ahead, I usually don’t plan to write a tag unless it’s super interesting. I think my main problem is the fact that most ask the same questions, not with how bloggers write them; pretty much every tag will ask some variation of “What book do you hate?” or “What book do you like?” and I only have so many answers!

      Thank you so much! ❤️

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      • I’ve actually thought about mini reviews, but I keep not realizing that thought because I’m all like WHAT IF I RUN OUT OF BOOKS OR AM TOO BUSY xD although it’s more like I’ll drown in books which I can’t really blog about cause it’s too much?? But you know xD eventually I think I’ll be where I can do mini reviews, cause those are definitely fun 🙂

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  15. I’m gonna be honest I don’t think I’ve ever made any changes to my blog because of my my audience, and I wonder now I say it if I should? I dunno, unless people stop reading my blog posts I’m not going to look at making too many drastic changes. 😀
    I post what I enjoy, for me that’s the most important thing because I know if I stop enjoying blogging then I’ll stop posting and stop interacting and that’s something I never want to happen. 🙂
    It seems like a lot of your changes are positive ones overall, even the ones you maybe made more for your audience than yourself. I was terrified of posting my first discussion as well, and I love how your blog design has changed over the months Mikaela. Great post! 😀

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    • Yes, I do want to enjoy blogging! I think that some people think that posting things that your audience enjoys and posting things for yourself are totally separate, when it’s really not – I have and continue to do both!

      Yep, I think I’ve become more confident with my discussions since then! 😂 And thank you, this is my favorite blog design so far, I think! 😍

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      • I don’t think they are too. I guess at the end of the day no matter how much some people post for their audience there’s always some element of posting for yourself as well you know? After all if we don’t enjoy what we’re posting our audience won’t either. At least that’s how I feel about it.
        That’s all right, personally I’ve loved all your blog designs, but the fact that you’re happy with them is the most important thing! 😀

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  22. I can’t say I’ve ever changed my blog or the way I blog to please other people but I have changed my blog quite a bit since I started because I have learnt what works for me and because I’ve asked questions and taken advice from other bloggers. What I have now works but might not work forever – at which point I will change it again.

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    • Yep, that’s so true! I’ve taken lots of blogging advice to heart (some worked and some didn’t) that really helped shape my blog, which is awesome, because I did not know what I was doing when I was a newbie! 😂 I’m sure I’ll change things again because I’ve changed so often and I’ve only been blogging nine months! 🙈

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