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[LET’S CHAT] Do You Still Post Something You Know Won’t Be Popular?

Mikaela @ The Well-Thumbed Reader68 Comments

It’s the question of the blogging century (okay, not really, but don’t take it from me).

I was inspired by my other post about blog post success, and reading several other posts about popular posts and predicting which posts will be popular, and I thought it’d be amusing to ask if we still post something that we know won’t be popular?

Most bloggers are told to blog for themselves. I’ve mentioned several times before that I do blog for myself, but I usually blog for my audience, much like I mentioned in one of my Let’s Chat posts a couple of weeks ago! I guess some people would see an issue with me choosing to post something I think would be popular over something else, but is there really something wrong with that?
Okay, you’ve caught me: I was pretty curious about how other bloggers would respond to this question. I’m nosy.

Personally, I tend to post things that I know will be popular.

My goal with this blog is to have interaction with you guys – in the form of followers, comments, likes, shout-outs, commenting back, reading other people’s blog posts. And, full transparency, I like having good blog stats, not just because good stats equals ARCs, but because it shows the interaction in a physical measurement, and I can see how I’m doing.
So, obviously, the posts that are published reflect that ideology. I write a lot of discussions because they’re popular and people enjoy reading them as much as I love writing them. I don’t post reviews as much – if at all – because I know most people in the blogosphere don’t read them, and I don’t like writing them. I love doing lists because they’re easier to write, and I assume you guys really enjoy reading them, especially on particularly interesting topics. I talk about my unpopular opinions and more about me as a person because you guys enjoy it when I do. Basically, I usually like to post things I assume will be popular. Does that make me shallow?

I’ve seen a recent trend in my own blog posts, personally.

There have been days where a post I was originally planning to go up doesn’t really excite me or I end up realizing I have nothing to post on a scheduled day. Usually, I just post something from the drafts that I’m usually not excited about nor did I want to post just for the sake of posting. And it’s no surprise that, usually, those posts flop hard.

And then there are posts I love that just plain flop.

I think they’re going to be popular or blow people away or I was really excited for them…and then it just doesn’t do as well as I thought it would. I think it’s always disappointing when the stats don’t live up to your expectations, especially when you worked really hard on a post and was so excited to share it, and trust me, I’ve definitely been there.
  • The Evolution Of My Blog // I loved writing this post and thought it would be pretty popular since I thought it’d be interesting to look at all my designs, but this wasn’t as popular as I thought it’d be, and I was so disappointed about that. I think that sums up pretty much all of my posts that month, to be honest.
  • All About My TV Shows Tag // I really wanted this to be popular since I LOVE talking about TV shows, and for the fact that I had to re-write this entire post because it hadn’t saved properly, but I got barely any reception! Tags jut aren’t popular, I guess.
  • My Recommendation Posts // These posts take hours to do, not only because I have to find recommendations and think up books, but just formatting these posts is a pain, and they’re definitely not as appreciated as much as the hard work I put into them.
  • 15 Fictional Worlds I’d Like to Leap Into // I was really satisfied with this post, and it took a lot of work to do, especially with taking all the pictures of maps and having to get the correct angles, but this one flopped, which really sucked. I didn’t think this one was going to get super popular, but it definitely didn’t get too much attention.
  • Book Playlists // I started these way back when my blog was just starting out, and I loved it! It was an easy feature to write, and I loved applying songs to music, but basically no one read these, so I quit.
  • The Secret Life of A Book Blogger Tag // This was another failed June post, which literally got 11 views, 2 or so likes, and 1 comment. I ended up deleting it after seeing the stats, but I was really disappointed this one didn’t do well since I loved writing it! I might do it again and re-publish it sometime in the future.
  • Most Anticipated Releases // Obviously, I love doing these, and will continue to do them, but, again, I work HOURS on these posts, and they really don’t get that much attention. I’ll keep at them anyway, though, since I love sharing my most anticipated books with you guys, I’ll just probably do one post for the year instead if posts for every season!!

Do you still post something if you know it won’t be popular? What types of posts are popular and unpopular on your own blog? 

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68 thoughts on “[LET’S CHAT] Do You Still Post Something You Know Won’t Be Popular?”

  1. I do admit book recommendations and upcoming releases take so much time to format and the such little comments which is why I rarely do them! I guess, sometimes, even if we put our all in, people won’t comment or like simply because it doesn’t interest them!

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    • Yes, just today I worked on an upcoming 2018 releases post, AND IT WAS SO MUCH WORK! It took me hours and those graphics took forever, and I’m sure it’s not going to get that much attention, but I had fun writing it! 😅 True, I think it’s usually only once in a while that I do it, and other times, a post just falls flat, and it’s just oh well! I do want to it my best content forward, and I think posts I enjoy and posts I think will be popular definitely intersect, personally! 😄

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  4. I post reviews of books that are 3* and above. There have been 3* reviews which show what we honestly thought of the book, but we are not ‘raving’ about it for several reasons. It is a hard choice, we review for the reading public, if a book had areas which needed work, then being open about them might help others decide about buying it. Or the feedback can be useful for the author, as can comments from readers, expressing their thoughts about if the review would affect their buying of the book.

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  5. Yes I still post it – even if I know it won’t be popular. I know that someone somewhere will like it and relate to it. I’m kind of an all over the place reader so I know that not everyone will love what I’m posting
    But a side thought here – i wonder if September is just a bad month for blogging in general? I’ve been coming up with some really great things (or at least I think so) this month and my views have dropped BIG TIME! Like by more than 1,000 from what they were at this point last month…… I’m wondering if it’s just me or if this is happening to everyone?

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  6. I laughed and cried while reading this. Well , inwardly. I started out my blog taking the “Write for yourself” tag a liiiiittle too seriously I think now, looking back. But reading blogs like yours help me think of venturing out into the uncharted terrains and for that, I am grateful!

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      • Too true. Initially I thought I will write content for myself because if I write for others I will be misconstrued as a panderer. Then I realized it is not true! In fact, how else can I be reviewed and given feedback?
        And yes, it does make sense. It would be equivalent to writing a personal diary or journal, without the amazing benefits that the blogging community is giving me!

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  7. I post whatever I like to be honest. I have been inspired to read certain books or watch certain films based purely on the fact that I saw a blog post (som popular, some not). So if I can encourage 1 or 2 people to read and incredibly enjoy something, it’s worth it 👌

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  8. Well if I have to put time into something I want to have fun doing it. Of course I’m disappointed if it does not work but rather posting something not popular that I loved than something popular that does not give me gratifications. Now we know why I’ll never be a star LOL

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  9. I don’t really think about whether a post will be popular or not, but it does suck when a post you worked really hard on rarely gets any likes and comments and it does make you wonder ‘should I not have posted that? Should I not post similar posts like this in the future?’ While I want to blog for myself and do what I like, it does affect me

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    • That’s so true about the thoughts that run in your head! I know I wanted to make a new feature, and the two posts flopped that I wrote, so I just quit it. 😂 And I find it funny because my announcement of the feature was more popular than the feature itself. But, yeah, it does suck when something you’re excited for does meh. 😝

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  10. I honestly just post whatever makes me happy. I care about my stats, but I realized that I can’t make everyone happy. I enjoy writing reviews which tend to get more views than some of my other posts on my blog. I kind of just roll with the flow even if everyone hates what I post.

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  11. I post pretty much everything I write, I don’t think I’ve ever actually deleted a post before because in my mind as long as there is at least one person who has read my post, one person who has took the time to read my thoughts, like it and maybe commented then I’m happy with that.
    I get what you mean about thinking certain posts would be more popular than they are though. There have been more than a few posts I’ve published which didn’t end up getting the stats I thought they would. I’ve been a little surprised about some of them but I guess you can’t always tell what people will read you know? In my mind as long as I’m enjoying what I’m posting then I’m happy. 🙂
    Great post Mikaela. 😀 ❤

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    • That’s true; you can’t tell what people will read or not! I feel like there are so many posts that got popular out of nowhere or posts that just didn’t do as well as I thought it would! 🤷🏾‍♀️ It’s really up to my followers to decide, which is pretty terrifying! It’s true; if I’m not enjoying what I’m posting, I usually try not to post it! I do delete posts, though! I’ve deleted old posts from my first month of blogging because I don’t do those things anymore or I don’t like them – like I deleted my WWW Wednesday posts because I don’t do the meme anymore and literally no one reads them anymore haha. 😂

      Thank you! 😄

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      • I guess for every post that doesn’t do as well as you’d hoped there are posts that do even better than you thought they would. 🙂
        I never delete posts that are already published. I’ve deleted posts I’ve drafted but that’s about it and even then that’s not often it anything. I dunno I just don’t feel like I should you know? 🙂
        That’s all right! 😀

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  13. I’m still trying to learn what will be popular but i still very much so blog for myself. I’ve seen that my inspirational blogs are a little more well liked but i don’t get much attention in general. So i hope one day my quirky randomness will catch on and resonate with more people but until then I’ll continue trial and error.

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  14. I think in the past I just posted whatever was on my mind, but in the last year I’ve really tried to focus on what my audience wants. Which can be hard, because you might think you know what your readers want to read, but then you can be wrong? It’s hit or miss sometimes! I think a balance of both is the key. 🙂 But as long as you love what you’re writing, I think that’s the best! The joy you get from writing a post that may not be as popular as you thought is still worth it.

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    • That’s so true, and a really good point! Sometimes, something is successful and continues to be successful, or I see its successful on someone else’s blog, and I imitate it, and it spectacularly flops. It’s really a funny thing! 😂 But it’s a good idea to keep in mind to write and post things you enjoy! That’s something I always try to keep in mind when it comes to my posts; I always feel good when I’m excited to post all my posts for a month! 😄

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  16. I do tend to post things I know will be unpopular because at the moment my blog isn’t super popular anyway, haha. But I do think it’s important to make sure everything I post is genuine, because that’s what I love reading the most in other blogs and it keeps me motivated to continue my blog. If you happen to choose to post about what you’re most genuinely excited about but also along the lines of what seems to be popular on your blog, is when I think you could hit a sweet spot.

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    • Haha, that’s okay! You’ll reach an audience in no time! ❤️ That’s so true; I think it’s best to post things that you’re genuinely excited in or else, it doesn’t feel right. I know I switch around post topics and such just because I write or outline a post and hate how it turned out, so I’ll just scrap it and write one I prefer! Yep, I’ve definitely reached that sweet spot on my blog! Took a while to get there, but I’m happy! 😄

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  17. Short answer: yes. Things like tags/memes don’t get very popular but I post them anyways because I find them fun to make most of the time. Even book reviews don’t get many views, but I feel like I need to post them given that I have a book blog 😛

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      • I think there’s a sense of obligation to do so since we have book blogs. I know some people don’t even like writing them but feel like they have to. And same, for me, as long as the post was fun to make I don’t care so much when it doesn’t get many views/comments 🙂

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  18. I still post book reviews even though not many people seem to read them. I personally like book reviews a lot, especially writing them – although sometimes it can be difficult to form my thoughts. But I’m not super anal about being popular anymore. I used to care a lot and now I just… don’t lol! I guess I’ve gotten lazier over time – oops!! 😛

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  19. Hi Mikaela! Love this discussion post 🙂

    As bloggers, it’s hard not to pay attention to our blog stats. We want our posts to be read and to be commented on because we want to interact with readers, which is perfectly fine! I think for this reason it makes sense to write what people will like to read. Authors, TV writers, journalists, etc do this all the time, and I don’t see why bloggers are expected to be different!

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  20. I recently wrote and scheduled a review that is a 1930s translation of two German medieval narrative poems from the 13th century. I am literally the only person who has reviewed the book on Goodreads. So the short answer is: Yes, I write posts I’m pretty sure no one will read or care about all the time! :p But part of that is because I started blogging to work out and record my thoughts on books, and I do read some obscure stuff along with all the YA I read. I don’t really care if no one else cares.

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    • Haha, that’s actually so interesting! I’ve coke across and rated some really underrated books on Goodreads before that I wish for more love! And, yeah, I think this definitely ties into the goals you have for your blog! If popularity and ARCs isn’t that big of a deal to you, it probably doesn’t matter which posts you decide to post! 😄

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  21. Every time I read one of your posts it’s like your inside my brain haha. I’ve definitely struggled with this and have been more so lately. My blog is still evolving so I’m not really sure what it will end up as. Sometimes I just want to write about random things but I think to myself who’s going to want to read this? Lately I have been putting up longer posts that I think people will find useful or interesting, rather than a post on what I want to write about at that very moment.

    I enjoy blogging about various topics, but I know that not all those topics will be interesting for my readers. It is a hard balance, the struggle is real 😛 Thanks!

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    • I am a mind reader! 😂 Yeah, there are some posts that I’m just like, “Who will actually read it?” and it turns out fine – such as me posting about my favorite TV shows, and it was just as popular as my bookish posts! 😄 Ooh, yes, I think it’s definitely different depending on the blog; for a blog that tackles all the topics, I’m sure it’s definitely hard to find a balance since everyone doesn’t like everything! 😝

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  22. Actually, as weird as it sounds, yes. I mean look at book reviews. We all know they are not going to be NEARLY as popular, but sometimes I just feel it’s necessary to talk about a book I really loved or really hated! Or I’m reviewing it because it’s an ARC and I feel obligated.
    Also, I know that my posts featuring my writing won’t be AS popular as reading tags or Top Ten Tuesday posts but I like to share sometimes because I know that a lot of bloggers out there are writers too, and I love to connect with them 🙂

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    • Haha, I think I don’t really mind if my reviews do meh! Mainly because I don’t really care about them that much, so I’m not disappointed if a review flops, if that makes sense. It takes less effort to write those than a full-blown discussion!

      I don’t do writing posts, so I have no idea how they work on other people’s book blogs, but I do think if there’s a certain passion you’re excited about, you should definitely post it! 😄

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  23. Ive been reading your blog for quite some time now and I am always impressed by your bookish discussions, Mikaela! Haha! To be honest, even your “non-popular” posts still makes sense to me and I still read them. So, keep writing even if if wont get popular bscause somewhere out there, like me, is still going to read it anyway! 😊❤

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  24. As someone in her first month of blogging book reviews, I found this post – and the discussion – very helpful! And now I’m wondering if I need a blogging sideline to my book reviews (which I genuinely love doing and which keep my brain active at the mo’!) 🙂

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    • Aw, thank you so much! I’m glad to know this helped you! I think book reviews are a mixed bag – when you start out, they’re definitely not the best way of drawing people in, but as my blog grew, my reviews have done much better (though not as well as my discussions or anything). I’ve seen review-only blogs that are more successful than my own, so I wouldn’t worry! 😄

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  25. It’s funny, but just like you, sometimes it’s the posts that I work extra hard on that don’t do as well, and it’s the ones that are a breeze to create that astoundingly do the best. I have this series called ‘The Nine stages of…’ in which each blog post features a simple list with accompanying cat gifs (yep – cat gifs!!) – They are so quick and easy to make and I love writing them – it’s just such a bonus that my readers respond to them so well. Three of my Top Five Blog posts happen to from my ‘Nine Stages’ series. So I think I’ve found my niche and I’m sticking to it, regardless if it makes me look like a hack! haha

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    • Yep, I feel that! My discussion posts are my most popular by far, which is good, since I enjoy writing them and I write them often! 😄 It sucks that other blog posts I work so hard on fall flat on their face though! Yeah, if I find a niche, I’m sticking to it! Ah well if people hate it! 😂

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  26. I feel you. I have several blogs and two of them fails hard. REALLY hard. I learned precious lessons though and one of them is balance.

    We need to write posts that resonates with us and our readers at the same time. So yeah, balance is important.

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  27. I recently started it’s Monday meme and I’m seeing that my stats are higher on Mondays, more comments, and more likes. I never thought that will be popular as it’s very common. But everyone are interested in that post, Maybe I’m so unpredictable with what books I’ll read or whatever the reason, but yeah it’s working so I’ll keep it. 😉 for rest of the post it’s equal.

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  28. A really good question! I predominantly write travel pieces (more stories that give a sense of being there rather than ‘hints and tips’ stuff) but I sometimes think I don’t get personal enough in my destination posts – I think generally my audience prefers seeing the me behind the destination. That said, I posted one of those yesterday and it hasn’t done as well yet!!

    Also, maybe this is just a travel related thing, but EVERYONE loves a simple photo post, which I struggle with slightly because I love writing and my written posts take much more effort 🙂

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    • Yeah, it’s funny how different posts work for different audiences! I mean, my blogging tips are popular on here, but my e-mail subscribers probably don’t care about those, much like how book bloggers here don’t really need Anticipated Books posts because most of us are caught up, but maybe my e-mail followers love them! 😄 Discussions seem to be a universal draw-in on my blog though!

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  29. yes i still post stuff even if i know it might not be popular as long as i love it. im sure someone else will find it interesting even if most people dont. worrying about whether my post will be popular or not stifles my creativity. in the end writing about stuff you are passionate about is better to me. great blog….i love the graphics

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  30. Ha! Well, I think I kind of just answered this with my comment on your last discussion, so my advice remains the same—it’s fine to suit your audience as long as what you’re doing makes you happy in the process. Likewise, if you LOVE a certain type of post but it doesn’t get as much attention as you’d like, that’s okay—post it anyway. At least until the fun wears off for you. 🙂

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    • Yep, I believe that anyone can do anything with their blog as long as they’re happy! 😄 Yeah, I recently wrote a post about upcoming 2018 releases I was excited for, and it was more popular than all my previous anticipated releases posts, which was awesome! I feel like sometimes, certain posts ARE good, but they don’t have the audience for it yet!

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  31. This is an AWESOME topic!! I say yes! I know there have been a few posts that weren’t as popular as I’d hoped they would be, but I’ve been true to myself and that, at the end of the day is what matters more than the stats for me. I agree with something someone commented above me said, if only one or two see it that’s okay because they enjoyed it

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