 What entices you to click “follow”? What is it about some blogs that make you want to follow them?
 Julie:
There are so many blogs out there that it is just simply not possible to follow them all. And I don’t really mean “follow” by various means like twitter, bloglovin, etc, since those feeds are just so busy that it is really not something I can keep up with. I follow several thousand on twitter and over 600 on bloglovin. So when I say follow, I mean by email. I can only handle getting about 30 or so blog post emails a day before I start going delete happy. So I have to be pretty picky about which blogs I subscribe to by email.
So what would make me subscribe to/follow a blog? Well, that blog would have to have some unique and interactive features so that I would be interested in reading their posts. If all a blog does is memes, blog tours, and reviews, I’m probably not all that interested. But if that blog also does discussion posts or some other interesting weekly feature that I want to participate in, I’ll want to keep track of those posts. I also follow a blog that shares good tips that other bloggers can learn from. So there has to be something above and beyond interesting about that blog for me to truly “follow” that blog by email.
 Rose:
There are different reasons I choose to follow a blog. Sometimes, rafflecopter makes me. Other times, it is simply me being polite because they follow me, I feel obligated to follow back. Some blogs I follow because I am a fan of that author, singer, artist, etc… The other reason I follow a blog, especially a book review blog is because I <prepare yourself> I enjoy the bloggers content! <gasp!> Perhaps the blogger write great reviews that have me laughing my ass off. Perhaps they have some cool features or they host a great meme. And finally, I follow bloggers for the sheer and simple fact that they read similar books as me. If I noticed that the blog review index is full of several of my favorite reads, then I will follow that blog. Oh, and if you like Outlander, just make sure to mention it and I will definitely follow you!
I don’t really follow that many blogs via email (only around 5) because like you said, those are the ones I pay most attention to. I like blog tips so if I see a blog with lots of blogging tips I might start following them. With others sometimes I can tell after reading one review that I’ll just really enjoy their blog 🙂
Zareena recently posted…It was so perfect! Review: Lola and the Boy Next Door by Stephanie Perkins
I’m with you, I follow a lot of blogs with good tips 🙂
It is so tough to follow ALL THE BLOGS. I want to of course.. but there isn’t enough time in the day for it. I really love blogs who comment and interact with their readers. That will make me follow you in no time at all!
Angie @Angela’s Anxious Life recently posted…Read What You Want!
Agreed! It is so awesome when bloggers take the time to interact back with their followers. Makes you feel special as a follower.
Great discussion! I tend to follow the blogs I comment on through Bloglovin, but even then there can be just soooo many! I agree that there posts beyond tours, reviews, and memes will attract me the most!
Michelle recently posted…Taking a Step Into BookTubing: The First of Many Questions
We’re definitely seeing a consensus about posts other than the tours, reviews, and memes. I think we’ll start to see some changes on other book blogs since this is how a lot of people feel.
[…] Julie and Rose discuss what makes them follow a blog. […]
I don’t actually follow many in the traditional sense of getting their emails. I tend to add them to my favorites list in a folder on my computer. That way I can choose when I visit & keep my email open for junk mail (it seems like that stuff just finds me). I usually follow blogs where the blogger actually interacts with their readers because a lot of bloggers just let the comments go without replies. Just like I don’t want to write a post & feel its never read, I don’t want to take the time to comment & feel they aren’t being read. There are other reasons I follow but while your blog is about books, I don’t think I should write one in my comments :-p
Kellie The Shoe Diva recently posted…Wedge Wednesday Is Catching On
That’s a really good point, Kellie. Bloggers who interact with their readers and respond to (and return) comments are definitely more fun to follow.
your comment was not book length by a long shot! lol I like long comments. I write long comments, too. I agree that responding to comments is key. Otherwise, why interact? or attempt to interact I should say.
I like to follow blogs that have the same book interest that i do although I do go outside my salacious reads sometime ;). I also follow blogs that follow me and show me love, like visiting…commenting. I feel like Braine, it’s frustrating to follow blogs who don’t show love back. Great post 😉
sharonda recently posted…Quote-tastic #22 – Beast by Pepper Pace
Comment love is definitely important. That’s how we make friends 🙂
I follow exactly one blog by email, my own. 🙂 That’s mostly because I want to have a general approximation of what others are seeing. Not even RaffleCopter can entice me to follow a blog by email. I read most of the blogs that I do on my iPad through Bloglovin’ which can make me a really bad follower because I’m less likely to comment on something when reading it on my iPad.
I will definitely be bored of you if all you do are memes, blog tours, and (lame) giveaways. Content is what’s really going to keep me around, even more so than features. Loyalty plays a part as well, but again, content is really king for me. Thoughtful, well put together posts will definitely keep me around. 🙂
April @ The Steadfast Reader recently posted…Six Degrees of Separation: The Luminaries
I’m glad to hear you are going through your Bloglovin feed on a regular basis though. I find it so overwhelming.
April, yours is one of the few blogs I follow because I like your voice and your content. And Chapter Break, I have to admit I come every week but only from the link-up on April’s blog. I guess I should stop being an old lady and learn how to do Bloglovin’ and then ONLY follow the blogs I love so that I can always see what I like and never miss anything.
Vicki Lesage recently posted…Paris A-Z: F is for Fondue
Definitely pick the following tool that works best for you, since there are so many options out there. Thanks for continuing to stop by 🙂
Way to resist rafflecopter! And I feel ya about the Ipad. It can be such a pain to comment on blogs when using my ipad mini. I am glad that we are keeping you around. I guess if you stop coming by, Julie and I will know we need to improve our content. lol.
Been through that cycle, sorting through what’s interesting for me and what’s not. But since this sphere is tit for tat, I finally settled on follow and visit those who follow and support my blog with a few exceptions. It’s just kinda frustrating to keep on supporting a blog at a drop of a hat but when you need a little love, they almost never make an appearance on my abode, you know what I mean? So now I generally follow blogs that give the love back, graciousness is rewarded in my book so I make the effort to return the love when I can.
Braine Talk Supe recently posted…Steampunk Sundays: The Kraken King IV by Meljean Brook & Lady Jessica: Monster Hunter by Keith Dumble
Ooh I really like that point! Yes, I definitely follow those who take the time to follow us. Though it helps if we have stuff in common 🙂 But yea, loyal followers definitely deserve reciprocation and that is how you make friends in the blogosphere 🙂
I think it is soooo important to make sure and reply to your followers, especially people who took the time out to comment. I also think it is important to go visit their blog and make sure to participate in what they got going on. I have been on hiatus for 2 weeks unexpectedly, and I am determined to read everything that has happened since I last was on here and “catch up”. What am I doing to catch up? First I read all 7 pages of comments (and comment back where and if I can) and then I plan to read all the posts from Julie, my coblogger while I was out. I also intend to check out everyone’s blog that linked up to the past two That’s What HE Said posts this month. And lastly, I will check out blog lovin and try to comment on some of my favorite blogs that I missed over the past two weeks…. sigh… it will take me more than just today to catch up and I won’t be able to respond to everything, but that is why it is so great to have a co blogger…
reasons I follow –
1. the blogger reads similar books and likes them
2. i’ve met the blogger in person and like her
3. the blogger has interesting content and not just a bunch of memes
4. I respect the blogger’s opinion – on blogging, on reading, on reviewing
Stacy (The Novel Life) recently posted…Book Review: Killing Ruby Rose
Those are all excellent reasons Stacy 🙂 Definitely respecting the blogger’s opinion is important.
haha Julie, this reply kinda cracked me up… I read it and I was like, is she telling Stacy to respect her? lol. I know what you meant… which is having respect or the blogger being worthy of your respect is important to the reader…. but when I read this, I was like, wow, she just said it is important for the reader the show some respect… lol… okay maybe it is only funny to me. Maybe it is because it is a super early and I have not had my morning coca-cola. off I head to the land of the sweet and fizzy…
LOL yea that can sound a bit weird. But yea, I mean if you don’t respect the blogger’s opinion, following them isn’t very much fun. So yea, having respect for who you’re following definitely helps.
I follow (via E-mail) several blogs (Rafflecopter is a factor sometimes for me, too!). Whether I keep following them instead of unsubscribing or filtering them so that they automatically get marked as read and go to the archive is another matter. I have about 14 blogs that I get via E-mail. If I find that I’m not interested in opening what I get at least twice a week, to the archive it goes.
Sure, giveaways can entice me, but I’m drawn in also my good post titles and first sentences, since those show up in my notifications before I even open the mail. I notice some bloggers don’t even update that part of the message–it just repeats the name of their blog or says, “Use this space to write a summary of the message)–every time. What a waste! The way I see it, you’ve got mere seconds to entice me to click. One I’m in the E-mail, though, I do click through to the actual post. As a blogger I know that page views = love, so I spread it around. 🙂
Alice recently posted…♦ Guest Post from Allen: Review of Seige and Storm, by Leigh Bardugo…and Giveaway!
Wow see I don’t even archive. If I don’t feel like reading it, to the trash it goes. No need to hang onto the posts in my inbox. I totally know what you mean about that message on the mailing list preview. I think I see that with mailchimp subscriptions. Thanks for sharing your thoughts!
I think there’s a difference between “follow” and “read.” I “follow” lots of bloglovin’ etc, but often I just read the headlines in the feed which is enough to let me know what is being reviewed (or offered for giveaway). I subscribe by email to those that really interest me; ones that review and discuss lit in translation, historical fiction, history & biography. Tony’s Reading List and Dolce Bellezza for example. I also subscribe to a couple that have more content than just reviews, giveaways,and cover reveals; ones that prompt interesting comments to their posts. For example Sheila’s Book Journey and, obviously, ChapterBreak 🙂
Martha recently posted…Japanese Literature Challenge 8
Thanks Martha! That’s a great distinction. I was trying to make that but I don’t know if I succeeded. Yes, following and actually reading are very separate. To me, if I want to actually read the blog, I subscribe by email. Other follow methods are not very useful to me.
Martha, I agree that I blogs that have more content than just reviews, giveaways, and cover reveals. That gets old fast.
LOL! Sometimes rafflecopter makes me too, but most times that is short-lived. I generally follow blogs b/c we have something in common. Maybe it’s preferred genres, maybe it’s non-review posts on interesting subjects, but there has to be SOMETHING that sparks that interest b/c yeah, there are WAY to many to follow them all . . .
Jessica @ Rabid Reads recently posted…Review: The Curse Keepers by Denise Grover Swank
Very true Jessica! I also like to follow bloggers I have something in common with, because then I enjoy reading their posts.
Julie and Jessica, I definitely agree with you. I may follow a blog for a giveaway, but if I sign up for their email/follow up comments, it’s because they have interesting posts, similar interests and/or have been kind of enough to respond to comments on their blog or my blog.
I started following Julie and Rose because they love Outlander and we’ve talked about horses. 🙂 It’s the little things. Plus I think Chapter Break has great discussion posts that I love responding to and sharing with my followers.
Terri M. LeBlanc recently posted…The Sunday Post: Week of June 1, 2014
Yep those are definitely good reasons and I’m glad to see there’s a general consensus on these 🙂 Thanks for sharing our posts too 🙂
Thanks Terri! and I mean, c’mon, horses and JAMMF, what more is there for girls to bond over????
That is the worst part, isn’t it? When it gets to be too much to follow everyone you want.