10 reasons why I will/will not follow your blog by email

Posted November 17, 2014 by Julie S. in Featured Posts, On Blogging / 46 Comments

10reasonsfollowbyemail

I’ve mentioned before that I use email subscriptions as my main way of reading blogs. Sure, I follow on multiple other social media channels, but those feeds are very busy and hard to keep up with. So the blogs that I really like, I subscribe to by email. That means my inbox gets very full on a daily basis, and I need to clear it out before the next day or it too can start looking like a social media feed. So here are some reasons why I will or will not subscribe to your blog.

10 reasons I will or will not follow your blog by email:

Will:

  1. You post unique and thoughtful discussion posts that I enjoy reading and commenting on.
  2. We tend to have a lot in common and enjoy similar books. So reading your reviews is something I look forward to.
  3. You have unique feature ideas, whether it is a series or a fun activity.
  4. You post tutorials that I can learn from and share.
  5. You post highly entertaining posts, such as snarky lists.

Will not:

  1. You only post memes and book blasts. Too many of these repetitive posts do not make a blog interesting to read.
  2. You only post reviews and book tours. I just can’t read so many reviews, and your blog needs something else to really draw me in.
  3. You review books I’m not interested in and we have very little in common.
  4. You post way too often and it feels like your one mailing list is spamming up my inbox.
  5. You never interact with your readers – this is a big one because the blogging world is all about community and no one likes someone too big for their britches or too busy to be part of the community.

 

What about you guys? Do you agree with my list? Have anything to add?


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Posted November 17, 2014 by Julie S. in Featured Posts, On Blogging / 46 Comments

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46 responses to “10 reasons why I will/will not follow your blog by email”

  1. Cynthia

    Good post. I usually just follow other bloggers by BlogLovin’. But if I notice that we don’t have any books in common, then I will just delete them from my feed.
    Cynthia recently posted…BOOK REVIEW: When

  3. Sofia

    I love this post. I don’t follow any blogs by email but I do follow on Facebook, Twitter and tumblr. I’m thinking of unfollowing some because of v the same reasons you just stated. I could care less for blog tours and recently read they do not help an author with book sales. Just helps them get their name out three.

  5. Patsy

    What about all those cover reveals and teasers for books which won’t be out for months? Fair enough if it’s your own book and excited to share news, but I get fed up seeing the same info time and again when I can’t get hold of the book.

    Actually any blog post which is just a cut and paste promotion that I’ve seen before is annoying.

    • Julie

      I so agree with you. Those copy/paste tour promotions are not at all interesting, and more annoying than they are helpful since they definitely do not make me want to buy the book.

  6. Karolina @ Bookshelf Reflections

    That actually worries me! I love it when people subscribe to my blog per e-mail, but at the same time, I am very reluctant about doing that myself. I have only one e-mail I use for all of the blogging stuff and that is the one I use to contact publishers and other bloggers with. If I were to start subscribing to blogs with that email, I am afraid I would never get anything done.

    As about the e-mail subscription on my blog… Honestly, we post about five times a week. Sure, sometimes only three times, and sometimes every single day… and our e-mails go out once a day on the days when we post something. So, sometimes I am afraid that this might be too much. The only other option however would be to create a weekly newsletter. That again, I think is not often enough. People don’t tend to read the older posts.

    What’s your take on that? How often is too often and how little is too little? 🙂
    Karolina @ Bookshelf Reflections recently posted…Review: Inked Armor by Helena Hunting

    • Julie

      I personally am not a fan of the weekly emails with the past week’s posts. I like to see the post title in the subject line so I can quickly delete or open the email and know what I’m getting. It is extra work to review multiple posts per email. But that might just be me. I think 3-5 times a week is good, but when a blog posts multiple times a day every day it gets a bit much to keep up with.

  7. Emz Chang

    I completely agree with your whole list. I generally don’t follow blogs by email, even if it will gain me extra entries in a giveaway. It’s just so annoying to open up your email on meme days (like Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and the weekend) and just have all the blogs you follow post similar content. Not to mention the amount of emails on those days… It reminds me of span way too much. Bloglovin’ and RSS are just easier. They aren’t as in you face as email is.
    Emz Chang recently posted…Help Me With My Blog Name Dilemma!

    • Julie

      Yea you’re right that emails are a lot more in your face. I’m just afraid if I unsubscribe from all my email subscriptions I’ll never remember to check other feeds like Bloglovin and I’ll miss out on great posts.

    • Julie

      Yea it is sad when bloggers don’t realize they need to interact with others. This blogging thing is a give an take if you want to make friends and be part of the community 🙂

  10. Melanie Simmons (@mlsimmons)

    I use Bloglovin mostly for blogs I follow that post daily. I usually go through it first thing in the morning. Then again at night, depending on how busy I am. I do get emails from some of my favorites.

    As for authors, I pretty much sign up for emails from all of them. They don’t email nearly as much as bloggers and since FB is pretty much worthless now and the possibility of missing a Tweet is high, email is the only way I’ve found to ensure I get notifications from authors.
    Melanie Simmons (@mlsimmons) recently posted…Red Rising Audiobook by Pierce Brown (review)

    • Julie

      You’re right that Facebook and Twitter is not useful for seeing posts in a timely manner. I really do need to get into using Bloglovin more. That’s a good point about authors, I subscribe by emails to those that are important to me too.

  11. looloolooweez

    Can I cosign all of these points?

    I see a lot of Bloglovin going on here, but my preferred method is Feedly. It’s more like a classic RSS reader, I guess. I really like the app for it too.

    I usually only sign up for email updates from really big websites that provide weekly(ish) updates, with the exception of a couple of private blogs that don’t play well with RSS.
    looloolooweez recently posted…New Texas Wildlife

    • Julie

      I haven’t tried using Feedly but it sounds like what Google feed reader used to be? Knowing me I’d forget to check that too heh.

    • Julie

      I follow in other ways as well, but it is harder to notice new posts in some of those other ways. But, everyone is telling me I need to start using Bloglovin better.

  14. Alise

    I just want to frame number five, that’s my biggest blogging pet peeve. Love these reasons! Sadly, I don’t follow any blogs by email :/ I think it’s because I already get so many emails a day I don’t want even more to sort through. Plus when I usually read my emails I don’t have time to comment on that post and when I do I’ve already forgotten about the email.
    Alise recently posted…How Do You Like Your Book Reviews? (Results)

    • Julie

      Thank you 🙂 Yes, it is sad when people just don’t take the time to interact with their readers. Yea I definitely understand getting too many emails, and my inbox is starting to be hard to manage, so I’m being even more picky about the blogs I subscribe to. I keep the emails unread until I’ve dealt with them, and then I delete them when done. So if I forget for more than a few days, then that means I’m not interested anymore and I can go do a clean out.

  16. Brittany

    I subscribe via email for just my favorite blogs (but even those need to be trimmed down). Then I use Unroll.Me so that I get all of those in one daily digest along with any other newsletters I subscribe to. It’s so easy!

    The rest (blogs I don’t want to check daily) go into my RSS feed.

    What frequency do you consider too much?
    Brittany recently posted…#BookBlogWriMo Day 12 – Advice for Newbie Bloggers

    • Julie

      I must look into this Unroll Me thinger. I like individual posts in my inbox so I can read the subject line (post title) and delete before I select which ones to actually read. I tend to go down my inbox and check all the ones I don’t plan to read and delete right away, then go through and actually open other emails that sound interesting. I’m afraid if I have one long feed I’ll just ignore it all, like I do with weekly wrap ups. Too much going on in one email. I think more than two posts a day is too much, one per day makes more sense.

  18. Julie

    I’m with you, I like to engage with other bloggers. I find it hard to do so with review posts unless I’ve already read the book and have something to contribute to the conversation.

  19. kimbacaffeinate

    I rarely follow via email since my box fills nicely without me helping it..LOL. I do follow via bloglovin’ Your does and won’ts are very similar to mine. I don’t mind if the blog is heavier on reviews as along as they are spoiler free. I prefer blogs that interact since I myself am very social and like to engage.
    kimbacaffeinate recently posted…A Cursed Bloodline by Cecy Robson

    • Julie

      ooh I like that, the ultimate compliment. But you’re right, since it is the best way to have your posts seen.

  21. Braine Talk Supe

    As a blogger I prefer being followed via Bloglovin or NB so my readers get a condensed version of daily reports. I have to be honest, I had a moment where I want to be followed via email and this was when Google Reader shut down. What’s the point if you’re not getting your content read right?

    I stopped doing memes and spotlights too, it takes so much time and it can get redundant. I get discussion posts as well but I don’t really have a good filter so I sanction myself to doing it at least once a month, I will get in trouble if I do it too often.
    Braine Talk Supe recently posted…Suped Up Feature: Where There’s A Will by Stacy Gail + Giveaway

    • Julie

      I just find Bloglovin daunting. Maybe if I logged in regularly, but I can’t seem to make that happen. With email I can read the posts quickly and comment on my phone if I’m interested in doing so, and it is quick. Especially now that I’m preoccupied with baby.

    • Julie

      I just tend to ignore everything else. Twitter and Bloglovin feeds are just too much. And I’m always checking my email 🙂

  23. Johannah

    I read your list and just kept nodding my head. I still do the occasional meme because my blog still doesn’t have a large following. I’m trying very hard to create a meaningful blog. But it’s hard to come up with fresh content that hasn’t been done before you know?
    I fully agree with you! I generally follow via bloglovin because I’ve had me email so long it’s already filled with other stuff. Eventually, I will create a email solely for subscriptions to blogs I follow.
    Johannah recently posted…Thankful Reader #1

    • Julie

      We do memes from time to time as well, including our own that we run, so I’m definitely not saying doing memes is bad. Just doing *only* memes isn’t as good. And YES it is so hard to create unique content since there really isn’t anything new anymore. Ooh interesting idea to have a separate email for subscriptions, though that would make it easy to ignore, huh?

  24. Carmel @ Rabid Reads

    Following via e-mail isn’t my preferred method because my inbox is swamped enough as it is, so I’d rather services like Bloglovin that I can view on my own time. I agree with most of the do’s & don’ts on your list, and I especially HATE memes. I understand why newbie bloggers use them, but once you hit the 1 year mark, they should be eliminated IMO.
    Carmel @ Rabid Reads recently posted…Audiobook Review: Darkest Powers Trilogy by Kelley Armstrong