There are endless possibilities when searching for blogs to follow.
Lately I've been feeling a little inadequate where my blog is concerned.
So I was wondering........
Why do you follow my blog? Other blogs?
Why do you return?
What am I lacking?
What am I doing right?
What should I change?
I started following blogs for the latest info on my favorite authors.
Then I started jumping around for the chance to win free books from the giveaways.
Those were my reasons. What are yours?
I have been joining a lot of virtual book tours as a way to run more giveaways without spending more money. I figure it was a win/win. I usually get a review copy out of the deal and you get a giveaway as well and neither one cost me any money.
But lately it has come to my attention that more bloggers are doing the same thing. Thus some of you are seeing basically the same post multiple times. That was never my intention and I don't know how to remedy it.
Not to mention, sometimes knowing that I Have to read a book by a certain date just takes the fun out of it for me. It seems like when I an scheduled for a romance, I'm in the mood to read shifters etc.... Also because I've been scheduling so many VBT dates, I've had less time to read the books that I purchase. :-(
I tried to offer incentives as an effort to get people to comment and that seems too be working okay but not as well as I thought it would. For example the MVC contest was a bust. Other than Miki (thank you :D) no one seems to be interested. Is there a different prize that would be better?
Is it because I'm the only one involved? I've noticed that most of my favorite blogs have multiple people running them.
I don't know. I'd really appreciate your input!
Thank You!
Thank you for commenting! Don't forget to enter the Comment Incentive Giveaway. The link can be found at the top of the page!
I first found your blog thanks to a blog hop but i stayed because you were replying to our comments and a friendly person.. that's the main reason i keep coming: YOU!
ReplyDeleteOf course giveaways are great and the fact you include internationals are even better but if it was just giveaway without you behind it would loose its interest . i mean look at the alpha arcade yes it's a giveawqay but we could feel how much you put in the preparation etc and that's what i appreciate the most.
i admit i start to hate when a bunch of blog i follow feature teh same books the same day...it loose all the interest ( one of the thing that made me not fan of cover reveals.. if it was scheduled on several days oki but all teh same the same day... too much)
i understand how you feel Brenda and in my opinion if you wanted to reduce the blog tour to concentrate on teh books you really want to read i wouldn't mind. i mean you can even make a break and do it again later if you want...... it's true there are great new books and you made me discover several that way but you can also review books you really want, some you have for a long time it would be different from the others blog an dstill completly you^^ i mean even if you want to do a month or more with just shifter books i will be there because i love your input and i value your opinion ( and there are so many books already released that deserve our attention)
i love how you are doing your interview also.... what you are lacking.... nothing as long as you keep your motivation.
i'm sorry other didn't jump on the mvc opportunity....i can understand why it was disappointing for you and i don't know what i could do to change that. i really don't think it's teh prize because it was great... operhaps it was just the time... don't worry thopugh your loyal commenter are there even without the mvc
For me it just you so as loong as you enjoy reading and take pleasure in it i will be glad to follow you
... if you want to speak more about one or the other element i said you can email me don't worry
keep smiling dear
:D You are too nice to me. Thank you!
Deletei just answered honestly because it's what you need
Delete:-) I very much appreciate your kind words and especially your friendship!
DeleteHi Brenda,
ReplyDeleteI think you are doing a great job with your blog. I found this site during a blog hop and continue to return everyday. The layout of your blog is attractive and easy to read.
Like Miki, I appreciate that you personally respond to our comments in a very friendly way. When I had a problem entering the Alpha Arcade, you quickly fixed the problem so I could participate. Not many bloggers would be willing to do that. You make everyone feel welcome.
I enjoy learning about new books and authors from your blog. Your reviews always have a personal touch which is refreshing. If you don't want to see multiple posts on new books, perhaps you can review a mixture of new and old titles in different genres (paranormal romance, urban fantasy, mystery, etc.) Select one genre a month and concentrate on noteworthy authors, books, and series.
Even though you did not get a large response, your MVC incentive is a great idea. Perhaps it just needs a little more time to grow. Leaving a response on your posts is generally easy, because you usually ask a specific question. I hate when readers are just asked to leave a relevant comment. I also really like how everyone can keep track of their earned points. If you want to give a prize for commenting, you could do a random drawing of the top ten commentators.
As for giveaways I do enjoy them, but I realize they can be expensive. Your Alpha Arcade was fantastic. In the future can you post the answers for those of us who did not complete all the items. I enjoy games and scavenger hunts like that. I visited other sites during the Carnival, but none of them compared to yours.
The only other suggestion I have is adding a Free Reads column to your site. Some other blogs do this but they seem to concentrate on Kindle. Perhaps you can do both Kindle and NOOK.
You are doing an incredible job with this blog and I greatly appreciate your dedication and hard work. Keep up the good work!
Wow! You've given me so many great ideas. :D
DeleteI am sorry. I didn't realize that I didn't post the answers. Duh! I had the answer post ready before the contest was posted. Now I just need to add the winners names and book choices and I'll post it. I can't believe that I forgot about it. lol!
I used to do a freebie post that listed a bunch of free books all at one time but lately I just tweet the free finds. I'll have to do the posts again if you guys would be interested.
It is time consuming to come up with new ideas and post things everyday. I enjoy it but it is not worth it unless my followers are interested in what I am posting. Otherwise, I'm wasting your time too. :-( Please feel free to tell me if it ever gets unbearable!
Thank you for your input and for following. :D
i do love the free reads but i would appreciate if the smashwords option was there too not only kindle ( though if it's too much work don't worry about it)
DeleteWhen I find freebies they are often only for Kindle or sometimes for Nook. If I find them for Smashwords I share them but usually the book in question isn't available on Smashwords. :-(
DeleteI did originally find your blog through a hop. But then I keep coming back because you have great giveaways and post alot of amazing reviews. I also love that you actually care what people think and reply to our comments. I do alot of hoping around and your one of the few who do. So I'm extremely happy to have found your blog and hopefully made a blogger friend. :)
ReplyDelete-Amber
Awww thanks! I am extremely happy to have our little group. I consider you all friends and I do care. I find it hard to understand that many people don't.
DeleteThanks for the input and the companionship. :D
+JMJ+
ReplyDeleteHi, Brenda! I also found your blog through a giveaway hop and started following it for the giveaway entry. After that, I started visiting more frequently because of your Comment Incentive Giveaway--not primarily because of the prize, but because one of my pet peeves about book blogging has been that many book bloggers do not answer or reciprocate comments. Believe it or not, the majority of my own commenters are old friends from my religious blogging days (which ended in 2010!) and new pals from the movie blogosphere.
Basically, Brenda, I've been frustrated with book bloggers for the longest time, so when you showed that you wanted more than just throwaway comments and were open to real discussion, I was happy to jump on board. =)
As for what you are lacking . . . It's hard to say, because you regularly have new content. And I'm not the best person to ask, because although I read a lot of Romance a few years ago, these days I divide my reading time among a bunch of other genres and don't get to most of the Romance titles which even show up on my radar. So while I would say that you "lack" posts about books I could really comment on, that's not really a valid critique, is it? ;-) You could flip it and say that I'm not really the kind of commenter you are looking for because I can't talk about the books you read. LOL!
In my (not so) humble opinion, what you're doing right is responding to commenters and showing us that you value our contributions. =) That definitely makes me come back!
The only things you need to change are what you feel you you need to change. But I do agree with you that if you think you are doing so much that it's no longer fun, it's probably time to pull back a little.
Thanks Enbrethiliel!
DeleteIt's not that I'm not enjoying it, it just seems like I've had less time for my own personal posts due to signing up for so many virtual book tours. Don't get me wrong, no one forced me to sign up for them. lol! I thought signing up for them would give you guys more give away opportunities and for the most part I was right.
The main problem is that many other bloggers sign up for the same tours and that leads to people seeing pretty much the same info over and over. I noticed about 10 posts on the same book the other day and it got me thinking. I don't want to see the same info that many times so why would you? It is different if one is a review, and one an interview etc... but essentially you are seeing pretty much the same thing!
I almost never do spotlight posts for this reason. The only time I do spotlights are if they are not part of a VBT, if the book is extremely special, or if the giveaway is awesome.
I try to mix it up and do the occasional interview or guest post instead of all reviews because I get tired of my opinion so why wouldn't you? The trouble is I really really like to read so when I have a chance to get a potentially good book to read for free in exchange for my opinion, I have trouble saying no!
I need to try to find tours that only offer a limited number of participants.
I am booked for all of May, most of June and a lot of July but I think come August I'll be more selective when I choose which tours to join. Now that I know there is a problem, I'm out to fix it. :D
Basically I count on you guys to let me know if the posts become too repetitive or boring etc.... I strive to always be honest and I hope that you all feel comfortable doing the same with me. After all, what are friends for!
Oh and Enbrethiliel, part of being honest is being yourself. If you don't like the books I'm posting about that is okay with me. I have trouble reading books that are old or that don't have at least some romantic element in them. If I tried, I'm sure the post would not be favorable. You could always do a guest post for me once in a while and highlight the types of books you favor. :D You could even include a link to your blog and maybe you'd get some more followers that way.