Whatever life throws at you

Discussion Time: Blogger Identity

Kat Impossible65 Comments

There’s many reasons why people follow blogs. The content and the design are obvious starting points, but most people stay for the person – the way the blogger writes and interacts with others on and off the blog. Even if you never meet these people off-screen, you feel connected to them and maybe even like part of their life. But sometimes life happens, priorities change and so does the focus of some bloggers’ posts. Do you still keep following them or do you lose interest? Let’s talk about that!

If you had asked me a couple months ago, I would have proudly said I am a book blogger. However, considering the percentage of book related posts in comparison to the ones about TV, films and/or writing, I am just not sure that’s still true. I haven’t read a single book in the past weeks and even more noticeably, I don’t particularly miss it. Usually, a reading slump would go hand in hand with a little blogging hiatus, but this time around I don’t want to stop blogging. I just don’t necessarily want to talk about books. So what does that make me?

I never made a big deal out of branding my blog a book blog. The name “Life and Other Disasters” is pretty general (for once a good decision) and I feel like it’s applicable for whatever I decide to post about. Then again, I know that the biggest junk of my readership started following this blog when I started to put a bigger emphasis on books. I am not saying I won’t talk books at all now, but I do feel like most of my posts are either about life events, TV obsessions or just general thought experiments. While I do have a couple regular readers who comment and like whatever I write about (I appreciate you guys so, so much by the way, you are my driving force! <3), I have noticed a decline in my stats. Of course, I can’t help but wonder if it has something to do with my content or simply bad timing and the general irregularity with which I post? I very well know that stats aren’t what really counts, interaction is far more important, but I think everyone who says they aren’t paying attention to them at all is a pretty little liar. The most unhealthy thing is to compare yourself and your blog to others, but lately, I just feel like everyone keeps passing me by. I’ve been doing this for a long time and I have no intention of stopping, but seeing everyone else reach those blogging goals that I needed years for in a matter of months is just kind of demotivating. I am very happy for those people, they are my friends, my community, but at the same time I keep wondering what I am doing wrong. It invokes this sense of detachment and makes me want to engage less, even though that is exactly the opposite of what would be helpful when you are trying to get your stats up again.

A big focus of blogging has also shifted to social media platforms. This is where people can showcase even more of their personality and engage with their audience. I would go so far as to say that as a modern-day blogger, you need Twitter and Instagram. I especially used to love Twitter when I first joined, it gave you such easy access to a huge amount of people with the same interests as you, but now … whenever I go online I just see a bunch of threads talking about controversial topics or complaining about one thing or another. Those are all really valid and most of the time about important topics that need to be called out, however, I am not the kind of person to engage in such conversations. I don’t feel like I have anything to add and I really don’t want to talk over people who might be more affected by the topics than me. So, I am basically just sharing random writing and life updates that don’t seem like a very valuable contribution or something people are actually interested in.

I realize my posts have become increasingly rambly, but sometimes you just have to write things off your chest. I am in a real blogger identity crisis, not sure where I am headed with my content and not sure if I am still part of the community I love so very much. I know that I am not alone in feeling that way, because I have talked to some people who’ve been doing this for a while as well and there is a shift in the blogging world. At least that’s what I experience from my little corner of the interwebs. I am definitely curious to see where this all goes.

Have you ever been in a blogger identity crisis? Do you follow blogs even if they talk about other things than the stuff they started out with? Let’s chat!

65 thoughts on “Discussion Time: Blogger Identity”

  1. Ahoy there matey. I am a book blogger who doesn’t mind when book bloggers talk about other things. Even though I only blog about books. Each to their own. I also am odd in that I do not use any other social media. I don’t get a lot of traffic but have a small core group that does seem to comment. Works fer me. Do what works fer you. Thanks fer yer thoughts on the topic though. This discussion always interests me.
    x The Captain

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    • Thanks so much for your comment, Captain! I am someone who tends to overthink every single aspect of her life, that’s probably also how this post was born. I know that caring about what others do isn’t very healthy, but it’s a difficult habit to ditch. Again, thanks for your contribution!

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  2. [ Smiles ] Do you promote your posts on social media?

    Now, in reality, blogging involves more than just promoting one’s content; they have to promote it too.

    Also, if bloggers are not using the appropriate tags, their blog posts are not going to show up in the WordPress Reader, etcetera.

    You can try associating yourself with those outside of your blogging community, or start associating yourself with other book bloggers.

    For the record, there are numerous successful book blogs in cyberspace.

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    • I don’t know if you knew this, but you just sounded extremely condescending.

      I’ve been blogging for 4 years, I don’t need a lecture on blogging. I know how to promote posts, how to tag correctly and how to get readers. I also wouldn’t say my blog is unsuccessful and I am well aware that there are numerous well run and liked book blogs out there. Heck, I just have to look at the list of my friends to see that.

      All I wanted to say with this post was that my focus has shifted and that I am not sure where I belong on the blogosphere now.

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      • [ A Raised Eyebrow ] It wasn’t my intentions to appear condescending.

        You spoke about your drop in statistics and you you wanted to know if that happened because of your decision to blog about books.

        I merely wanted to highlight the fact, that book blogging is huge!

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      • Again, you must have completely misunderstood this blog post!

        I did not say that my stats dropped because I blogged about books, but rather because I STOPPED blogging about books.

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  3. The blogging world definitely shifted since we both started, and I agree with you on the social media stuff. You know I kind of hate it. I say write whatever the hell u like. I followed you before the shift to books, and I’ll follow you with whichever new direction. 😘

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    • I LOVE YOU, CRISTINA! ❤ Thank you for always having my back. I can't believe we are such blogging dinosaurs, but I am glad we've been going this way together for years now!

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  4. This was completely me about a year ago! I just wasn’t interested in talking about books all the time anymore. And the thing is, yes your stats are going down, because that isn’t what your audience is interested in. Even still, my book posts get the most traffic. All that means, though, is you just have to rebuild your audience, and find new people! People who love film reviews are going to start following you, even though they wouldn’t have before. That’s scary, but not a bad thing! Just keep writing whatever makes YOU happy, and you’ll find people that are interested in that 🙂

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    • Thanks, Victoria! I already knew that I am not alone in feeling this way, that I won’t be the first and definitely not the last one to go through this shift. My blog didn’t start out as a book blog, but rather a film one and that didn’t work well for me at all. I’ll see what I am going to do now. Most likely it will just be a mix of everything. I feel like this blog has become a sort of online diary at this point.

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  5. I’m sorry you’re having a blogger identity crisis. I sense how conflicted you feel about all this. While i follow mostly book blogs, I also follow blogs that talk about other things, and I’m sure there are others like me who will continue to follow you.
    I would suggest writing whatever you want to and finding a new audience that is receptive to it. It will involve the struggle of building a blog almost from scratch and becoming part of a whole new community, but at least you will be doing what you really want to do.
    That’s my two cents on this. I do hope you will find the clarity you seek very soon!

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    • Thanks so much for the support!! I really appreciate it ❤
      I won't stop blogging about books altogether, but it's become the least important part of the blog in my eyes. I'll figure it out with time 🙂

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  6. I’ve stopped following a few blogs for a couple of reasons. Usually it’s because they stopped posting or shut down their blogs. However, other times I stop following blogs because they stopped being the blogs I wanted to follow. Three of those come to mind immediately: one was a poet who published this beautiful poetry about spirituality and happiness and stuff. However, they had some opinions on a few political and social issues that I have differing feelings on, and their feelings got kind of to the point where they started calling dissenters the most vile things. At some point, I was just like, “Goodbye, I don’t want to be around someone this hateful.”
    Another person I used to follow, a writer living in France, used to be someone I considered a good friend. But he got mad when his life took a turn for the worse, and when he felt no one was giving him the help he felt he needed. When I tried to be supportive, he swore at me, so I stopped following him. Last I heard, he’s still in France, but he still isn’t getting the support he believes he deserves. He also hasn’t updated his blog since last year, so my intel may be very out of date.
    A third was another author I admired for a while, because he had really good posts about the mechanics of writing and storytelling, but after a while he started posting only about supporting him, about buying his books or donating on Paypal to support him. I got tired of it, so I stopped following him.

    And I know there are probably people who stopped following me for whatever reason. Every time I get a new follower, I think to myself, “I wonder how long they’ll last.” Because the majority have stayed, but a few have left every now and then. And there was a time where I was struggling to keep every follower I had, or I felt like I was, anyway. It just seemed like I was losing readers rather than keeping or gaining them. Even now, with less than a hundred followers till I’ve hit the thousand mark, I worry that I can even keep them, let alone that any them will want to read this or that story that I wrote.

    Look at me, I unloaded more than I expected.

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  7. Hey, I’m sorry to hear you’re having this blogging identity crisis.
    I had a similar situation about a year and a half after starting blogging. I used to mainly post about science and mental health topics, but it stopped being something that interested me so much, and I started writing more about TV, books and films.
    And I’m really glad I let the blog branch out/change it completely, as I’m getting a lot more out of it now.

    It really helped me to remember that at the end of the day it’s my blog and I have no obligation to stick to a particular topic, since I’m doing this for me. Hopefully that helps you too.

    I also get what you mean about stats. I’ve noticed the really specialised bloggers (like people who blog about specific genres of books) can be really successful. But then I think they can get stuck feeling obligated to make a certain kind of comment. I think maybe there’s a bit of a trade-off to be made between having the freedom to post about exactly what you want, and having a lot of followers/interactions but ending up posting for them rather than for yourself.

    Hope this helps/ you work out the direction you want to take your blog in 🙂

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    • I don’t think I would drastically change the content of my blog to what it is now. I’ve been blogging about whatever came to mind in the past month already, but thank you so much for your comment. I do realize that I am not the only one who’s going through this. I guess we all have doubts and changes of heart at times.

      Thank you so much for your thoughtful comment ❤

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  8. You want me to tell you what kind of blogger you are? The fantastic, kind, and creative kind of bloggers, my dear ❤ Funnily enough, I always miss the drama on Twitter, despite spending so many hours on it, haha! I think I don't follow the right people to see it!
    Your blog is what you want it to be. Interests shift, a person changes, but it doesn't really matter. I'd say not to worry about your stats, you are finding yourself, you are living, you are experiencing, and that's the important part. I find it hard sometimes to comment or read posts about YA or subjects I am not interested in, but if the blogger has a unique voice and is a friend, I don't mind and a few times, it has taught me things, so I stick with them. I'll keep checking your blog, even if you start talking about frogs. xxxx

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  10. (I am so sorry this comment is SO LONG) I’m so sorry to hear you’re feeling this crisis lately – but I guess with blogging for such a long time, and now being away from home and everything, well…your blog is bound to change with you. I know mine did change a lot as well since I started. I really think that what should matter the most to you is what you want your blog to be. If you don’t want to talk about books all the time but much rather would like to talk about your travels from time to time, I think it has to be okay because in the end, it is your blog. Just like you said, it would be silly to say you don’t care about the decrease in your stats – I know the feeling, I care way too much about this just as well – but in the end, the stats are just numbers. Comments, interactions and most importantly what you think of your corner of the internet is what matters because it is a hobby and it has to remain fun.There are so many bloggers now reaching amazing goals in the matter of a few months, just like you said, I see so many of them and I’m like, it took me a year to get there, how do they do it?! Obviously jealousy is involved and everything but well… We are all doing our own thing at our own rhythm I guess and that doesn’t make them more successful than you are. I mean, you’ve been bloggin for a long time that’s important, too.
    I feel the exact same way about Twitter, Kat. I’m not too active there either because I don’t feel relevant, but the blogging community definitley is moving and settling there, and what used to be “big bloggers” for me now are “big twitter accounts talking about books”…. weird, right?!
    In the end, really, I think that all that matters is what you FEEL like doing. You were talking about branding earlier, and I think that if you want to put a label on it, for me you’re definitely “lifestyle” blogger. No matter what, you’re posting for yourself and people loving you will want to hear from you on tons of different topics. I know I always will 🙂 ❤
    If you ever need to rant about it, I'm here and wow, sorry for the long comment haha. ❤

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    • Don’t apologize for the comment being long! I love it.
      I don’t want to stop blogging about books altogether. I still love them, but just not all the time. Right now, I feel like the blog is turning more into an online diary and I am totally okay with that. I mean, I have a 100% on NetGalley, yet I get declined for EVERYTHING I request lately, that just has to be a sign, right? hahaha
      Stats are such a nuisance. They are helpful but a curse as well. And I really, really know I shouldn’t compare myself to others, but even when I am happy for them there is always a tinge of jealousy. It takes away the fun a little bit.
      I feel like most bloggers I now discover, I first see on Twitter, so I totally get it!
      I can live with lifestyle blogger 😀 that word has been rummaging in my head for a while now ❤
      Thanks so much for everything, Marie!!!

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      • I don’t know what’s up with NetGalley lately but I haven’t gotten answers to my requests in the past 5 months or something…So maybe it’s not that you’re getting declined, but that the whole website is messed-up lately?! Haha.
        Same here, that jealousy takes so much of the fun away from blogging for sure. I try to forget about it but at times it always comes to bite us in the a** again ahah.
        Well, lifestyle blogger would be PERFECT for you, I think it’d suit you perfectly! ❤ ❤ You're so welcome, Kat ❤ ❤

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  11. I so get what you mean. To start, write whatever you feel like and I will still come back for more! I do feel a sort of detachment to the blogosphere, especially since I don’t devote as much time in the week as I used to.
    I don’t like dwelling on stats but I do get that sense of “what am I doing wrong” when I see all these amazing bloggers hit these huge milestones in such a short space of time. It makes me doubt myself, which is not fun.
    My twitter is mostly for ranting about Poldark at the moment and with all the book threads (which are amazing) but again I have nothing to contribute to it. I mostly just browse twitter and instagram these days.
    At the end of the day you blog for you. Enjoying it is the important part. Plus I’ll always be on hand for a good ranting sesh. 😉

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    • Thanks so much for this, Lois! I am just going to blog about whatever I feel like and if this turns into more of a lifestyle blog than a book blog, people will just have to deal with it. 🙂 I am glad to have you!!

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  12. I am primarily a book blogger. Me wanting to talk about books is the main reason I decided to start blogging in the first place. Through time I have implemented other types of posts to my blog, like anime wrap, and I plan on doing more things on my blog outside of talking about books. My blog is a place for me to talk about everything that I want. 🙂
    Simply your blog is whatever you want it to be! I think all of us have a lot of fun blogging and sharing things that we enjoy, be that books, movies or other things. So if you “force” yourself to read and post bookish content, you will just end up hating it and it will become a chore. And where is the fun in that?
    Personally, I just enjoy reading your posts no matter what they are about! 😀

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    • Anna, that was so sweet! Thank you! I am glad I am getting so much support from everyone because I don’t think I can write the same amount of book reviews as I used to. It’s just not happening. I don’t want to abandon it altogether, I want to have the freedom to chose whatever I want to for the topics of my posts. I am so happy everyone encourages that.

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  13. I’ve noticed your recent focus on more TV shows than books and I’m still here for the long haul, whatever you decide to do! I get insecure about my stats too… like some blogs have had their blog for maybe a month and already have the same amount of followers as me and I’ve had my blog for about a year. It’s really discouraging to see that and I always feel like maybe I’m doing something wrong… but the people that do follow my blog seem to like the things I post so I don’t want to change things because of that…

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    • Thanks so much for the support, Savannah! There are some aspects of blogging no one warns you about and even if you don’t want to let yourself be influenced by jealousy, sometimes it’s inevitable. Don’t change anything about your blog unless you want to! You do you 😉

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  14. Omg Kat I feel this so much?? Especially the social media bit – I feel like I don’t have anything to add either, even when it’s about a topic that does affect me because I feel like someone else can say it better which maybe doesn’t make any sense haha.
    People who started following you for book related posts may not read your other posts, but new people will find your blog through those posts and read them (and I’ll definitely try to read all your posts) but I definitely feel you. I started out as a book and writing blog and started writing about other stuff more and more, because I’m passionate about those things too, and while some stuff gets read a lot, others are less popular. And even though we all like to pretend we don’t care about stats of course it sucks. BUT blogging should be fun and you should be able to blog about what you want to blog about. I’ll always be here to support you ❤ Hope you'll figure out this identity crisis soon 🙂

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    • Social media is a tricky thing. It can be so much fun and really helpful, but also stressful to no end. I think that’s why I am mostly using Twitter and such for DMs now.
      Thank you so much for the support, Michelle! ❤

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  15. One time, I realised that there was no reason for me to be posting about the things that I was posting about. And once that happened, I began to question whether or not I wanted to blog anymore, or what the focus of it should be. Eventually, I decided to use it as a place to turn my non-essential interests into something real, and that’s how I decided to use this place as a dumping ground for all my fandom trash.

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  18. Oh hun I understand what you’re trying to say. It’s really true about the shift in the blogging world. I mean I dont know if it’s us the bloggers or something’s up with the readers. Your posts are really thoughtful so don’t worry about them being rambly. I absolutely love to read them.

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  19. I love whatever you write about!! I’ve always liked how you diversify your blog and it’s the fact that it’s you writing it that keeps me coming back!!
    I think everyone gets a little demoralised sometimes- everyone sees someone else doing something more, quicker, it’s just important to keep going at your own pace (at least that’s what I tell myself 😉 ) But yeah, stats are always stressful, no matter what people say- I have to increasingly not check them as regularly, or I just get a little overwhelmed
    I’ll be honest as well- I’m straight up crap at social media- always have been- I’ve put more effort in recently, but seriously it is just so hard. So I see people on there doing amazingly and I’m not only in awe, I’m also like “HOW?!” Honestly, every time I go on there my mind just blanks (even if I might have thought I had something pithy to say when I went on there, when I start to think about that I’m like “really, I wanted to tweet about peanut butter- what is wrong with me?!”- I swear to god that was one of my *bright ideas* so I more than relate) People always tell me there are controversial topics there, but I’m so useless I can never even find them… which is probably just as well 😉 Anyway, you’re one of the bloggers I actually like to check out on SM, so I wouldn’t worry about that 😀
    I think it’s really exciting to do different things with your blog- and don’t worry about whether it’s bookish or not, cos we’re gonna be here regardless 😀 Your content is always fun to read!!
    And sorry for the really rambly comment!!

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    • Thank you so, so much for this comment! It means the world to me to hear from people like you, who have been by my side for so long and keep supporting me. I would never want to miss you from my life ❤
      Also, peanut butter is a great subject! Don't sell yourself short!! I am glad you like my SM stuff, because I am really insecure about it hahaha but I guess that's something we have in common then.
      (Btw, you weren't rambly at all!!!)

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      • You’re very welcome!! 😀 And I feel the same way ❤ I genuinely need to come on here, as you can probably tell 😉
        hehehehe it is a great topic, but ah well I always second guess myself, so I guess the world is robbed of the gem that tweet would have no doubt been 😉 hehehehe yes definitely!!
        Ahh I'm glad!!

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  21. This is such an interesting question. I started following bloggers because they wrote about books I liked to read or would like to read. They evolved, and I stayed with them, because I enjoy reading their thoughts. I just want to write about books, since I do not watch much TV or go to many movies, but there is nothing wrong with a lifestyle blog. You need to write about things you are passionate about, and people will want to read it, because the passion will show.

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    • Thanks! I totally agree that you have to write about what you are passionate about. It really shines through the most when you write about it and actually care hahaha thanks so much for your comment!

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  22. Always. There’s a huge and supportive community but so much of what makes a blog is deeply personal. You can sail along in happy isolation or you can fret: why did that obviously inferior review get more likes and shares than mine? Why did this post of mine (which I thought was so-so) get a huge reaction – or did they just click on it and not come back? All you can do is work out what you personally want to get from it (and this can and should change over time) and try to be vaguely consistent with that.

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  23. I think I technically fit into the ‘Book Blogger’ category, as I mostly post about books. But I like to think of myself as more of a ‘Passion Blogger’. I literally post about what I am passionate about. Books, TV, Movies, Music, Food, Flowers… whatever I love to talk about!

    I started my blog for me. A pretty little corner of the internet where I could talk about the things I love, and hopefully discuss them with others who love them too. Do I like getting more followers and views? Of course! But that was never my main goal, the blog was always meant for me 🙂

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    • I love the term Passion Blogger! I think that might just be what I am too 🙂
      Honestly, I can’t even remember why I started blogging. I know that I had the urge to share my stories, but I think I didn’t JUST do it for myself. But now, it’s more me than anything else.

      Thanks so much for your comment! 😀

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      • Yes, just go with what you love! I feel like it makes a blog better if the writer loves every single piece of it. I mean, yesterday I wrote 2 book reviews and a reaction piece for a TV show. And today I am working on a recipe and a piece about what to start planting in your garden this spring. Haha it’s all over the place, but im so passionate about it all!

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