Thursday, November 5, 2009

How to Have Your Followers, and Eat Them Too. Wait... what?

Alright people. Just so you don't think I'm a creeper, there's a saying that goes, "You can't have your cake and eat it too." Now, what exactly that means, I'm not quite sure, and it would be a great thing for someone to comment about. What I want to talk about is How to Keep Your Followers.

The reason I bring this up is because I have been dropping quite a few blogs off of my reading list for a couple of reasons, and I suspect that the writers of said blogs probably don't notice the loss of one follower, but if YOU are the kind of person who would notice that missing follower, here are some tips so that you are not left wondering (under such circumstances, should they arise), "What did I do wrong?"

Reasons I Click the 'Stop Following This Site' Button:


1. They already have 1,000+ followers, and their posts aren't that great. How good the blog's posts are plays a huge role in following or not following. Simply, blogs with a vast follower base are like the Walmart of the blog world. And I prefer to support locally owned businesses, yo; especially if the posts are better quality there.

2.
The posting is irritatingly irregular. No, you don't have to post every day, or even every week. I am currently following a blog which updates only once a month, but the point is that they regularly post once a month (and again, the post quality is pretty good). However, the blogs which fluctuate from posting once a week to not posting for a month drive me a little bonkers. The main point is, I don't want to waste that space on my blogroll, waiting for you to post again, when for all I know, you abandoned ship. I don't mean to be harsh, but I'm being honest.

3. (Oo.. a reference to my last 'The Way I See It Post'!)
I feel like they don't care whether I'm following them or not. I am following a handful of blogs with the sweetest, most caring writers. I comment on their blogs, or start following them, and they comment back on mine(or acknowledge/give thanks to their followers in a post on their blog). To those of you who do this, (and I always try to do it in return) I love you guys. Thank you for caring about me, out of your how many more followers/commentators. Again, I recently dropped a blog with mediocre posts and a writer who probably didn't even notice when I joined their followers. Needless to say, I don't feel bad about it.
To quote Beyonce's song, Single Ladies, "If you like it, then you should have put a ring on it." Except, it's more like, "If you want me to follow your blog, you should have cared enough to tell me so."


I had fun writing this, and I hope you laughed too at my sometimes ridiculous comparisons or what-have-you, rather than thinking I am just harsh or way off base. And, I'd like to give a big thank you to all of my followers (thankfully I haven't lost one yet) for being so great, whether by commenting on my posts or being sweethearts on their own blogs. I do not take you guys for granted, and if you are ever seriously irked by something I say, feel free to tell me! Otherwise, how would I know?

9 comments:

Melissa said...

You're a super sweet blogger! I know what you mean when you feel like they don't care. Anytime I get a new follower I make sure to go to their blog and at least comment on it and I get super exciting and squeal about it, because it matters. And your right there are some big blogs out there and im like... why do you have so many followers... you arent that great... I dont know how to explain the saying "you cant have your cake and eat it too." its just one of those things that you just know.

Here I scribble said...

well written Heidi!! I agree to your points, especially 1 and 3. Even I stopped following few blogs recently!

_ffyona said...

Hi Heidi, thank you for stopping by my blog! It was wonderful to find your blog. It is a great read.

What a great write up! What you wrote is very true!

Athena. said...

Ohh, yes this is so true!
I find that I'm following so many people, that my dashboard is constantly filled and I truly can't keep up - I think it's perhaps time to have a look at this list and clean up my following a bit :)
Adore you, Heidi!
xx

Katie Marie said...

"2. The posting is irritatingly irregular."

This is me! But I do appreciate you following my blog anyway!

Amy Lauren said...

Haha I also have trouble posting regularly! But anyway, I got a chuckle out of your references to beyonce and Marie Antoinette. giggle giggle.

Heidi Rose said...

Aw, yeah, but I love you Katie, and when you do post, I'm happy. :)

Thanks all you guys!

Michelle Schraudner said...

Well I'm glad you're still following me! I love all my followers!

The Naked Redhead said...

Hiya! I'd comment more on your blog if I was able to do it with putting my moniker and URL in. I try to write somewhat anonymously, and my google/blogger account has my real name. So, just for you, I'm using my blogger account to let you know that I'd love to reciprocate comments with you, but haven't...there are several times I'd have loved to give you kudos for your shtuff but just haven't wanted to come out of hiding. :)

-The Naked Redhead
www.thenakedredhead.com