Pressure. It’s something that I’ve become quite familiar with since starting blogging.
It will make you want to do this:
Yes, I have screamed in frustration a number of times and wanted to kill the pressure with my killer breath…Okay, maybe not, but you get where I’m coming from.
It has also made me want to cry into a tub of ice cream for the rest of eternity. Comfort food is the best!
I DO NOT own this. I’ve lost the original source so cannot link back
I’m feeling so much pressure at the moment, it’s unbelievable. I constantly watch my follower count, my pageviews and my comments number. And, you know what? I don’t like it! Pressure, you can go right away.
I want to be able to not worry about that follower that I lose or the decrease in page views I get. Because when this does happen, I get so down and then get into a blogging slump. I blog because I love it, but sometimes this isn’t enough. The things I get out of blogging are so great but when the pressure starts to build, it can really affect the way I feel towards blogging and what I put in.
Do you ever feel the pressure? How do you try to avoid it?
24 Comments
Rebecca-Books
7 August, 2013 at 8:15 amTwitter: rebeccabooks
Oh Lucy, I’m so sorry that you’re feeling this towards blogging. In all fairness I know how you feel because I’ve been felt like this over the years. I know we could all say that you shouldn’t feel like this or that we, as bloggers, love you and your blog. But I know that doesn’t necessarily stop you feeling like this. I just want to say that you have a great blog Lucy and a loyal following even if it is all the same people. You write reviews so maturely and interestingly and it is so obvious in every single post that you love books as we all do as book bloggers. You’re also one of the most genuine bloggers I’ve seen in a long time. So remember that.
I’m not sure what to suggest to make this go away. But just remember that you’re not alone in feeling like this and if you want to talk about it by email or whatever, you know mine at least (and I’m sure others feel the same). As my best friend says when I’m feeling down and to quote one of the BEST Disney movies ever, Finding Nemo – ‘Just keep swimming’
(Sorry this is like a mega comment but yeah I hope that helps even the slightest – I don’t like to see you feeling down) x
Rebecca-Books recently posted…On My Bookshelf (41)
Lucy Powrie
7 August, 2013 at 5:13 pmThank you, Rebecca! That really does mean a lot to me. I’m feeling better about it all now, and it’s so nice to know that there are people who do support me out there.
Thanks for commenting! 🙂
Lucy Powrie recently posted…Pressure
Emma @ Never Judge a Book by its Cover
7 August, 2013 at 9:31 amTwitter: Nverjudgeabook
Oh no! I know exactly what you mean… I was like that at first thinking, I’m commenting but no-one is commenting on mine have I done something wrong and I get a not down from that! The pressure I have is reading books from publishers, I have so many that I just feel bad that I can’t get to them in time of the date… I Also had the pressure of going in WP last week! But I just said myself that its my hobby, my blog and I enjoy it! If worry about what people think then you won’t enjoy it! I’ve learnt that about life and I think it applies to this as well! I think Lucy, we can always be in that boat when it comes to blogging, work and life. So your not alone! We’ll get through it together! 🙂 I’m so glad I met you through the blogosphere, because you are a great book reviewer and you have your own way with words! Be yourself, Keep reading and keep blogging! 😀 x
Emma @ Never Judge a Book by its Cover recently posted…Review: All Our Yesterdays by Cristin Terrill
Lucy Powrie
7 August, 2013 at 5:14 pmI think the thing to remember is that I do blog and read for fun, because when I don’t there doesn’t seem any point to doing it. I’m so glad I met you, too!
Thank you, Emma! Greatly appreciated! 😀
Lucy Powrie recently posted…Pressure
Arianne
7 August, 2013 at 9:55 amLucy, it’s so awful that you’re feeling this kind of pressure at the moment! Just remember, you are a GOOD blogger. In fact, you are an AMAZING blogger. You write great reviews, interact with all your readers – you even source your GIFs and pictures! (Believe me, there are so many bloggers who don’t do that and end up with ugly blanks in their posts!) Blogging is a voluntary thing so don’t ever let anyone take the fun out of it for you – not even yourself!
Hope you feel better soon 🙂
Arianne recently posted…Reviewed by Arianne: This Is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith.
Lucy Powrie
7 August, 2013 at 5:18 pmThank you, Arianne! That’s so lovely of you to say.
Thanks for stopping by! 🙂
Lucy Powrie recently posted…Pressure
Francoise
7 August, 2013 at 10:06 amI know what you mean! I’m only a newbie though so I can’t expect as many followers but still…it saddens me
;(
Francoise recently posted…Book Covers!
Lucy Powrie
7 August, 2013 at 5:20 pmIt will come, Francoise! I promise you. Just keep working hard and it will pay off in the end!
Lucy Powrie recently posted…Pressure
Amber @ The Mile Long Bookshelf
7 August, 2013 at 12:06 pmI always feel like this so I hope you manage to feel better about it soon :/ I’ think it’s actually healthy that you keep note of your stats etc because it means you can push yourself to become a better blogger…I don’t know. That’s probably the complete opposite to anything anyone else is going to say but it’s a nicer way to think about it. Did any of that even make sense?! Uh…:S ANYWAY I hope you get out of the ‘pressure’ stage soon 🙂
Amber xx
Amber @ The Mile Long Bookshelf recently posted…Books to look out for from Curious Fox!
Chrissi Reads
7 August, 2013 at 1:00 pmTwitter: ChrissiReads
I feel pressure too Lucy, and I am a fairly new blogger. I think you just have to take that step back when you do feel the pressure is getting too much. Try to remember that you blog for the love of reading books. When it gets too much, get stuck into a book and try and forget about it. It’s not great advice I know, it’s certainly easier said than done, but I guess what I’m trying to say is go back to basics. Read a book because you love reading and take your mind off blogging, just for a bit. That’s what I do. I hope you feel better soon.
Chrissi Reads recently posted…Unravel Me
Lucy Powrie
7 August, 2013 at 5:21 pmIt’s great advice, actually! I’m planning on doing just that. Reading is my ultimate relaxer so it’s perfect when I’m feeling a bit stressed over everything. Thanks for stopping by!
Lucy Powrie recently posted…Pressure
Lucy
7 August, 2013 at 4:03 pmI totally agree!! And the sad part is I just stress about it more and more.. I know… Bad Lucy.. but it stresses me out!
Lucy Powrie
7 August, 2013 at 5:23 pmI do the same. Us Lucy’s need to stick together!
Lucy Powrie recently posted…Pressure
Anya
7 August, 2013 at 4:39 pmTwitter: awfullotofbooks
Sweetie, it really sucks that you feel like that. I think most of us, at least at some point. I had a really bad day a few months back where I cried for hours but now I honestly cannot remember what it was about! It always seems so important at the time but as long as you have loyal followers then you’re doing good!
Christine @ Oh, Chrys!
7 August, 2013 at 5:43 pmArgh. The numbers game can be such a pain in the ass, especially if you are a new blogger. I wish I could say, “don’t look at stats”, but that would be pretty silly because they are important to monitor to see what content gets the best reception. It sucks to see fellow bloggers feel stressed out, but I do hope it all passes. It normally does, right?
Christine @ Oh, Chrys! recently posted…Shakespeare on Screen: Some Favorites
Jamie
7 August, 2013 at 5:47 pmTotally been there before! I’ve been at this for 3 years and I think in the past year I’ve finally gotten to the point where I just don’t care anymore. It’s honestly refreshing. I used to always be watching my follower counts and feel stressed about posting all the time and doing allll of the things but then I started getting burnt out and thought “to what end? What am I trying to accomplish?” “Am I going to, years down the road, regret all the time I spent worrying about this and spending late nights working on things?” I mean, I love blogging and reading and all the fun that comes along with it but it’s not the only thing in my life. I don’t have aspirations of being the biggest blog ever so what am I trying to gain? Once I started thinking about all those things it helped. It also helped when I stopped posting a lot a few months before my wedding last year and I realized it wasn’t the end of the world! It helped me calm down about it because people were still commenting when I DID post and visiting. Sure my views were probably down ( I wasn’t tracking bc I was so busy) but what did that really matter? What affect did that have on my life?
I do think, and I’m speaking honestly and not at all in a braggy way, that I also am happy where I am right now so maybe that’s part of it? I’m lucky to receive a decent amount of ARCs, I love my readers and am pleased with the interaction on my blog and love all of the content I’m putting out. But I def think I felt more pressure when I was a younger blog because it was so new and I had a lot of room to grow and felt like I needed to do tours and interviews (things I personally didn’t like). So just know that it is normal and all a part of the growth and life cycle of a blogger because, even though we don’t blog for ARCs, most of us do want to get them. I think as you grow you will know what you like and what you don’t and what stresses you out and what doesn’t!
I think a lot of the pressure we bloggers feel is self imposed. Somewhere along the way everybody thought we needed to post ever day and do this and do that and so then people tried to keep up with those amazing bloggers that can do ALL OF THE THINGS somehow and we get burnt out. I always joke we should all make a pledge to only post 3-4 times a week so we all can feel more refreshed. But really, if you like to post every day do it 😛 For me, that was my biggest pressure. Now I just don’t care if I go a week without a post. Life gets in the way.
I have a post about a letter to my younger blogging self that I wrote last year I think? I hate link dropping if you don’t want it so let me know if you do. It was just some of my own reflections about what I would tell myself!
Practical suggestions:
1. Challenge yourself to not look at your stats or your follower counts for a week. How did you feel?
2. Make a list of the areas that are bringing all that pressure and then in another column jot down how you can change them. YOU are in control. Mine would have looked like this:
Stress: Follower Count Solution: Get rid of my widget or move to WordPress where I won’t have one by default (I did the second solution bc I wanted to do that anyways)
Page views Solution: Only let myself look at stats x amount of times per day/week
Posting every day: Solution: Drop one day a week and see how I feel after a month.
Feeling like BOOKS were becoming my life Solution: post other things on the blog too
Hope that helps (obviously those were just mine) and hope you start to feel relaxed soon!!
Jamie recently posted…Reading On Vacation
Debbie @ Snuggling on the Sofa
7 August, 2013 at 6:35 pmTwitter: SnugglingonSofa
First I just have to say that your blog is amazing and so professional! You come across as so confident in your vlogs as well. I guess I just have to say that I think you should stick with it. You’ve gotta remember that you do it for fun. When I’m in doubt about anything, I write a pro list of all the things I get out of it. Whether thats books, authors, publishers, events or blogger friends.
I also dont think necessarily that good posts correlate with lots of page views. Sometimes lots of people are on holiday. or if lots of people post that day, that post can get lost in my feeder. Or I may not have time to comment or look. That doesn’t mean your post isnt good! I think I would just say try not to concentrate on numbers. When you feel the pressure, then remind yourself why you are doing it in the first place. Ask why you are feeling the pressure, and what you can do to change it? Whether thats not checking your stats, or not logging in to wordpress unless you’re posting. But please stick at it! You’re amazing 🙂
Debbie @ Snuggling on the Sofa recently posted…Waiting on Wednesday #35
Natasha
7 August, 2013 at 8:26 pmSorry to hear you’re feeling like this Lucy 🙁
Unfortunately I know exactly how you feel. It got to a point with my fashion blog Girl in the Lens where we were getting so many requests from brands for collaborations and getting money in for things that I just took much on, and each weekend was a rush with Callum to shoot the photos and make sure we were meeting our deadlines. It sucked. And it took my enjoyment from the blog away (not to mention time for writing and my job!). But now we’re at a happy medium where we’re still able to do some things we really want but just being careful about what we take on so we’re not overloaded.
Take pride in your blog, focus on what you enjoy, don’t take on too much, and DO NOT LOOK AT STATS. We have to sometimes to send reports and metrics to brands, but the rest of the time I don’t even worry about it at all. If I enjoy my blog and the clients we work with are happy, then that’s all that matters to me. And that’s all that should matter to you too sweetie 🙂 your blog is gorgeous x
http://girlinthelens.com/
http://natashangan.com/
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Eileen @ ***Singing and Reading in the Rain***
7 August, 2013 at 8:45 pmAhh Lucy I totally know what you mean! I definitely feel the pressure a lot, especially when it comes to getting ARCs or posting all of my reviews on time. When it comes to pageviews, followers, or comments, I’m kind of at the point where I’ve gotten past it and I don’t even care anymore, which is such an amazing feeling. I think that if you think about it, blogging is about YOU and what you want, and nobody else is watching your stats. Like Jamie said, I’ve kind of reached that point where I’m happy with what I have, so I’ve stopped worrying about it, but I remember about a year ago it dominated my life and all I could think about was my follower count. But, after a few months, I kind of grew more confident about what I was doing just because I was like, “Screw it I’m never going to be a big blogger but I don’t really care anymore it’s just who I am” Maybe just spending a week not caring about how many comments, not caring about your followers, just focusing on posting and having fun, will work. Or maybe just one week where you post about the randomest life discussions or stories, just for fun and maybe it’ll be like “I love blogging way too much to feel this much pressure I should stop” I don’t even know >.<
Fantastic post, Lucy! I hope that soon you can feel better soon I'm not very good at giving advice so I would just disregard this comment but I LOVE YOU! <33
Eileen @ ***Singing and Reading in the Rain*** recently posted…Crash by Nicole Williams
Melanie (YA Midnight Reads)
8 August, 2013 at 12:12 pmOMG. I used to have so much pressure- especially with my first print ARC but now I am more at piece with it. Although sometimes I full on freak out. Example:
A few days ago I was trying to send my homework pictures from my phone to computer so I decided to post a draft using the WordPress app on my phone- however when I did, I accidentally pressed PUBLISH. So the pics went live (the pics was of spanish writing and my friend’s head) and I immediately removed the post, yet feedburned still decided to email all my subscribers the post. -.- I freaked out then, lol.
Awesome post, hon! <33
Melanie (YA Midnight Reads) recently posted…Review: Two Roads by L. M. Augustine
Rebekah @ Reflections of a Bookworm
8 August, 2013 at 1:22 pmI remember seeing you mention it on your fb page 🙁 The pressure is pretty awful and no matter how much you try to avoid looking at numbers and stuff, they do matter to you. For me, I just think of all the comments and friends I’ve made through blogging and remind myself how much fun the community is. Yes it sucks that after putting so much work into what we do, the numbers don’t necessarily reflect it but it’s better than nothing and in the end they will eventually boost up. Plus you have us here to give you hugs and fan girl with you anyway 🙂 Your followers don’t care about the numbers 😉 Chin up, Lucy!
Rebekah @ Reflections of a Bookworm recently posted…When enough is enough.
Vicky @ Books, Biscuits, and Tea
8 August, 2013 at 6:26 pmI think I did feel this way for a short while after I started blogging but I’m pretty sure it’ll go away later on so don’t worry about it. 🙂 I can’t remember when I stopped worrying about such things as follower count and pageviews but I did and you will too. Just try to keep in mind that you’re doing this because you love books and being part of this community. <3
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Jesse Owen
11 August, 2013 at 3:13 pmOh Lucy! I’m sorry to hear (um, read) you’re feeling like this – I think we all feel like this from time to time and it’s nice to know that it will pass 🙂
The subscribers counts and stats aren’t everything though (I used to look at mine regularly but soon discovered that they made me feel rubbish when they dipped) – so I only take a peek at them every now and again.
And you’re blog is brilliant, so don’t let it get you down too much – it will pass 😀
Jesse Owen recently posted…Review: The Unbecoming Of Mara Dyer
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