As bloggers, we all have moments of self doubt. We worry that our blogs aren’t good enough or that nobody’s out there actually reading our content or that we’ll never get new readers. It’s very common for bloggers to struggle with this. But here’s a new one for me:
My blog is now over two years old and my worry is: is Nose Graze “old news”?
When your blog is new, there are pros and cons. On the negative side, you’re new and undiscovered. People may not know your blog exists. Is anyone out there??
But on the plus side, when readers start to trickle in, you’re like the shiny, untouched toy. Everything is new! You’re a voice that’s never been heard and you’re out there posting content that’s never been read or explored!
I feel like back when Nose Graze was new, I was posting coding tutorials and WordPress tips and that was new! There was nothing (or very little) quite like it in the world of book blogging. I was the new, shiny toy. Now I’ve been posting this content for over two years, and while I still love my ideas, I can’t help but wonder: has it gotten old? Are people looking to flock to new, undiscovered book blogs? Are they sick of hearing about coding and WordPress? Is my blog “been there, done that”?
I certainly don’t think you’re out of fashion – in fact, whenever I googled particular questions regarding book blogging, WordPress, and the like, your blog is what always came up and helped me! I think a better way to look at it is that because you were the person that garnered a lot of success with coding tutorials and the like that you’re a pioneer and that people look up to you because of that. 😀
That’s great to hear, thank you! 😀
I always read your blog and love it. Just keep being you, who cares after that. I like your posts and your general tone of respect on this blog. You’re genuine – authentic. Can’t beat that.
Thank you Kathryn! 🙂
nope, I don’t think of you as “been there, done that”. I read your discussion posts and really enjoy them. I LOVE your tutorial posts – I’ve discovered things I had no idea about, through YOU. There’s something about your discussion posts and non-book posts that for some reason, it feels like I’m reading a blog by a good friend. I don’t know if it’s your style of writing or WHAT you are writing – I haven’t thought deep enough about it yet. I just know that I actually enjoy your blog. And if you find your readers are NOT going down, then I guess it means you’re doing pretty good. 😀
Aw thank you so much Jaki!! 😀
I worry about that EVERYDAY. Side note: Nose Graze is my favourite book blog 🙂
Thank you Priscilla! 😀 *hugs*
* favourite blog.
I do feel like I go through bouts of low comments or low visits and I feel like my blog is getting old but then I remember that my blog is really for me and I want to post what I want to post, so I am okay with whoever wants to read my blog and whoever wants to stop.
That’s an excellent point!
Your blog certainly doesn’t feel old at all, but it doesn’t hurt to find new ideas to keep it “new” and original I guess.
I realize my previous comment might sound harsh, and it was not intended at all *blush*
I meant that like anything else, you can always keep something “fresh” by sustaining it with new ideas (vs falling into a sort of routine).
But as I said before, your blog really doesn’t feel old. I don’t think I know another blog talking about book blogging specifically.
No worries, I know what you mean. 🙂 Maybe that’s why I’ve done a couple vlogs lately. I don’t know if I want to keep that up though lol.
It’s always good to try and explore new things! (and I liked seeing you :p)
I don’t worry about that, actually. After 2 years of blogging, it sometimes still feels new to me. I get new followers, I try new things, I get a lot of comments and most of all, I love what I’m doing 🙂 I always read your newest posts and I’ve never thought your blog it out of fashion.
It’s great that you love what you’re doing! At the end of the day, that’s the most important thing. 🙂
This sounds like an excellent discussion, Ashley. The fact is, you’re never going to go out of fashion, because there will always be new book bloggers coming along and your blog will be new to THEM. It’s infinite, as John Green might say 😛
Thank you Maddy! That’s comforting. 🙂
I’ve been having these thoughts a little too much recently, which is why I’m currently taking a break from blogging to get my head right. It’s also helping me to plan out ideas properly in my own time, which I think will be able to improve my blog content when I return.
That’s a great idea! I hope it’s successful for you and that you get some great new ideas. 🙂 I think the most important thing is to really love what you’re doing.
I highly doubt that your blog (specifically) will ever go out of style. The reason I say that is BECAUSE of the coding and tutorial posts. I stumbled upon these posts months after you posted them and found them invaluable. I’m sure there will continue to be people who will need that type of information that you’ve provided and people like me who constantly refer back to older posts to refresh my memory on things. I’m sure there will be others who will want to switch to WP from blogger and more still who will simply want to know other things about book blogging. Plus, you are constantly updating and posting new things that you’ve mastered.
Its funny – I’ve worried about lots of things with my blog, but never that. Maybe because I haven’t been around a year yet so I’m still new? I think, though, that blogs don’t go out of style as long as the people writing them allow their blogs to change with them. And yours has definitely done that – I mean you’ve added new discussion features, changed your approach to staking the shelves and the coding/design topic may not be new, but the content is. There’s always changes that impact bloggers and you’re knowledge will help those of us who don’t know that part of things so well. And all the old stuff probably gets visited more than most blogs’ old content because it remains useful! Hell, when I mess up making a button rather than trying to figure out where I went wrong I always just go to my bookmark for how to do it on your blog. So nope, totally not going out of style IMHO
I definitely don’t think your blog is old news! You continue to be very helpful and that never goes out of style!
I don’t worry about that for my own blog. I’m just one of thousands of book blogs to choose from. After almost three years I’ll be old and boring to someone, but to a new followed I’d still be shiny and new! 🙂
Well I hadn’t worried about this before, but NOW that you brought it up 😉 I really don’t think this is something to worry about personally though. The older your blog is, the more people think to go to your blog when they can’t figure out a WordPress coding thing or have a question about the design of their blog. I like to think that my readers new and old know they can turn to me to find out about a new sf/f book. I do sometimes like the new discussion ideas a new blogger comes up with, but often they just rehash things I’ve already thought about since there are discussion topics that come up a lot in the community. In short, I guess I haven’t really experienced the new and shiny appeal of young blogs, ha.
I think we all have doubts about our own blogs. I have never doubted a blogger I follow though. The thing is not every reader is going to love evrything I post but they’ll like some things and another person may like the things the first perso didn’t.
Amanda Shofner’s books on blogging sort of helped me realize that I want my blog to be more of a community feel than a red carpet, screaming fans feel. Being the shiny new toy definitely has its perks (and who didn’t want to be that at one point or another?) but it has its flaws as well. When you mess up everybody knows it! 🙂 Great discussion! It brought me out of my bloggy anxiety and reminded me of my priorities.
I don’t think blogs like yours can go out of style because there are always new people joining the blogging world who will find your content new and refreshing, even if earlier followers no longer feel that way. 🙂
Although you blog may feel old to you there are new people discovering it all the time and so for them it’s still a shiny new toy! I started reading your posts about 3 months ago and so have definitely missed out on your earlier stuff. Heck I don’t even blog via WordPress but I read the tips because a lot of them carry across to Blogger too. Chin up!
Jaq
xxx
Your blog is def. not out of fashioned! For me I honestly don’t care if a blog is brand new or not. All I care is that the blog has its own voice, good content, and nice design w/ readable font.
I’ve been blogging for a year and a half now, but my blog is not popular. So, i feel simultaneously brand new and old news. But, honestly, i blog for myself and wouldn’t actually want to be anyone’s “toy”…
I love your WordPress Tutorials. Sometimes when I’m stuck with coding I come here or to Parajunkee to find help rather than asking someone else, because you’re tutorials are easy to understand. I’m not technical at all. A lot of people appreciate that. I also say that each blog is different and the person/people running that blog make it special.
Thank you Grace! I’m glad you appreciate them. 🙂
I have doubts about this all the time. With my blog being over four years old, I often feel out of touch with the “new” blogs, and kinda feel like I’m lagging behind. It doesn’t help that my blog doesn’t really seem to grow as much as it used to.
I don’t think your blog is outdated at all though (: Your tutorials are super useful and I often find myself on your blog because someone linked to one of them
To be honest I am sick of just posting book reviews on my blog. I want to post more unique stuff. I think that a blog will go out of fashion if the owner of the blog doesn’t innovate. Being an “old” blog definitely has its advantages, when you’ve been blogging for a long time people will consider you a “veteran” on the book blogging community (or whichever blogging community you belong in). I know of someone from my country who’s been blogging for 14 years now and not only is he the richest blogger in my country but he is considered a veteran in the tech blogging too. I don’t think blogs will ever go out of fashion, if any, it will flourish more. I think it will only go out of fashion if the owner doesn’t innovate and try new ideas. Nose Graze is definitely far from going out of fashion. 😀
I was feeling the same way about book reviews. Now I’m tending to only post them about once a week!
I’m newer yet, and I’ve already wrestled with the self-doubt (why would anyone want to read my thoughts on books, when there’s already a billion other book bloggers out there). But, I’ve gone ahead and done my (quirky) thing, and so far it’s been an amazing experience 🙂
You’re one of my favorite blogs, and your tutorials and knowledge with WordPress and blogging, have been a HUGE help. I just was on another blog, who also just switched to WP and she used your tutorial, like I did. Plus, your other posts are a lot of fun to read too 😀
I’ve been on a few blogs that do have a stale feeling to them, but you’re definitely not one of them!
I’m so glad it’s going well for you!
And thank you for your kind words. 🙂 I really appreciate it!
Well, you’re definitely not old news to me because I just found your blog today (hence the plethora of comments as I snoop around). I do have these feelings about my own blog, though, and I’m actually wondering if it was a mistake to make the leap to self-hosted WordPress, which I did just a few weeks ago. I feel like I’ve lost half of my blog pals, and it’s crickets over there right now, even though I KNOW I’m posting fun content. It’s hard, but I’m sticking it out and hoping everyone will eventually update their bookmarks and join the conversation again.
Have you redirected your old blog to the new blog? If so, then technically switching to a new platform shouldn’t affect your traffic. 🙂
Hang in there!
I thought I did, but I’ve heard people still get that weird redirect message from Blogger instead of a smooth transfer. I tried several things to fix it, but I suspect I’m doing something wrong because I ended up breaking my new blog and having to fix it! Ha. Anyway, thanks for the words of encouragement. 🙂
I think most of us have doubts. I feel like my book reviews are not fresh anymore. I sometimes feel like I say the same things – I like these characters because: A, B, C. I dislike the style because of this and that. Maybe I should change the way I review altogether. Great post!