Discussion Post: Blogging for Likes

I’ve been mulling over this topic in my mind for a while now, and I’ve finally decided to get over myself and just write it. This was partially inspired by Victoria’s post @ Doodles and Scraps in which she talked about how she feels about getting likes versus getting subscribers, and the difference in her follower and like counts:

Like I said, my follower count is going up, and it’s amazing! My likes seem to be going down a bit, though? Not hugely, just by a couple, so I’m averaging around 15 likes per post. For someone with nearly 700 subscribers, that seems awfully low.

I think a lot of WordPress bloggers can relate to this sentiment. Unlike a platform like Instagram, where hitting 100 likes is relatively simple, WordPress is not a “like heavy” platform. I have almost 600 followers, but if one of my posts gets 20 likes, I basically die of happiness.

Now, I love WordPress. It is easy to use and looks fairly professional. It is the home of hundreds of amazing book bloggers. The WordPress Reader app on my phone is my main method of blog-hopping. I’m not going to abandon WordPress because it’s hard to get likes…I’m not that shallow.

I am kind of shallow, though.

That’s what this post is about. I’m going to lay out my feelings on blogging for likes, and I’m honestly curious to see if you guys feel the same way.

So…do I want likes?

Umm, yes. Likes and comments are awesome. They make me feel like people actually care about what I’m saying and they help me take pride in my posts. Getting WordPress notifications is sometimes the best part of my day.

Of course, I like comments more than likes, especially on a review or a discussion post when someone is really responding to my content. I think we all crave the personal nature of a comment…but I also enjoy the little rush of a like.

So…do I blog for likes?

Yes? No? Sometimes?

Yes: I take part in Top Ten Tuesday because it is a fairly reliable way to get traffic to my blog and the posts generally do well in terms of likes.

No: I don’t tailor the books I read to match with current hype. I pretty much just read what I’m in the mood for when I’m in the mood for it and then write a review.

Yes: Sometimes I choose not to write a review for a second book in a series if the review for the first book totally flopped.

No: I throw out some poetry on my blog every once and a while. I know the poems won’t attract a ton of likes, mainly because this is a bookish blog more than it is a writing blog, but I still do it because I enjoy it.

So here’s what it comes down to:

I have a blog because I love talking about books. Blogging helps me revisit the books I’ve read, learn about new ones, and celebrate my favorites. I didn’t start my blog to get likes or followers—I honestly didn’t think it would happen. And overall, I don’t blog for the likes, I blog for the act of blogging and to be a part of the community.

But still, it would be dishonest to act like I don’t care about likes. I choose which posts to put energy into based on how well I think they will do. I’m a high school student with a limited amount of time to blog and a desperate need for good news, so it is impossible for me to separate the act of blogging from people’s reactions to my posts.

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What about you? Do you think about likes when you’re writing a post? Do you care about likes/comments/followers? Was this post relatable or foreign to you?