I was thinking about this today because I’ve read some wonderful blogs recently which I can see are getting no attention whatsoever. And I started to wonder if perhaps we’ve reached saturation point in the parent blogosphere. There are now so many new blogs starting up, but if I think about the blogs that are best known or most read these still tend to be the more established blogs. Some newcomers manage to rise to prominence quite quickly, but others just disappear into the ether.
Of course there are those who will say it doesn’t matter if your blog is being read by lots of people, or indeed anyone, but I’m not sure there are many parent bloggers who don’t (even if it’s somewhere deep down) want to be read.
How do you even get your voice heard if you’re a new blogger now? When I started blogging I think there were maybe 500 parent blogs. Now there must be at least 3000 – maybe more.
I’m one of those bloggers who never stops telling people to start a blog. But is it right to encourage people to start blogging? Or are they going to have difficulty making themselves heard?
I’d love to hear your views.
I started blogging this year, but more as a side effect of setting up a creative project for mums. I have been really enjoying it, as it encourages me to make time for myself, and explore what on earth I actually think. A few of my friends, some of the mums involved in the project, and my own mum (!) read and care about my blog and I love that they are reading it – in a way, that’s enough for me. Having said that, it always surprises me when someone else comments that it has moved them, and I realise that my blog sometimes has a wider audience – I do love that feeling, but sadly I just don’t have enough time to build up a blog audience as well as run the creative project bit that started it off…
A really interesting post! I have been blogging for a few months and it is a hobby for me. I have been given advice how to improve the blog if I wanted to make it more than a hobby, bit at the moment I am quite happy. I don’t have a massive amount of traffic, but if a few people read my posts and take the time to comment , I am happy with that. There are a lot of parent bloggers it’s true, but all of our experiences are different and therefore all of our blogs are unique. Added to that, there is a natural number of blogs that fall by the wayside for a variety of reasons so I think there is room for everyone, but if you want to be one of the more popular ones, you do need to find a unique selling point.
I am new to blogging too, having been encouraged by you.
I am enjoying it so far and have made some lovely online friends. I was actually surprised by how many views I had had (when I eventually worked out how to look), but only 3 comments. As some of the others have said, I don’t comment on others posts as often as I should either!
All I need to do now is figure out the techy side!!
I’m not sure how others find blogs but if something catches my eye on twitter then I will look. I rarely use Brit Mums or netmums.
I am new to blogging and must admit I have no idea what works and what doesn’t. I do like having a blog and being part of the parenting bloggers, but ultimately if I don’t get anything read I do wonder how long I will continue for. I think there are definitely a lot, but then there should be something to interest everyone that way 🙂
I’m a fairly new Mummy blogger and I love it. I’m excited that over 100 people have viewed my blog. I know that’s not many readers at all compared to many blogs out there but I’m still happy with that.
I started my blog mainly to get my writing up to scratch for work purposes but it became quite a cathartic experience at times and from that point of view has been invaluable.
I don’t think there can ever be enough parent blogs. Although we may all touch on the same subjects from time to time we will never write the same things so there’s room for all of us out there.
Great thought provoking post.
Jude x
Perhaps you’re encouraging the wrong people… 😉
I’m sure many if not most bloggers aren’t after prominence. Sure, no one likes to think they are typing into a void, but I bet lots of bloggers are happy just to be part of a circle within the circle, having regular visitors and a few comments, than be mega-huge.
I suppose it depends why you’re blogging. If it’s a psychological outlet it might not matter if it’s not widely read so long as you enjoy writing it and a handful of people enjoy reading it. Pre-blog, after all, our scribblings would not have been read by a soul besides friends and family. I still haven’t worked out how you know when a blog is successful: over 100 followers? 100 pageviews a day? 300? Or 50 pageviews and a host of enthusiastic comments. Best not to agonise over it all and if you have something you think is worth saying, add your voice to the cacophony. There’ll always be someone who will be glad you did.
I think there will always be room for more blogs but it’s always a good idea to vary the content. Just writing about one subject, ie parenthood, kids, job etc will eventually become monotonous and what most readers look for is a variety of opinions, happy, sad and ranty posts, something they can engage in. I follow and read many parent blogs but I have to admit even I get bored with some that only offer the same content on every post. I guess a parent blog is where a parent can go to offload openly, but I really do believe changing the content occasionally will keep the reader interested, not to mention gain a few new followers in the bargain.
Great post as always, Liz.
CJ x
I do think you have to work really, really hard to make your blogging voice heard. You can be writing great content, but it’s all about getting it out there, and I think that’s the tough bit. I am the first to put my hands up and say that i don’t comment on enough blogs, so why should I expect people to come and comment on mine?