3 Reasons Why Your Friends Don’t Read Your Blog
So you started a blog or have been blogging for some time now yet none of your friends are following you nor engaging with you on your posts on other social media platforms…what is up with that? Here are 3 Reasons Why Your Friends Don’t Read Your Blog.
1- They don’t know you have one.
Have you stopped to tell your friends that you have a blog? If you were like me…I started blogging while I was employed full time in Corporate America so I didn’t go around telling folk that I was a “blogger”. Especially in my field, people would look at you with a side eye and say when do you have time for that and automatically assume that your time “at home” working on “your blog” impedes your work at work.
2- They know you have one but don’t know how serious you are about it.
So your friends know that you blog but they don’t know that you are actually building a brand or business and need their support to achieve your goals. They also don’t know that by visiting your page, liking and sharing a status or commenting on your post that it can boost your page views, give you even more visibility and in turn boost your brand or business. Point blank they just don’t know how much you value their support on something you care about.
3- They don’t value what you have to say.
If your friends know that you blog AND they know what it means to you BUT they still don’t follow your blog then they obviously don’t value what you have to say.
Although this may be harsh, it must be true. The case maybe that because your friends “know” you; they may feel that YOU can’t teach them anything that they don’t already know…or that you can’t tell them anything that may be helpful. Ironically the bible even mentions this about Jesus saying that he was limited in the miracles that he could do in his own town because of their unbelief (Mark 6)…meaning the people that grew up with him couldn’t believe he was “for real”.
So #1 and #2 may be understandable and gives us as bloggers the incentive to evaluate our friends list and start telling and inviting our friends to our blogs, social media accounts, even asking them to share content when appropriate.
#3 is rather sad. The bottom line is we make time for everything else, surely, we can make time to support a friend by engaging on their blog.
Have you experienced any or all of the above? What are your thoughts?
It was a little hard to start tell ing people I had a blog when I first started because I felt that they would see it as a hobby. Then I started telling them I had one, why I started in the first place and how much time and effort I was putting in to bring my dreams to life. The friends that understood how special it is to me are still here. Maybe not commenting and engaging as much as I’d like them to, but to do spread word of mouth. I’ll take it. The ones that don’t are no longer my friends. It sad, but I need people that will support my dreams. Great read!
What is the name of your blog ? 🙂
Thanks so much! Yeah, I think most people think of it as a hobby and a few are started to notice that it can be a business too. Those friends that are there are the real deal…keep them close!
This was so, so spot on! Spot on, I say! I definitely was fearful of sharing at first. Then shared and number two hit where most people didn’t realize how important their support was. At this point, now that I’ve been doing this for a while and I can definitely say I know who cares about what I have to say and who doesn’t. It’s hurtful, especially when you see them supporting other people and their blogging endeavors but it is what it is. I try to keep in mind that when I started people didn’t have an understanding of blogs like they do now. But still, they know now, so……where’s the support. Smh. I can go on and on about this. It clearly frustrates me, lol. Such a great post!!
What is the name of your blog ? 🙂
Ah! I’m right here with you about the frustration. I have something exciting happening with my blog, and Chris was calling out names of people asking me if I’d told them…and half the people he asked abt, I said, “They wouldn’t care.” or “They don’t read my blog!” Lol…I mean, it’s sad, but it’s true. So…ah well!!
That’s so crazy…I’m kind of in #1 and #2, gonna do my part to let my ‘friends’ know then go from there. I know a few will fall in the #3 category and that’s ok. Can’t say that it doesn’t affect me but yeah it is what it is…
A good and simple way to let your friends know is by creating a life event on Facebook. I did this and many liked my page, and those who read my blog actually commented.
I love this idea!
Thanks girl! Yes, frustration is the word. I’ve decided to do my part with sharing more or at least telling my ‘friends’ that I blog and would like their support and go from there. Like I mentioned to Mionna below though…I’m sure many will fall in the #3 category!
Well I personally love your blog. Keep up the good work 🙂
Thanks so much lady! I really appreciate the love that you show all the time here! Have a great weekend!
This is a great post Tasha. It sometimes crosses my mind, but it doesn’t stop me. There are many different ways to support and I know people are busy, but these things can take less than 5 minutes. It would be great if I had that support from my friends, but then there are also those friends who read, that I don’t know they’re reading. Every so often they’ll say something about how they’re catching up on my blog, or reference something from an post I wrote…and it makes me feel good…but I’m also thinking, why don’t you interact with me there!! Lol Understanding it is a tough line to walk and some days I find myself on either side of it…glad to know I’m not alone!
Thanks Mionna! I’m with you, it comes to my mind but it doesn’t stop me… I know that I am inspiring so many people by what I am doing. We have to know that and keep pushing forward. I do get a few comments like you get and it catches me off guard. Some say they tried to leave a comment but couldn’t…it’s all good though and you are definitely not alone!
So true! Some times though we think people are not reading, but they really are and just not commenting/giving feedback. When I share on my personal page I hardly ever get any likes or comments or shares on a blog post so I stopped sharing. I have started sharing on my personal page again because I have noticed people ARE reading but just not saying anything…a lot of my views come from Facebook. I started using bit.ly links just to see right then if people were clicking…and a lot more than I thought definitely do. It would help if they would actually comment and share too though 😉
Hey Kia! Thanks for stopping by! You are absolutely right, I know some people are reading and just not commenting or sharing. And I did the same things that you did, with sharing on my personal page and getting crickets so I stopped but just posted on my personal page, a “hey friends, read my blog’ status yesterday. I’ve gotten a few responses from people that didn’t know I had a blog. And I too get the most views from Facebook too ironically. I’ll see if my Facebook plea works with getting friends to read and comment more…
I agree with all of your points. I would add to number three that maybe the message isn’t relevant to some of the friends. I know that I had friends at certain points who weren’t interested in our learning journey so I wouldn’t expect them to read my home school posts. I also know quite a few friends don’t read blogs so I also have to respect that too.
Overall, I have a nice number of friends who support me. It always puts a smile on my face when they share one of my posts because they often include a nice blurb too. 🙂
Great post!
Thanks so much Latonya! You raise such excellent points and I can understand those they may not share interests or read blogs for that matter…
So true! I haven’t told my friends and family about my blog yet, even if I’ve been going at it for a year. I’m afraid they won’t take me seriously or they’ll give me the side eye. I just hope that if I ever do start telling people, it won’t end up with #3!
Amelie | http://awanderersadventures.wordpress.com