Hello there and happy Friday! Today’s discussion topic is one that I’m very excited for, so I’ll get right into it! Let’s Talk Bookish is a weekly discussion post created by Rukky @ Eternity Books and is hosted by Rukky and Dani @ A Literary Lion! This week’s topic is: Bloghopping (suggested by Marie @ Tirilu)
What is bloghopping?
Bloghopping sounds complicated, but really, all it is is reading other blogs. When I started my blog, I didn’t know what blog hopping was, and I didn’t do it. At all. I didn’t read any other blogs, and I didn’t even know how many existed. Then, as people began to stumble upon my blog (I still have no idea how) I read their blogs. And then I’d click on the links that I found in their blogs, and would go to them, and now I read lots and lots of blogs.
One thing that I didn’t realize for a while about blog hopping though is that if someone likes or comments on one of your posts, you are not obligated to go like and comment on one of their posts. The same thing goes for follows; if someone follows your blog, you do not have to follow their blog. I thought that for a while, but now I know that I don’t have that much time! Also, you don’t have to have a blog to follow a blog, so past Aria, you didn’t need to spend 20 minutes trying to find that persons blog. It didn’t exist.
But really; bloghopping is reading (and liking and commenting on) other blogs! It can be really fun, you can find ideas for posts, and make friends in the blogging community!
How do I bloghop?
When I bloghop (is that really a verb), I usually use the WordPress reader. If I’m sitting around and I don’t have a lot to do, I’ll open WordPress on my phone and go to the followed sites section and read all of those posts. I am following a lot of blogs, and I do my best to read as many of their posts as I can, but that’s not always possible.
I don’t only read blogs that I follow though. If I did, I’d never discover new blogs! One way that I find new blogs is by looking at the blog posts linked in posts of blogs I follow. Or, I’ll see in tags and awards the blogs that are tagged, and I’ll go look at all of those blogs!
One fun way to find and read great blog posts is that some blogs add sections in their monthly wrap ups where they list great posts that they’ve come across throughout the month. Marie @ Drizzle and Hurricane Books has an around the blogosphere section in her monthly wrap up posts. Caitlin @ Caitlin Althea began a new feature recently which had tons of amazing posts that are all worth reading!
Is commenting a part of bloghopping, and should I comment on blog posts?
Commenting is definitely a huge part of bloghopping! Commenting and replying to comments on blog posts is probably my favorite way that I’m able to interact with the book blogging community!
You should not, however, feel any pressure to comment on every single blog post your read. Leaving a sincere comment on a blog takes time, and you might not want to take the time to comment on every single blog post you read. That’s not to say that leaving a comment like ‘great review’ or ‘congrats on the award’ isn’t good. It’s really nice, and although I can’t speak for all bloggers, receiving a comment on one of my blog posts, short or long, is one of the best things about book blogging!!!
So last, I guess, in this section, how I comment on blogs and blog posts: Sometimes, I’ll go on a commenting spree, and I’ll write long comments on like 20 of the posts that I see in my WordPress reader. And sometimes, I’ll feel not in the mood for commenting, so I’ll click the like button and move on. Most of the time though, it’s a mixture of that. I find that it’s easier to write meaningful comments on tags and memes, and less on reviews. That’s just my opinion though. It does seem like tags and memes and discussion posts receive more comments than reviews though.
Conclusion
Bloghopping isn’t something that you should feel obligated to do, and bloghopping should never be stressful. If you don’t feel like reading other blogs, then don’t read other blogs! It’s all up to you. I do think though, that bloghopping can be amazing and fun, and I think that it’s a great way to make friends. It can be a great way to connect with people who love similar books as you, or who also just finished reading a certain new release. Bloghopping should be fun.
What do you think about bloghopping? Do you like commenting on blogs? Chat with me in the comments below!
I never heard of bloghopping until I read this post. I’m not very good at interacting with content outside of a like, so I usually skip leaving a comment. It’s only recently in my interactions with booktube that I started making an effort to leave more comments, but it’s still nerve wracking 😂
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I didn’t comment much on blogs when I first started out blogging, and I was always really nervous on if a blogger would respond, or if I shouldn’t comment, but I’ve learned that everyone really just wants to chat and comments are always appreciated!
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I’m sooo late to this, but thank you so much for mentioning my wrap-ups! ❤
I love blog hopping and discovering new bloggers and voices, and I love boosting them, too. I know how much work book blogging takes and I'm happy every time I can recognize that work with a meaningful comment. But, like you said it, it's hard sometimes to always leave a comment, because we don't have all the time in the world and sometimes don't have something to say, either. I'm always trying to share the posts I appreciated the most in my wrap-ups anyway, to spread some love ❤
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Yeah, sometimes I can’t leave a really long comment on a post because I just don’t have something meaningful to say, but then I also want to support all of the wonderful content that book bloggers create! Thanks for your comment 🥰
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Lovely post ! I recently started a book blog a month ago…in the starting weeks like nobody commented….and then when I slowly started discovering blogs and made a few blogger friends I have got really good stats !
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Thanks! That’s great that you’ve had such a wonderful experience with bloghopping; it can be such an amazing way to make friends in the blogging world!!!
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I love interacting with fellow bloggers ! I have made a few blogger friends hoping to make more….the wordpress community is so kind whenever I comment or follow on their post they do follow back !
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Yeah, that’s one of the best things about blogging 🙂 It’s so nice to meet you, by the way!!
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Great point about comments being more on every post other than reviews lol. It kind of discourages me from writing reviews because what’s the point? People aren’t going to comment anyway, they just read and like and move on. But then I’m also guilty and rarely comment on other reviews so I can’t really complain 😅 I do try sometimes, especially if I add the book to my TBR because of the review. But anyway, I agree with everything you said and I loved reading it!! 💖
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I’m so glad you loved the post 🙂 And yes, it can be so discouraging to write reviews and know that maybe one person will write a comment on it 😂 Thanks for your comment 🙂
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When I first started my blog I went to a tag created by a popular blogger who kept a list of everyone who’d ever done the tag and checked out each person they listed to see if I liked their blog, and that’s how I found most of the first people I followed! And then once I already had a base I could find other blogs more naturally haha
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That’s a really great way to start off blog hopping!! I feel like once you have a base, it’s much easier to find new blogs. Thanks for your comment 🙂
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I adore the way you’ve formatted your post. It’s informative and a discussion as well. I never considered explaining bloghopping in my own post but it is such specific terminology plenty of people might not know what it really means. This is a super neat and quick to read little guide that answers any questions most people might have.
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Thank you so much Dani, and thanks for your comment!!! I’m so glad that this post seemed so helpful 🙂
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Lovely post! I love bloghopping with the WordPress reader, and by clicking through commenters ❤ I used to be so much better at it though when I had more time rip so hopefully I can blog hop more in the summer ❤
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Thanks Kay!! Clicking through commenters is the way that I found a lot of the blogs I follow 🙂
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This is me hopping to your blog! great post you have here! 😋
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Thanks! It’s nice to meet you 😉
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I enjoy blog hopping! Especially because WordPress reader shows posts in chronological order, I feel like it’s a very relaxing thing I can do at my own pace. As much as I love Bookstagram, making sure I’m caught up with my friends’ posts is a little more overwhelming because of the algorithm.
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I know what you mean! I’m not in bookstagram much, but when I am, it can be a bit overwhelming. The WordPress reader is a nice way to stay caught up on reading the blogs that you follow 🙂
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I enjoy blog hopping too! It’s cool to see what other people are reading and to chat with people who love books as much as I do. 🙂
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Discovering new blogs, reading amazing posts and chatting with people who love books is awesome! 🐨
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thank you so much for mentioning my feature, aria 🥺🥺 so glad you could find new bloggers through it!! ! i used to think that i had to follow and comment on absolutely everyone’s blogs, which resulted in me following *way* too many blogs to the point that my Reader was so clogged everyday. i’m really happy that over time, i perfected my blog hopping methods. i think that blog hopping shouldn’t just be a way to gain more traffic on your blog—but also a source of fun. so i make sure to only comment on a post if i have something to say, or else i’ll probably come across as fake to the blogger whose post i’m commenting on 😅
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Of course! Yeah, blog hopping is fun, but only if it’s not stressful or overwhelming. I also will only comment if I actually have something to say. If not, it’ll sound like I didn’t really want to comment! I feel like it takes some time to figure out what sort of blog hopping works best for me, and how much time I should spend everyday.
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