Lola’s Ramblings: How do You Follow Blogs?

Posted December 3, 2015 by Lola in Lola's Ramblings / 44 Comments

LolaRamblings

Lola’s Ramblings is a feature on my blog Lola’s Reviews where I ramble on about a book related or a non-book related topic. These are discussion type of posts where I talk about a topic and readers can weigh in on the topic in the comments. Usually these posts are everything that doesn’t fall under any standard header, like tours, cover reveals, memes, challenges, recaps or reviews. Lola’s Ramblings posts are discussions of a certain topic and my point of view on them. The banner for this feature is designed by Michelle from Limabean Designs.

Most people who visit this blog will probably follow blogs in some way. Having seen some discussions about following blogs on social media or how e-mail never goes away, this makes me wonder how people actually do follow blog. When I thought about this for myself I realized I wasn’t consistent at all, some blogs I follow on social media, most on bloglovin, but there are also blogs I don’t follow and still regulary visit and some I follow by e-mail, but that doens’t mean I visit them more regulary.

How do I Follow Blogs?

  • E-mail. When I just started blogging or maybe a little before that when I came into contact with the book blogging community I followed all blogs by e-mail. Some of those have eventually stopped, others I moved to another way of following and only a few I still follow by e-mail. Some book blogs and some author blogs, mostly because I haven’t switched them to another way of following or I just haven’t taken the time to unsubcribe yet. I think I’ll do it later or I don’t really mind seeing the e-mails, but I probably don’t read them either. I might open the e-mails and scroll through them and then delete. I follow one food blog by e-mail whom’s e-mails I always check and usually read and sometimes visit their blog as well to pin the recipe. But most of the blogs I follow by e-mail aren’t my favourite blogs weirdly enough and I aren’t more likely to actually visit and comment. They are mostly blogs I follow there because I used to, because it’s one of the few ways to follow them or sometimes because I am really interested in following them. I am subscribed to quite some author newsletters, but as those aren’t send out too frequently my mail isn’t too full.
  • Bloglovin. Most of blogs I really like I follow with bloglovin. Bloglovin is my main method of following blogs. I really need to clean out my bloglovin list of blogs I follow though as I am sure there are quite some inactive blogs I follow or blogs who’s posts I hardly read. Usually if I come across a blog who’s content I like I follow them on bloglovin and maybe later I follow them on social emdia as well. Some blogs I follow immediately on social media as well, but most blogs I follow on some, but not all platforms, although I try to follow my favourite blogs everywhere I can so I know for sure I don’t miss any of their posts. So bloglovin has everythgin from the blogs I stop by sometimes to my favourites, but my favourite blogs I usually follow on different ways too.
  • Facebook. While bloglovin is my preferred way of following blogs, I also follow a lot of blogs on facebook. I often check facebook multiple times a day and if a post there catches my interest I will probably click on it and comment if I want to. So blogs I follow on facebook have the highest chance I comment on them if they catch my interest and I see them ofcourse. On the other hand with the way facebook works I might not see all the blogs I follow, which is also the reason why I try to take time and click on links there of blogs I like following so I’ll see more of them. If I am busy I might not stop by bloglovin, but I always stop by facebook, so those days the only posts I comment on are those who catch my eye on facebook.
  • Twitter. I follow a lot of blogs and authors and bloggers on twitter, but I am not a lot on twitter, so it’s less likely a post catches my attention there, but it does happen now and then. I still like to scroll though my feed, but I am less likely to visit blogs from there for some reason. However it is one of my main ways of following. Some blogs have a plugin that tweets old posts and I have ended up commenting on some old posts thansk to twitter a few times.
  • Pinterest. Pinterest is mostly for following food blogs, most of those have a board for recipes they feature on their blog so when I find a food blog I like I often will follow it on pinterest as pinterest is my main way to search for new recipes, so I guess it makes sense to follow food blogs there. I only follow a few book blogs there and then mostly for their not blog/ book related boards. Pinterest isn’t my favourite way for following book blogs as I think it isn’t the best medium for that, although I do make sure to pin all my posts on pinterest I don’t think many people use pinterest to follow posts from book blogs. I mostly use pinterest myself to find new recipes, so those are the kind of boards I am most likely to follow there.
  • I don’t follow them. Weirdly enough there are some blogs I regulary visit as they frequently comment on my blog, but because I always comment back I hardly think to follow them. Most of those blogs I will eventually follow them, but as I already visit there regulary I might not think to actually follow them until later.

What kind of blogs do I follow?

I mostly follow book blogs, seeing as I have a book blog myself as well, books are one of my main hobbies and I love talking about books and visiting other blogs who also talk about books. So I think about 80-90% of all blogs I follow are book blogs or at least primarily book blogs. Beside that I follow a few foodie blogs, mostly food blogs who’s recipes I like or I have tried a few of their recipes and they were good. Or food blogs who’s style I like, mostly a combination of that. Then I follow one travel blog, I once stumbled upon it and follow it, although I don’t regulary read her posts, it’s fun to see a completely different type of blogs than what I normally visit. I follow a few author blogs, one game designer blog and maybe a few more random blogs.

How do you follow blogs? What kind of blogs do you follow?

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44 responses to “Lola’s Ramblings: How do You Follow Blogs?

  1. My favorite blogs, the ones I’ll visit almost daily, I follow by e-mail. I’m too easily distracted, and have really bad time sense. So if I don’t get the daily (or whatever) updates sent by e-mail, I’m less likely to realize it’s been ages since I’ve visited that blog. And since I really like the content, I don’t want to have to wade through and try to figure out if I’ve read a post already.

    Blogs that I like but not enough to subscribe by e-mail, I bookmark and put in a folder labeled “Blogs for commenting” to remind me to visit them when I have extra time. If I see a post that I’m interested in from those blogs, I’ll comment. If I don’t find anything I want to comment on, I go on to the next bookmarked blog.

    I follow a few favorite blogs by Twitter, but they tend to get lost in the comments of all the other people I follow there.

    And I follow quite a few blogs on Instagram.

    I don’t do Bloglovin or Facebook, though I have accounts with both. I also have a Pinterest, but I don’t follow blogs on it that I’m aware of. So pretty much if I’m going to follow it’s going to be e-mail, Twitter, Instagram, or by bookmarking for later.
    Silvara recently posted…Ghost of a Potion (A Magic Potion Mystery #3) by Heather Blake (review)My Profile

    • I like your idea of a folder, it sounds like a good alternative to things like bloglovin. I think I prefer to see the possible posts and when once catches my attention I visit it, like I do with bloglovin.

      I follow my favourite blogs with facebook and even though that method is not foolproof it usually works. I have a few blogs I follow by e-mail, but not a lot. On social media blogs tend to get lost in the sea of other posts and comments indeed.

    • I recently followed one blog that makes small crafts and recipes, it’s quite fun. I don’t think I have any blogs bookmarks, maybe a few. I usually use social media or bloglovin for visiting blogs.

    • Once I realize I don’t follow those blogs I comment on regulary I usually start following them. It’s strange how when you stop by them daily you can sometimes forget you don’t follow them.

  2. I’m trying to follow more blogs with BlogLovin, but I still have good old Google Friend Connect as well. haha Honestly, there are a lot of blogs I love that I DO NOT follow like you said. I tend to comment back when they comment on my blog, plus both my blogs have blog lists in the sidebar so I use that as my “follow” in a way. 🙂 Keeps me up to date!

    -Lauren
    Let’s Get Beyond Tolerance recently posted…Repost Review: The New Art of Capturing Love: The Essential Guide to Lesbian and Gay Wedding PhotographyMy Profile

    • I used to use google reader for following blogs which worked as reader for blogs you followed with google friend connect. Then it shut down and I moved to bloglovin. Those bloggers who often stop by my blog and I then comment back are the ones I often forget to follow. I recently realized that and now follow most of those too.
      Lola recently posted…Lola’s Ramblings: How do You Follow Blogs?My Profile

  3. GREAT TOPIC L!

    I usually follow blogs through email because for me it’s the easiest and Bloglovin’ kind of scares me because I don’t know how to use it that much?? I know, I’m kinda being a wimp, but STILL I like it and the fact that you can organize them on there and stuff. I think I mainly follow book blogs and some life blogs because that’s just what I like. <3
    Keionda @Keionda Hearts Books recently posted…5 reasons I have hearts in my irises for Jude Ryder. ^^Review:My Profile

    • I know what you mean, before I started usign bloglovin I tried Feedly and I was so lost as I couldn’t figure out how it worked. I think bloglovin is pretty handy though and I like scrolling through the list of posts until somethgin catches my eye. I really should organize them a bit more though as you can make groups and maps for blogs, but I just follow them all and check my main feed, lol, but it works. I don’t think I follow any life blogs.

  4. I try to follow blogs I like on bloglovin’ as kind of a sign of respect, so that the person knows I follow and has more numbers for their stats and whatnot, but I never actually use bloglovin’. I use “live bookmarks” in Firefox. That way, each blog stays separate (so I don’t get confused or miss things), and I can just run down the list checking if any of them have a new post up that I want to click over to. And most of what I follow are also book blogs 🙂
    Kristen Burns recently posted…Book Review: House of Royals (House of Royals Book 1) by Keary TaylorMy Profile

    • That’s a nice thing to do! Bloglovin always e-mails the owner of the blog that you follow them, so it’s a neat way to let them know you follow them. Even though I use firefox, I don’t think I ever used live bookmarks and don’t even know what they are. So they show when there’s something new on a blog? That does sound handy. But then if you follow a lot of them, doesn’t that get confusing?

  5. I mostly follow blogs on Feedly. I tried Bloglovin, but I noticed it skips some posts so I stopped using it. I’ll also follow blogs on Twitter and Facebook, but those have to be timed so perfectly to see every post. So, Feedly is my go to.
    Jenni Elyse recently posted…November Monthly Wrap-UpMy Profile

    • I tried using Feedly at first, but thought it wans’t intuitive enough, it confused me, so I moved to bloglovin. I didn’t notice it skips posts. Yeah social media isn’t reliable for seeing all posts, but it still is one of my most frequent ways a post can catch my attention. And I try and click and like those posts, so facebook leanrs what I want to see.

  6. I mainly follow blogs via Bloglovin. Although I also follow via FB, Twitter, etc. Content wise, I rely on BL to give me updates. I also mainly follow book blogs, but now that I’ve started crafting, craft blogs might be added to the list. I also like blogs that has other “interests” outside of books like you. Diverse posts from recipes, to photography, to crafting, etc.
    Braine Talk Supe recently posted…Loved It: Immortal by J.R. WardMy Profile

    • I recently followed a food/ crafting blog combination. I also relly on bloglovin for the content updates, but on a busy day i mostly visit only blogs I encounter on social media. I am glad you like my recipe posts. I also like it when blogs incorporate other hobbies, it’s nice to see some different content now and then.

  7. I follow mostly on Bloglovin’. I’ve created groups just so I don’t get overwhelmed by the sheer number of blogs. The people in groups 1 and 2 are the blogs I visit most frequently. Groups 3 and 4 are the ones I visit less frequently. Group 5 are the least frequent. Then I have groups for authors and a group for WordPress/seo type stuff. I went through and did a clean up on my blog lists this summer and removed a bunch and moved people around in groups (maybe the blog isn’t posting as much in the genre I like any more or something like that or maybe more).

    I also follow many bloggers on twitter, but I mostly have conversations with people there. I will see new-to-me blogs from other people tweeting a topic or review that I’m interested in. I also like to share reviews and topics that I think others might be interested in.

    I do have some on email and Facebook, but do really rely on either of those. Great topic
    Melanie Simmons @mlsimmons recently posted…Shadow’s End Audiobook by Thea Harrison (REVIEW)My Profile

    • I have created groups, but afetr a while forgot to sort my blogs into them, so it’s a bit overhwelming now. I’ll have to reorganize my bloglovin feed once.

      Twitter is good for covnersations idneed and I found a few blogs that way too when someone else shares or tweets about a post. I do spend mroe time on facebook though.
      Lola recently posted…Lola’s Kitchen: “Kruidnootjes” RecipeMy Profile

    • That also sounds like a handy way to keep track of blogs, to put them all in a folder. I don’t really think much about how I follow blogs either, but after I read someone else post about the importance of e-mail it suddenly got me curious about how people follow blogs and why.

  8. I totally relate on the I-comment-all-the-time-but-don’t-follow. >_> Which I feel immensely guilty about at times!! But if I’m always commenting back I just don’t think to follow. 😛 But otherwise, I mostly go via bloglovin’ and email. I only follow a few blogs by email though, hehe, the rest are bloglovin’. Otherwise my inbox gets flooded and I get waaaay too overwhelmed. And I do click on twitter/facebook links but I don’t follow blogs solely by those methods. Twitter moves too fast!! And facebook hides too much stuff. XD
    Cait @ Paper Fury recently posted…If I Had A Time Machine, I Would Stampede Into 2016 And Snabble These YA Books ImmediatelyMy Profile

    • There was this blog I commented on almost daily and then half a year later I suddenyl realized I never followed them and it made me feel really guilty. ofcourse I did go and follow them at that moment. But I am sure there are a few more blogs like that, that I forget to follow while I am there regulary.
      I don’t like following by e-mail for the same reason, else my inbox get’s so full. I prefer bloglovin. There are only a few blogs that I only follow on social emdia, usually it’s a combination of social media and bloglovin.

  9. How do you follow blogs?

    I was an avid Google Reader fan until it shutdown. I ended up moving over to Feedly and didn’t “get” Bloglovin’ until much later. So mostly I use Feedly because everything is all nice and neatly sorted. But I’ve been trying to follow in Bloglovin’since that’s what people seem to prefer, and it seems better for people’s stats. I’ve also been using WordPress’ reader since I migrated over there. But mostly I use it for other WordPress blogs because a) it’s easy to follow from there, and b) it’s an easy way to categorize the WordPress blogs because even if I don’t have time to comment, I can at least “like” the post. But basically I’ll follow however the blog gives me the opportunity, and several blogs I follow multiple ways, because I fear somehow losing them.

    I communicate with blogs and interact using Facebook and Twitter, but I feel that’s different than following a blog, because it’s often different content.

    What kind of blogs do you follow?

    Mostly I follow book review blogs, but I also file some science blogs, religion blogs, and of course author blogs.

    • Same here I also used google reade runtil it shut down. I moved to bloglovin as I didn’t get feedly, lol. I don’t really follow wordpress reader a lot, although i do think i follow a few blogs there. If i really like a blog I make sure to follow multiple ways, so I know for sure I keep up with them. Social media is often a different way of interacting than on blogs.
      Lola recently posted…Lola’s Kitchen: “Kruidnootjes” RecipeMy Profile

  10. I follow everyone via Feedly. It’s pretty much like bloglovin which was my main thing until they kept having issues and I bailed. Got rid of all my email subscriptions but one because hers just won’t show up on the Feed sites. I do follow on other social media but rarely seek other blogs out on them for some reason.

    I’m about the same with ones I follow 🙂 Mostly books but then a few cooking or travel and a few very naughty ones on Tumblr 😀
    anna (herding cats & burning soup) recently posted…3.5 stars–Make Me Stay (Hope #5) by Jaci BurtonMy Profile

    • I used google reader first and then moved to bloglovin. I gave feedly a try first, but it didn’t quite work for me. I got rid of most e-mail subscriptions too, it’s not my prefered way of following blogs. I do follow your blog by e-mailed with the weekly updates, I might prefer those over daily ones, I wish more people did the weekly thing. The cooking and travel ones can be nice to see some different content.
      Lola recently posted…Lola’s Kitchen: “Kruidnootjes” RecipeMy Profile

  11. Hmm, I actually have two different answers for the same question. I ‘follow’ blogs I go to frequently in all the ways they offer that are the ways I use social media (Facebook, Twitter, GoodReads, Pinterest, Tumblr, Tsu, Bloglovin’, GFC, email, etc), but that said, I only visit these blogs through email.

    I do visit a handful that I don’t follow yet who leave comments at our blog. I treat it as an exchange. If I get comfortable with their blog and like their posts then I follow them and add them to the frequent group by signing up for their email posts. I’m more cautious now about follows b/c I’ve ended up following folks that were rude, negative, or too full of drama who got mad when I unfollowed them. So yeah, I do my homework first to make sure their blog is a good fit for me before I follow.

    As to the type of blogs, I mostly follow or visit book review blogs. There are also a few writer, cooking, general, product review, and one for living frugally.
    Sophia Rose recently posted…Unexpected Eden by Rhenna Morgan #ReviewMy Profile

    • Oh that’s interesting you follow blogs in all the possible ways and then only visit through e-mail. Some blogs I visit a few times before I follow them, but there also have been a few blogs I immediately clicked with and then followed the first time I visit.

      I have unfollowed some blogs because they were rude, negative or too drama-y or said things that really rubbed me wrong. I don’t think I’ve had that happen to me that someone got mad about unfollowing, that’s pretty rude. You have the right to unfollow and it’s not like getting mad makes you mroe likely to follow them back again.

      I follow a few writer blogs that I realy enjoy, there’s even one writer blog that I follow for a while and I enjoy her posts and next year she’s publishing her first book next year, so I am hoping I will enjoy ehr book as much as her blog.

  12. Red Iza

    I wanted to follow blogs with only Bloglovin’s help. Sadly, there are so many updates every day (sometimes, several times a day), that I can’t keep up. So I’ve made up my mind : when someone comments on my blog, I comment back. Then, if I have the time, I’ll try to catch up on my Bloglovin feed – and will mostly fail ! I never use my e-mail, I don’t want to create one just for comments and I don’t want to overflow my mail box…

    • It definitely is hard to keep up I always feel behind on bloglovin. I focus on replying to comments and commentign back first and only if I still have time left (which isn’t often) I go to bloglovin. I feel the same about my e-mail, I don’t want it to be filled with blog e-mail. So I only follow a few blogs that way.
      Lola recently posted…Lola’s Kitchen: “Kruidnootjes” RecipeMy Profile

  13. So, I absolutely HATE Bloglovin. I tried to use them for a long time, but I hated the constant shilling emails from them and the fact that I couldn’t get my blogs in a regular manner. They often hid older posts I wanted to see! So frustrating. And with the demise of Google Reader, I had to find something else. I use Fever to follow my blogs.

    http://feedafever.com

    I had to buy it and install it on my server. It runs in a browser, not on my computer. I exported all my feeds from Bloglovin and imported it to Fever. Now when I find blogs I like I add them to Fever. I check Fever a few times per week and comment on blogs with new posts I’m interested in. I will often subscribe to new blogs I run across on Facebook or through comments on other blogs.
    S. J. Pajonas recently posted…Book Chat #21My Profile

    • I am not a fan of their e-mails either, but I guess that’s their way of getting some money. I usually just hit delete. I’ve had a few issues with not seeing some posts, but it seems to be working fine now. Fever sounds handy too! I think I saw Fever pop up in my referral stats for Lola’s Reviews a few times, so I am assuming that was you ;). That’s interesting it runs on a server instead of on a computer.

  14. Generally I follow blogs on Feedly because it allows me to keep everything organised. I like how I can pick RSS feeds from specific categories. That helped me banish book blitzes, cover reveals and blog tours from my feed, which makes things much less cluttered now. There are a couple of my favourite blogs that I follow via email.

    Previously I tried Bloglovin’ as well but even though my account still exists, I don’t use it to track any of the blog that I do follow. I just click random recommended posts when I do remember to visit the site.
    Joséphine recently posted…Is a DSLR Necessary for Book Photography?My Profile

    • That sounds handy how you can pick specific categories, so you can filter out the posts you don’t want to see. I tried feedly a few years ago, but didn’t like it back then. I then switched to bloglovin instead as that was easier to use.

  15. I subscribe to feeds using Feedly. I know Bloglovin’ is the preferred reader among book bloggers, but it doesn’t meet my needs. I think it’s pretty cumbersome, and I had some issues a while back where unread posts would just sort of disappear. For the most part, I subscribe to other book blogs, because that’s my niche. But, I also follow a FEW food blogs and geeky lifestyle blogs. I also subscribe to a few blogs via e-mail, but these are mostly blogs about blogging, and usually they offer additional information in their e-mail subscriptions that I can’t just read on their blog, so the e-mail sub is worth it.
    Jackie recently posted…Welcome to Celaena-mania! | Throne of Glass by Sarah J. MaasMy Profile

    • I tried feedly once years ago and I prefered bloglovin so I went with that, although form what I’ve heard feedly does have more options. Usually bloglovin works well, but I’ve had some issues as well with now and then, but for the most part I am happy with it. I follow about 80% book blogs and only a few other blogs.
      Lola recently posted…Review: Last Chance Christmas by Joanne RockMy Profile

    • I do think it’s important for blogs to have both of those options at least. I think providing the most common ways to follow is a good idea. Even though I don’t use e-mail myself much, there are still about 5-10 blogs that I follow that way. Just like you I often look for subscription and social media buttons when I like a blog.
      Lola recently posted…Review: Last Chance Christmas by Joanne RockMy Profile

  16. I love this topic!!! For quite a while I have been using Bloglovin but you know the past few weeks its been pretty frustrating. The feed doesn’t work when I need it to so I have been thinking about going to email or just bookmarking all the blogs I like to comment on.

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