Obviously, bloggers are amazing people (seeing as I am one).
Or every blogger could suck and I would be the exception?? BUT that’s not true at all, because the blogging community is truly wonderful, and there are so many fantastic people in it, who post great things and are just great human beings in general.
Since it’s Valentine’s Day and all, and we’re supposed to “show love” and all that mushy crap, I decided to talk about WHY bloggers should be supported & how to do it!!
I feel like SO MANY TIMES, people don’t appreciate bloggers enough, especially in the book blogging realm with authors & publishers.
**Also!!! A note to check out Marie’s post that was published today coincidentally on the same topic as this. IT’S VERY GOOD.**
WHY YOU SHOULD APPRECIATE BLOGGERS
- We work SO. HARD. We comment on others’ posts. We reply to our own comments. We interact with other bloggers.* We even have to carve out time to write our own posts!! We work hard to create quality content, make sure it’s presentable, and grow our own audience as well as ensuring we appreciate other bloggers as well. It’s tough.
. - Blogging takes so much time!! I don’t know how long it takes other bloggers to write & format a post, but it probably takes me at least 2 hours?? 3??? I have no idea. It just takes me SOOOO MUCH TIIIIME to write just one post and make it presentable, which takes out precious time in my week that I could be doing for other things!!!
. - Sometimes we doubt ourselves. And by sometimes… I mean A LOT. I have friends who are going through blogging slumps/slumpy moods and being doubtful of themselves, and I face the same thing!! EVERY blogger faces those doubts. But sometimes we worry so much and we twist it way out of proportions. So it’s important to support & appreciate bloggers to know that, no, our doubts are not TRUE!!
- We can promote books! I know I don’t post a lot of book reviews on my blog, but whenever I rate a book highly, I know that some of my friends are more likely to pick it up. (I’m the same with my own friends!)
. - We use our voice. And this is probably the most important one out of this whole list. Because bloggers, with a platform to write on and talk about whatever they want, can use their voice to speak up and stand up for things they believe in. Especially in book blogging! Book bloggers have called for more diversity and representation in YA books, and we are slowly working towards more and more diverse books. Our voices have such a large impact, no matter how small we may think we are.
*Or… these are things that we SHOULD be doing.
1. comment & interact!
Obviously, this is the number one way to support bloggers. Comments and every single interaction (except for the bad ones, of course) mean SO MUCH to us, and it truly is one of the best ways to support us!!
There are so many people who are THE SWEETEST. and THE KINDEST. Like when I’d taken a week off of posting because of anxiety & panic attacks, y’all were literally SO KIND and all like “we support you May!! Take breaks when you need it! I’m here if you ever need me!!” All that literally means the world to me.
And a lot of times, when I’m feeling like “uuugghhh I don’t want to blog” or “I feel so dead about everything” or even “this is so pointless why am I doing this”, I read blog comments where people say the simplest things like “I love your blog!!” and “omg you made me laugh out loud!”, IT CHEERS ME UP. Instantly. Maybe not forever, but in that moment, it makes me so happy.
2. follow our blogs
Well… duh? I mean, OBVIOUSLY it’s great if you’re an active follower and comment, but I know that there are some bloggers who read posts but don’t always comment. (I know I do that sometimes when I’m not in the mood to comment.)
Ghost followers are nice because they increase your follower count, so THANK YOU to ALL my followers, you are awesome!! But you know. Interaction. I like talking to you. Because then it means I’m not just talking to myself (which I actually do a lot more than is probably healthy).
BUT STILL!! Any amount of support is support, and I’ll gladly take it all.
3. share & link to our posts
Sharing on social media platforms can do a whole lot for us. Sharing with even a blogger friend who may not know our blog can do a lot!! For all we know, you’ve introduced us to our new best friend.*
And in monthly recaps or something, shout out your favorite posts or bloggers by linking to them! It can introduce new people to our blog to talk to, and it also makes us really really happy to see our content being enjoyed by other people. (Or maybe that’s just me…???)
*It’s very unlikely that someone will take the place of a mango but… you can try.
4. recommend their blog or services (if any)
I loooooove promoting my favorite blogs, or blogs I think deserve more love. So make sure to do that too! And like, if a blogger was looking for a specific type of blog, ie. a book blog that talks about a lot of mangoes, you could recommend they check out MY blog. Because you love me.
Oh! And I know that some blogs have design services, or editing services, or beta-reading services, or sensitivity reading services—recommend those too! Especially sensitivity reading, since it’s so very important to make sure that writers are representing marginalized folks in the right way.
5. use their affiliate links or buy from them
A lot of bloggers have little affiliate links—so when you use that specific link to buy things, that blogger gets a tiny commission. I know that some bloggers are Amazon affiliates, and others are Book Depository affiliates, etc.! It’s literally something so small to do but helps HUGELY.
And I’m not sure if representatives for certain products (like book subscription boxes) get any commissions?? But if I were a rep, an example code for me might be MANGOES10 for a certain product, and when using that code, you’d get 10% off the actual cost. SO USE THOSE!!! YOU SAVE MONEY!!!! YOU MAYBE BENEFIT THE BLOGGER!!!
Here are some examples if you don’t know what these are. Also I just chose random accounts I’ve visited before and remember seeing rep codes for NO FAVORITISM OR ANYTHING.
And of course, some bloggers actually have their own stores where they create or design things and SELL them. (A lot of times they’re on Redbubble, Society6, or Etsy.) I know not everyone has the money (I know I don’t) but when you can, BUY THINGS FROM THOSE BLOGGERS!! It really helps them and often, their creations are quite nice.
6. boost marginalized voices
I find this ESPECIALLY important in the book blogging world, but honestly, it’s just as important in other aspects of the blogging world as well??
I think what really hits me the most with this one is that we as bloggers have a voice. We ALL have voices. But some voices aren’t heard as much as others’, or they aren’t able to speak up like others. And these people are often people who belong in minorities or marginalized groups!!
They are so important. I know that Western society (idk about others) have smothered voices of so many groups of people, and that’s obviously not right. So take the time to make sure those people are heard, because often times, they HAVE NOT been heard!
(This is REALLY really great in terms of representation of books: link to ownvoices book reviews who can actually say whether the rep in a book was good or bad—tho that still can be subjective.)
7. just offer support in general
Stick up for bloggers. Help them around if they’re new. Offer positive words if they’re feeling down. Defend them when they need to be defended. Listen to them if they need to rant. Rant with them. Joke with them. TALK WITH THEM!!! GIVE THEM MORAL & EMOTIONAL SUPPORT!! GIVE ADVICE WHEN NEEDED! LOVE THEM! HUG THEM! GIVE THEM MANGOES!!!
Any form of support means SO MUCH to bloggers. I know, because I AM a blogger. What you do may seem tiny, but it can mean a lot. So just !! appreciate and support bloggers!!! Because everyone deserves appreciation and support and validation and mangoes.
what other reasons do we need to appreciate & support bloggers?? how else can we do that??? are you having a good Valentine’s Day? anyone giving me mangoes? and ooh, support a few of your fellow bloggers in the comments below and link me to some of your favorite bloggers or posts!!!
Forever and Everly 
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