Last Updated 3 years by Emily Standley-Allard
Do you read other people’s blogs? I know it can be super addictive! I used to. Now not so much. I realize this post is going to be somewhat controversial. Especially since you are reading it on another person’s blog and I’m telling you, you shouldn’t read other blogs anymore. I’m actually not saying you shouldn’t read this btw. Are you totally confused yet?
What I am saying is that I rarely read other people’s blogs.
The reason for this is quite simple.
It’s a waste of your time.
It makes you procrastinate your own writing. I believe the same is true of participating in Facebook groups and being on TikTok. Lots and lots of people are going to disagree with me. Oh well. I think it’s true. I think they are for the most part a huge time suck.
With that being said some Facebook strategies can be used to help build up your business as well as TikTok. If you have the time and resources to put into it.
If you are just getting started blogging, you may want to wait until your blog is well established.
Once it is you can read how in these posts:
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Why I Rarely Read Other People’s Blogs
Well, first let me just say if you have no problem with any type of distraction tendencies or comparing yourself to others then by all means carry on!
I have a tendency to easily get side tracked when reading other folks’ blogs and instead of sitting down to work and cranking out 3 or 5 posts, promoting, creating, and scheduling, as I should be doing, I get all wrapped up in the OTHER person’s work.
According to Google you should be putting out 16 blog posts a month to keep up with the competition on the internet!
That’s a ton of content!
You might also get sucked into getting an insecurity complex.
In the beginning of my blogging career I would start signing up for everyone’s free opt ins and then never wind up using them.
I had what was known as ‘shiny object syndrome.’
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Then I would start thinking; gee, I should really change my niche, re do my images, change my font size, add that social sharing button, revamp my whole website design, change my email provider and more!
Whatever it was, it completely distracted me from my OWN work.
Does this ever happen to you?
Honestly, this is why I say it’s a waste of time. I used to read a ton of blogs. I’d read them and sign up for all their newsletters and next thing you knew my inbox would be flooded with lessons and courses and webinars that I couldn’t keep up or ever get to.
Half the time I couldn’t even remember why I’d signed up for it to begin with.
This didn’t do me any benefit. I didn’t learn from it. And it just left me feeling in a state of major overwhelm.
Nor did it provide value to the blogger who wrote the opt in either because I’d wind up unsubscribing eventually.
I thought at first this was helping me to be a better blogger by learning from as many other experienced people as possible.
In truth, it was a first class way of practicing major procrastination from the work I should have been focusing on like creating my own content, digital products, scheduling email campaigns, working on blogger outreach and guest posting, and growing my blog forward in the direction it should have been going.
Today, I have to admit I still find it very hard not to read other people’s blogs. But when I do I take a very disciplined approach and spend a very limited amount of time on them.
And when I do I limit it to 3 of my favorites and that’s it.
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When do I read other blogs?
- The only time I really look at other people’s blogs is when I’m seeking a very specific answer.
For instance, the other day I wanted to find out about a certain WordPress plug in. And who is better to find the answer from than another blogger? If I searched on Google I’d be there for hours.
Another time I’ll read a blog is when I am just plum fresh out of innovative ideas. I’ll scan the headlines of posts and just get some different concepts and ideas to play around with and put a brand new spin on them.
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If I start a new project or want to work on something I’m not really sure about I will generally go to a few of my favorite blogs and read everything they have to say about the topic.
I’ll keep them in my Feeder and then delete them to quickly move on to my project.
Reading Other Blogs Makes You Compare
One can’t help but compare one’s work to another’s. Especially if you’re in the same niche.
This can make you fall into a danger zone. After all:
“Comparison is the thief of joy”
Often times when you start comparing you get stuck in a state of paralysis and then become scared to let your own creativity come out. You’re worried that maybe you’re not ‘doing it right’.
This is true especially if you’re a newbie blogger.
The great thing about blogging is that there aren’t many rules.
But let’s face it, sometimes you might feel like every topic has already been written about and there’s nothing new to say.
When I was reading too many blogs I’d think ‘Oh, I can’t write about that now, someone else already did’.
If you ever feel frustrated thinking like that just remember that the wonderful thing about blogging, and why people love them so much is that every single blogger has a different voice, a unique feel, an appealing tone, a different opinion, and that is what makes your audience keep coming back to you.
Of course that along with an answer to your reader’s problems that you will solve for them each and every time.
Ask yourself this question
Do you find that reading other people’s blogs is hindering your work or is it genuinely helping you to be more productive on your own blog?
I’d love to hear your answers!
After you work on your own blog!;)
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I do see your point! Going through blog after blog can be a bit of a rabbit hole of distraction! I like this concept! I do like reading other blogs as it allows me another avenue to learn about something, but I can get easily distracted. Also, your point about the comparison trap is accurate!
Thanks for your comment! I do love other blogs but the problem is I could read them forever!:)