by thebookprophet

What Makes a Good Book Blog // & Some Favorite Blogs of Mine

Similar to my post I wrote earlier this week about what makes a good BookTube channel, I decided that I would make the same post but with blogs! Since this is a book blog after all, it seemed like a good idea, right?

I want to give new bloggers tips and just let y’all know what I find attractive in a book blog! I also wanted to give a few shout outs to favorite blogs of mine because I want to share the blogger love.

Blogger love is the best love.
I love you all *a single tear falls down my cheek*

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Eye-catching, clean design

The very first thing people notice about your blog – sometimes even before your blog’s name – is the design of your blog. I love blogs that have a simple, elegant design that 1) isn’t too simple and 2) reflects who the blogger is as a person.

For example, if you like horror books and mainly review horror books on your blog, try going for a darker color scheme in your design. If you prefer cute contemporaries, think of pastel shades. I always judge blogs by what they look like – even if I shouldn’t – because if I’ll be following that blog and reading that blog’s content all the time, I’d prefer to look at one that’s pleasing to the eye.

Catchy, easy-to-remember name

Similar to my post on BookTubing, the name is the key! If your name doesn’t make any sense – as in, it doesn’t relate to books and your blog focuses on books – then people will get confused as to why your blog is named what it is. I like blogs with names that have references to things I’m familiar with (ie: Patronus Reads).

I have no idea if that’s actually a blog name or not, but it should be.

Don’t make your blog name too long, either. If you get winded and run out of breath saying your blog’s name, then you need to change it somehow. You need something that’s easy to remember too because your name is your brand and when people recommend your blog to other people, the first thing they’ll hear is the name. If they remember that name, then they’ll check out your blog. Simple as that.

easytoremember

Interesting, enticing content 

There are many things that pull me into a post. Most of the time it’s something that is original. The title is also important as well! If you have a title that isn’t just a plain My thoughts on _____, but instead is Why I thought _____ wasn’t what I was expecting, then you’ll grab readers before they even read your post!

I’ll admit that I’m not the best at making interesting blog titles but lately I’ve been trying to improve on that. Now for the actual content of your blog, try and show your personality through your posts and remember that blogging is supposed to be fun so if you aren’t having fun, you’re doing something wrong! Crack jokes and show people who you truly are. The great thing about blogging is that you’re able to express who you are on the inside through your writing.

I haven’t mastered this yet if I’m being completely honest haha.
I feel like my blog posts are essays for school that’ll be graded on for grammatical correctness and such.

Honest opinions

I mentioned this in the BookTube post as well but I can’t express how important honest opinions are! People take your opinions to heart and you make a big influence on the decisions of others and what books they end up picking up. Don’t waste their time just because you’re too scared of having an unpopular opinion or because you got the book sent to you for a review. Be honest and it’ll pay off!

People really appreciate honesty as well. I bet authors that send you their books to review appreciate it because they’ll never know if there’s something they should change in future books they write if you don’t point it out!

Be nice, though!
Just because you don’t like a book doesn’t give you the right to trash the book (or the author!)

Interact with others in the community

Just because you’ve taken the large leap and made your own blog, writing posts and such, doesn’t mean you’re ‘truly’ part of the community. I mean, technically you are, but interacting with other people in the community is part of the fun and you’ll meet some truly amazing people!

Respond to blog comments, comment on other’s blogs, interact with other bloggers on social media outlets such as Twitter, Instagram, Goodreads, etc. This community is honestly one of the best communities on the internet and you’re fortunate to be a part of it! Everyone is ready to help out and welcome a newbie with open arms. I know it’s scary since most of us are introverts, but just find people with similar interests as you  – which isn’t hard since we know that we all share at least one common thing – and start chatting! I never in a million years would’ve guessed that I’d make all the friends that I have made that are scattered all across the globe.

The only downside is that we don’t all live next to one another.
Anyone else in Texas and wanna meet up? Texas is a big state, though…
Tbh I think I’d be too nervous to meet most of y’all in person though. I’d be so awkward.

befriends

Be consistent and appreciative

I love bloggers that are consistent with posting. What I define as being ‘consistent’ is posting at least once a week or having some sort of posting schedule. I try and be as consistent as possible and post three times a week, one post being a book review and the other two whatever I feel like writing at the time.

I also try and show my appreciation to you guys. Honestly I think this is my weak point because I’m bad at showing my appreciation for people. I don’t know why I’m like this, but I always try and make sure to let you know how much I appreciate you. I appreciate how you take time out of your day – even if it’s just 2 minutes – to read my blog posts and leave a comment. Every like and comment I get brings a smile to my face.

This is getting really sappy.
It might just get sappier from here so strap yourselves in and get some tissues.

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Before I mention the favorite blogs of mine, remember I’m limiting myself to put up only six so there are going to be a ton of blogs that I miss. If you aren’t up here it doesn’t mean I don’t love your blog! Just wanted to make this clear before I started because if the post wouldn’t be 10,000 words long I would include all of you! It pains me not to include everybody!

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Lost in a Story

lostinastory

Lia has been one of my best blogger friends for months now and I honestly love her blog and it’s content so much. Every time she writes a new post I have to read it, no matter what it is. She also has great diverse book recommendations if you’re ever looking for some! She’s helped me whenever I’m stuck with writing my book and I wish we didn’t live so far away because she’d be so fun to hang out with.

And we are so alike it’s honestly frightening sometimes.

Flavia the Bibliophile

I always look forward to reading every single post Flavia posts on her blog. She not only blogs about books but she also balances TV and movie reviews. She’s also my K-Drama buddy so we fangirl over dramas together and she’s just all-around an amazing blogger and friend.

Bookshelves and Paperbacks

bookshelvesandpaperbacks

Aimal has some of the most insightful book reviews I’ve ever read! I can always trust her to be honest in her reviews and she also points out possible trigger warnings which I think is such an important thing that I should probably include in my reviews as well. Don’t even get me started on how beautiful her blog is as well!

P.S. She also might have a slight obsession with Zayn.
P.P.S. ‘Slight’ obsession might be an understatement.

Happy Indulgence

happyindulgence

Happy Indulgence is a blog run by three Aussie girls; Jeann, Jenna, and Aila. They all have their own tastes in books and their reviews are all detailed and descriptive and perfectly executed. These three girls work so hard on their blog and it shows with every post they put out, and their site is just beautiful!

Rimpy’s Reads

rimpysreads

Rimpy is a new blogger but she is absolutely KILLING the blogging game! She’s a new blogger to look out for for sure! She’s only had her blog for a week or two but you would honestly guess that she’s been doing it for way longer by reading her posts.

Forever and Everly

foreverandeverly

I’ve only been reading May’s blog for the past month or so and I honestly don’t know why it took me so long to stumble across her blog because it’s perfect! May shows so much personality in her posts and she’s quickly become a friend to me. She’s so easy to chat with and her posts will make you smile and laugh for sure.

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I really hope y’all enjoyed this post and learned some things to help you out if you’re a new blogger or thinking of starting your own blog as well as possibly finding some new blogs to follow!

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47 thoughts on “What Makes a Good Book Blog // & Some Favorite Blogs of Mine”

  1. Pingback: Blogarithms: A Correct Way to Run Your Blog? – ✎ blamemyshelf ✎

  2. Thanks for the tips! I’m really going to try to get my blog out there. I have been blogging a little over the past few months, but I haven’t made an effort to become an actual part of the blogging community in terms of talking to other bloggers and commenting on blog posts. Thanks again!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. You’re blog will certainly get more traffic once you start commenting on other’s posts 🙂 That’s the key to blogging success! I’ll have to give your blog a read

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  4. I’m a blogging newbie and so happy to come across your post. Great tips and wise words! You’re right, simplicity and honesty are the key 🙂 I now need to learn to not over think and just get writing!

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    1. Blog post titles can be really hard! If the title itself isn’t intriguing a lot of people might just avoid it and not even click on the post! It does get suspicious if a blogger only gives out 5 star ratings

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  8. Thank you for this! I’ve only been book blogging for a couple of months but it’s hard to actually figure out how to be involved with the community and how to encourage people to view your blog. It can be unmotivating to have literally no response on anything – so this post definitely made me think about how I interact with people and what extras I can or should post!

    Thank you 🙂 🙂

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    1. I completely understand how you feel! It can be discouraging but one day when you get people who read your posts and genuinely seem to love your content, it’s all worth it ❤

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  9. I agree with all of these points! Design is so so important. If you have a horrible font that gives me headache, it won’t matter how great your content is. And omg some bloggers make it so difficult to actually find their blogposts? These tips are definitely great for newbie bloggers!

    I follow and love almost all of the bloggers you listed, and am now of course going to check out the ones I didn’t know yet 😛

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. YES! Sometimes I have to like search something specific like ‘tags’ or something. If there isn’t something you can click on to take you to particular blog posts, you need to add it! I hate when people add cursive font because although I love cursive and write in it daily, I don’t want to put in the extra effort to read it when I’m just casually reading someone’s blog. Happy you already read some of the blogs I listed 😀

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  10. Pingback: July Whispers // Book Devouring, Summer Outings & ICE CREAM + Book Haul – A Whisper Of Ink

  11. Such a great post, Savannah! I do agree with the design so much – simple, clean and most of all easy to navigate are such important points. I found blogs that clearly put a lot of work in their design, but made it impossible to comment or search and then I didn’t stick around for long.
    All your points were great really. I get that consistency is important to some point and also the interaction. That one is really key!
    Loved your favorite blogs. I think I know them all and couldn’t agree more. Great choices!!!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Yeah even though a blog might look pretty – it needs to be easy to navigate! I’ve visited so many blogs that are absolutely GORGEOUS but then I can’t find a follow button anywhere… I’m happy you like the blogs I mentioned too!

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  15. Awww such kind words ❤❤ I love your blog too and if you didn’t live on the other side of the earth, I’d come visit you!
    These are such good tips and I agree with all of them! Content and connecting are so important!! I also always try to keep a consistent schedule but that is more for me than for my followers otherwise I’d become mess and just post whenever and then not and all for a week or so haha 😂

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    1. Lucky we have the internet though! If not for that, none of us would’ve ever know the other existed. Haha I just recently made a schedule to post 3 days a week on particular days. It feels so good to have a schedule!

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  16. AYYY IT’S YOUR FELLOW TEXAN BUDDY ✌ Although it would be so awkward to meet blogging friends irl. 😂 First of all, I LOVE this post! A good design is DEFINITELY something I look for — if the blog doesn’t look good, then I’m just not interesting in staying to read the content. And YES interaction is key! Some bloggers are in for popularity/money (though very few!) and not INTERACTION, which makes me sad because the book blogger community is WONDERFUL! Love this post! I only follow Lia’s blog, but I’ve heard of the others and have to check them out! Thank you so much for linking to me and all those kind words! ❤

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    1. We’re all antisocial introverts so it’d be so awkward if blogging friends actually met haha but it’d also be cool, I think. The thing is blogging doesn’t even bring in much income (if any) haha and something I love about the book blogging community is that most of us are genuine and don’t care about the stats.

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  17. I love the tips you put together, and I’m looking through all the blogs you mentioned right now!! They all look so cute at first glance, and I can’t wait to read a little more from them!
    Great post!!

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  19. I love Lia’s and May’s blogs. THEY’RE SO FABULOUS AND I AM IN LOVE WITH THEIR BLOG POSTS. May and I have become such close blogging friends and I LITERALLY read Every Single Post of hers. I’m quite new to your blog and this is like the first post I’ve read of yours (i think) and I am loving the name, design and the content! your posts are so organised, omg.

    I’m not sure about my name but I LOVE MY DESIGN SO MUCH. I didn’t design it though so I am not being vain here.And I’ve literally just started my schedule and it’s working…so far *gulps*

    I definitely agree with all your points. Honest opinions and good, unique content and IS definitely why I follow your blog. I also like it when bloggers actually REPLY to their comments because some bloggers don’t and that’s sad. I’ve just started to comment back (check out the person’s blog if they commented on my blog) and THE STRESS.

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    1. May and Lia are literal blogging queens. Welcome to my blog, little grasshopper! (haha idk why but I love saying that) I’m so happy you’re liking my blog so far *blushes for the rest of eternity*. I love your blog name and design both! I always whisper your blog’s name when I read it haha! I think I’ve only ever followed one blog where the blogger didn’t really reply to comments. Comments and replying to them are SO IMPORTANT! I mean, it’s how you actually interact with your followers.

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