In order to join the so called " Blog Hop" you have to "follow" the hosts, usually via GFC, first. Thus, gaining the hosts anywhere from 60-200 new followers EACH WEEK. Oh, and do not expect them to follow you back. Next you have to put a "link or button" about the Blog Hop on your Blog. This is really just a link back to the host's blog. Gaining more pageviews and followers for the hosts, NOT YOU!
So now that you have "followed" the hosts (usually 3 or more) and added a link to THEIR page on your blog, you can now begin the hop. The point of the hop should be to find like minded bloggers. But, lets face it, most people join a hop to get more followers and likes for their own blog.
This is how that works.
1. From the host's site there will be a list of blogs that are "on the hop." You are supposed to visit each of the blogs, become a "follower" and then leave a comment to let the blogger know you are a follower. Which really goes something like this, "I love (didn't even read) your blog. Can't wait to read (never visit again) your blog. Oh and by the way I found you through the blog hop and I become a follower (now you better follow me!). Have a nice (don't really give a crap) day!"
2. Once you have visited all the blogs you can start visiting all of the various Blog's facebook page and twitter accounts. For more superficial likes and follows.
3. Make no mistake, 1% of the 10% return will actually read your blog again.
During my first Blog Hop I visited as many blogs as possible, followed every one, liked facebook pages, I did the damn thing, and got maybe a 5% return. Maybe the people didn't like my blog. That's not the point. The whole gimmick of the Hop is to, "Like" or "follow" the blog and then that blogger should follow your blog back. Not gonna happen.
My most recent hop was called "The Friday Blog Hop" this one was by far the biggest load of wank I have ever seen! First of all, I had to follow 4 blogs to get on the hop. Who cares if I liked their content or not? Then of course I added the button (Link to the host's site) to my blog. This time I only visited the blogs that had names I liked, and only followed if I liked what I read.
I'm over trying to follow 40 blogs for the sake of getting 4 followers back! Of the 70 or so blogs on the hop, I ended up following about 10 of them. Of the 10, 4 followed me back! To add insult to injury, this morning one stopped following me. To which this practice is not uncommon, a blogger will follow a bunch of blogs then unfollow once they get your follow. Ugh, really?
The bottom line: If you are looking for a new mom blog to follow then these hops do have a huge list for you to go through. If you are looking to boost your followers, look elsewhere. All the Hop does is help the hosts. DO NOT expect to get more than 1% return on your follows and likes.
Go to the local baby store and hand out printed cards with your website on them. That will get you a better return for your time than even the most popular Blog Hops.
12 comments:
I love your blog, so I'm glad I did the blog hop! Haha! It seems like it could get old really fast. I am very new to this all (I've only written 1 blog!) and am just figuring it out. But I have already followed a bunch with no return. Oh well. Just FYI though, 3 people, including me tweeted about your blog last night. So that's good. :)
www.thatsuburbanmomma.com
Hey there,
I joined the TGIF Blog Hop for the first time yesterday. It was more of an experiment to see what would happen. I've been blogging since March and have never participated in a hop before. People really swear by them so I thought I would give it a try. It was kind of a pain to follow the hosts and the spotlighted blog. Then I started going through the other blogs (I think there were 40 something at the time). A few people visited my blog which was nice, but you are right...none of the hosts did. I didn't think about that until now. They haven't even visited, never mind liked or followed me.
I am sure some of the people that visited my blog won't be back, but I am still kind of glad I did it. I met a couple of bloggers that I really clicked with. I probably wouldn't have found them otherwise. They are smallish blogs like my own. I found your blog and have already read three of your posts and liked your facebook page. So, just so you know, you have gained a reader. Not all is lost. I tend to comment often. I can't seem to help myself.
I agree with you. Blog hops are probably a better place to go when you are looking for blogs to read and not for followers. The hosts should play by the rules if they expect other people to.
I'm still glad I did the blog hop. Whether or not you (or anyone else) chooses to follow me back is kind of a bonus. I'm just glad I got to have converations with some awesome people I had never met before and I now have new blogs to read. It wasn't a complete fail!
http://itsadomelife.com
I'm back to say one of the hosts is now following me on Twitter.
That is encouraging!
I agree! If I didn't follow the blog hop I wouldn't have found yah & Suburban Momma who I think both of you are great and can't wait to get to know both of you better! I'm very very new to the scene but have already met quite a lot of wonderful people! OH well! Looking forward to your posts will be following xoxoxo
The Blog hop is good for finding new blogs, and freind. It is not good for finding loads of followers. Well, in my experience it was not follower fruitful.
NO it was not a complete fail, or complete waste of time. It was however a huge investment of time for a very small return. I personally am just not a fan of whole Blog Hop concept. It really is meant to gain followers. I have found great mommy bloggers On "Top Mommy Blogs" and bable and even google. The Hops are just not for me.
I've never done one, so I have no idea. I found you through googling "I hate pregnancy" which is how you know we were kindred spirits. I have so few followers. But, now I need to check Suburban Momma. :D
Kitten. You are so freaking awesome!
No offense intended to any bloggers/blog hoppers, but it sounds suspiciously like a chain letter/pyramid scheme type of thing...?
I'm with Kitten, never done one, and I've never heard of them until now. I found your blogs by googling something random when I was preggers, and it kept me laughing through the hours of toilet bowl worshipping that was 'morning' sickness!
My blog is just a part of my website (and a small part 'cause my prose tends to flow like a hippo in stilettos as opposed to a butterfly in silk) so it's not for me :-)
"hippo in stilettos as opposed to a butterfly in silk" Shay, you are the goods girlfriend! Yeah, the hops are clearly not my favorite.
I don't think they are for me either. I think they work better for certain types of bloggers than for others. Maybe not so much for those of us that are more about the actual blog writing and maybe more for people who are less about writing and more about sharing funny things on Facebook. I haven't quite figured it all out. It was a lot of work. I actually read all of the blogs. It took me half a day. Maybe I just went about it the wrong way!
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