Book Blogging is Dead, But That’s Okay

With TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, the Metaverse and I’m sure some as-of-yet un-invented new addictive type of social media on the rise, it’s hard not to foretell the death of blogging.

By Emily in blogging, Discussion on
60 comments

With TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, Twitter, the Metaverse and I’m sure some as-of-yet un-invented new addictive type of social media on the rise, it’s hard not to foretell the death of blogging. After all, compared to all of the shiny new dopamine-inducing options, blogging seems, well, outdated. 2000s-esque, in a bad way. Archaic. Irrelevant.

And don’t even get me started on book blogging. Who reads books anymore, anyway? (Apparently not Americans)

Written content, like blog content, and especially book blog content, seems to be on the downtrend lately, ostensibly becoming replaced by other platforms like BookTok, Bookstagram, BookTube, and Book Twitter.

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So, is book blogging dying? Are book blogs dead? Are we book bloggers all tech-phobic fossils simply wasting our time?

Why do we even keep writing all book reviews, book recommendation lists, discussion posts, and long literary rambles? No one reads them, do they?

Well, in my personal experience, yes, book blogs don’t seem to get the same attention as book influencers on other platforms. Blogging isn’t as popular as it used to be. It can be harder to get views on a blog, and it’s definitely a different sort of platform than social media.

But that’s okay.

I’ve been blogging for almost two years, and I still don’t want to stop– even though it can seem unrewarding at times. It’s 2022 and believe it or not, book blogging is still my favorite hobby. (Besides regular old reading, of course)

So what does this content medium still have to offer? Here’s why I’m still a book blogger in 2022.

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5 Reasons Why I’m Still A Book Blogger in 2022

(Book blogging is dead, but that’s okay.)

1) Blogging is the perfect hobby for people who express themselves best through writing

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If you love writing, blogging is a great option.

I’ve been a strongly verbal person for as long as I can remember, and for me, the clearest way I can express myself is through writing.

I love how the thoughts flow from my brain onto the keyboard. I love revising those thoughts into something that sounds halfway decent. I love reading back over my work and accessing it. I love blasting lofi in my earbuds as I type away and lose all track of time. I love the way you can edit and re-edit, making your article into a polished finished product for people to read. I love how I am writing this post at 1:30 AM and it is likely incoherent, but I can come back and improve it later.

I don’t feel quite the same way about making videos or taking photos. I’m always excited to write blog posts… but I don’t feel the same way when I contemplate scrapping my website and switching to TikTok or Instagram. In fact, I hate filming short videos and taking Instagram photos. It’s simply not as fun for me, and I don’t feel the same level of inspiration.

So why switch to a more “lucrative” medium, in terms of engagement, when it doesn’t inspire me? It’s important to remember why you started blogging. When I published my first post, I didn’t expect more than 20 or so people to subscribe. I saw my blog as a kind of online journal, a place to put all of the long tangents it’s not acceptable to go on in real life.

So why switch to a more “lucrative” medium, in terms of engagement, when it doesn’t inspire me? It’s important to remember why you started blogging

Regardless of the engagement, I’m going to keep blogging because I like it.

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Blogs have been around since the 1990s, and they’re still relatively alive and well today.

The popular social media platforms of the early 2020s, however, have appeared more recently– and their highs and lows are a little bit more volatile. Take MySpace, for instance– often epitomized as an example of the social media life cycle.

Most social media sites come and go with the trends.

Vine died a couple years ago. YouTube is apparently dying right now, or something (probably all the Grammarly ads)

Your blog, however, will (probably) always be on the Internet, and if you own your domain, it’s under your complete control. Yes, if you’re on a service like WordPress.com, they manage your blog, but it is possible to migrate your site to become custom-hosted.

If your audience is mostly on a site like Instagram or TikTok, however, and something happens to that social media platform– for example, if Trump had succeeded in banning TikTok last year– it would be a lot harder for you to regain your footing. With social media, your account is tied to the service, and this means you could easily be pulled down by a sinking ship.

Blogs, on the other hand, will probably stick around for a while.

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I feel like social media is going to be replaced by the metaverse eventually, at the rate we’re going and if the tech bros can be believed, but written content will likely always be around. (At least, I hope it is.)

But I’m relatively optimistic, as writing is a medium that seems to be constant in human history.

Before there were blogs, there were newspapers and journals and books, all things that still exist today. No matter what, I don’t see writing ever going away– and I don’t see the Internet ever going away either.

Before there were blogs, there were newspapers and journals and books, all things that still exist today. No matter what, I don’t see writing ever going away– and I don’t see the Internet ever going away either.

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3) Book blogging allows you to experiment with and intermix different forms of content

On Instagram, your posts are all images. On TikTok, you have a limit for video length. But on your blog, you can include whatever you want on all of your posts. You can embed a tweet or a YouTube video, you can include quote blocks, images, stylized text– it’s all under your control.

You can also customize the organization, color scheme, and layout of your site as much as you want, and no two blogs are the same. I love having the freedom to determine the layout of my site and the pages on it and make my posts easy to find.

There’s a level of independence to book blogging that you don’t really get anywhere else, and that’s one of the reasons it’s such a great hobby.

There’s a level of independence to book blogging that you don’t really get anywhere else, and that’s one of the reasons it’s such a great hobby.

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4) Blogs get search engine traffic, though they aren’t really thought of as influencers

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What I see as one of the key differences between blogs and social media nowadays is that bloggers seem to be thought of differently than social media influencers.

If you want to improve your book blog SEO, you have to a) be marginally lucky and b) post stuff that people might be Googling. That’s how your blog will get found on search engines. I get most of my views from search engines currently.

The thing about this is that most of these readers, I’m assuming, only visit my blog once. The majority of Internet users in the 2020s don’t really treat bloggers as they do social media influencers– or at least, I don’t think they do. When you watch a YouTube channel or follow an Instagram account, you feel pretty connected to the creator as a person. It’s oftentimes about personality, and blogs don’t really have this trait.

So the question is: do you want to be an influencer? Or are you fine with being a writer, content to post stuff that maybe someone will find on Google and read while they’re browsing the Internet for fun?

And I’m fine with being a faceless article-writer. It’s really all right.

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5) The book blogging community is great and still going strong.

Though I gave this post a rather clickbait title, the book blogging community is still going. On WordPress there are a ton of book bloggers to read, and everyone here is nice. (It’s definitely a notch less toxic than Book Twitter, and Bookstagram, that’s for sure)

And as long as there are book bloggers, we might as well continue book blogging. Right? I mean, besides search engines, the majority of my reviews come from fellow bloggers– and I’ve had so many interesting discussions about books and reading and literature with people from all around the world. The blogging community is one of the biggest reasons I love blogging so much.

I credit book blogging with teaching me more about the world and about my beliefs than any other hobby I’ve ever had, and I don’t see any reason to stop.

I credit book blogging with teaching me more about the world and about my beliefs than any other hobby I’ve ever had, and I don’t see any reason to stop.

So, what about you? If you’re a book blogger, why do you do it? What’s your favorite part about blogging, and do you ever see yourself stopping or changing platforms? Why or why not? Feel free to leave a comment!

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(I’m also on social media!)

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60 comments on “Book Blogging is Dead, But That’s Okay”

  2. Lol, totally get you on choosing to blog over the other platforms, because I express myself through writing too, and while it’s not as popular as some other visual apps out there, I still think blogging has its place in the digital world. Anyway, thanks for this post!

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  3. yeah i mostly feel the same about book blogging “dying” and i’m seeing a lot of book bloggers who had started out during the lockdown (like me) now quitting or remaining largely inactive. but i haven’t lost all hope in the community yet and yes, everybody here is SO much better than on twitter etc. love all the insight you provided!!

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  4. You’ve basically summed up in a nutshell why I love to blog, Emily! Writing has always been my creative outlet and how I feel most comfortable expressing myself, so I relate very much to you saying your blog is kind of like an online journal. I’ve never wanted to be an influencer – honestly, the publicity aspect of blogging is still what scares me most, sometimes 😂 – but I love having a place to ramble, go on tangents, and just get my thoughts down in an orderly way. But then discovering a community of like-minded people made everything so much better than I could ever have dreamed! I agree, blogging has taught me so much about the world and I love the community we have here – so while it might be small, I also don’t think blogging is in danger of dying out! 😊

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  5. I’ve been book blogging for around 10 years. It is sad that it isn’t as popular as some other platforms, but there is a great community. I have found that my blog needs to constantly evolve, I try things, then I change things to avoid getting bogged down and stagnant. Readers of the blog come and go. I’m happy with what I do, so I shall continue. Good post though, lots of good points.

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  6. Not a book blogger myself but a book lover, so I follow a few.
    My blog is more a b(log), where I enter *my* issues on a way that may (or may not) be understood by others. I don’t care so much so I think I’m going to keep blogging even if my visits go down to dozens… currently I’m fine getting around 200 daily hits… BTW I don’t do social, since indeed I don’t try to become an influencer.
    With all the respect for the influencers, of course 😉.
    If wordpress dies out, I will probably jump to something else.😁

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  7. The thing is, I don’t think I could not blog…it’s so obsessive for me and I spend hours writing at my laptop.

    It does so often feel like it’s not worth it though. I started blogging almost 4 years ago now when I was really too young and posted once in a while. No wonder I didn’t get any views. Now all my views are from Top Ten Tuesday and I don’t have any subscribers that aren’t friends or family. But hey, I love it and having that track of what I’ve read and what my thoughts are is so special.

    I’m not really allowed on social media that much (okay not at all) which may be part of the reason my blog does so badly but I no way want to stop. No blog has the statistics of a YouTube channel but that’s okay and we still have a wonderful and welcoming community!

    Blogging is so special and it’s a place where nothing matters apart from me, my words and my books. After a tough day at school, coming home to my laptop is just what I need!

    This posts resonated with me mainly because blogging sort of is my social media and I love the idea that social media influencers are completely dependent on a social platform whereas as a blogger, we have our own.

    Zoë x

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    1. Me too, I’m pretty obsessive over my blog in general. I spend a ton of time on it and I would hate to have wasted that time– but I think blogging is an amazing platform anyway. It’s very under-appreciated and underrated in general.

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  8. I also think I express myself better in writing, and I would not be a great fit to make a Youtube channel! And I love that blog gives people so much space to say something in-depth about books. On some level, I guess that’s what people are NOT looking for (apparently they prefer a 10 second TikTok that says practically nothing about the book), but maybe authors appreciate it? I think I’d love if someone wrote a 600 word review of my book and not just 2 sentences.

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      1. I think my new argument is seriously going to be, “Well at least bloggers didn’t make the idea of not paying authors go viral.” 😛 Apparently some indie authors saw hundreds of book returns in March, probably thanks to BookTok.

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  10. All of this is so true! I prefer blogging to social media (Especially Instagram- Tik Tok’s banned where I live), mostly because all I need is a laptop and an idea, whereas for Instagram, I need to have a good camera for clicking pictures, excellent lighting, aesthetic stuff and so much more!
    While I do tend to start a YouTube channel someday, I still feel that I’ll definitely be more active on the blogosphere because Youtubing again does require a lot more effort and equipment.

    And yess, as newer social platforms come, older ones may die out, but blogging-something that’s lasted so long is not that likely to die out so easily.

    Great post Emily- I loved it!

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    1. Thanks for reading– and oh yeah I forgot TikTok is banned in India already. Wish the US would ban it too lolol
      I’ve considered starting a YouTube channel several times, but I don’t have the equipment, confidence, time, or motivation at the moment so who knows if I will. I love my blog though

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      1. lol

        I mean, I have actually filmed my first video a few times, by mounting my phone camera on a selfie stick and adjusting it such that it doesn’t fall, but I just don’t have the courage to post, haha. And I know I simply won’t be that consistent, so there’s no point anyway

        Yess, same nothing can ever replace the love I have for my blog!

        Liked by 1 person

  12. I loved reading this post, Emily, and I completely agree with you on all of these reasons to continue book blogging. 🙂
    Although I enjoy consuming social media, I have absolutely no interest in getting into producing content on Instagram or TikTok etc. So, blogging is still perfect for me. 🙂

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  14. This is a great post! I’ve definitely tried doing bookish social media on top of my blog before, but I’ve always ended up hating it and deleting the apps from my phone again. Social media feels so fleeting and so much more high pressure than a blog. If you don’t get enough likes on an Instagram post within the first hour it’s basically dead and no one will see it, whereas a blog post can still be getting comments for weeks after you’ve posted it! When I tried bookstagram all the advice was that you had to be super consistent and post perfect content twice every day, and I just don’t have time for that. Blogging seems like a much more permanent and worthwhile way to spend my time.

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  18. Absolutely love this post. You are right, we get traffic from search engines which is the best form of traffic really and yet aren’t considered good enough with influence. Also yes, perfect hobby for writers! I’m not a fictional writer, it doesn’t work for me, but blogging is amazing. It works even if we don’t create worlds in our heads.

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  19. The book blogging community is great and we love being part of it. We agree. We prefer blogging to other social media platforms.

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  24. It’s absolutely key to remember the goal, like you said. Folks who are blogging for fun don’t have to stress about viewership, engagement, and capitalizing on what’s trendy at the moment. The moment it becomes about profit in some regard, all that starts to take over the FUN of it! I’m in the same boat as you: I blog for myself in the end, and the fact that others like to say hi and chat sometimes is just icing on the cake! ^.^ The clickbait title was still worth the read 😉

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      1. Yep. I pushed myself and posted every day for a straight year, through holidays, illness, vacation, everything. Then after the year decided I was good to miss done days when I needed to. I was proud, but tired. xD

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  27. I have had my blog for almost a decade now. I’ve been used it on and off through the years but I always find my way back to it. I don’t get as much love here as I do on Instagram. But I get more love on my blog than I do on Twitter. So, maybe a lot of it comes down to pure luck? I don’t know. I just enjoy rambling. Plus, I started my blog to just talk about books and always said “even if just one person finds my post fun and wants to chat, that’s all I want”. This is a wonderful post!

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    1. Oh yeah, I tried Instagram but I don’t really have a knack for it, so I’ve pretty much just been sticking to my blog. And yes, I don’t even care about engagement as long as I can write about books. Thank you for reading!

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  28. This is an excellent post! I’d also say that blogging has us in command! We decided on the length of our post, on what pictures and links to add. I find other social media great to shout out favorite books but when you want to review a book with a modicum of details, I never have enough space LOL

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  29. Though I have seen book bloggers leave to get more views on other platforms, I don’t see book blogs as dying. Social media sites definitely seem to ebb and flow more dramatically, while book blogs are more consistent. And I love that book blogs keep getting views on evergreen content, whereas content on social media seems to be at the mercy of algorithms.

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  32. Loved the clickbait! I have a book review blog, the Book Smuggler’s Den. I read stuff from self-published authors because one day when I self-publish I’d like the same support I try to give authors. I’m not a huge social media person because of how nasty it can get. I still promote my posts there, but SEO is what I’m about.

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  33. This definitely caught my attention. For the past few years I’ve struggled with my blogging journey, something I’ve been doing in my teens on different platforms, for different reasons and the rise of social media definitely made me question my place in the whole thing. I’m glad you wrote this, it helps to know that I’m not alone in the blogging world and that the written word still has power over audio. Although, don’t get me wrong aural stories have their place but that’s a different can of worms.
    Happy blogging!

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