Top Ten Tuesday: Ways In Which My Blogging Habits Have Changed.

Posted on by BonnieReadsAndWrites

Top Ten Tuesday is sponsored by That Artsy Reader Girl. The topic this week is “Ten Ways That My Blogging Habits Have Changed.”

1. My Indie Spotlight feature started out as Self-Published Saturday back in 2021, and then it became Indie Weekend. I just recently changed it to Indie Spotlight because I am retired and I don’t need to wait until the weekend anymore. All of them have the same goal: To celebrate and share Indie books.

2. My first review was a Two-Star back in October 2020! Although I do post some bad reviews sometimes, I now usually use my blog to celebrate good books. The exceptions are when a book I didn’t like is really expensive and popular, and I want to warn people before they spend the money. John Grisham’s supposed sequel to The Firm comes to mind.

3. My graphics are way better. I started using Shutterstock a few years ago, and I think I provide more eye-catching posts now.

4. I change my blog background seasonally, but I started putting clocks in all of my background pictures in maybe 2022. That is a nod to my love of time-travel fiction.

Book Header Bonnie Reads and Writes with white letters over a red background. A red and white clock wearing a Christmas hat is on one side.
A Thanksgiving cornucopia is on the left, and the banner reads Bonnie Reads and Writes in red. An old gold clock sits on top of a book to complete the banner.

5. I only had a little over 3,000 views in 2020. Now I am just about 100 views away from 100,000. That is despite having a down year last year due to moving, retirement, and Hurricane Helene.

6. I have had over 45,000 visitors to my blog since 2020. I’ll do a celebration post when I pass 50,000 visitors.

7. I was very focused on Netgalley reviews for a long time. Now I only have 12 books on my Netgalley shelf. A lot of my reviews now come from The Historical Novel Society and from Indie authors. I’m also about to embark on a “Reviewing the Classics” journey.

8. My logo has changed a lot. Thanks to Author Gail Meath for my latest, and best, logo.

There are six logos that have been used for Bonnie Reads and Writes, with the most recent one being a woman with auburn hair and a green shirt sitting in front of a pile of books. There is a blue background, with Bonniereadsandwrites.com at the bottom.

9. I feel like my reviews are better written now. Reviewing for The Historical Novel Society has helped with that.

10. The best change is the friendships. I’ve made some very dear friends who I met via this blog.

I am so thankful for this blog, and the opportunity to share my thoughts with all of you, and that will never change.

How about you? How have your blogging habits changed?

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Published by BonnieReadsAndWrites

I love to read and write book reviews in my free time. I review advance review copies of books on Netgalley for various publishers. I am also a reviewer for Historical Novels Review Magazine, the magazine of the Historical Novel Society. I review books from publishers of all size, large to small. I have a special place in my heart for indie authors. I will sometimes post a little writing that I might dabble in occasionally. I also am lucky enough to live in the Smoky Mountains, so I'll be sharing photos of the beauty around me from time to time.

22 thoughts on “Top Ten Tuesday: Ways In Which My Blogging Habits Have Changed.”

  3. All very positive reflections, Bonnie. It was too much thinking for me today, so I went rogue. I like some of your ideas. I should change my header seasonally, instead of leaving it the same year round.

  4. What a great and interesting list, Bonnie! Amazing how far you’ve come in such a relatively short period of time and…how many lives you’ve touched with your blog, reviews, insights, and friendships. Love your new logo:) lol

  5. Well done, Bonnie. Your blog is excellent and you write very good reviews. I find that my posts are much better now than when I started blogging 15 years ago. I agree, the bets thing about blogging is the friends we make.

  7. I’m a total NetGalley addict. I just can’t seem to stop requesting ALL the things! My reviewing ratio is abysmal, too. I’ve been putting a *little* more effort into boosting it lately, but that’s not saying much…ha ha.

    Happy TTT (on a Wednesday)!

    Susan

    http://www.blogginboutbooks.com


  8. A lovely list. I do struggle with graphics. I have free wordpress so I am limited with what I can do and also I have a limit on the number of pictures I can have (well it’s to do with size of things!). I look forward to seeing your celebration post! I’m only on 28,000 visitors, but I’m pretty chuffed with that. 2023 was a quiet year because I was pregnant and just felt so blah. I even went off reading! I’m trying to find the right balance. I’m now just posting once or twice a day instead of manically trying to do three posts a day. I’m still struggling to keep up with everything and make time to read 😂

    Have a lovely rest of the week!

      1. Thank you. It’s trying to find the line between making sure that the fonts are easy to read yet still fun whilst working with a limited option!

        I struggle to balance everything too!

  12. Bonnie, you’re just amazing! My blogging is still eclectic, all over the place, but especially books and family stories. Yes, online friendships are the best, especially for those of us who are mainly housebound!

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