Thursday 2 May 2019

Why I'm ditching the linkys

I've been joining in with Project 365 for 5 years now. It's a blog hop. When you add your link it shows all the other blog posts who have joined in. There are around 12-15 link ups each week and there is a core group of us who have become firm friends, either online and/or in real life.

I'm disappointed some weeks when I comment on everyone else's post and half the people don't comment back, but then this is life and we really don't have many rules other than it being a weekly photo a day post that gets linked up.

Some of the other linkys I join in with just have far too many rules. The standard rules are as follows:


  • Add the badge to your blog.
  • Comment on the host.
  • The post in front of yours.
  • One other post of your choosing.


It's not difficult, quite simple to adhere to except:


  • One linky I received NO comments for 4 weeks from the hosts.
  • The people who comment on my posts are regular readers and don't need to find me through the linky.
  • I comment on my share each week and often more or all the other posts linked up, if I have the time, but what comes back? Maybe 2-3 comments.
  • I rarely have my post shared online by the hosts, yet they share their favourites, as in bloggers, not posts.
  • Too many sponsored posts appearing in linkys. It's so hard to say something about a restaurant in a town I'll never visit or a new mattress I have no intention of buying or the latest opinion on raising children, when mine are now all adults. But I do, I read the post, I find something nice to say and what do I get back from others? 'Nice post, thanks for joining in.'
  • Requests to add the badge to the bottom of the blog post. Where has this come from? This is all about creating backlinks, but it doesn't give me a back link and if you read the above, it's not been drawing new readers to my posts at all.
A lot of my favourite linkys have faded away, it is hard work as a host to keep up when 20+ bloggers link every week, to find the time to read, comment, promote etc. Plus write your own post each week, I get that. It's a good way to promote your blog also and get the back links, however it is a two way process. Those who link up use your hashtag, @reply you with their link and comment on your posts every week. I keep seeing more and more requests from the hosts for people to follow the rules or their posts will be deleted. I can't be doing with 'office' politics anymore, so I'm out. It's supposed to be fun.


My blog is in its 10th year. I set it up as a way to Tweet longer, I have a DA score of 31, that wasn't affected by the latest adjustments. My blog just plods along. Sometimes I do a sponsored post or a review but only if it fits with my blog and I rarely approach companies, they come to me.

I've removed all badges from my side bar now, apart from #mysundayphoto a monthly link up run by Darren Coleshill. #pocolo a weekly link up for a post written that week hosted by Stephanie and Morgan and of course #project365 under the title of #OneDailyPositive on my blog.

No offence intended to all the other hosts and I may join in again from time to time, but my baby, child, teen, empty nest days are long gone. If I do join in I'll add the badge to the bottom of each post, but if I don't feel the love being returned from those who link up, I'll be off again.

Do you join in with other linkys?

Do you have similar problems/issues?

Do you run a linky? What problems have you encountered? Do you think my comments are fair?

6 comments:

  1. I feel your pain. Apart from the few you mentioned (I haven't done Pocolo for a while but that was a nice one), and 2 I used to love last year for the community and featured opps which are now gone, most are full of new bloggers who link up to about 20 linkys, and are all about making their blogs their business. The hosts are now offering less for people to join linkies. They're asking for follows on all channels, of multiple hosts, but then often they're not even commenting. It's just not beneficial to both parties (at least linky badges should be nofollow backlinks if they're set up correctly).

    I now only do 365 - I mostly comment on all (except there's 1 who never comments on anything and I have nothing to say on her blog as I struggle to understand it

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    1. I'm sure i'll watch the numbers fall, but does it really matter if people are only clicking but not taking the time to read?

      Delete
  2. I only join in with a few a week now. a meal planning one, Word of the week and the Monday morning blog club which I think is fab. You link up your blog and the person commenting chooses which post to comment on. It's something a bit different and everyone linking is great for commenting. I used to link up with a lot more but they've either stopped or they're not worth my time as I wouldn't get any comments back. Hmmf. x

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    Replies
    1. that sounds a good one, but I find when I join in with new ones that they are often closed groups with their favourites

      Delete
  3. I think you are quite right, very difficult to feel inspired to keep linking up when you get nothing back.
    Is it real a case of we are all to busy writing our own and trying to promote etc to keep our own stats up to have time to go and read and enjoy others.
    I started blogging as i loved to nose into people lives, and like you I am now in year 10 of blogging and have seen it change and more so become about me me me than actually enjoying what other people write.
    Our group is a friendly group and I feel quite rotten as this years new person is the only one i do not comment on regularly as she never comments on mine. If my blog does not appeal to her that is ok by me, but I do comment once a month to make her feel like part of the group but do see she comments on other peoples

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. the same person for me also, hey ho. i started my blogging as a way to record things for prosperity, i've never been interested in numbers, but from time to time have looked into increasing traffic, but it just seems such hard work and expensive

      Delete

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