Blog Hopping – Is it essential?

Today I’m going to be discussing blog hopping. It’s been something that I’ve been thinking about ever since I started blogging in January. 

WHAT IS BLOG HOPPING?

Blog hopping can mean a ton of different things. Some people class blog hopping as using a linky list to visit other people’s blogs, while other people class it as just following links from one blog to another. Personally the way I blog hop is by visiting the comments of blogs I already follow and finding new blogs I love!

So now that’s out of the way and we all know what blog hopping is (i’m sure you already did) let’s get on with the discussion. I’m sure we all know that blog hopping is something that’s mentioned constantly in the blogging community which begs the question ‘Is blog hopping essential to having a successful blog?’

I do think blog hopping is an important aspect of blogging. It gives you a chance to find new bloggers with similar interests to you as well as being able to get inspiration from other blogs. Whether that be in terms of post content or design. It can end up being a really enjoyable activity, not too mention it can boost your blog stats enormously. If you’re going to new blogs and commenting on their posts, the likelihood is that firstly, that blogger will visit your blog back. It might also mean that other people who are blog hopping will see your comment and come and check out your blog themselves. It’s a really reliable way to get visits to your blog.

When I first started blogging I blog hopped ALL THE TIME. Honestly, I’d spend a good two or three hours a day blog hopping. This of course was when I was just at university and had no job or exams going on. I know that most people would never be able to put that amount of time in, which isn’t necessary at all. I mean, I’m pretty sure I just did it so much to make myself feel productive even though I was ignoring my university work…Now though, not so much.

I think it’s way easier to blog hop when you don’t get much traffic on your blog. As my views and stats increased I found it harder and harder to blog hop. Not only that but life outside of blogging can really get in the way sometimes. I’m now working full time (42 hours a week). So finding time to even write posts, let alone blog hop is next to impossible. I try my best though, because not only is blog hopping good for my blog, but I really enjoy it. I love reading people’s posts and finding new people with the same interests as me. It’s one of the things that interested me in blogging to begin with.

I do think that blog hopping can be really beneficial to your blog. But that being said, it isn’t essential to blog hop. I know plenty of amazing bloggers who have a lot of followers and don’t blog hop. I think if your posting good content then you’ll get views no matter what, it just might take a little more time for people to find you.

This post really got me thinking about the amount of time I spend blog hopping. So I thought it would be interesting to add a poll and see how much time everyone else spends blog hopping as well!

Thanks so much for reading! Let me know your thoughts on blog hopping in the comments ❤️