While I haven’t been that active in visiting other blogs and commenting on various posts and reviews in recent months, I have noticed certain trends that have me rolling my eyes, raising my eyebrows and in general wondering about the state of book blogging. I want to take some time to address each one and hopefully start a discussion about them. As I have a lot to say, this is going to be spread out over several weeks. Think of it as a modern-day expose on the world of book blogging. I started out with readathons. This week I tackle the idea of giveaways.
Yes, I do host giveaways periodically. I am okay with them for special occasions or to help publishers. I want to discuss the idea of constant giveaways, those who require tweets or being a follower or something other than just entering a form. I have noticed an increase in the number of giveaways some bloggers are hosting, and I am not certain what bloggers hope to get out of hosting them.
For those who host giveaways all the time, why? What is your end goal? Are you doing it to celebrate something? Are you hoping to increase the number of people who follow you? Are you hoping to get rid of some books? Why offer a giveaway every week or two? What are you hoping to accomplish?
For the followers, do you ever find yourself avoiding those blogs that offer nothing but giveaways or do you participate in every one of them? What makes you participate? Is there a middle ground you would like to see?
I ask this because I subscribe to the idea that giveaways do not make up the major substance of my blog content, nor do I want them to do so. I want to be known for my reviews and my opinions and to share my appreciation of my followers by offering occasional giveaways. My perception is that those bloggers who offer constant giveaways are trying to inflate their stats by driving up traffic through giveaways or requiring participants to become followers. In doing so, are you truly getting the audience you truly want? Or are you only getting followers who are in it for what you can give them and not to start a dialogue among book lovers? Does it matter?
I truly am puzzled about this trend of giveaways. No, they are not bad, and they do serve their purpose as a thank-you and as a part of a marketing campaign. Yet, what about all the other times? Does every blog hop need a giveaway? Does every readathon? Are we creating an expectation among potential followers to expect free books from bloggers? For those who have been blogging for several years, what are your thoughts? Do you see anything disconcerting in this trend?
Let’s discuss!!
